In the 1800s, newspapers from the New York Times to more local papers printed the entire sermons of well-known pastors, especially from special occasions such as this week. As just one example, the excellent book The Most Famous Man in America by Debbie Applegate shows the amazing political influence of Henry Ward Beecher during the era of the Civil War. His sermons often made front-page news.
Maybe your church can't get in the newspaper as easily today, but it just might make it into the Library of Congress. Please see the following appeal:
Library of Congress seeks inaugural sermons
The Library of Congress' American Folklife Center is seeking sermons that are preached in U.S. houses of worship during inaugural week.The library said it would mark the historic inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama as the
nation's first African-American president by adding sermons from a range of houses of worship and secular settings to its spoken-word collection.
"In anticipation of citizens' efforts to mark this historic time around the country, the American Folklife Center will be collecting audio and video recordings of sermons and orations that comment on the significance of the inauguration of 2009," the center states on its Web site. "It is expected that such sermons and orations will be delivered at churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship, as well as before humanist congregations and other secular gatherings. The American Folklife Center is seeking as wide a representation of orations as possible."
The collection will include written texts and audio and video recordings from Jan. 16-25. They must be sent to the center by Feb. 27. Recordings, texts and related printed programs that meet the center's specifications will be processed by archivists and then made available
to students, scholars and the general public.
Warren Bird, Ph.D., is Research Director at Leadership Network, and co-author of 19 books on various aspects of church health and innovation.
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