What's in a name?

Christian Century, March 22, 2003

WITH REFERENCE to the naming of parish churches ("Name-calling," Jan. 25), it may be interesting to note that the traditional practice of using a saint's name had to do with claiming a patron saint, hence, for example, "St. John's Church." The possessive indicates that the parish is under the patronage of St. John. Without the possessive, the church is named after or in honor of the saint.

H. W. Shipps
Savannah, Ga.

The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) uses secular names for congregations even more than Presbyterians do. In the 1960s I researched the names of Disciples congregations. Of some 4,000 congregations, only a handful were known by biblical/theological names.

I grew up in the Tabernacle Christian Church of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was called Tabernacle because the congregation erected a building in one day in 1917. They retained the name when the church relocated in 1922. However, in the 1900s the name was changed because it was at times confused with the City Wide Gospel Tabernacle.

William W. McDermet III
Sunrise Beach, Mo.