Churches love to tell their stories, whether their founding, their accomplishments, or their connections with wider history. How can churches tell their full stories—not just the ones that make us feel good—and how can they be part of wider neighborhood efforts to tell their full histories? Public history has resources to help this process, and in this episode historian Denise Meringolo talks about how to tell such full stories. The way we tell our church’s stories has moral implications, and public history aids this process of morally reflective storytelling.

Check out Dr. Meringolo’s books Museums, Monuments, and National Parks and Radical Roots.

Looking for a public historian? Start by consulting a nearby college or university, or check out the National Council on Public History’s list of consultants.