Suburban Ministry

[Raewynne Whiteley]

So I've been rector of a parish that is thoroughly suburban for just under 2 years. It's pastoral sized (ASA around 100) but a wannabe program parish. Like many similar places, it has no huge issues, but has been slowly declining since the 70s (when it was a major social hub). We have families, but they are typically busy. They run the Sunday School, and otherwise don't come to a whole lot of things. Meanwhile, the older members complain constantly that the younger ones don't support events/fundraisers, and that they've served their time and it's time for the younger ones to step up. There is very little interaction between the two groups.

The vestry seem to think that I will magically turn the place around. Without them doing anything other than what they are doing - they are very resistant to change. The attitude seems to be, if "it worked for us it should work for them." Any ideas on how to move forward?

[Gregory]

That sounds like a tough job. Is there any way to hold some sort of meeting to see what the parishioners would want? What is it that they are looking for in church? What sort of programs would they like to host? Also, figuring out the needs of the church is important, as you already know. Are there possible classes that can be offered? Book clubs? Obviously there needs to be a level of commitment, but I am just wondering.

[Frank R Moore]

Our church got all age groups working together by finding outreach projects that lots of people can contribute to without making a huge time comittment. We have one energetic member who went out and found projects for us. Maybe some of your older folks have some pet charity that the younger people would help with. I have a posting in urban ministries about our outreach. We are quite busy now but 5 years ago we were in the same shape you are in now.

[Tim Mathis]

Our suburban parish hit a financial crisis point, so we 1) began looking into selling some of our land to a non-profit developer to build low-income housing and 2) started renting out our space to other churches during off times, a nursery school, and several other community organizations. Now we're starting to get a sense of our space as a hub for the community we're situated in, and have a developing sense of mission around hospitality. It's palpably changed the momentum and sense of community at our parish across the last 3-4 years. My advice is to figure out who you are and who you want to be and to move towards it - rather than trying to iron out difficulties between the generations - nothing unites like a shared sense of mission.

[Victoria Geer McGrath]

I am brand new to this web site and was very glad to find this particular thread because so much of what I have seen referenced in emrgent examples are urban churches. I am the rector of a pastoral sized suburban church (which looks and feels more towards being semi-rural). I want to echo what Tim said about hospitality and being a hub for community space. Two years ago we had to close our nursery school. it had been in business for 50 years, but had outlived its usefulness (judging by enrollment and energy level). We began to ask ourselves if God didn't have another plan for the building (our Parish House is free-standing from the church, with offices, etc. in yet a third building/old rectory). In the last two years it has been remarkable how many groups and individuals have asked for use of space. In truth, our community has very little usable and affordable public space for meetings and events, including the township recreation program! So rather than having a social ministry focussed around the usual sort of urban needs, this parish ministry of hospitality has really taken off. it's not that issues of homelessness, hunger, etc. don't exist in suburbia - they do! But they are much harder to identify and create a critical mass around. Our town doesn't even have a welfare officer. All public assistance is run through the county. Having said all that, at the same time we closed the school, another AA group asked to meet in our space. We now have five per week, and have developed a good working relationship with them. Several AA members have sought me out and this June we had an AA Founder's Day Gratitude Service (at their request) which was a real collaboration between a committee of leaders and me. For some attendees, this was the first time they had been to a worship service in years, and so just showing up for a public service and not feeling threatened was huge. Again, it's part of the ministry of hospitality here, and the congregation has come to own that and be glad that our buildings can be a resource for ministry.

I would be very interested in any other ideas/issues about emergent church in established congregations in the suburbs. MY hope and dream is to continue to deepen our worship and spiritual growth in ways that a variety of ages will find life-giving. One thing we have been doing since Easter (at the suggestion of the Vestry) is saying the psalms antiphonally (when we don't sing them) instead of unison. The thought was this would be more musical, would slow us down, and make us really listen to each other. So far I think this has been so. Any responses?e

[Tim Mathis]

Hey Victoria, great stuff. I like what you're doing with the psalms - our suburban parish has been experimenting w/some things liturgically as well, and we're preparing to introduce some elements from Benedictine models of community as a starting point for conversation about what churches jobs are.

One of the things that I really think is exciting is that we've also been experimenting with our land usage - our sexton is an award-winning gardener interested in sustainable gardening practices, and is lobbying the parish to develop food production, bee-friendly plants, and 'urban thickets' on our landscape. I think land usage is an area where suburban parishes will be able to do some really interesting things that urban parishes can't, in that they tend to have a bit more property, and a bit more green space. I'd be interested to see us cultivate something akin to a Pea Patch, for instance, or some kind of mixed use outdoor space for spiritual practice and environmental renewal.

[Victoria Geer McGrath]

Tim,

This is a good observation. We have a large, sunny patch on the side of our Parish House that is largely unused, unseen, and not particularly attractive. A community vegetable garden, with local food pantries benefitting from the produce, might be a good and feasible idea. Other land use issues that come to mind in our setting are our playground and our Memorial Garden. We are at a busy crossroads in a residential neighborhood. Our old school playground and our parking lot are often used by neighborhood kids, and the parking lot at lunchtime becomes the dashboard deli for all of the local landscapers, Verizon guys, etc. Since we are also a school bus stop (and the busses turn around in our lot) there is a bit of concern about the wear and tear on 20+ year old paving - replacing it is very expensive! I know our Memorial Garden gets a good bit of use for prayer (not just people "visiting" their loved ones) as we have benches there. Last year one of our Boy Scouts enclosed the garden with some attractive deer-proof fencing as his Eagle project, but I wonder if an attractive sign at the entrance to the garden saying something like "Open for prayer and meditation" might not be a good idea. Mmmmm - you've got me thinking. Thanks