Presbytery Trends
During the latter part of last week the Executive and General Presbyters of New Jersey, New York and New England met for study, worship and fellowship. Meeting with us was Jill Hudson from the General Assembly staff. Jill works with middle governing bodies in the position last occupied by Gary Torrens. Jill served as Executive Presbyter in White Water Valley Presbytery before coming to her present post and is one of the Alban Institute’s Senior Consultants.
Jill said that as she has traveled around the church she has seen the following trends:
- Changing shapes of Presbyteries such as the Sierra Mission Partnership, which combines three presbyteries in Nevada and California, and the Snake River Mission Area that brings together three Presbyteries in Idaho and Oregon.
- Changing forms of Presbyteries, as some that cover large territories move to virtual Presbytery meetings, or have subdivided into smaller geographic units that allow for more frequent face-to-face contact, rather than only two meetings per year with large travel expenses and overnight lodging for some members.
- Innovative staffing pattern changes are also taking place. Some have one person as Executive Presbyter and Stated Clerk, while others include the responsibilities of Treasurer. Santa Fe and Sierra Blanca Presbyteries are considering sharing a Stated Clerk. We are also seeing multiple part time staff members with specialties like transformation and spiritual direction. Also, there are some Presbyteries where the Presbytery Executive or General Presbyter is the Chair of the Presbytery Council.
- A fourth trend is an emphasis upon spirituality. In the early days of church redevelopment (today called transformation) the first step toward congregational renewal was the spiritual revitalization of the people. Some Presbyteries are spending more time at worship and payer and discernment than they are at debating and voting.
- The fifth trend is an emphasis upon being a missional church, and the question of what hinders us from becoming that – such as buildings that are maintenance intensive and energy inefficient, and organizational structures that have similar characteristics.
It is interesting to note that the membership of all Presbyterian bodies in the U.S. began to climb in the 1930s and continued until the 1960s. That was also a peak period for church construction. The growth to that peak and the subsequent decline generally follow the same pattern that Robert Putnam’s (author of Bowling Alone) graph tracks for 2000 organizations. From peak to present the membership drop in those groups has been almost 80%.
On one hand it is discouraging to hear a colleague who just returned from executive training to describe the silence and emptiness of the denomination’s headquarters in Louisville. It is discouraging to know that at the end of 2008 the denomination had to make up a $700,000 deficit because of unpaid per capita. It is discouraging to know that the Synod is struggling to fund the Presbytery Partnership Groups. Incidentally, the New Jersey PPG is, with General Assembly and the Presbyteries of Monmouth, New Brunswick and West Jersey, funding The Tres Iglesias Presbiterianas project. That project will bring a Latino/Latina evangelist to work in the territories of the three Presbyteries to form fellowship groups that we hope will become new churches. That financial support is not in jeopardy, but future support from the Presbyteries, General Assembly, and Synod is a concern for future projects. Similar cooperation among the three presbyteries is taking place in talks about shared resources (including human resources), hunger action, and joint Committee on Ministry training, and in new initiatives for social witness through advocacy.
These are uncertain times and times when we may be easily discouraged. But as we seek to serve Jesus Christ together, let us remember the words of Augustine: “We are the Easter people and our song is always Alleluia!”
Bill Jordan, Executive Presbyter
Presbytery of Monmouth
March 24, 2009
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