Small churches, big changes
Recent social and political upheavals compounded with COVID-19 accommodations are accelerating big changes in small churches across the county.
One traditional Lutheran church in Millersville has made a bold choice for the future by hiring a forward-thinking young pastor from Arizona. Ordained at the University of California, Berkeley Consortium of Seminaries, practiced in campus ministries inclusive of LGBTQIA students, and fully equipped to handle the technological and creative demands the 113-year- old church is weathering, the Rev. Breonna Roberts was installed at Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church on June 13.
“As a person formerly in campus ministry, I was on that weird margin of people who are really hesitant about church, and that’s where I learned a lot about the demographic the church loves to miss —18-to-25-year- olds. Where are they?” asked Roberts, sitting behind a conspicuous jar of colorful lollipops on the opposite side of the coffee table. “They’re out there living their lives, and they care deeply about their spirituality but they often don’t find that a church is a place to live that out.
“Every church cannot be everything to everybody,” said the pastor, looking cheerful in her clerical collar and trademark pink hair. “It’s OK if a church is full of people with a faith from a time before, but how do we do faith and spirituality to young people and reach beyond that demographic? People find Jesus in lots of ways, and for a long time the church assumed it was the only source.
“The world has changed,” she continued in her classic pastor’s lair on Jumpers Hole Road, surrounded by books and pictures of the faith. “All religions in the U.S. are facing decline. Scandals, coverups, sexual assaults, the church’s role in colonialism, there’s been a mishandling of things over and over again.
“I can understand why people get frustrated with church. Even culturally, people calling themselves Christians on Facebook make nasty comments, and that’s not going to encourage anyone to say ‘Let’s go, sign me up!’ “
The pastor tilted her head thoughtfully. “Now, people are choosing communities they feel they belong to and can get meaning from. Labels matter in that they can help you decide if this denomination is affirming these things, or that denomination is not, so it helps people make decisions,” she said.
“The pandemic has shown us a lot about how we can think about church in new ways. I’m not saying the pandemic was good, but a lot of good came out of it. My theology is, ‘crap happens,’ “Roberts said laughing. Then her voice softened. “God doesn’t make the bad things happen, but out of the bad things like death and destruction, that’s how God brings new life. It’s the kick in the pants we needed, and I love that it’s happened.
“We livestream every week now” she said, pointing to her laptop. “I don’t think it makes sense for any church to give that up because you don’t have to show up in person. You can show up online. We don’t know how that’s going to shake out yet. How do we count the people who may never come into the building? How do we quantify membership? What’s Christmas going to look like?” she pondered. “I don’t know. We’re not there yet. Tonight for instance, I’m participating in a progressive Christian discussion on Twitter, and it’s a little collection of people. Does that count as a congregation?
“A lot of pastors — POOF!” Roberts waves her hands in the air, “had to become graphic designers and production assistants. It’s terri-citing, terrifying and exciting at the same time to be a pastor OR a church right now,” she explained. “We’re going somewhere else!
“The church is the body of Christ, it’s a living thing” she continued. “Living things are born and grow and die, then are reborn. Every 500 years the church has a fire sale. I’m not sure who said that,” she rolled her eyes around the room, looking for an answer. “The last one was the Reformation. Now we have to decide, are we going to worship a tradition, or will we have a living tradition that will carry us into the future? Not to say we cast off everything, but how do we make plans and be discerning about what’s to come? What are the treasures we will find in belonging to this community?
“The Kingdom of God for me,” said Pastor Bre (pronounced Bree). “And what I feel and preach is, churches that know their purpose as places of mercy and refuge NOW.
“It’s not about coming to this place so that you’ll be safe from the scary thing that might happen at the end of your life,” Roberts said enthusiastically. “Come here because right now, you can experience the Kingdom of God in a pew sitting next to ‘Priscilla,’ because that’s what the Kingdom of God is like. You get to be in a community that loves you and sees you. You don’t have to wait for that.”