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
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.]
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/
Back to top
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
Sojourners Magazine
Hearts and Minds: Disarm Iraq…without war. – a column by Jim
Wallis in Sojourners
The challenge of Iraq: Ploughshares Briefing 02/4
