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ELCA church closings

The Power of Negative Thinking

Label a problem “impossible” and you have an excuse for failure.

This temptation faces today’s Church. In many cases, Church leaders have given up on the Church!

“Neighborhood ministry can’t be supported.” Just declare it! That makes it true.

What happens then?

We stop trying. After all, we have given ourselves permission to fail.

The first to be defeated are the clergy. They throw up their hands and devise ways to make it look like they tried. Assign a caretaker pastor here, an interim pastor there, and pray. Christians support one another in failing ministries. Just look at the statistics.

The laity can only wonder what is discussed at ministerium gatherings of “caretaker” pastors whose assignments are to slowly and quietly bring ministry to a close. It must be deflating. Any pastor who walks in with a new idea is likely to have the conversation quickly changed. The idea is to fail as gracefully as possible.

How can you rebuild self-esteem in a Church where these conditions prevail? Hold grand worship services celebrating Church closures (failures).

Lay people who have more invested in their neighborhood ministries keep working, often under the leadership of defeated pastors, who are called with the tacit understanding that they are to keep things going as long as the money can flow.

Lay leadership is puzzled at the attitudes they encounter, but they soldier on, trying to avoid the conflict brewing from exasperation and a conflict in mission that is never defined — so it can’t be handled.

A  defeated attitude spreads like a bad rash. It chafes at the message that is preached from our pulpits. We worship a God of the possible. The Bible is filled cover to cover with accounts of insurmountable obstacles overcome. Some problems are fought with patience, some with trust, and a few with power. The deeper you go in the New Testament, the more faith is relied upon, and thank God for the Book of James, who reminds us that it might take some work.

The Church faces problems today that can be overcome but not if we must first meet all the standards of yesterday’s church. It is time to clear the slate and approach our congregations openly and with the knowledge that with God, all things are possible. If we do not believe that, why bother?

Walk in the shoes of the laity. Would you support a church with no momentum? Would you join a Church that doesn’t believe in its ability to succeed? Would you subscribe to a faith that doesn’t believe its own message?

photo credit: morberg via photopin cc
12 Apr 2012

Closing Churches Creates Pariah Parishes

The announcement of church closings is a common scenario in the Roman Catholic Church. Roman Catholic church structure places property ownership in the hands of the bishop.

Not so for Lutherans. Yet in recent years, Lutheran “bishops” are assuming the powers of the Roman Catholic “bishops” and declaring churches closed without the participation of the congregations. As resistance builds, the process becomes uglier and more heavy-handed.

The true measure of a denomination's strength may be how it treats its smallest congregations. Declaring churches closed is asking for trouble. Churches with any life must resist if they are to act on their faith and beliefs — which is what religion is all about.

Once lines are drawn, parishes that resist become pariahs. Gossip starts. No one wants to be involved.

How does a denomination guarantee that determinations of viability are about the parish and not about the denomination?

More congregations will face the mysterious “viability” test. They may not even realize they are being tested.

The signs that this may be happening are

  • no cooperation from the denomination in finding pastoral help
  • pastors sent as caretakers who do nothing to grow the congregation
  • failure to communicate with the congregations (letters unanswered, phone calls not returned)
  • in general, the absence of the denomination until . . . .

Once a congregation is labeled “not viable” word spreads. There is little a congregation can do to change minds. Pastors will disappear and the congregation will find themselves limited to working with lay talents and retired pastors whose careers can no longer be influenced by the denomination.

Any measure of a congregation’s strength made by a denomination, itself in fiscal crisis, must be questioned.

Redeemer is notorious at this point.

One clergy member commented that closing Redeemer doesn’t matter. “There are plenty of churches in that neighborhood.” There were plenty of churches. The Congregational Church on Midvale closed and the building is now the office of a Lutheran Social Service agency. The Methodist Church closed. The Baptist Church closed. The members of St. James the Less were evicted by the diocese. St. Bridget’s is endangered.

The Presbyterian Church faced challenges but has managed to revive their ministry with the support of their denomination. The Episcopal Church, located on a remote street, was assisted by SEPA Synod in creating a ministry plan. Yes, the same synod that determined their own ministry in the heart of East Falls was not viable was assisting the Episcopalian congregation on the fringe of the neighborhood.

At the time Synod declared “synodical administration” on Redeemer, it was the fastest growing church in East Falls.

Decisions are being made about neighborhood ministries by people who know nothing about the neighborhoods.

Money is the issue in East Falls. Redeemer was a small congregation with cash. When Bishop Almquist targeted Redeemer in 1998, we had received a $300,000 endowment a few years prior. We resisted his action successfully, but we became a pariah parish.

In 2007, after nearly a decade of Synod neglect. we still had operating funds and a rented property. The congregation was active and growing. Synod was operating on a recurring six-figure deficit budget. With giving down, the only way out was to look for congregations to close.

Five years after being declared not viable, and more than two years after being physically locked out of their house of worship, Redeemer still meets weekly for worship. Redeemer still develops mission projects which are gaining national interest, if not interest from the denomination. Redeemer remains viable. Imagine what might have been done with the support and respect of church leaders.

One might think that mission and scripture play a role. Love, helping the needy, reconciliation, forgiveness, sacrifice . . . just words when denominations attack their congregations.

Synods must solve their own fiscal problems . . and not on the backs of its small neighborhood churches. The true measure of a denomination’s strength may be how it treats its smallest congregations.  

SEPA member churches, find a voice . . . or you may be next.

13 Jan 2012

Hierarchies and Neighborhood Ministries

A basic message of the Bible is “love one another.” It’s so simple. Why is it so hard, even for the people who are supposed to be experts?

The East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia may have an unusually strong experience with church hierarchies and how they can ignore their own teachings.

East Falls is a working class neighborhood that has enjoyed a strong quality of life even through decades of urban turmoil. Its well-kept properties have become valuable. Others covet what East Falls has.

  • The local Episcocal Diocese moved in on St. James the Less a decade ago in a dispute with a bishop.
  • In 2008. the bishop of the local synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America decided she knew what was best for Christians in East Falls.
  • Now the archbishop of the Roman Catholic Church has decided that the best economical decision for the faithful of East Falls is for them to send their children to school in another neighborhood.

These are management decisions and are made with hierarchical interests in mind — not neighborhood interests.

When parishes lose their schools, they lose their lifeblood. The schools create a hub of activity in the community. They train the faithful. They create passion and loyalty. They foster love, faith and mission. Similarly, when neighborhoods lose their churches, they lose a strong source of hands-on leadership and labor, working with the interests of the community in mind.

If non-members of neighborhood churches think these decisions made by outsiders don’t affect them, they are wrong. People move to neighborhoods because of schools. People remain in neighborhoods because of church community. The economic value of church can be measured and it is impressive.

In both Catholic and Episcopal traditions, property is owned by the diocese. The Lutheran tradition is that property and its management belong to the people. Lutherans reference the practice of the more hierarchical churches in court as if they are part of their own governance. They are not — but the courts don’t want to sort this out.

Land and asset grabs by church hierarchies are making regular news. The economy tanked. Offerings dropped. Hierarchies must find new sources of revenues. Developing programs and ministries that create revenue are a lot of work. Those nice, paid-for properties in desirable neighborhoods like East Falls become awfully attractive. It becomes so easy to set aside the 10 Commandments. 8, 9, and 10 go out the window right away and some of the earlier commandments are hurt in the process.

Debt-free churches are the most-attractive.

The Redeemer situation is prime. This congregation was experiencing exciting growth despite the fact that the “hierarchy” had not supplied it with pastoral services in years. We had a healthy endowment and solid plan for the use of our property.

But synod practiced an intentional policy of neglect which made considerable efforts of the lay workers futile. Do not waste time and resources on small churches that may die in ten years. This is the published philosophy of Bishop Claire Burkat.

Ten years! That’s more than enough time for dedicated people to turn things around if you try. There are many churches of the same size and resources as Redeemer so she will be able to practice her philosophy of neglect again and again.

After locking East Falls out for more than two years, they are approaching the community for ideas on how to use the buildings that are vacant.

They are vacant because they made them vacant.

How would any organization feel if the community were invited to weigh in on how to use the resources that were seized by force without regard for the well-being of the people who provided the resources? The people of Redeemer can tell you. It feels like violation.

We suspect our Catholic neighbors are feeling the same way this weekend. We hope the community helps them fight.

08 Jan 2012

Can the ELCA Seize Church Property?

Someone typed this question into a search engine and found 2×2, so we will give you our answer.

If the ELCA follows it’s own rules, the ELCA cannot seize church property. The Articles of Incorporation which are the founding documents of the corporation and which outweigh any subsequent documents state clearly:

In the performance of its functions, this corporation (the Synod) shall not act as agent of or otherwise obligate the income or assets of the ELCA, any congregation of the ELCA, or any other synod of the ELCA without the express authorization of such entity.

This was a promise made to member congregations when they joined the ELCA in the late 1980s. A bishop, synod council or synod assembly has no power to undo the Articles of Incorporation with a vote to override it or by replacing it with a bylaw. The congregations are entitled, under Lutheran governance, to manage their own affairs and to vote on the use of their property and assets.

The model Synodical/ELCA constitution adheres to this.

†S7.01. This synod shall have a Synod Assembly, which shall be its highest legislative authority. The powers of the Synod Assembly are limited only by the provisions in the Articles of Incorporation, this constitution and bylaws, the assembly’s own resolutions, and the constitutions and bylaws of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

In 2×2’s experience, many church leaders, including bishops, are unaware of the Articles, which forbid the seizure of congregational property.

This has created enormous and costly problems within synods and between synods and their congregations. Synods have assumed the power to raid member churches for their assets — partly because other denominations with whom they are in “full communion” allow it. The coveting of member churches’ belongings has escalated with the decline in support. Hierarchies feel threatened. Their survival as they know it depends on finding funds.

With each unchallenged episode in Lutheran church seizures, every other Lutheran congregation is more endangered.

Secular courts do not want to be involved in church disputes and their hesitance — stating separation of church and state — gives synods immunity when violating their own governing laws.

An atmosphere of intimidation within the church serves to guarantee the powers they claim without constitutional authority will go unchallenged. (See Timeline and Post).

The Lutheran Church’s heritage practices congregational polity. Middle management, with a national office, are intended to serve congregations and facilitate services individual congregations cannot do alone — not manage them. Lutheran defining documents describe the relationships as “interdependent.”

The national church has side-stepped responsibility for the behaviors of bishops and the enforcement of constitutions. If it were a hierarchy, it is very bad at it. Its blind eye to actions of the second tier of power makes the second tier of power the first tier of power. Congregations have increasingly little say or redress. No wonder they are leaving in droves.

These issues should be handled internally, but the bodies given jurisdiction over congregational/synodical disputes (Synod Councils and Synod Assemblies) meet rarely, display a   bias toward synod leadership and do not allot sufficient time or fair procedures for hearings of disputes.

This is a serious failing in ELCA governance.  Predecessor bodies provided an ombudsmen committee to hear disputes — not a bad idea. Without a fair forum for grievances the church is nothing but a “go along to get along body” and cannot be an advocate for justice and peace.

So the answer to this question is: Synods are not allowed under their own rules to seize church property but they are able to get away with doing so because courts and member Lutherans are failing to insist they follow their own rules.

The tradition of Lutheran congregational polity is in danger.

Already, many congregations have had their communities plundered. More are likely to follow. It will be painful, costly and ugly — the Church at its worst.

Good leadership would address this now — before more people are hurt. 2×2 is betting that won’t happen!

05 Jan 2012