St. Andrew's-St.
James AmalgamationDeclining congregations continue to think that amalgamation is a solution to shrinking numbers and waning energy. Our studies indicate that amalgamation does not tend to be a solution
Edmonton has six congregations that are the result of 13 congregations coming together. When we look at the average weekly attendance at worship as reported in the United Church Year Book, only one of the resulting congregations has not experienced a decline. Below is an overview of the congregations and their stories.
St. Andrew's-St.
James Amalgamation
In 1992, St. James United Church was sold and its members were invited to come to St. Andrew's United Church. Each of these congregations had about 150 worshippers out on a Sunday, and they were both located in the same general geographic are of Edmonton. Both congregations had been experiencing decline. They chose to retain the St. Andrew's name.
Current attendance at St. Andrew's is 215 on a Sunday, a 31% decline in ten years from the 310 that was their combined total reported in 1988. Of the 106 people who came from St. James to St. Andrew's, 48 are still active.
Kirk-Westminster-Central
Amalgamation
This is a case where three congregations have joined together. Two of them had reached a point where they were unable to continue to do active ministry due to the age of their members. They both owned buildings and had paid accountable staff. They chose to come together with Kirk, a congregation in their geographic community that had a newer building. Dollars were spent to make changes at the Kirk United site, with a real focus on making it handicapped accessible.
In 1991 when they were three separate congregations, Sunday attendance numbered more than 325. In 2002, attendance at Kirk was reported as 178, a decline of 45%.
Strathearn-St. Stephen's Amalgamation
The amalgamation between St. Stephen's United Church and Strathearn took place ten years ago. The people from St. Stephen's moved into the Strathearn building and sold their facility. Though both congregations worked hard to make the transition go smoothly, there were some hard feelings that came out at congregational meetings.
Before amalgamation, up to 400 people were worshipping in the two congregations. Their number is now reported as 175, a 56% decline.
In all of the amalgamations, it is reasonable to assume that some members of these congregations have chosen to worship elsewhere. We did not do the research to identify these people. We do know that the number worshipping in all of the Edmonton Presbytery churches dropped from 5,932 in 1988 to 4,855 in 2001, an 18% drop over 12 years.
Chalmers-Castle Downs Amalgamation
This is the one amalgamation where attendance today is the same as it was in the two congregations before amalgamation. This is their story.
The Castle Downs congregation had been meeting in a school. Their attendance had plateaued and they were looking for ways to develop a more effective ministry. They made two lists-the things that were important for them and the nearby congregations they should talk to. Dorothy Naylor, their minister, knew they wanted an amalgamation that would be a true partnership with both congregations bringing their gifts, not a merger with a congregation who would just absorb them.
As they talked
with different congregations, Chalmers United Church seemed to have the most
potential as an amalgamation partner. They were open to negotiating a true partnership.
Castle Downs people were clear that their energy and enthusiasm were gifts that
were valued. Chalmers members felt the gifts they brought-a well-equipped building
and a lifetime of experience-were also important.
Committees from the two congregations met to draft plans. They decided to have a youth worker, which Castle Downs felt was important. Chalmers agreed to let their worship become less formal. A day together was scheduled when people told stories and shared their history. Another workshop took a joint look at the drafted amalgamation document. Participants worked as separate congregations to identify their questions, then come all together to deal with the issues.
There was a clear understanding between the two ministers about their roles. Dorothy Naylor would continue to be pastor to the Castle Downs people, and Bob McKay to his Chalmers people. Then after 18 months, both would leave and make way for the congregation to call new leadership.
We asked Lynn Maki, who was called by the amalgamated congregation, what has been the secret.
She named the considerable time taken for mutual exploration before going ahead with the amalgamation, talks described as "very detailed kinds of conversations." At the beginning they decided to have a Board of 24 members, too large in the long term, but one that gave each of the two congregations assurance that their needs would be guarded.
They adopted the hyphenated name Chalmers-Castle Downs United Church. It was long, but they wanted to indicate they were a new congregation. The combined congregation developed a mission statement in a vision process that helped the new congregation decide what it wanted to be.
Dorothy reported with more amusement than concern the attitude of ownership that the Chalmers ladies had toward their kitchen in the beginning. The Castle Downs people, who had never owned a building, thought this was a bit humorous.
One of the strengths of the congregation is that it is small. It remains a pastoral size congregation (less than 150 at worship). Chalmers-Castle Downs sees itself as a family church, a place where you can feel included.
One final word Lynn shared. "For an amalgamation to work, you cannot have leadership that is afraid of conflict. Differences have to be faced and worked out."
Dorothy Naylor's last word was to emphasize the importance of having the criteria for coming together all worked out. Another thing, it is ideal if the congregations coming together are a similar size. If not, the smaller congregation has to be very proactive around what they bring to the partnership and what they want from it.
Pulling It All Together
What we have learned is that amalgamation is not simple. Lyle Schaller long ago pointed out that the result of most amalgamations between congregation "A" and congregation "B" is, within three years, a congregation the size of the larger of A or B. One reason for this is that people who have joined the congregations are comfortable with the size of their congregation-no matter how eloquent the protestations that they want to grow. When growth happens, there are many subtle ways of slowing it down.
There are problems that an amalgamation does not solve. An amalgamation will not fix financial problems, provide more people to do the work, or reduce staff costs. Just the opposite. An amalgamated congregation requires more staff requiring more money and draws heavily on the energy resources of everyone.
There is good reason to amalgamate if the resulting congregation is able to assemble the resources for a new ministry. Congregations contemplating a youth ministry, for example, may find an amalgamated congregation provides an augmented resource base.
Another reason for amalgamating is if two congregations have deteriorating buildings in need of replacing. The new facility will give both congregations a fresh start. The move symbolizes leaving the past behind for the sake of a promising future.
Steps on the Road to Amalgamation
An effective amalgamation process requires all the following elements. Eliminating any endangers the whole process.
1. A congregation takes the time to articulate a clear identity statement, naming its values, strengths, and vision.
2. Identify possible amalgamation partnerships.
3. The amalgamation partners explore where their values and vision are compatible, and name where there are incompatibilities.
4. The partners create a new vision that embraces all participants in the amalgamation. It builds on strengths and points to a future that energizes and excites people-what God is calling them to do. (P.S. It can't be about buildings, finances or programs. These are the means, not the ends.)
5. Identify what kind of leadership is needed to lead the amalgamated congregation toward its chosen vision. It is better to start off with an abundance of staff rather than a shortage. An amalgamated congregation generally needs more, not less, staff.
6. Examine the size of the resulting congregation, and build a model for crossing the congregational size barrier.
7. Develop a step-by-step plan for the total process and communicate, communicate,
communicate it to everyone.
At this point, you are ready to begin.
Congregational Life Newsletter Vol. 9 No. 2 April 2003