AWIF Final Report to Session
Background
At its monthly stated December 2021 meeting, the Session appointed a workgroup, “A Way Forward Into the Future [AWIF],” to provide the Session with advice and counsel as the pandemic waned. The workgroup members were: Dan McCoig, L Miller, Libby Solak, Amanda Maguire Thomas, Charles Uphaus, Brent Washburn, and Don Winstead. The group met nine times via Zoom from January through May. It exchanged email threads on topics relevant to its task. It shared resources relevant to its task. The workgroup received and discussed input from members of the congregation.
General narrative
The pandemic has clearly been disruptive to congregational life. Central to a congregation’s life is gathering — gathering for worship, gathering for education, gathering for social interaction, gathering for service. The pandemic restricted the congregation’s ability to gather safely for more than a year. As vaccinations and treatments became more available, gathering safely was possible once again.
We should keep in mind that before the pandemic our congregation was facing challenges on several fronts. Participation in worship [note: a unique dynamic for our congregation is that we divide ourselves by three for Sunday worship – chapel, fellowship hall, and sanctuary] and Christian education was in decline; our pool of volunteers was less robust. These are but two illustrations.
At the same time there are bright spots. Throughout the pandemic, our congregation remained engaged online and continued its generous financial support. Vital areas of ministry found a way to be faithful — the Community Thanksgiving Dinner, WATTS, etc. The congregation and its leadership demonstrated that it could update its approach to engaging persons via online platforms on short notice.
From the onset, the workgroup recognized the importance of obtaining congregational input, including the use of a congregational survey. Holy Cow Consulting’s Covid-19 Assessment was administered the first week of March 2022. An executive summary of the assessment’s results is attached to this report. In order to receive non-biased feedback, Associate General Presbyter Rev. Dr. Nancy Meehan Yao of the Shenandoah Presbytery met with the group to break down and discuss the results. She noted that the feedback from our congregation matched closely with similar congregations who took the same survey. The group used the information from the survey, along with several resources from national church leaders and counselors, to guide them to come up with the ten recommendations below. These recommendations are in no particular order of priority and reflect the most repeated areas of concern our congregation expressed in the survey.
One of the resources the group consulted was Conrad Kanagy’s book “A Church Dismantled.” Kanagy counsels church leaders to resist the impulse of nostalgia, that is to return to “the way things were”, and consider that God may be intentionally dismantling the church as it was for the sake of a more just and faithful witness. Historically, the church has been most faithful when it has been most dynamic – for example, in times of reformation and renewal. The church has been least faithful when it has been static – for example, in times of prolonged status quo and institutional maintenance.
Unquestionably, modern communications technologies – email, live video streaming – aided immensely in keeping the church community informed and engaged, and sentiment is clearly in favor of continuing to take advantage of the possibilities of an “e congregation.” At the same time, survey respondents were nearly unanimous in observing that such technological fixes cannot substitute for personal contact, whether in worship, service or fellowship.
First Presbyterian Church strives to be a “Matthew 25 Church”, which is a bold vision of and invitation from the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. Living into becoming more fully a Matthew 25 Church involves building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty. FPC has a rich history of providing aid and relief to persons in need. The Matthew 25 vision is designed to help congregations move toward being and advocating for the change that makes aid and relief less necessary. In the words of Bishop Desmond Tutu, “There comes a point where we need to stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream to find out why they are falling in.”
Additionally, other church leaders, in broadly assessing the post-pandemic situation layered on top of pre-pandemic trends, have stressed the need to focus special attention on:
- How we evangelize in a “post-Christian” world;
- How we integrate faith and work;
- How to do a better job of Christian formation;
- How we can better integrate protestant social teaching in our worship and living, with a particular focus on racial justice.
Congregational Cultural Shifts and Recommendations
Recommendation #1: Work to foster a congregational culture that emphasizes the church as Christ’s, in which we belong and participate and which we nurture in order that God’s will may be done on earth as in Heaven. Deliberations and decisions should be mission driven.
A Christian congregation is a human organization and is susceptible to the tendencies present in all human organizations, among them thinking in proprietary terms of the congregation as “mine” and “ours.” This was noticeable pre-pandemic, when we modified our worship schedule. The pandemic may have accentuated this tendency.
Scripture: “Jesus existed before all things, and all things are held together in him. Jesus is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead so that he might occupy the first place in everything.” Colossians 1:17-18
Recommendation #2: Review our use of communications media and align it with best practices.
The way we provide and receive information has changed rapidly and significantly. Digital media is a vital means for communication, with the potential to reach many people quickly and efficiently.
Scripture: “Therefore I tell you, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” Matthew 28: 19-20
Recommendation #3: Tell our story widely and encourage, by personal invitation, engagement in relationships and ministry in and through FPC.
FPC is already heavily involved in community ministry. If our presence ceased to exist in downtown Winchester, it would be noticed. Consider some of our most impactful ministries: the Weekday School, Jubilee Kitchen, the Helper Fund, Refugee Resettlement, Vacation Bible School, Lord’s Day Worship and Education, Children’s Ministry, Youth Ministry, Music Ministry, Celebration of Milestone Events — baptism, weddings, funerals. FPC and its membership provide impactful leadership in the community. We could tell our story in a way that better invites and encourages others to join us.
Scripture: “The next day John was standing again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking along the road he said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard what he said, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he asked, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said, ‘Rabbi, where are you staying?’ Jesus replied, ‘Come and see.’ John 1: 35-39
Recommendation #4: Revitalize our music ministry with particular emphasis on the chancel choir. This may involve hiring a full-time director of the music ministry.
Our music ministry was challenged greatly by the pandemic since singing was shown to be a high risk activity for spreading the Covid-19 virus. Both our survey and personal communication expressed a sense of loss over the absence of the chancel choir in particular.
Scripture: “Praise the Lord with the blast of the horn! Praise God with the lute and lyre! Praise God with the strings and pipes! Praise God with loud cymbals! Let everything that has breath, praise the Lord!” Psalm 150: 3-6
Ephesians 5:19: “. . . speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs of the spirit. Sing and make music from your hearts to the Lord.”
Recommendation #5: Ensure that our live-streaming gear is adequate to the task and that our volunteers are well trained and supported.
Live-streaming is here to stay and affords our congregation the opportunity of engaging more people with our ministry of worship.
Scripture: “Therefore I tell you, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I’ve commanded you. Look, I myself will be with you every day until the end of this present age.” Matthew 28: 19-20
“Look! I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up; don’t you recognize it? I’m making a way in the desert, Paths in the wilderness.” Isaiah 43:19
Recommendation #6: Foster an atmosphere of friendliness by all to all.
There is a generally accurate perception of our congregation as being older, better educated, more affluent, and whiter than the broader community. This results in some people feeling that they don’t fit in, in spite of our profession that “all are welcome.” The challenge we face is how to diversify our profile and overcome people’s perceptions – and experience — of our congregation as “unwelcoming.”
Scripture: “I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other.” John 13: 34-35
“But you have dishonored the poor. Don’t the wealthy make life difficult for you? Aren’t they the ones who drag you into court? Aren’t they the ones who insult the good name spoken over you at your baptism? You do well when you really fulfill the royal law found in scripture,`Love your neighbor as yourself.’” James 2: 2-6
Recommendation #7: Become more inclusive, racially sensitive, and environmentally active in our messaging and practice.
Our denomination, the PCUSA, is theologically progressive on some of the more pressing social issues of our day, e.g. racial equality, inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, and care for God’s creation. Generally, our congregation could be more out front and forthcoming in embracing our denomination’s Jesus-focused, progressive theology. AWIF discussed a “FPC is the home of __________” campaign. For example, “FPC is the home of inclusion.”
Scripture: “Therefore, if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort in love, any sharing in the Spirit, any sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being united, and agreeing with each other. Do not do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others.” Philippians 2:1-4
“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too.” Psalm 24:1
Recommendation #8: Make socially interactive ministries, e.g. small groups and service project groups, a high priority – where people can make and nurture friendships.
“Connection” was a word that came up time and again over the course of the pandemic and in our assessment of the congregation. People want and need relationships with one another, church leaders, and pastoral staff. People need to be seen and heard and loved and feel they are loved. There are real limits to what can be achieved through electronic media.
Scripture: “The community of believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community and fellowship, to their shared meals, and to their prayers.” Acts 2: 42
Recommendation #9: Reach out to other congregations in and around Winchester and in Shenandoah Presbytery to share experiences and “best practices” for moving into a post-pandemic era.
Different religious communities have had different experiences in dealing with the pandemic-necessitated restrictions on gathering. We all stand to learn from others’ experiences as we consider how we can best serve as the Body of Christ in this place.
Scripture: “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.” Ecclesiastes 4: 9-11
Recommendation #10: Discern new ways to engage our congregation in spiritual formation and work towards revitalizing Christian education.
Our Sunday school attendance and participation have been in decline even before the pandemic. Perhaps spiritual formation should happen beyond Sunday mornings before or after worship. Spiritual formation might look like weeknight small groups, Pub theology, or other chances for groups to connect and grow in their faith. We encourage leadership to be creative and continue to think outside of the box when it comes to spiritual formation.
Scripture: “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” Proverbs 18:15
