Abstract:
The Center for Middletown Studies completed the Muncie Churches and Civic
Engagement Project during 2016 and 2017. It involved a series of oral history interviews with
leaders of local faith communities with the aim of documenting and exploring the role of
churches in the civic life of Muncie and the surrounding area. The impetus for the project
stemmed from the observation that churches appeared to be among the few voluntary institutions
that still attracted substantial, active memberships in the midst of local economic decline. The
project was funded by the George and Frances Ball Foundation.
