SENIOR MINISTER'S ANNUAL REPORT 2021
What a year it has been! Who would have predicted that our “Post-Pandemic Church” project would be put off indefinitely in 2021 because the pandemic is still preventing us from gathering regularly even in 2022? This was always a possibility, of course, but not one that many of us wanted to consider.
In light of our experience, I have shifted my thinking from creating a “Post-Pandemic Church” to creating a “Resilient Church” that can survive and thrive even if the pandemic continues to hamper our efforts to gather physically in the next few years.
Forgive me for submitting a slightly longer Senior Minister’s Report than might be absolutely necessary. I am deeply aware that our Annual Reports become part of FCUCC’s historical record and that what I am proposing to you below may be read by future generations who may be researching our history, wondering either what led to revival and turnaround at this time, or what sped up the church’s decline. If this proposal has anything to do with either, I want them to have some context that may be obvious to you, but not so to them.
I have told you before that I started at FCUCC in December, 2020, with a strong intuition that: (1) my ministry in Portland would be the most satisfying one of my career, even as I have enjoyed each of my ministries tremendously; (2) a key part of what would make this ministry so satisfying would be an idea that came not from me, but from YOU.
This original intuition is part of what motivated me to hold one-on-one conversations with anyone in the congregation who would give me the time in the first few months of my ministry. Thank you, sincerely, to the 150+ of you who made the time! As a result, I quickly fell in love with the congregation, as it is filled with interesting and inspiring people.
I distilled these conversations into three possible action plans that might best draw together the congregation’s already-existing interests and energies. These ideas were vetted by six different focus groups to ensure that they were a true fit for our congregation. For the record, you rejected each of them. But you offered valuable feedback, too. Your feedback led to the formulation of a fourth proposal – one that drew from the best of the other three even as it addressed the perceived shortcomings of the other three.
The congregation voted on this official, “Post-Pandemic Church” proposal last June by a whopping 97% margin! However, the ongoing pandemic prevented us from experiencing much of it and prevented the general public from participating. We pulled the project when it was clear that it was not an appropriate project to implement during an ongoing pandemic. Many people also provided the helpful feedback that, while the model might work well as an additional weekly offering, it would not work as a replacement of our more familiar style of weekly worship.
We now move into 2022 with a 0 for 4 success rate in terms of building a model that is capable of growing the church in spirit and numbers while retaining its long-time members.
Under normal, non-pandemic conditions, I would not think twice about our lack of success. Most plans that are truly revolutionary take a lot more than four attempts to fully develop and implement. You usually have to fail a number of times in order to succeed even once. However, the longer the pandemic continues, and the older the congregation gets, we will experience increasingly high obstacles to our long-term viability as a church.
Part of the reason you invited me to serve FCUCC is because I have helped each of my prior congregations move from a state of crisis and decline to a state of well-being and growth. I mention this because I am hoping you will read the following observations and recommendation carefully and not too easily dismiss them.
Observations:
(1) The congregation has grown significantly livelier this past year and is, quite frankly, a lot more fun to serve than when I first arrived. However, circumstances beyond our direct control have made it harder for the church to turn around and grow now than it was a year ago. Such factors include the ongoing pandemic, continued political, cultural, and racial division, and continued steep decline in the numbers of people looking for churches.
(2) The upshot is that FCUCC is in a classic state of decline that most congregations never emerge from.
(3) I still very much believe that we can beat this decline, but the clock is ticking. The further down the curve we go, the more dramatic the action must be to pull us out and away. My best estimate is that, without some dramatic, positive change, we have just 5 years before we will have to formulate a strategy for liquidating our assets and ceasing to be a church in downtown Portland.
(4) While these observations may be a bit chilling, bear in mind that Christianity’s core modus operandi is death-and-resurrection. So, even if we don’t recover, there is still hope. A glorious death can lead to an even more glorious resurrection. But if you ask me, dying should be our very last resort. Even Jesus did not run to the Cross. He was dragged there!
(5) Given that many of you have worked extremely hard – and faithfully – for this church for a great many years, giving tirelessly of your heart, mind, body, and spirit, I am afraid you will take my observations as an expression of disappointment or even condemnation. Please know that this could not be further from the truth. The main problem is NOT that this church is devoid of faithful, compassionate, caring – and even inspiring – members. Some of the most brilliant lights I’ve met in my 26-year ministry are members of FCUCC. No, the problem is not you. The problem is that there aren’t enough of you.
And all of us are aging. Who was it who once said, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak”? This statement could sum up most everyone’s experience of aging. We don’t automatically become less willing to follow the Spirit when we age, but we do tend have less energy to do that which we used to do when following the Spirit.
(6) If we are to survive as a vital congregation of Jesus Christ well into the future, we must act with peculiar boldness, and more swiftly than many of us will feel comfortable doing, or even have the ability to do even if we want to.
(7) According to the information given at our 1/16 Budget Meeting, FCUCC enjoys the benefit of approximately $1.5M in reserves and other financial assets. This is in addition to the $677k of rental, lease, and other income we receive each year that fills in the gap between congregational giving and the actual cost of running a church like ours. Most congregations of our size do not have even a fraction of financial resources – and financial security – that we take for granted.
Most of our financial reserves have been carefully cultivated and set aside for a “rainy day” in the far-off future. Friends, currently it is not just raining. We are experiencing a deluge.
Money alone will never be enough to pull us out of what must be acknowledged is our present death-spiral. However, money coupled with vision and commitment most certainly can. Wouldn’t it be sad if our church failed to survive not for lack of spirit, but because we held onto substantial resources beyond the point when they could have helped us?
On the basis of these observations, and by unanimous vote of the Church Council:
The Council and I invite you to attend a Congregational Meeting on March 13th as to discuss and decide whether or not to commit up to $1M of our $1.5M of reserves and other financial assets over the next 5 years to funding missions and ministries yet-to-be proposed by congregation members. Specifically, the missions and ministries we will be looking to fund are those that (1) serve the God of Jesus through serving others – especially those who are hurting spiritually or physically; and (2) grow the community of Jesus known as First Congregational United Church of Christ in spirit and fellowship.
We will provide several opportunities to discuss this commitment and its implications in depth in the coming weeks. In short, this would give us up to $200k per year, for five years, to fund member-driven (and approved) missions and ministries that hold the greatest promise of ensuring that FCUCC will serve as beacon of light and hope in Portland for the next 170 years.
Do you feel a strong sense of Call to lend your time, talent, and treasure to a particular mission or ministry? Create a proposal! And create a budget of anywhere from $1k to 200k.
At least this is what you should do if we decide, on March 13th, to commit the funds and start seeking proposals.
Why March 13th rather than, say, November 13th, which would give us a lot more time to study and deliberate? I’m proposing March 13th – just 6 weeks after our Annual Meeting – because this should not be a tough decision. We are not approving grant proposals on the 13th. All we are deciding is whether or not we are willing to make a substantial, multi-year commitment to ensure the long-term viability of our church.
The hard part will be what follows: creating proposals and the guidelines and rules for submitting them; creating guidelines and rules for implementing proposals; creating opportunities for congregational study and prayer concerning the proposals that are submitted; creating systems for evaluating their strengths and weaknesses; and evaluating the performance of approved projects. We will also need to establish what the “prudent reserve” level is on our financial assets so that we do not draw down money that leaves us unnecessarily vulnerable to unforeseen circumstances.
So let’s not get bogged down in details at the moment. Just consider the following question: If you had up to $200k to fund a proposal, and people to help you implement it, what would you propose?
Respectfully submitted,
Eric Elnes