(Editor’s note: The following is a submission to The Recorder’s weekly column titled “Faith Matters.” Each Saturday, a different faith leader in Franklin County offers a personal religious perspective in this space. For information on becoming part of this series, email religion@recorder.com or call 413-772-0261, ext. 265.)
The parish I minister in, as well as my previous parish — and, in fact, virtually all mainline Christian congregations today — look quite a bit different from the church I grew up in. The pews are much less full, Sunday School classes are small (if they exist at all), and parish treasurers will tell you that giving is significantly less than it was a decade or two ago.
The “elephant in the room” is that traditional churches are in dramatic decline. The Pew Research Center Report is helpful in giving us objective data about the demographics of the decline and describing why many millennials and other “spiritual but not religious” Americans no longer find religious institutions meaningful in their lives. Academics talk about the decline of Christendom and rise of postmodernity, but those of us on the ground are striving to help our members live out their faith in a changing religious landscape.
A nonreligious acquaintance asked me whether I find the situation depressing. While, I confess, I do keep an eye on the Sunday attendance, I see much to celebrate in the changes that the Church is undergoing.
Here — not necessarily in order of importance — are some of my reasons:
Just as all experiences of transition (and particularly of loss) shake us into figuring out what is really important to us — what is truly essential, what we most value — the decline in Church participation is challenging us to take a good look at the essentials of our faith and at what it means to be the Church. Change invites us to ask, in new ways, what God is really calling us to, and to re-focus on thinking about what it means to follow Jesus.
It is good for us (and wonderfully freeing) to let go of structures, practices and programs that no longer nurture people’s faith, even if “we’ve always done it that way!”
As a result of asking questions and becoming ready to let go of things that have become dried out and dusty, I see the Church as re-committing to an outward, rather than inward gaze. We are looking for how we can serve, how we can truly live into being the Body of Christ in the world.
Again as a result of these changing dynamics, there is a wonderful spirit of creativity and experimentation as we rediscover a sense of service.
Here are some of the trends that I see in my own denomination — the Episcopal Church — and in the communities where I have served:
Declining numbers encourage congregations to develop partnerships with other faith communities — both within and between denominations — in order to accomplish what is important. My previous parish joined with two other small congregations (of other denominations) to package over 20,000 meal packs a year for school feeding programs in the developing world, a project none of us could have done on our own.
The Church is coming to see beyond our buildings. This means both finding ways to be the Church outside of the buildings, AND sharing our buildings as community resources and not just venues for our own activities. Cathedral in the Night, Northampton, is an outdoor congregation that provides weekly worship, fellowship, a meal and a safe space to explore spiritual beliefs. Local leaders (from many Franklin County churches) are currently planning another Cathedral congregation to get underway in Greenfield in September. The St. Andrew’s Guild at my parish in Turners Falls has begun an outreach program inviting anyone who enjoys crafting to free classes and monthly “Knit- and Crochet-Ins” where participants make friends in addition to learning new skills. Most of those who are coming are not members of the parish on Sunday.
The new approaches the Church is trying out are aimed at promoting connection — both relationships among people and people’s relationship with God — and not aimed at signing up members. We are looking back to the Gospel narratives and remembering that Jesus commissioned his disciples to serve the real needs of their neighbors and to share good news of God’s love, rather than to develop institutions.
While working to follow that plan, we’re less worried about the way things are changing.
About St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
St. Andrew’s can be found at 2 Prospect St. in Turners Falls, at the intersection of 7th and L streets. We are a community committed to warmth and hospitality, as well as to service in both the local community and beyond. We experience God as active among us. Our Episcopal tradition is rooted in the Anglican tradition, values scripture, tradition, and reason. We worship Sundays at 9 a.m. in a service of Holy Eucharist. We invite you to visit us in person or at our website, www.standrewstf.org.