Demographics
Although the community didn’t keep membership statistics at this time, the archives do contain some demographic information. In the previous resource time period (1971-1975) the adult membership grew from 29 members on October 15, 1971, to 240 members in October, 1975. Between October, 1974, and October, 1975, 140 people joined the community.
During this time period, we know the following about adult members:
October, 1975 240 members
October, 1976 370 members
October, 1977 480 members
October, 1978 540 members
October, 1979 460 members
In the time period 1976-1981 many local people and college students continued to join the People of Praise. Also, many individuals and families moved to South Bend in order to join the People of Praise, and two larger groups moved to join. One came from the Portage, Indiana area (approximately 50 people) and one from San Francisco, California (approximately 100 people). The drop in membership from October, 1978, to October, 1979, is due in part to some people from Portage and San Francisco deciding to move on after having tried People of Praise life.
We also have some demographic information from a 1978 survey. At that time there were 503 adult members of the community. Seventy-five percent of the adults were 41 years old or younger, and the largest group was ages 26 to 29. The number of people who lived in households was close to the number of people who lived alone or with their immediate families. There were 139 children of preschool age or younger. Single people made up 31% (158 people) of the community.
Audio Resources
In these talks, the speakers occasionally refer to “branches.” These correspond to what we now refer to as “areas.” At the time, the community was located only in and around South Bend. It was geographically subdivided into what were then called “branches.”
These audio resources can be subdivided into three groups:
- Community meeting recordings:
- Talks given at other community events:
- Talks given at various conferences and retreats:
- 205. 1976 Snapshot of Community Life (1976).
- 207. Being Men of God (1977).
- 221. Training Sons (1980).
- 225. Roles of Men and Women Revisited (1981).
- 226. Women’s Groups (1981).
- 227. Being a Handmaid (1981).
- 228. Accomplishing Our Work Through Divisions (1981).
- 229. Reasons for Starting Trinity School (1981).
Notes about Talks Given at Other Community Events
“The People of Praise: The Early Years” was from a 1976 Community Weekend. “Love and Discipline,” “The Character of a Christian Woman” and “Life in Christ for Unmarried Women” appear to be talks for community members, but the details about the occasion are unknown. “Resisting Temptation, the Good Samaritan and Prayer” was given at a men’s night during an anniversary community celebration.
Notes about Talks Given at Various Conferences and Retreats
The first recording was a sharing that Tom Finke gave during a workshop at the 1976 Conference on the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church. The second talk, “Being Men of God,” was given at a 1977 elders’ meeting. At the time we were collaborating with The Word of God community leaders in an effort to put together an association of communities. This 1977 elders’ meeting was for community leaders who were involved with this effort. Eventually, by mutual agreement, we abandoned this effort in February, 1981. It had become clear to us that in spite of some similarities occasioned primarily by our mutual participation in the charismatic movement, the two communities had different goals and culture.
Clem and Julie Walters gave the Christian Family Retreat to non-community members around 1980 in South Bend. The talk “Training Sons” is taken from this retreat.
The rest of the talks were from a 1981 elders’ meeting. This was a very different event than the one in 1979. What was this elders’ meeting? On April 23-26, 1981 the leaders of 13 communities met with People of Praise leaders in South Bend to discuss how they might support one another. In these recordings, People of Praise members are describing to non-People of Praise members various aspects of People of Praise life and works. At this conference there was a men’s track and a women’s track.
Eventually, five of the communities who were at this conference would become branches of the People of Praise. They were:
- The Vine and The Branches Community (Corvallis) joined the People of Praise in February, 1982.
- The Light of Christ (Oahu) joined in April, 1983.
- Community of Praise (Muncie) joined in January, 1985.
- Tree of Life (Rockford) joined in June, 1986.
- Community of Jesus the King (New Orleans) joined in September, 1986.
Three of the communities who were at the conference did not join us, but their leaders continued to meet regularly with the People of Praise leaders for mutual support. They formed what was called the Fellowship of Communities. These communities were Alleluia (Augusta, Georgia), City of the Angels (Los Angeles/Van Nuys, California) and People of Joy (Phoenix/Tempe Arizona). For more on the Fellowship of Communities see the June and July, 1988, For the Record columns in the File Library.
“Reasons for Starting Trinity School,” was given just four months before the first Trinity School was opened in South Bend. In it Kerry Koller says he is presenting the talk “using the basic script that I used when we . . . talked to the community.”
“Accomplishing Our Work Through Divisions,” was given four months after the community (located only in South Bend) reorganized itself into divisions and what was called the “residential community.” The goal was to structure the community in such a way so as to allow for some outreach without abandoning (even inadvertently) our primary call to be a community. The divisions were set up for outreach, and the residential community was for the ongoing life of the community. At the time (1981), Overall Coordinator, (Paul DeCelles) met separately with the division coordinators and with the residential coordinators. In other words, the division coordinators and residential community coordinators didn’t meet together.
Paul later commented that this way of organizing the community proved inadequate for preserving the unity of mind and heart that we desired, especially in view of the fact that division coordinators did not meet regularly with the residential coordinators. After more communities joined the People of Praise and the further reorganization that followed, things changed. Now, in branches with divisions, division coordinators meet regularly with area coordinators at the monthly branch coordinators’ meeting.
Written Resources
- 1977 “Small Groups in the People of Praise.” Pastoral Renewal, July 1977, Vol. 2, No. 1. Pastoral Renewal began as a newsletter for leaders in the charismatic renewal. It was put out by people in The Word of God community (Ann Arbor, MI).
- “The Weekly Meeting” and “Vision of Community.” In the archives there is a note that on January 12, 1979, the head coordinators decided “to begin a training program for developing people for pastoral and/or missionary work.” Fourteen men plus some coordinators attended this training program. To the best of our knowledge, the papers listed above were prepared, at least in part, to foster discussion in this training program.
- “Social Justice and the People of Praise.” This paper was written sometime in 1979. It was meant as an answer to people who criticized the People of Praise for not being concerned enough with the poor and needy. Eventually it was included in a packet of information about the People of Praise that was sent to the local Roman Catholic bishop.
- Memos on Dating and Weddings. These were internal memos that were intended as starting points for discussion.
- “1976 Household Agreements List.” This was a set of agreements for a household in 1976. It should be noted that patterns of life varied from household to household. This is what one household chose to do.
- Early Youth Ministry Proposals. These archival documents include the original proposal for a summer camp and a proposal for the first preschool youth ministry.
- 1976-1978 Community Service Plans. What was the Community Service Plan? In 1975 and early 1976 the community newsletter was filled with requests for volunteers for the many things the community was doing. In March of 1976 the coordinators agreed that Paul DeCelles would make a proposal integrating all volunteer services of the People of Praise, including Servant School, the LaSalle Building, Wednesday night prayer meetings, community meetings and youth and children’s ministries. The overall plan that was developed was called the “Community Service Plan,” and a master assignment list was called the “List of Services.” In order to accomplish this task, the coordinators asked Paul to decide which services and ministries would be staffed through the Community Service Plan.
- “Handmaids in the People of Praise.” In October of 1977 the coordinators discussed ways in which some women might help them care for the women in the community and agreed to conduct a consultation. Community members were to suggest women who they thought could serve well in this capacity. In April, 1978, the first handmaids and handmaids in training were selected. Although this document is dated June 1984, internal evidence indicates that the following description of handmaids originally dates from around the time handmaids were first selected.
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