A REVIEW OF THE STATE AND SHAPE OF MINISTRY AT CENTRAL

FALL 2006 TO WINTER 2009.

Beginning a new ministry is both exciting and alarming. Much can be accomplished, much can go wrong, much is at stake. The following is an account of what I think has happened over the last two and a half years since I arrived at Central in August 2006.

I experienced great excitement on my arrival: a new beginning at Central, after fifty plus years of distinguished ministerial leadership provided by only two ministers. Conscious of that legacy, I was also conscious that the church in Canada in 2006 was in a radically different position than it had been fifty years earlier, and that a congregation like Central needed to retool if it was to be an effective congregation in the twenty-first century. In the 1950’s, new congregations were being opened every week and church life seemed to be flourishing: Sunday Schools were overflowing and few detected clouds on the ecclesiastical horizon. But by the mid-1960’s, the boom was over. Annual Presbyterian Church statistics grimly confirmed that the church was in trouble and its future in Canada uncertain. Central’s institutional strength and solid leadership however, made the larger church’s cultural dislocation and numerical decline less obvious. And counter-balancing Central’s membership attrition rate was its ability to attract a significant number of non-Presbyterians into its life in the latter part of the twentieth century. But as the twenty first century dawned, Canada’s thorough-going secularism, and the disappearance of the plausibility structures that once helped sustain the church, meant that even Central’s membership was beginning to decline and the congregation grow older.

My arrival signaled both continuity and discontinuity for Central. The Search Committee had made sure that its candidate was such that the core values of Central’s ministry would be honoured. I understood those to include: a respectful appreciation of Central’s rich heritage, the embrace of a generous orthodoxy, a sense of Central’s place and profile in Hamilton, a commitment to upholding Central’s traditional worship and, if possible, operating with as warm a pastoral personality as had been the case with my immediate predecessors. However, we all know that no minister arrives as a clone of any past minister. Some hoped for as much continuity as possible; others hoped for significant new initiatives; all were hoping for a smooth transition.

Fall 2006 meant attending to governance issues raised during the pastoral vacancy. Concern about change in this area was resolved by a mediating proposal that received the almost universal support of Session and the then Board of Managers. Governance changes were made in an attempt to create transparent leadership and widen participation in congregational decision-making. By Christmas, new Session committees with renewed mandates were in place. During that fall, I proposed changes to Sunday worship based on both liturgical and practical reasoning that Session approved. Accordingly, on the first Sunday of January 2007, the time of Sunday worship changed from 11.00 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. One outcome was a much larger attendance at refreshments after worship, re-enforcing hospitality within the congregation and creating an opportunity for the integration of newcomers. An emphasis on discipleship also emerged during my first year, with the appearance of well-attended Sunday Seminars and a Faith Basics course. My leadership was tested by all of this, for I could not expect to rest for too long on the congregation’s respect for clergy engendered by my predecessors.

In the winter of 2007, I was still getting to know Central and vice versa. This happened through systematic home visitation, a project that remains unfinished, but also through the work of the Community and Congregational Analysis Group [CCAG]. That group turned out to be pivotal, not least because of the congregational survey it designed that elicited the breadth of doctrinal, liturgical, and missional convictions held within Central. The survey also honoured the insights available from wide congregational input. At the 2007 annual congregational meeting, the Rev’d John Kurtz was introduced as Pastoral Associate. A sense of affirmation pervaded that meeting, not least in the acceptance of a congregational budget that exceeded $500,000. So far so good!

In spring 2007, the idea of internal space renewal was introduced. This arose, in part, from a feeling voiced at Session that along with the significant renewal of our building, known as the Central Presbyterian Restoration Project [CPR], energy also needed to be invested in the renewal of ministry programs. Optimism about Central’s future, in place before my arrival and symbolized by the CPR Project, led to changes in discipleship space in mid-2007. Summer 2007 also brought a new emphasis on summer-time ministry, meant to challenge a long-established Central [and Presbyterian] habit of disappearing from church for two months. The 2007 Summer Adventure Camp was poorly supported; new Wednesday Worship services were supported by some, treated as exotic by others; but Sunday attendance in July and August was up significantly.

By fall, I was feeling confident and enjoying Central. New folk kept arriving by ones and twos, most staying. Having endured the transition from a Scottish to an Ulster pulpit voice, and adjusted itself to a different preaching style, the congregation, I discovered, was both attentive and intelligent. I felt challenged to aim at an intelligent interpretation and application of Scripture. In August, the Congregational and Community Analysis Group’s Report was published. I was impressed by how seriously the Session studied this, obvious at our September Session Retreat Day. The follow-up Mission, Vision and Values Statement, created by Session, provided good direction and confirmed for me that Session understood itself as the leadership body responsible for congregational direction.

By fall 2007, it was obvious that the ministry of Central was growing, whether by more people attending worship, more people active on committees and teams, or by the formation of new programs such as the Men’s Breakfast Club, the Sunday Lunch Bunch, or Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. These were designed to provide avenues for an expanding congregation to build cohesion and incorporate newcomers. The periodic receptions for new members also heightened the sense of a congregation on the move. With the initiation in October 2007 of a teenage Faith Explorers Class, excitement was palpable. One concern late in 2007, however, was a gap between spending and income, exacerbated by bad December weather. Concluding optimistically that this represented a time lag between congregational enthusiasm and its expression in financial support rather than a sign of congregational malaise, I wrote to the congregation appealing for a last-minute cash infusion. We ended 2007 with a surplus!

2008 opened with confidence. One cause for this was the growing visibility of high-schoolers at church, ten of whom confessed the faith in late February. It was obvious that the time had come for new investment in young families, bringing to life the Vision expressed in the Mission, Vision and Values Statement which was presented at the 2008 Annual Congregational Meeting. Following up on the Mission, Vision and Values Statement, Session then began to explore possibilities for both new programs and new staff. Meanwhile, new faces continued to appear, welcomed by a confident congregation that has a remarkable gift for hospitality. Prime Time, essentially a group for mostly retired folk, was launched in May, 2008. Attendance at summer 2008’s Wednesday Worship services and Summer Adventure Camp grew.

In June, a thoughtful Session announced staff changes. The Rev’d. John Kurtz retired as Pastoral Associate, Beth Mackay Reilly moved from being Program Director to Director of Pastoral Ministries, and Adele Pierre was appointed Director of Family Ministries. The Charlton Club, a mid-week program for children and youth was initiated in October 2008. Those who volunteered included both long-time members and new members. The renewal of discipleship space was completed by fall, thanks to a anonymous benefactors, and the congregation welcomed four clergy as Honorary Assistants, Charles Fensham, John Kurtz, Alan McPherson, [Minister Emeritus], and Harry McWilliams.

As 2008 ended, I sensed a happy congregation that takes great care of its property, is committed to a number of key ministries, one being a forty-voice Choir, another being the Out-of-the-Cold program, a congregation that is slowly growing, a congregation that is adapting well to change, and a congregation that provides the financial support needed for its ministry and mission, with the help of the Board of Trustees.

So what has been going on at Central over the past two and a half years? Here is my take:

1. A renewal of governance structures, allowing greater openness and participation, in forums where ideas can be shared and discussed.
2. A renewed sense of vision that Central, along with having a rich past, also has a fruitful future.
3. The growth of opportunities for child, youth, and adult discipleship, allowing for faith building, faith renewal as well as venues for the voicing of faith struggles.
4. An expanded hospitality that makes it easy for newcomers to find their way into a thriving church community
5. Strong public worship anchored in continuity, but open to subtle shifts that are helping to create a larger and younger congregation.
6. The renewal of attractive space for ministry, inside and out.
7. Program expansion, such that a significant proportion of the congregation is now involved is some aspect of congregational life besides Sunday worship.
8. The nurturing of a spirituality that is expressed in the formation of a Prayer Team, the readiness of many at Prime Time and the Men’s Breakfast Club to lead devotions, a vigorous volunteer culture that embodies spiritual conviction, and increased financial support.

And on what do we need to concentrate in 2009? Here are my priorities, again based on the Vision section of the Mission, Vision and Values Statement:

1. To keep strengthening the discipleship programs for children and youth, through Faith- finders, the Charlton Club and the Summer Adventure Club.
2. To welcome new elders and train all elders towards supplying a more thorough pastoral connectedness.
3. To develop a deeper mission culture in the congregation, parallel with a growing discipleship culture, so that we see ourselves as sent by God to be and speak the gospel in our world, through local and global initiatives.
4. To plan at least one new initiative that will connect Central’s resources to broader city and ecclesiastical issues.
5. To maintain lively worship, drawing on Scripture, tradition, and a warm spiritual fellowship, such that we continue to attract and embrace newcomers.

Clyde Ervine

February 8, 2009