wfn.org | PC(USA) parley packed a punch for leaders of small parishes

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Note #7131 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

18-April-2002
02149

"Powerhouses of prayer"

PC(USA) parley packed a punch for leaders of small parishes 
 
by Evan Silverstein

AUSTN, TX - For the Rev. John Deal, a pilgrimage to the Fourth Small Church Celebration of the Presbyterian Church (USA) was more than a chance to renew his commitment to the small congregations he pastors in rural western Illinois. 

The four-day event, which wrapped up on April 16, allowed Deal to see first-hand that he's not alone in his ministry to these small "powerhouses of prayer" - that he's not the only shepherd whose church calendar changes to accommodate the seasons for planting and harvesting.

What he got from the gathering is "a sense of affirmation that what I'm doing, what we are doing as a parish, is OK," said Deal, the pastor of Stronghurst Presbyterian Church and U.P. Community Presbyterian Church in Great Rivers Presbytery. 

"I've heard some wonderful stories since I've been here," he said. "It makes me very proud to be  a Presbyterian, and very proud to be a Presbyterian pastor of a small church. I don't feel alone."

Deal traveled more than a thousand miles from Stronghurst, IL, near the Iowa border, to the Texas conference, joining about 210 other small-church clergy and other officers in celebrating the vital role that the PC(USA)'s more than 800 small congregations play in the rural and urban communities they serve. 

"I see us as the fiber of the church," Deal said. "We haven't created a sense of community - we are a community. We're a community of faith that supports, as best as possible, what's happening in the national church."

Small congregations are those with average attendance at Sunday worship of 100 or fewer. Two-thirds of PC(USA) congregations qualify for the designation.

The theme of the soon-to-be-annual conference, hosted by the denomination's Small Church Network Team of Evangelism and Church Development, was God's Living Water. The gathering was intended to enable participants to explore models of worship, education, mission and evangelism that make smaller churches such a vital part of the PC(USA).

"We're here to ... be aware that, no matter the size, you're important and have something important to offer the community that would be missing if you were not there," said the Rev. Mary Currie, pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church, of La Porte, TX. "That's what gives the church hope and strength as it goes about fulfilling its faith."

The small-church ministers, more than half of them from rural areas, were joined for the parley by commissioned lay leaders and small-church elders. 

They all exchanged ideas and experiences, attended workshops, listened to expert panels and joined in spirited worship services.

The participants were agreed that committed, energetic leaders - including tent-making pastors, elders and other lay leaders - are essential if small churches are to continue serving their communities effectively. That was one of the principal emphases of the Small Church Conference, the first such get-together in the denomination since 1999.

Edna Anglin, whose church recently received a new pastor, agreed that leadership is crucial.

"Right now, the most important (thing) is that we have an interim minister," said Anglin, an elder at 50-member Memorial Presbyterian Church, in San Marcos, TX. "We haven't had a full-time minister in a number of years. She's  guiding us through the different steps of what we need to do to thrive."

The Rev. Jack Rogers, the moderator of the 213th General Assembly, said during the program: "In the Presbyterian Church we believe that everybody is a minister, and the small church probably is more successful - at least they can be - in involving everyone in the life and ministry of the church."

Participants in the conference journeyed to the Texas capital from such blips on the map as Fremont, OH, and Conway Spring, KS. There were people from Maine and Minnesota, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, even Canada. Small churches in the PC(USA), more than 8,000 in number, are in both rural and urban areas. 

The Rev. Barry Robinson said his small church in Stewartsville, MO, Presbyterian Christian, has benefited from teaming up with other nearby congregations, including some in other denominations. 

Robinson's is a federated church of Presbyterians and Disciples of Christ that also welcomes members of four other congregations, ranging from Baptist to Methodist. Together the member churches sponsor a vacation Bible school as well as a food pantry and a program that gives used clothing to the needy.

"There's some things we can do together that we can't do separately," said Robinson, whose church averages 35 worshipers on Sunday. "Like that vacation church school: We haven't enough within one congregation to do it, but working together we can pool leadership and resources, dollars and cents, and do it together."

The Small Church Celebration had a South of the Border flavor, with a taco dinner and a mariachi band playing traditional Mexican music. It also featured a visit to Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a co-host of the gathering. Conference tote bags displayed a new Small Church logo, depicting the healthy small church. The small-church leaders browsed a resources area, filling their bags with useful items to take home.

"I'm thrilled with worship, and I think the workshops we've offered so far have been well-received and helpful," said the Rev. Dale Jackson, associate for Small Church Development in the Evangelism and Church Development program area. "The conference offers a good base of knowledge, as well as a good exchange of information and ideas."

He said the Small Church Celebration will become an annual event starting in June 2003 when it will be held in Salt Lake City, UT.

"We want to make it more regional," he added, "so more people can attend."

Deal and others described the conference as a gift from the PC(USA) that reflected the values of smaller congregations - connectedness, acceptance and belonging.

"I hope the church continues this (conference)," said Deal, who hadn't heard Jackson's announcement that it will be held every year. "Because we're not only a blessing to each other, this has been the national church's Mitzvah (good deed) to all of us - to stop and listen."
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