Article by G. Jeffrey macdonald, the living church
With an aging congregation and facing costly building repairs, Holy Trinity Church in Southbridge, Massachusetts, tried twice in the past 15 years to reduce its clergy position from full time to part time. But only once did the effort lead to a renewed church.
The first attempt flopped because Holy Trinity did not think through what part-time ministry would involve, said former senior warden Tamsin Lucey. After nine months of searching in vain for a part-timer, parishioners ended up calling a full-timer. That decision would mean tapping endowment funds by $160,000 for the next eight years to cover the compensation package.
Holy Trinity learned from its experience. Before the Rev. Richard Signore came on board as part-time rector in 2014, he and the congregation adopted clear job descriptions detailing their respective responsibilities. Routine visitation would be the domain of the laity, as would Communion for the homebound. Because everyone knew what part-time ministry would mean, laypeople were confident to make the pastorate part-time and to lead new outreach at the same time.
“Sharing God’s word and doing God’s ministry looks different now,” Lucey said. “If it was going to be viable and sustainable, then it had to be mutual.”
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“The mental shift is crucial,” said the Rt. Rev. Dorsey McConnell, Bishop of Pittsburgh, where 76 percent of congregations have no full-time clergy. The shift involves “a reorientation away from the sanctuary being the main thing to mission in the world being the main thing.”
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