Transitioning Sacred Places : THE CURRENT CLIMATE
By Dana Dabek , Director of Transition Services , Partners for Sacred Places and Rochelle Stackhouse , Senior Director of Programs , Partners for Sacred Places
B efore the pandemic began , the leaders of the First Congregational Church of East Longmeadow , Massachusetts , could see the writing on the wall . Their membership and attendance at worship had fallen , they could no longer afford a full-time pastor , and their historic building needed repair and modernization . They could see only what they had lost and felt low on energy and bereft of purpose . They feared they might need to sell the building and dissolve the congregation . Then their interim pastor attended a webinar on churches “ in transition ,” and a glimmer of possibility began to emerge .
East Longmeadow is not alone . By March 2020 many US religious communities across a range of traditions had already experienced a long , slow decline in membership and worship attendance . Though reliable statistics are hard to find , Lifeway Institute estimated that in 2019 approximately 4,500 Protestant churches closed in the United States . The Roman Catholic Church has consolidated numerous congregations throughout the country , and both Reform and Conservative synagogues in some communities face closure . As COVID-19 cases increased in 2020 , most places of worship ceased holding inperson events and meetings , a situation that lasted for months or years and exacerbated an already challenging environment . While many congregations were able to pivot to live-streaming worship services during the pandemic as a way to engender a sense of normalcy , the option of remote worship has encouraged some congregants to continue “ attending ” virtually . A recent survey finds some rebound in attendance and giving , especially among churches with hybrid worship , but both are trending below prepandemic levels .
As financial and human resources dwindled , some congregations realized they did not need — nor could they support — their property , or parts of it ,
SACRED PLACES • FALL / WINTER 2023 – 24 7