The Progressive Christian Suspends Publication

One of the nation's oldest continuously published social justice magazines ceased publication Jan. 1, falling to the same social and economic forces that have decimated other non-profit organizations and periodicals in recent years.

The Progressive Christian, a 189-year-old magazine of Christian social witness, suspended publication “indefinitely," according to its Board of Directors, after a winter fund-raising campaign fell far short of the financial resources needed to keep the faith-based social justice periodical afloat.

The Board of TPC Publications, Inc. voted to suspend the journal's print and online versions after year-end returns showed the publication would not achieve its overall goal of $150,000 needed to hire staff and sustain operations. The final print magazine was distributed in late December, and the online website will be discontinued on Jan. 15. The editorial office in Dallas, TX, and the business office in North Berwick, ME, have closed.

TPC Publications Board convener and former editor Stephen Swecker said directors made the decision reluctantly but realistically under the circumstances. According to Mr. Swecker, the board hopes that the organization's historic mission of Christian social witness may be continued in a new form at some future date.

In any event, the non-profit publishing corporation will continue to function for the foreseeable future. Starting Jan. 1, the TPC Publications Board will operate as an executive committee of the whole with no paid staff. Directors plan to meet in early 2012 to review options, including a tribute to the historic publishing legacy of The Progressive Christian and its predecessor magazine, Zion's Herald.

"We have a moral obligation to TPC's many readers and donors to honor and, to the extent possible, preserve the tradition of this unique publishing mission," Mr. Swecker said. "The board is deeply grateful to everyone who responded to our final funding appeal, and will do all that it can to create a fitting tribute to the publication's history." 

TPC Editor Cynthia B. Astle has been retained as editor-at-large to provide content supervision for new projects that emerge for The Progressive Christian. She will maintain The Progressive Christian's page on Facebook.com, where readers are invited to seek information about future plans and projects as they develop.

The Progressive Christian was heir to two highly regarded Christian social witness publications: its immediate predecessor, Zion's Herald, and The Other Side, which closed its doors in 2008. TPC has retained the archives of both publications in addition to its own, and will seek a suitable future repository for the benefit of researchers and historians.

Zion's Herald was founded in 1823 by a group of Methodist laymen who eventually formed the Boston Wesleyan Association for the purpose of spreading JohnWesley's concept of social holiness across the fledgling United States of America. The name was changed to The Progressive Christian in 2007 after research determined the publication's traditional name was perceived to be at odds with its progressive brand of social justice.

Through its 18-plus decades of existence, the publication fulfilled its original mission to promote "social holiness." It advocated editorially for the abolition of slavery, civil rights for women and people of color, workers' rights, and peace in the face of multiple wars while calling the institutional church to fulfill its role of prophetic social leadership. In the late 20th and 21st centuries, the magazine's editors and contributors supported civil and marriage rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people, an end to income inequality and class warfare, and care of the environment.

The Progressive Christian's contributors ranged from rank-and-file pastors and laypeople through some of the world's most prominent religious leaders and intellectuals. The Fall/Winter 2011 print issue includes articles by commentators well known to younger Christians such as Ben Gosden and Rob Rynders, along with worldwide notables such as World Council of Churches top executive Olav Fyske Tveit of Norway and 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee of Ghana.

Previous issues of The Progressive Christian, including the Fall/Winter 2011 issue, are available for single-copy purchase through Magcloud.com.

On behalf of the TPC Board of Directors, Mr. Swecker commended his successor and the magazine's final editor, Cynthia B. Astle. “Mrs. Astle is an award-winning religion journalist of nearly four decades' experience, and we and our readers have been greatly blessed by her editorial acumen and Christian spirit,” Mr. Swecker said. “We are deeply grateful for her years of stellar service.”

Mrs. Astle has taken an interim position as coordinator for United Methodist Insight, an online educational project for the 2012 United Methodist General Conference scheduled April 24-May 4 in Tampa, FL. The website at http://um-insight.net features information, articles and perspectives on significant issues scheduled to come before the UMC's highest legislative body, which meets once every four years.