Nice young boy

I don’t know what you were doing in 1906, but somewhere nearby, Margaret Guay was born.  She grew into a parishioner here at Emmanuel for many years, and now she resides at a nearby nursing home where we worship every other week.  “Ruddy”, as she is known, turned 102 years old yesterday, and celebrated with cake.  Just having visited her this morning, I found her perhaps more coherent than ever.  “Nice young boy”, she called me.  Looking at my collar, she said “nice tie, it’s clean”.  Hat tip to Dot Bentley for reminding me of the big day!

Yesterday, I spent the morning and part of the afternoon with a priest from Leeds in England.  Her name is Daphne Green and she is spending part of her sabbatical looking at different models of congregational development.  We talked about some of the unique circumstances we face here in Cumberland, and in Rhode Island.  One question that was asked more than once was ‘why don’t some churches grow?’ or its cousin, ‘what are these churches doing instead of growing?’  The simple answer is that frankly, some churches don’t want to grow.  They’d rather keep doing what they’re doing, and hope that people will eventually wander in and stay.  However, the days of blinding going to church ended in the 1950’s, and they ain’t coming back.  Not with so much good tv to watch on Sunday mornings.  Not with work taking up 6.5 days of the week.  Not with sports schedules dictating family life.  So churches have to be proactive in getting people to attend. 

So what are these churches doing instead of growing?  They’re stifling new members’ ideas.  They’re complaining about how no one wants to join them.  They’re wishing they could get five more pledging units to help pay the bills, instead of wondering why growth is a critical part of the Gospel message.  See, I think there is something critically wrong with people who don’t see growth as a vital part of church life.  It’s simply counter to the Gospel.  The good news of Jesus is about spiritual growth, growing closer to God, becoming deeper in faith and prayer, etc.  But the good news of God is about corporate growth, spreading the nets, widening the circle, and enlarging the tent.  Think about it this way: if we worship in a fashion that befits the Gospel (y’know, actually being HAPPY, actually thinking that God has given us new life, and actually believing that it means something), people are going to be drawn to that.  They’re going to want some of it.  They may just want to be around it, because it’s so anti-everything they’ve ever known in a church.  And what will happen?  That church will grow.  It won’t be stopped, and it can’t be helped.  Hand in hand with new life in Christ is growth in numbers. 

Saddened to hear this morning that a good friend of mine was ‘turned down’ in the process to become a priest.  Because it’s quite obvious to me that the Episcopal Church doesn’t need any more good, qualified leaders at this time.  We’re all set.  Thanks, though.  (I am sledge-hammering this screen with all the sarcasm my angry little head can muster.)