Dear Editor,
How would the community react if they saw a “For Sale” sign in front of Barrhead United Church? At what point does the faithful handful, that has been keeping things running, admit defeat?
Last Sunday marked the Annual General Meeting of our congregation. I counted the attendance both at church and at the meeting: 30 families during worship and 26 stayed for the meeting. Of the 30 families at worship, 24 were retired and only six still in the workforce. That will give you an idea of our average age.
Last year we married five couples, baptized seven babies and buried 45 people. Of those 45, eight were regular supporters of our church. It’s no wonder we are known as the “hatched, matched and dispatched” church. While I am proud of our open door policy, unfortunately it also contributes to our financial distress. Casual attenders likely don’t realize that the church operates mainly by the contributions of its members. And if more members die then become regulars, well you know what that means.
We really do “want people in the pews to hear the good news” however at some point we need to have a serious conversation. This is not sustainable and our faithful core is burning out rapidly.
Let’s have those conversations. Perhaps our mandate is to carry on without bricks and mortar since “church” isn’t the building but the people who gather as a community of faith. Perhaps we would be wiser to put our contributions towards ministry in the community versus building maintainence, utilities and insurance. Perhaps it doesn’t make sense for us to “own” anymore and perhaps we should become a renter?
Since it is difficult to keep an accurate list of all who say they belong to Barrhead United Church, I am putting this out there. I encourage your conversations, your ideas and solutions and your gifts of time, talent and treasure. Sunday worship is 10 a.m. upstairs and family worship downstairs starts with a simple breakfast at 9:30 a.m.; hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Rita Lyster
See more about us at http://www.barrheadunitedchurch.org/home.html or find us on Facebook.
