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Aligning Size, Relationships and Leadership in Your Parish

Fr. John Reeves, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, State College PA and former head of the OCA's Office of Church Growth & Evangelization, spoke to the 2014 Small Parish Forum about size transitions in parishes. His talk drew from his 35 years as an Orthodox priest and parish planter, family experiences with small Protestant churches in Texas, and published sociological theory on congregational size.

This session reminded us of similar, important insights we had gleaned in a collection of essays from various authors titled Size Transitions in Congregations. Parts of the following descriptions are from articles in that book as well notes from Fr. Reeves SPF presentation.

Parish Types

Fr. Reeves focused  primarily on the two "types" of congregations of relevance to small parishes - the Family Church and the Pastoral Church. Neither is better. Neither is right or wrong. The key point is that understanding the characteristic leadership and relationship styles in each can help parishes adjust and make the most of their situation.

The Family Church
The Family or "Patriarch/Matriarch" Church
The "Family Church" will normally have up to 50 members active and attending worship with some regularity. The church functions as a tight knit single cell family that interacts with one another regularly. Word of mouth is the typical communication vehicle.

Key qualities:

 

Short Stay/Part Time Pastors  

Often the community can afford only a part time clergyman, or clergy assignments are short, or assigned clergy lack experience and seasoning. As a result the family church has usually learned to survive by relying on its internal leadership. And, surviving is often what a family church does best. The clergy is often seen in a liturgical pastoral role only.

 

"Family Owned and Family Operated"  

Parishes of this type often possess the dynamics of a family that follows the lead and temperament of a few patriarchs and matriarchs.

 

Unifying Force 

The patriarchs/ matriarchs set the tone - consistently holding or rotating major roles. In times of communal strain they may serve --for good or bad - as a unifying force. Adversarial relationships between patriarchs and pastor are common.

 

Sanctioning 

While "gatekeepers" may serve to welcome new members, it is a Patriarch and/or Matriarch who sanctions a place in the family for a newcomer. Achieving acceptance beyond superficial for the newcomer can be a difficult task. Getting to the inner circle is even tougher.

 

Programs  

Programs are often non existent or limited to absolute essentials. 

 

Key Action  

Fr. Reeves and other authors recommend that a key action to invigorate the life of a family size parish is to find a niche to serve the local community in one five areas: 1) social service, 2) worship, 3) education, 4) evangelism, and 5) pastoral care.

As worship attendance increases to about 35 -50 the unbroken circle of members that hallmarks a single cell family church becomes stretched since members can no longer keep track of the 'many to many' relationships within the family. (Interesting social theory exists on this issue. See Dunbar number.) 

The Pastoral Church

In order to increase in size the "system" must allow itself to become a multi-celled organism, holding together overlapping networks of family and fellowship.

 

The "Pastoral Church", numbering between 50-150 active,  worship attending members, encompasses two to three cells of often intense relations. These cells tend to function as layers or circles which revolve around the pastor. 

Key qualities:

Pastor Centered 

The membership now looks first to the central leader for direction, inspiration, and pastoral care. This place of high honor for the  pastor provides dangers and opportunities at the same time.

 

Friendly but... 

Often the parish thinks of itself as a friendly group, but they may be friendly mainly to each other. Membership may be granted easily but true inclusion in the fellowship circle may prove difficult.

 

Organization

Parish organization is low-key and flexible, perhaps changing with each task. Organization is not a key issue in their life. The ability to delegate is often an unknown skill.

 

Stretched Thin
Since the parish lacks structure and the pastor is now the focal point, demands upon him can become oppressive. As growth takes place, the pastor's time and ability to serve each member directly becomes limited. Can Father develop the trust to enable others do things? To not attend every meeting? Teach every class? Must every item of communication be written by the priest?

 

Intimacy Challenged

Though the community has subdivided into multiple cells, people still feel as if everybody knows one another and this intimacy is highly prized. Most members have current info about each other and many interact regularly. As the community grows to 130-150 per Sunday morning, people get nervous -- wondering about faces they do not know - and - about parking spaces and some unknown person in their favorite pew.

Key Transition Obstacles
Knowing the attributes of your parish type - and those of types one size larger and smaller -- can be helpful. Understanding the obstacles to be faced when crossing boundaries between types can be even more critical. When approaching a boundary from above or below parishes face key decisions about what they want to look like and be like in the future and how to best adapt to a new reality.

A few thoughts: 
 
Family to Pastoral Obstacles
Factors most often affecting the family to pastoral transition are:
  • Patriarchs/matriarchs are often unwilling to accept losing influence. Can they pass leadership to the priest without a loss of face? 
  • The ability experience and skill of the priest in handling often negative reactions to his efforts to assist transitions in the established social order.
  • The reluctance of the parish to subdivide. Every event won't include everybody.
  • The financial feasibility of having a full time or at least expanded time priest.
Pastoral to "Program" Obstacles
Five factors tend to control pastoral size parishes from growing to the next level -often referred to as a "Program Church".
  • Clergy hold on a to a need be connected in depth with all active members.
  • Laity are unwilling to have personal spiritual needs met by other than the head pastor.
  • Coordinating and supporting needs to supplant direct ministry, yet leaders --clergy and laity - are unable to conceive (and fund) a meaningful parish structure that can effectively handle more persons. Does the pastor need administrative assistance? Is more staff required? Does the pastor need training in delegating tasks and management? Does the parish council need new skills, tasks and structure- - shifting gears from discussing bills/budgets/buildings to vision and policy? Are other forms of parish communication necessary? Is it still OK to borrow chairs for a family reunion? Can we assume the parish hall is available to anyone?
  • Laity, desiring to retain a sense of intimacy, resist a (logical) vision of either planting a new community (allowing growth while remaining small) or structuring to embrace additional people. How do parishioners express vision, build consensus and discuss the future? Is a brief annual meeting to elect officers and endorse a budget enough?
  • Facilities may become stretched.
Downsizing Obstacles
When parishes are heading in the other direction --getting smaller -- experts note a different set of obstacles:
  • Loss of self esteem. Not allowing the smaller size to seen as an embarrassment or a clear death knell. Accepting new normal of smaller size.
  • Learning to jettison activities we've always done but are no longer needed or for which a critical mass is unavailable.
  • Getting the most from those left. Discerning gifts.
  • Ignoring the changes in size. Burying the parish's collective head in the sand.
  • Starting to pick up on the advantages of the smaller size. Maybe the priest can now have regular conversations with more people. Attending every graduation party.
  • The church nave may need some reorganization to avoid looking empty. Remove a couple of pews. Move the choir downstairs