Getting creative
Brewster, N.Y., with gratitude and delight, right down to the new deficit the church was facing. She wasn’t surprised to learn of the budget problems shortly after arriving. “I would’ve been more sur- prised if we weren’t facing a deficit,” she said. “That’s the reality of the church right now.” Boyd is right—that is the reality for more than half of the ELCA’s roughly 10,000 congregations. Many have 80 or fewer worshipers per week, budgets of less than $100,000, or more imminent financial issues, said Ruben Duran, ELCA program director for new congregations. He describes these congregations as operating in “maintenance mode,” either barely making it or facing an
J
ennifer Dyer Boyd enthusiasti- cally embraced her new call as pastor of Trinity Lutheran in
Irma Gonzalez, 83, stuffs gorditas at the Kermés festival hosted by Cristo Rey, where Rose Mary Sanchez-Guzman is pastor. This year, the church did not have money and members are strug- gling more than other years, Sanchez- Guzman said, so instead of hosting the usual free barbecue for the community following their anniversary service, they combined the service with the Kermés to raise money for the church.
Tough times call for clever measures & ministry By Wendy Healy
uncertain future. Other churches are in serious decline and may close in the next few years, he said. The increased expenses of main- taining and operating old buildings and paying a pastor’s salary and ben- efits in the wake of dwindling stew- ardship are causing congregations to rethink how they operate. Some are developing creative solutions, while others aren’t sure what to do and pray for a miracle.
Stories of budget deficits resonate with churches across the country, whether a congregation is large or small, has a novice pastor or a veteran, or is an urban or suburban ministry.
One pastor, two churches Andy Wendle, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran, Hood River, Ore., knew sustaining a congrega-
Healy is the former director of communications for Lutheran Disaster Response of New York and for the Metropolitan New York Synod. She is the author of Life is Too Short: Stories of Transformation and Renewal After 9/11 and is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Brewster, N.Y.
tion with fewer than 100 worshipers wasn’t going to be possible without creative solutions. So Our Redeemer partnered with Asbury United Meth- odist Church several miles away, which had a temporary pastor and little funding for a full-time position. Wendle serves both churches in a
joint ministry covenant. Paid by both congregations, he leads a Sunday Lutheran service at 9 a.m. and Meth- odist worship at 11 a.m. Having one pastor serve two congregations is a popular solution to budget woes, Duran said. Also popular are having a part-time pas- tor, merging with another parish or asking members to give more. While well meaning, such responses won’t give a church new life. “All those aspects, if they’re not accompanied by a vision and mission—and aren’t reconnecting to the community—
For a study guide, see page 28. November 2011 23
CHRIST CHAVEZ
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