This is the third article in a series on the Team Ministry collaboration between Messiah, Chester and St. Mary’s, Sparta. See also: Parish collaboration: An introduction and Parish collaboration: A warden’s experience.
It has been a joy and a challenge to lead two congregations in the last sixteen months.
They are separate congregations, with different needs, desires, goals, and challenges, but they are also collaborating together to learn new ways of approaching the future and best practices. They come together for many events and services, but are also doing their own special events and services.
One of my previous church experiences involved being the Priest-in-Charge at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin, PA, DioNWPA, which also was the site of Grace ELCA Church. While I was not in charge of both congregations, we had a joint relationship and I worked heavily with the Pastor of Grace when there was one and our joint ministries (Sunday School, DoK, Food Pantry, etc.). This experience opened me up to the joys and challenges of leading two congregations. As someone who is constantly trying to remember the future, I wanted to delve more into this type of ministry, because it looks like the future holds more of it for clergy.
As this article is part of a series, others will write about how this collaboration came together. For my part, this was the first time in my ten years as a clergy person where we had a choice in a Rectory! My husband and I enjoyed the process of visiting both Messiah’s and St. Mary’s rectories and imagining our lives in each community.
As the Priest-in-Charge, my week is divided between two locations. Currently, I spend Tuesdays and Thursdays working out of the office at Messiah in Chester and Wednesdays and Fridays working out of the office at St. Mary’s in Sparta. On Sundays, I rotate between the two congregations. The churches experience Holy Eucharist the weeks I am with them, with lay-led Morning Prayer services the other weeks. Deacon Gail Kertland spends some Sundays at each church, including some Sundays where we partner together. I use Substack as an online tool for connecting members of both congregations with my sermons every week in case they want to listen or read them. I offer many of our book studies and seasonal programs on Zoom so that members of both congregations can participate in them. Of course, there have been times we have done separate studies for each congregation, recognizing that each congregation’s spiritual needs are different.
Personally, this schedule has meant that I have spent a lot of time in my car and that my real office is my backpack, traveling with me everywhere. Like a student, I have my binder and pencil case, my BCP and Bible, laptop and notebook, all of which facilitate my ability to meet the realities of the day ahead.
It is helpful to be in two different systems, which gives moments of being able to look at them from an outside perspective. They are influenced by the collaboration, but each has its own personality. It is also nice to be able to focus on the broader understanding of leadership in congregational life and how the church’s leadership is not just the Priest or the Priest and the Vestry. Neither of these churches would be functioning without a wide variety of leadership across lay and clergy orders.
One of the benefits of this pattern of worship is that both congregations are given the opportunity to hear from different voices and types of people throughout a month. We have a newly graduated Lay Pastoral Leader for both congregations, along with other trained Worship Leaders and Lay Preachers. My weekday evenings are typically the business administration meetings of the two churches: two Vestries, two Finance Committees, though we have combined the Stewardship Committees to meet and plan the pledge campaigns together. Each church has their own special things as well. There are groups which are mostly led by lay leaders which I check in with on a regular basis.
The back and forth schedule does lead to some challenges for myself and others around newcomers, community issues, and continuity. For the most part, we have found ways for us to address each new situation as they have come up. If anyone knows how to translocate for Easter, that would be something I’m taking advice on. I still haven’t figured that out.
The real joy of the team ministry is in our joint fellowship events which have brought the two congregations together. We have bowled together, sung together, and worshiped together. Particularly our choirs have enjoyed coming together. In these first months, we have had a Talent Show, joint anthems, and a combined Advent Lessons and Carols service.
I am looking forward to the next sixteen plus months ahead for our collaboration. I am looking forward to where both congregations are going and seeing if we can build healthy communities which are strong in their faith, love, and connection to God.
