The L.A.O.S. History
The Lay Academy for Oecumenical Studies was founded in 1961 by Rev. David King, a Congregational minister who was a Chaplain at Amherst College. Courses and lectures were offered by academics and clergy representing different faith groups in effort to break down the barriers that so often separate us. The organization grew as the ecumenical movement spread from the Christian call to unity across denominations to the wider issue of interfaith relations. In the late 1960’s David King left the area and the courses and lectures were replaced by special events which promoted ecumenism.
In 1971 Pastor Richard Koenig, a Lutheran minister and then President of the L.A.O.S. Board proposed a bookstore to support people as they explored the complicated questions of inter-religious dialogue. The L.A.O.S. Bookstore, originally housed in the Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst, became a mainstay in the Valley. Many people in the Valley found nourishment for their spiritual and intellectual hunger and have fond memories of “the comfy chair” and Martha’s helpful insights. In 2002 due to Grace Church’s need for space, L.A.O.S. moved to Immanuel Lutheran Church in Amherst. In the Spring of 2006 L.A.O.S. returned to Amherst Center, renting space for the bookstore, as well as a meeitng room, in the Carriage Shops.
L.A.O.S. continues to develop alongside changes both to the world-wide ecumenical movement and to the advent of the world-wide web community. We’re committed to maintaining a center to bring people together around inter-faith and ecumenical questions.
L.A.O.S. is a non-profit membership organization. Our existence is dependant upon the generosity of our members, volunteers and supporters. We are always looking to expand offerings both in our bookstore and in our other programs. If you are interested in becoming a L.A.O.S. member, donating or volunteering in some capacity, please call us at 413.548.3909, email us at laos@laosbooks.org or write us at L.A.O.S., 233 North Pleasant Street, Amherst MA 01002.
What does L.A.O.S. stand for?
The Lay Academy for Oecumenical Studies is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of interfaith education, conversation and understanding among lay people of various faiths.
L. A. O. S.
- Laity or Lay person
- Academy
- Oecumenical
- Studies
laos—a Greek word for people of God.
L.A.O.S. is:
- A resource for local congregations and faith communities.
- A vehicle for and means of increasing INTERFAITH understanding and respect.
- A way of heightening awareness of and implementing oecumenical understandings.
- A means to bring people together and build community.
- An incentive to conversation and reflection.
- A stimulus to interaction and reflection on what binds people together in significant ways.
- An attempt to equip or empower people for mission and ministry.
- A Bookstore—with sacred texts and liturgy, hymnals, lectionaries, children’s books—and books about world religions, ethics, prayer, biblical study, women & spirituality, psychology, church history. and ministry. A bookstore that also carries calendars, CDs, audio cassettes, greeting cards, religious jewelry, prayer beads, and assorted religious items.
The recent Lay Academy movement began in the Church with the creation, in 1946, of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, Switzerland. Since then, many academies have sprung up, including Kirkridge, Pendle Hill, the Iona Community in Scotland, and L.A.O.S., a Lay Academy of Oecumenical Studies created in the early 1960s to serve the needs, especially, of Western Mass.
At the Annual Meeting, June 2007, the members voted to change the public name of LAOS Bookstore to The Interfaith Bookstore of Amherst. The official name of the overall organization remains unchanged but for the sake of publicity about the store, the new name was determined to be preferbale.