When we visited four years ago, A depleted congregation wondered if it would be the last to occupy the grand, city-center basilica. Designed to seat 1500, scarcely 100 people scattered themselves around the sanctuary. In his sermon, the preacher cited demographic trends to explain the emptiness. Despite the excellent music, worship lacked spirit. The preacher seemed eager to enter retirement.
We returned to that church this past Sunday and found a transformed congregation. We knew something had changed from the moment a woman came up to greet us on our way down the aisle. A buzz filled the sanctuary as the pews began to fill.
Even though the new preacher noted how the day's attendance was lower due to summer vacations, three or four hundred people brought a new energy that was evident from the moment we entered. The light seemed brighter, the congregation more diversified, the coffee hour friendlier, the choir more vibrant, and the preacher alive to the moment.
Church growth specialists write books about turn-around stories like this. The list-makers would have a field day -- noting the things this church did to facilitate change: The search committee found a minister with gifts for communication. He has an ability to tell a story, to weave common experience into bibilical themes, and to share his personal warmth with people -- all while standing in the center of the chancel without notes. Professional musicians performed challenging and lively music. A hymn-sing replaced the formal prelude. Traditional service music like the Gloria Patri and Doxology were replaced with fresher selections. The Lord's Prayer was begun with "Our Mother, Our Father." Responsive readings were omitted, with the minister speaking the call to worship and other prayers. When the congregation sang a "Hallelujah," it did so with the whole congregation using sign language, as well as voice.
The coffee hour, held in the brightly-lit narthex, was a noisy affair with several people coming up to us and talking. A new church sign announced to the street that the church is alive and thriving.
The five-day continuing education class was wonderful, we learned a lot. Another layer of learning came from attending this worship service. We are charged with hope.
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The obvious question is and remains, how can these changes be tailored and administered at United, Holyoke? How can we progress in a similar manner? We have already implemented a few of these changes (a new pastor the foremost!): what else can be done to transform United into the vibrant city-center community church it should and ought to be? We discussed transforming the property adjacent the church into a community garden--well landscaped and with a traditional labyrinth for meditation...there is so much that could be done! The 'broken window' theories in sociology state that, if you fix the little things, the big things will follow. "Take housing projects with a high-crime problem. You can sink millions into increased police patrols and security cameras but if the projects still look dilapidated and dangerous, they'll stay dilapidated and dangerous. Instead...put thousands into fixing the windows, painting, cleaning...It may seem cosmetic but people will notice...[they will] take pride in where they live" (Jeffrey Deaver, "The Broken Window")
So, what 'broken windows' can WE fix to get people into--and remain at--United?
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