Facing an uncertain future
19/08/12 04:33
I don’t know where I first learned the concept of membership in the church. It was one of those things that was always assumed in our family. Our parents belonged to the church. Our grandparents belonged to the church. It was assumed that we would one day belong to the church. We had friends who belonged to different churches, but I wasn’t aware of the people in our circle that didn’t belong to any church. I’m sure that there were folks who weren’t active in churches, but participation in a church was pretty much assumed in our small town.
From a young age, I was aware that membership in the church meant belonging to something bigger than just a local congregation. We went to camp every summer and I was aware that the camp was made up of people from other congregations, but that we all belonged to the same church. We received visits from missionaries who served in distant locations, and I understood that even though they lived and worked in other countries, they were a part of the same church.
My awareness of the connections between congregations grew when I went through the classes to prepare us for confirmation. It was there that I first began to get a sense of the history of Christianity and of how our denomination fit into the family of Christian churches. I know now that the view of Christianity that was presented in those classes was a bit skewed, or at least biased toward the story of our denomination. The books we used and the plan of learning we followed were products of our denomination.
What I didn’t realize until much later is that our culture was already shifting. Like many other things in our society, people were questioning their relationships to the institutional church. The role of the church in the lives of people was already undergoing dramatic changes. The assumptions that framed my life and relationships were being questioned at many levels and new ways of organizing our life together were well underway. The decline in the power and authority of denominations in religious life and in the structure of society was already shifting, though it would take years – even decades – before I felt many of the effects of the changes.
While the local congregation remains at the heart of the institutional church, the level of commitment to and participation in the local church is quite different from what it was for my parents’ and grandparents’ time. For the most part, people no longer see membership in a church as a lifelong commitment. They participate for a while – for as long as the church is meaningful in their lives. People may participate in a variety of congregations throughout their lives, as they move from one place to another, and as their interests and commitments change. Belonging to a church doesn’t really mean that the church is at the center of the lives of people. It is one organization among many that places claims on their time and resources. It is one charity among many that receives contributions from family budgets.
I’m sure that when our forebears signed the Mayflower Compact before stepping onto the shores of this continent, they never imagined that they were laying the seeds of a denomination. The institutional church that grew out of their mutual commitment would amaze them. The national setting of the United Church of Christ, while significantly smaller than it was a few decades ago, is still quite an institution. Together we own a 9-story office building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. We have an impressive chapel with a wall of windows so that it is evident to those who pass by that worship is at the heart of our business. But much of the rest of the building is like many other office buildings, with people going to and from meetings, phones ringing, receptionists greeting people, computer screens glowing and accountants keeping track of the flow of income and expense.
The activities of our denomination at the Conference and National levels, however, is significantly reduced from what it was when I was a child growing up. As I grew into my adulthood and became a minister, I simply assumed the presence of strong state and national structures to support and resource the church. When I graduated from seminary, the denomination was the source of support for pastors and the place to go for resources for ministry. If we had a question about how to conduct a specific type of service, help was just a phone call away. The denomination provided leaders for meetings and inspiration for pastors. The denomination operated a large and successful press and maintained a warehouse full of resources. We used those resources ever day in our work and believed that they would always be present.
It doesn’t work that way any more. The work of the Conference is not the product of paid staff as much as it is the collaborative work of the pastors and lay members of the Conference. Far from being the place that I turn for help these days, it is one more institution that is in need of support. I give of my time and financial resources to maintain the ministries of the Conference, but see it much more as a drain on my time and energies than as a source of resources and support.
There is a similar process going on in the National Setting of the Church. I have said goodbye to so many staff members whose jobs no longer exist that it has become routine. There have been so many rounds of lay offs that I have lost count. One of my current projects is the crafting of a farewell liturgy for the United Church of Christ Educational Consultants. For the last twenty years, we have shared responsibility for connecting the educational ministries of local congregations with denominational structures. Our next meeting will be our last. The worship we share will be a time of departing. No new structure will replace us. No responsibilities for our work will be assigned. Congregations will have to find resources from other sources.
I know that change is part of the way of life. God does not call us to build institutions, but to engage in ministries. Saying goodbye to the past is part of the way that we greet the future. Still there is sadness in the loss. There are people that I will miss. There is uncertainty in the future. I think that I understand the emotions of the Pilgrims as they watched the shores of England fade on the horizon as they headed toward an uncertain future. I know, though only partially, the feelings of those pioneers as they witnessed their numbers dwindle during the first harsh winter in the new world. Now I need to connect with the strength of their faith as I once again am called to trust God to shape the future and call forth the church to serve in the new times that we face.
From a young age, I was aware that membership in the church meant belonging to something bigger than just a local congregation. We went to camp every summer and I was aware that the camp was made up of people from other congregations, but that we all belonged to the same church. We received visits from missionaries who served in distant locations, and I understood that even though they lived and worked in other countries, they were a part of the same church.
My awareness of the connections between congregations grew when I went through the classes to prepare us for confirmation. It was there that I first began to get a sense of the history of Christianity and of how our denomination fit into the family of Christian churches. I know now that the view of Christianity that was presented in those classes was a bit skewed, or at least biased toward the story of our denomination. The books we used and the plan of learning we followed were products of our denomination.
What I didn’t realize until much later is that our culture was already shifting. Like many other things in our society, people were questioning their relationships to the institutional church. The role of the church in the lives of people was already undergoing dramatic changes. The assumptions that framed my life and relationships were being questioned at many levels and new ways of organizing our life together were well underway. The decline in the power and authority of denominations in religious life and in the structure of society was already shifting, though it would take years – even decades – before I felt many of the effects of the changes.
While the local congregation remains at the heart of the institutional church, the level of commitment to and participation in the local church is quite different from what it was for my parents’ and grandparents’ time. For the most part, people no longer see membership in a church as a lifelong commitment. They participate for a while – for as long as the church is meaningful in their lives. People may participate in a variety of congregations throughout their lives, as they move from one place to another, and as their interests and commitments change. Belonging to a church doesn’t really mean that the church is at the center of the lives of people. It is one organization among many that places claims on their time and resources. It is one charity among many that receives contributions from family budgets.
I’m sure that when our forebears signed the Mayflower Compact before stepping onto the shores of this continent, they never imagined that they were laying the seeds of a denomination. The institutional church that grew out of their mutual commitment would amaze them. The national setting of the United Church of Christ, while significantly smaller than it was a few decades ago, is still quite an institution. Together we own a 9-story office building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. We have an impressive chapel with a wall of windows so that it is evident to those who pass by that worship is at the heart of our business. But much of the rest of the building is like many other office buildings, with people going to and from meetings, phones ringing, receptionists greeting people, computer screens glowing and accountants keeping track of the flow of income and expense.
The activities of our denomination at the Conference and National levels, however, is significantly reduced from what it was when I was a child growing up. As I grew into my adulthood and became a minister, I simply assumed the presence of strong state and national structures to support and resource the church. When I graduated from seminary, the denomination was the source of support for pastors and the place to go for resources for ministry. If we had a question about how to conduct a specific type of service, help was just a phone call away. The denomination provided leaders for meetings and inspiration for pastors. The denomination operated a large and successful press and maintained a warehouse full of resources. We used those resources ever day in our work and believed that they would always be present.
It doesn’t work that way any more. The work of the Conference is not the product of paid staff as much as it is the collaborative work of the pastors and lay members of the Conference. Far from being the place that I turn for help these days, it is one more institution that is in need of support. I give of my time and financial resources to maintain the ministries of the Conference, but see it much more as a drain on my time and energies than as a source of resources and support.
There is a similar process going on in the National Setting of the Church. I have said goodbye to so many staff members whose jobs no longer exist that it has become routine. There have been so many rounds of lay offs that I have lost count. One of my current projects is the crafting of a farewell liturgy for the United Church of Christ Educational Consultants. For the last twenty years, we have shared responsibility for connecting the educational ministries of local congregations with denominational structures. Our next meeting will be our last. The worship we share will be a time of departing. No new structure will replace us. No responsibilities for our work will be assigned. Congregations will have to find resources from other sources.
I know that change is part of the way of life. God does not call us to build institutions, but to engage in ministries. Saying goodbye to the past is part of the way that we greet the future. Still there is sadness in the loss. There are people that I will miss. There is uncertainty in the future. I think that I understand the emotions of the Pilgrims as they watched the shores of England fade on the horizon as they headed toward an uncertain future. I know, though only partially, the feelings of those pioneers as they witnessed their numbers dwindle during the first harsh winter in the new world. Now I need to connect with the strength of their faith as I once again am called to trust God to shape the future and call forth the church to serve in the new times that we face.