Pastoral Message: “Thoughts on the Future of Faith-La Fe” Week of the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost June 28, 2023
Pastoral Message:
“Thoughts on the Future of Faith-La Fe”
Week of the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
June 28, 2023
Dear People of God at Faith-La Fe!
The comparative leisure of summertime gives us an opportunity to step back and reflect on the bigger picture of things, to see the forest for the trees, as it were. In the busier times of the year in our life together, it’s more challenging to claim a wider view of things. Thus, in coming pastoral messages, I am drawn to addressing a basic, overarching question: given current trends in religious practice in our society, what are the realistic chances of Faith-La Fe growing and thriving now and in the coming years?
We all know that Faith-La Fe has seen a decline in membership and participation in recent decades. Such decline has been a reality for most ELCA congregations, so we’re not alone in this. And membership declines are affecting most Christian churches along with communities of other faith traditions as well. When I began public ministry three decades ago, the ELCA had a national baptized membership of over five million people. Now the ELCA claims just over three million members, something like a 40% loss of members in some thirty years. Hundreds of ELCA congregations have closed in recent decades. Projecting these trends into the future provoked a Luther Seminary scholar, Dwight Zscheile, to write a piece a couple of years ago entitled: “Will the ELCA Be Gone in 30 Years?” Here’s a link to this article if you want to read this for yourself:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KFxFq1qfkfdRSYG-z3nhIudHwony-88T/view
The reflections that follow below draw from or are inspired by another Zscheile article, “From the Age of Association to Authenticity: What the End of the Age of Association Means for the Church.” Here’s the link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/18NXsAogmpBnCfHGpiTn2qypRkaXfRgqc/view
Membership declines are ultimately not just the “fault” of local congregations and their “failures.” Rather, much of the decline reflects larger and wider societal trends that make membership growth quite an uphill battle these days. And it’s not that Christianity is going away. Membership declines have more to do with how Christian churches have been organized and how these patterns conflict with the macro-level trends we see in society. So, let’s get some historical perspective on how churches have been organized over the centuries.
For much of Christian history internationally, local congregations were established by diocesan bishops as parishes, that is, sites for Christian worship and mission in particular geographic areas – villages, neighborhoods of larger cities, and so on. Thus, Christians would go to their village or neighborhood church and that was that. And this was before the day of the plethora of Christian denominations available in the “religious marketplace.” It’s also true that in European contexts, the church was often an institution of the state such that citizenship and church membership were largely viewed as one and the same.
Such an arrangement of the local parish as an entity of the state was not easily transferrable to the United States with its practice of the separation of church and state, though many traditions, most notably, perhaps, the Roman Catholic Church, continued the practice of planting parishes according to local geography. What was strikingly different about the United States as a mission field is that churches in this country were established as voluntary associations in a manner similar to organizations like political parties and labor unions and other fraternal organizations such as the Masons, Rotary, various interest clubs, ethnic associations, Girls and Boys Scouts, and the like. These voluntary associations, which included churches, were organized in such a way as to emphasize membership, and loyalty and commitment to, and making sacrifices for the organization. And these associations were funded by voluntary donations or dues – unlike state churches in Europe which oftentimes were supported by taxes.
This voluntary association system worked brilliantly in the United States from its founding in the late 18th Century to recent times. Such a manner of organizing communal life arguably built our society as we know it and caused it to grow and to thrive. All of this worked well until the late 1960’s when commitments to such associations began to wane. The social upheaval and change of that era began to birth new approaches to social engagement. People came to distrust formal organizations and institutions and traditional lines of authority. In fact, we’ve seen in recent decades disengagement from traditional associations and organizations, including churches and other faith-based organizations. Hence the trend of membership losses. People are leaving the church. Older, committed members are getting older and dying. New people are not joining as members. You’ve heard that story time and time again.
People these days just don’t join organizations of any kind the way they used to. Rather, individuals trend toward loose affiliations with others, or they become loners, isolated from all manner of communal expressions and engagement. Ask almost any leader of voluntary associations – Lion’s Club, Kiwanis, Scouts, you name it – and they’ll lament about the need for new members. In our society, it’s a huge demographic trend and a battle which we cannot ultimately win.
Since the 1970’s, church membership declines have been gradual. But these days, the flood gates are more widely open and the losses are multiplying. The so-called “nones,” those with no religious affiliation, are the fastest growing demographic category in current society. The New York Times has been running an excellent series of late exploring why all of this is happening, and I commend that series to you: Google Jessica Grose, New York Times opinion series on why Americans are moving away from religion.
And then there are the effects of the global pandemic. One Barna Group survey in 2020 revealed that upwards of 30% of active church members did not engage in church activities at all (even online) during the pandemic, and many are not likely to return to church post-pandemic. We are only now beginning to understand the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on life in the church. In short, we are living into an unknown and challenging future as it pertains to what we have known as traditional church life, membership, and ways of organizing our life together.
There’s a lot more that can be said and lots of other variables we could explore – like the ways that organizations and institutions and authority figures have failed people in often tragic and abusive ways, the effects of television and now online realities in drawing people away from in-person communal engagement, the ways in which big box retailing has parallels in church life, where the megachurches, the Target’s and Walmart’s of the church world, thrive when the local mom-and-pop-shop churches, like Faith-La Fe, struggle to compete in a consumerist, corporatized religious marketplace. Suffice it to say, our efforts at drawing people to commit to church membership as we have known it make for an uphill battle. There is need and opportunity for new ways of being and doing church beyond what we’ve grown up with. The age of church as traditional voluntary association as we have known it is nearing its end. What is to emerge remains to be seen.
Today’s message lays out the challenges before us broadly speaking from a macro-level vantage point. In this message, I’ve done some reality therapy that has the effect of seeming like bad news. Next time, I will begin to explore some of the compelling opportunities for us in this challenging season of the church’s missionary engagement with the world. That will be the good news.
Trusting in Christ to lead us in the power of the Spirit into God’s promised future,
Pastor Jonathan Linman
Pastor’s Office Phone Number: 602-265-5860
Email: pastor@faithalive.com
Announcements
The Rev. Jan Flaaten Celebrates his 50th Anniversary of Ordination!
Fifty years ago on July 1, Jan Flaaten was ordained as a minister of Word and Sacrament. We’ll celebrate with him, honoring him with a brief prayer of thanksgiving and hearing remarks from him this coming Sunday, July 2 at the conclusion of our 9:00 am liturgy. Please join us in celebrating with Jan his distinguished career as a pastor in many and various settings over five decades.
Brief Break from Bible Study Next Week
There will be no Bible Study either in the morning or evening next Wednesday, July 5 as we take a bit of a break during the Independence Day holidays. The Bible Studies will resume on July 12.
Installation of New Council Members on July 9
Please note that newly elected Congregation Council members will be installed at both the 9:00 and 11:00 am services on Sunday, July 9.
Faith-La Fe Church Picnic Coming Soon
Save the date! Sunday, July 30 immediately following the 11:00 am service, there will be a Church Picnic! There will be games for the kids in the courtyard. John and Suzanne will grill an array of burgers, jumbo hot dogs and salmon patties The rest of the food will be pot luck and served in Parish Hall. Watch this space each week for more details.
Faith-La Fe Supports Heat Respite Ministry at Grace Church Downtown
The donations from Faith-La Fe to Grace Lutheran’s Heat Respite for our neighbors without homes have been VERY appreciatively received! It is one thing to do a one-time donation of clothing, hygiene items, and portable snacks for the people to take with them at the close of the day at Grace…the staff and volunteers at Grace are AMAZED that we have committed to the entire time of their Heat Respite open time in Hope Hall.
Here is a photo of Mark Bradford, Coordinator, flanked by 2 faithful volunteers with the 1st Sunday’s offering from the people at Faith-La Fe. Please continue to bring your donations through August 20. This week’s high temperatures are a further threat to the people without adequate nutrition, hydration, rest, and basic self-care supplies.
As a part of the Grand Canyon Synod Hunger Leaders Network, Chris Jacobson and Gail Turner are heading up efforts at Faith/La Fe to gather food and other items to support the Heat Respite Program at Grace Lutheran Church downtown Phoenix this Summer until August 20th.
Throughout the summer, there will be bins in the breeze way each week where worshipers may drop off their offerings of items for Grace’s guests experiencing homelessness, such as:
· bottled water, any size
· packaged snacks (“grab & go”)
· being aware that many people do not have teeth: individual cans or cups of fruits, puddings, potted meats are good for that reason
· small jars (or individual) peanut butter
Other items needed:
· Shoes for men and women
· Socks for men and women
· gently used clothing for men and women
· backpacks
· blankets
· tents, and collapsible umbrellas
· small personal hygiene items (travel size or bring from your hotel stays)
· tooth brushes & small tooth paste
Also, volunteer opportunities abound, call Grace at 602-258-3787 to learn more.
Thank you for your compassion and generosity!
Chris Jacobson and Gail Turner
Lutheran Books of Worship Available to You
Now that the green Lutheran Books of Worship have been replaced in our pews with the cranberry-colored Evangelical Lutheran Worship, copies of LBW are available to you to take home, especially for those whose family members are honored on memorial plates in the fronts of the books. Look for the LBW’s on tables in the library end of the parish hall. They will be organized alphabetically by last name so that you will have an easier time of identifying books you or your family might have donated to honor loved ones. So, we invite you to look through the books and take home those which memorialize your family. Once family members have had a chance to look through the books, remaining LBW’s will be available to anyone who wants a copy or more as a keepsake.
Invitation to Contribute to These Weekly Pastoral Messages
Please remember that our congregation newsletter is now published quarterly and has more of a wider community, outward-facing, evangelistic focus to herald special, seasonal events at Faith-La Fe. Which is to say, these weekly pastoral messages and their announcements effectively take the place of the more membership-focused concerns of our congregational life. Thus, if there are events and matters related to our life together that you wish to have included in these weekly messages and announcements, please let Pastor Linman know: pastor@faithalive.com. He is always looking for and welcomes new content.
Mark Your Calendars Now for Upcoming Special Worship Services
Further detail about the following special occasions for worship is forthcoming, but please note these special liturgies now in your calendars!
July 22 at 10:00 am + Mary Magdalene, Apostle, Morning Prayer
August 15 at 7:00 pm + Mary, Mother of Our Lord, Holy Communion
September 14 at 7:00 pm + Holy Cross Day, Evensong
November 1 at 7:00 pm + All Saints’ Day, Holy Communion
Upcoming Saturday Quiet Days at Faith-La Fe in 2023
Saturday, September 30 – on this day, close to the commemoration of St. Francis of Assisi, we will explore Franciscan Spirituality and what it might mean for Lutherans in ministry and mission in the 21st Century.
Saturday, October 28 – as we approach Reformation Sunday, this will be a day devoted to revealing key features of specifically Lutheran Spirituality, or Christian spirituality with Lutheran accents. We will discover that there’s a lot to draw from in our own tradition to take us ever more deeply into the spiritual life.
Saturday, November 18 – this day will be devoted to spending our time together in our beautiful nave doing “Stations of Our Stained Glass Windows,” a series of visual meditations on our stained-glass windows and the miracles and parables of Jesus they depict. We’ll explore in conversation the bible stories the windows are based on, and then look carefully at the windows to see features of the story which the stained-glass art highlights. Each station will feature a hymn before we move on to the next window.
Summer blockbusters, anyone?
View and discuss hopeful and encouraging films on climate with us!
ONLINE PROGRAMS FROM
Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center
THURSDAYS BEG. JUNE 8 @ 4:00P PDT
Dear Gail,
Because you registered for 40 Days of Caring for Creation and/or Earth Rising: Celebrations of Resurrected Hope with facilitator Sheri Brown, you might have an interest in continuing that climate journey.
Climate fatigue is real. We’re all worn out by the constant barrage of bad news. Climate anxiety is real. More than half of the population reports feeling somewhat-to-extremely anxious about global warming. Climate grief is real. Too many of us have turned that grief inward where it festers as despair.
Where are the voices of hope, of encouragement, of resilience?
They’re coming to you this summer! Following 12 weeks of her weekly series on climate awareness and education, Sheri invites you to join her in viewing hopeful, encouraging, and soul-strengthening films, followed by group discussion and mutual support. Because none of us can deal with climate fatigue, anxiety, and grief alone. Well, Sheri can’t. And you shouldn’t have to.
Movies we'll watch and discuss this summer:
· David Attenborough's A Life on Our Planet
· Kiss the Ground
· The Ants & the Grasshopper
· American Resilience Project's Current Revolution series
· The Letter: A Message for Our Earth
See trailers for each exciting film here. We'll watch together ~ you can turn off your camera, munching your popcorn and Milk Duds offscreen if you like, then join the group on-camera for the discussion. Join us for one film, or for the entire summer series. This'll be fun!
We know this is your jam. Will you join the Spirit community again this summer for an hour on Thursdays at 4:00 AZ (PDT) beginning June 8? Register here.
Click for upcoming events at Spirit.
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