How much longer will rural communities have a United Church
presence?
Editors
Note: This was contributed by Mike
Pearson, a member of Dresden
United Church. He submitted it with this comment: “For
years we have been struggling with our congregation's survival. Area churches
are reaching a critical point were it appears as though the structure as we
know it will no longer function primarily due to the structure of financial
requirements. This is my personal
opinion and observation and is not intended to be a statement from any one
but myself. I have posted it on the Wonder
Cafe and on a Blog Spot I created for the North Kent
congregations to get some communications going.”
Everyone loves their church. Grandpa
built the stairs, Grandma was baptized there, Uncle Fred fixed the windows
and Mom and Dad got married there. The building is only property for a common
meeting it is not the church.
The church is the people, it is the
community, it is the fellowship and the support of friends. It is the people
that gather for the common purpose of the discovery and expression of their
faith journey. It is my opinion that each person has their own interpretation
and understanding of a religious faith. It changes throughout our lives. We
do not share our ideas or questions often because of the fear of rejection
and/or controversy that usually ensues with the discussion.
As individual small groups the church
cannot possibly sustain its presence and provide the programs to attract new
members. By consolidating small fiscally weak and manpower fatigued
congregations a stronger more vibrant congregation will be given a chance to
grow. The synergy of the combined resources will renew excitement with new
opportunities not attainable in a small group.
Consolidation or Amalgamation as it is
call in the Church cannot and should not happen overnight. But it should be
an active item on committee meetings and plans should be explored with
neighbors to work towards the preservation of resources (fiscal) and recognition
of skills and talents that can help a new group grow.
From my experience, over the past 15 plus
years, this mandate must come from the national church. Professionals are
needed to help congregations get an accurate picture of finances and membership
trends. This is necessary to help congregations come to terms with their
situations and make the decisions to maintain a strong UCC presence in the
community. Past efforts by presbytery ,although well intended, fail to light
the fire of change.
Waiting until the money is gone people
have left only lets the church loose its presence in the community.
Unless the plan is to let the UCC become
a virtual church and a community presence is felt to be not needed.
I passionately believe that every
community should have a UCC presence and to this means a long term vision
should be given by the national church of how this will be sustained in the
years to come.
What direction do we take?
Despite some attempts by our Presbytery
to encourage congregations to explore alternative methods of sharing
ministers and resources, very little guidance has come from the national
church.
The unfortunate reality is that as a
congregation we have financial responsibilities that sustain our presence in
today's world (another discussion). We have buildings to maintain, heating
bills, electricity, and ministers to pay. The source of this funding is the
offering plate and fund raising both of which require the support of the
congregation. We need Sunday school teachers, council leaders and members,
committees, UCW, choir leaders and members, youth leadership if your lucky
and need it. As with anything the more hands generally make lighter loads and
the more vitality there is in the group.
We as congregations are trustees to UCC
property and ultimately should be looking at the whole church and not just
our own congregation. By the same token the National Church
leaders have a responsibility to ensure that sound decisions are made within
the congregations. Guidelines on sustainability should be given (even if not
to be enforced) to assist in sound decision making by congregations.
If a congregation can support its self
then the should get an ataboy and keep up the great work. If the congregation
is not self sufficient and has the option of traveling a few km to a more
central location to join another congregation then direction and assistance
should be provided to facilitate,encourage and direct this transition.
Historical data should be analyzed to show the decline in people, money,
outreach, increasing overheads etc. If people clearly see the writing on the
wall they will generally be more receptive to change. Spending every last
dime in a hold out attitude is generally not the most effective use of UCC
resources (all money and property is the UCC's not the congregations). The
earlier that congregations can come together and combine resources both
financial and personnel the sooner we get on with the building of a stronger
presence and get out of survival mode.
I know from personal experience that this
is much more complicated to DO than to discuss. I also recognize that money
is not everything, and that many small groups do great work and provide very
needed community services working in their faith with the UCC.
After years of difficulties we sold the
130 year old building (people are the church not the building) that was our
place of worship. We auctioned our possessions, and watched it be demolished.
We now worship in the same spot in a new building in a convertible space provide
and shared by the new owners......a funeral home. Yes a funeral home is our
place of worship. We have had all of the obvious difficulties throughout this
process of 4-6yrs (many more stories there) but we are still here in the
community (of 2000 people and 16 congregations of various faiths). Our group
is small (10-30 attending) and dedicated. After all this we still have
difficulty making our financial obligations in our 3 point charge. Our 2
rural sister churches are now using up their reserves. This is not a unique
situation and hence my frustration with the fact that there is not a stronger
national resolve to develop strong sustainable congregations.
My key observation is that many crossroad
churches have their service and then the people leave and drive to town for
groceries, or breakfast at the diner, or for hockey at the local arena. It is
my opinion that for the long term survival and strength of the UCC we would
serve better if we combine our resources and talents before they are
exhausted. We begin consolidating our smaller groups into larger centralized
more vibrant congregations to begin work for tomorrows church and
respectfully and sensitively let go of yesterday's church.
Old traditions can be transferred or
blended with others and new traditions can begin if we work together to
ensure a strong and sustainable congregations within the UCC.
Mike Pearson,
Dresden United
Church
Reflection
and Prayer in Support of CPT Hostages in Iraq
By Rev. Curtis Marwood,
Kent
Presbytery,
The United Church of Canada
December 6, 2005
This evening,
clergy and lay representatives of Kent Presbytery [The united Church of Canada
in south western Ontario]
gathered for the regular monthly meeting. However, for me, it was not
“regular” because of what we did. We gathered for a time of fellowship in
honour of the season of preparation for celebration of the birth of Jesus.
The President of London Conference, Donna Bowman-Woodall, addressed us with
some questions related to the theme: “We will not hide them from their
children; we will tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the
LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” (Psalm 78:4 NRSV) She
asked, “Who is the new generation? What do we have to tell them? How?”
We then shared
in the celebration of Holy Communion. As I heard again the familiar words of
the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving, and the words of Jesus inviting us to eat
and drink and remember him, I was struck by how strange those words might
sound to a new generation who has not heard them from childhood. Who is this
Jesus we worship and follow? What does it mean that he came for our
“salvation”? Why should we “remember” him? Do we remember him with words or
with our lives? I thought, how easy it is for us to say the words that are
just meaningless clichés for those who are unfamiliar with them. The liturgy
and words sounded so “holy” and sacred, yet left me struggling with how they
have meaning for those we are urged to “tell to the coming generation”.
During the
prayer of Thanksgiving for Communion, my thoughts went to the CPTers who are
hostages in Iraq
facing the threat of death in a couple of days. Call it the direction of the
Spirit or simply one thought flowing into another, but I was suddenly aware
that this is how we “remember him”. In lives committed to compassion and
peace, to praying for our captors and offering our lives to intervene, we
remember him and tell the coming generation how Jesus’ coming was to empower
us to resist injustice and oppression. Remembering is more than words; it is
living with the authenticity of Jesus. This was the direction of my thoughts
and prayer as I then heard the prayer continue, offered by one sharing the
Prayers of the People in the Communion Prayer of Thanksgiving:
Almighty God,
we thank you for the reflection for prayer as we ponder anew the coming again
of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We wait to hear the Babe crying so that
we may respond in faith. And in our responding, we realize that it is we who
need him so much, rather than him needing us. We hail the Prince of Peace,
the King of Kings, who came into the world as one of us, to dwell among the
nations and all people of this world. O there is much that divides us, but
may we find unity through him and thus come to a common understanding of who
we really are as human beings, formed in your image.
Bring peace to
each of us, so that we might find contentment in all that we do, and in all
our relations with others. You have sent your Son to assure us of your
unconditional love and acceptance of us; that we may also be as loving and
accepting of others.
Lord, as we
think about world events, we see the images of war, and hatred; images of
bombings, destruction and killing. Lord, this is not what you want for your
people, and we are all your people. We see the faces of hostages who felt the
call and need to work among others in your name, and even in their dilemma,
they still advocate only peace and love, which is a reflection of the love
you have for all people. O we implore you to soften the hearts of their
captors that they may be released without further harm. [Tonight, we remember
and pray for Jim Loney, Tom Fox, Norman Kember and Harmeet Sooden in a moment
of silence.]
There is
indeed much darkness in this world, but your light has broken through in Bethlehem. Let us
recognize the Light of your Son today. And let that which brought the
shepherds and the wise men to the awareness of a bright hope and a new
destiny which can only be found in you, lead us to that promise-filled manger
too. And as such, help us to prepare ourselves through faith to share the
great joy of Christ’s birth. Indeed, let us too behold his glory, for we too
are part of the Christmas story.
Hear our
prayers, O Lord, and accept our gratitude for your great love for us. In
Jesus’ name we pray. 1
1
[Prayer composed and offered by Rev. Henry Marissen,
pastor of Merlin United Church,
Ontario.]
Saddam is gone from power.
We celebrate with the Iraqi people.
Now let's win the peace.
The brutal
regime of Saddam Hussein is over. The
Iraqi people are celebrating, and so should we, regardless of how we feel
about the war. It was a triumph for
human freedom when the statue of Saddam was pulled down yesterday in Baghdad. But reflective Iraqis are already saying
that the way this was done leaves Iraq
(and the world) with new problems to overcome, and that the way a post-Saddam
Iraq
goes forward will be of decisive importance.
We must now address the consequences of accomplishing the defeat of
the dictator through an American invasion rather than working through
international law and genuine multinational decisions.
What's crucial
now is the well-being of the Iraqi people and their aspiration for a free and
democratic future.
First, the
United Nations and the International Red Cross report that the humanitarian
situation in Iraq
is critical. Hospitals are overwhelmed
with casualties while facing a shortage of medical supplies, power, and
water. Humanitarian aid is desperately
needed, and private and faith-based organizations are prepared to deliver
food and medical aid to the civilian population. Yet Donald Rumsfeld and the Pentagon are
trying to take control of humanitarian aid to the Iraqi people as part of their
ongoing agenda. This military
involvement could compromise the effective delivery of aid and potentially
threaten the safety of relief workers and the people they are trying to
assist. It is crucially important that
aid be adequately funded, and that humanitarian aid and reconstruction be
administered by civilian organizations with U.N. coordination and leadership,
not by the U.S.
military.
Second, the
Pentagon also wants an American military viceroy in charge of Iraq,
followed by a government friendly to American occupation. This would be the worst outcome following
the war. There must be international
collaboration in helping to create new governing institutions, with the U.N.
helping to form a transition government that can pave the way to a democratic
Iraq. As soon as Iraq
is safe, the American and British troops should go home - permanent American
bases and U.S.
military occupation should not be the long-term consequences of this war.
Now that the
war is over, it crucial to do the things that make for peace.
From ‘Sojourners’: http://www.sojo.net/action
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Thinking about Peacemaking
Curtis Marwood
In an effort to stimulate some discussion about and awareness
of the Decade to Overcome Violence, I share the following reflection which I
am using as a preface for a Litany for Remembrance Sunday.
In Matthew 24, Jesus said: “you will hear of wars and rumors
of wars; see that you are not alarmed;…nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various
places:…But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
In recent days, the war against terrorism has been
threatening the peace of the world.
The intensity of the rhetoric in favor of military action has been
increasing.
On this Remembrance Sunday, we receive the news that the
United Nations has negotiated a resolution in search of peace. It mandates Iraq to respond to the demand to
let weapons inspectors enter the country and conduct its work with no
restrictions. It also requires that the UN meet again before any further
action. The Canadian government and
the Prime Minister is satisfied with this because it fulfils its requirement
for a UN mandated solution. We hope
that the US will show
restraint and not take away the opportunity for Iraq to comply.
The United Nations has negotiated a resolution in search for
peace. But still the fear of war hangs
over the world.
Many voices call for peace making. The WCC has declared a Decade to Overcome
Violence. “As Christians, we are
motivated and encouraged by the Gospel message of the peace of Christ and the
rich biblical tradition of peace with justice... We want to engage in
constructive efforts to build a culture of peace.” (Central Committee of the World Council of Churches,
Geneva 1999)
We remember that Christ is our mandate for making peace. "For Christ is our peace, who has made
us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility..." Eph.
2:14
On November 11, we remember that the evil of war is more than
the death of soldiers. In times of
war, we are called especially to remember to live with justice and
compassion, with understanding and respect.
If we do not remember, fear and mistrust could displace hope and
compassion.
On this Remembrance Sunday, let us remember, lest we forget,
that we are children of God who receive God’s blessing as peacemakers.
Some resources
for thinking about Peacemaking as it relates to the call for war against Iraq:
Pax Christi USA
- including some Worship
resources
Sojourners Magazine
Hearts
and Minds: Disarm Iraq…without war. – a column by Jim Wallis in Sojourners
The challenge
of Iraq: Ploughshares Briefing 02/4
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