Conversations on urban collaboration initiated in Genesee Valley Presbytery

by Clint McCoy

Originally published in the Synod of the Northeast newsletter, January 2009

Genesee Valley Presbytery pastors gather to discuss small church collaboration efforts. Photo by Clint McCoy

With a palpable concern for the city of Rochester and the eleven PC(USA) churches within its bounds, two city pastors, who had lunch together eighteen months earlier to get to know one another better, and to talk about strengthening the Presbyterian presence in the city by building up the vitality of the churches and their collective urban witness, fashioned a plan to gather pastors together with Phil Tom one morning, and then in the evening invite other church leaders from the urban congregations to join the pastors for dinner, where a new vision for collaborative work in the city could be presented. The Rev. John Wilkinson, pastor of Third Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Judy Lee Hay, pastor of Calvary/St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, did not pull city congregation leaders together in a vacuum; and several elected presbytery leaders from congregations beyond the city boundary were there in support of the initiative as well; and Synod of the Northeast Executive for Partnerships Clint McCoy was present too, interested in the effort and the process, having had considerable experience with collaborative efforts of more rural congregations that have produced increased energy, mission and the visibility in their communities as a result of collaborative ministries.

The meeting could have brought to mind those formative days when Jesus called one disciple and then another to follow, taking individuals and fashioning them into a team. They had to decide to leave the comfort zone, whether tax collecting or fishing or whatever, on the promise that God would form them for something still undetermined, unknown, imaginable, but good, where together they would make an imprint on the earth that they would have been hard pressed to have imagined.

As many as were able to be present, pastors from the eleven congregations came together first at Calvary/St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church over lunch to talk about the possibilities that could grow out of collaborative energies. The eleven city congregations are Brighton, Calvary-St. Andrew’s, Dewey Avenue, Downtown United, Lakeside, Laurelton United, New Life, Parsells Avenue, South, Third and Trinity Emmanuel Presbyterian.

The Rev. Phil Tom, member of the national staff team whose portfolio includes urban ministry, was resource facilitator who had been invited to provide outside leadership for the day. The vision for collaboration offered by Wilkinson and Hay recognized that congregations in the city are all in transition of one kind or another, many of the city’s neighborhoods are in transition too, and the city itself is facing challenges because of changes. The current economic climate is pushing hard on individuals and institutions, including congregations. The weight and energy of the Presbyterian presence in the city, along with all of its talent and resources, will be more strongly felt as congregations collaborate, rather than working in their separate silos.

This is a time of opportunity, the vision suggests, to:

• Support urban congregations in a variety of ways, including spiritual and technical assistance
• Encourage and sustain pastoral leaders of urban congregations through intentional gatherings for mutual support, and through occasional training opportunities
• Support elders and members of urban congregations, or work in ministries throughout the city, in ways leaders themselves identify important, which could include educational and leadership development opportunities
• Work with presbytery entities such as the Committee on Ministry, Trustees and Congregational Ministries Committee in support of the overall ministry, particularly at times of leadership transitions, in times of crisis (financial, facility, demographic, membership), and by assisting with long range planning.
• To provide a Presbyterian voice in the public square as a partner in ecumenical/interfaith associations.

Phil Tom (right) joins area pastors to discuss small church collaboration efforts. Photo by Clint McCoy

The developmental model Phil Tom presented for building collaborative ministry focuses strongly on building relationships, and so at the beginning of gatherings he encourages the development of one-on-one relationships that will create, over time, a solid foundation of friendships that can sustain the movement when people’s emotional energy sags. The idea is not that any congregation gives anything up, but that all gain together by the multiplying of their diverse gifts. But, Phil emphasizes, it is the relationships that, built on a spiritual foundation, provide a deep spiritual foundation for the work ahead. “Relationships give staying power,” he said.

In the pastor’s gathering earlier in the day, John Wilkinson made the case for getting churches out of their individual silos, and collaborating in ministry together. He observed that the city is changing rapidly, that it is impossible to do develop churches and minister in the city. These streams merge; they form one river, the power, nutrients and problems of each affect the other. The ministry itself can become the formation field for leadership development; spiritual development has to lead to real and living opportunity to make a difference in the name of Christ. To work effectively, caring for the city and for their members, congregations can benefit from the bird’s eye view which collaboration among congregations and mutual support can provide.

Judy Lee Hay put some meat on the vision’s bones for the larger group of leaders that gathered in the evening: “We want to put a stake in the ground,” she said, “and say that there will be no more lost Presbyterian Churches in the city.” Individuals had maps of the city at their places, showing the strategic deployment of Presbyterian congregations in a variety of the city’s neighborhoods, illustrating the way in which the city’s life would be made less vibrant with a loss of the Reformed witness in any area.

In many ways what these urban congregations are contemplating is counter-cultural. While there are examples of effective collaborative ministry in urban areas, they are few, and many are still experimental. And yet, reports Phil, questions about the possibilities that might emerge from collaborative ministry in our cities are being asked across the country. What makes Rochester somewhat unique, compared to much larger cities, is that an eleven church cluster is manageable; people can work together, can get to know one another deeply, can get to trust one another. Phil laid out some expectations:

1. that those who buy into the endeavor will commit themselves to;
2. the more timid can join later (and will be encouraged to do so) but are asked not to interfere with the work of those who are ready to roll;
3. ownership in the process will continue to be built;
4. pastors will gather monthly for mutual edification and vision;
5. There will be opportunity for asking questions of the community and its leaders, to find new entry points for the gifts the churches bring;
6. Celebration and fun will be part of the emerging picture, as will training opportunities (but even here it is important to remember that the training opportunities are opportunities for building deeper, trusting relationships — the foundation blocks for cooperation) as church leaders try to discern where God is leading.

As the collaborative mission of the city churches continues to mature, there will be opportunity for increased ownership, for building ever new relationships, for specific projects and programs to emerge, and for identifying and nurturing the gifts and graces of new leaders.

Pastors and elders were asked to return to their sessions to request a commitment from the sessions to engage in this continuing process of discernment and deliberation, in effect to be part of this urban-focused collaborative ministry. They were asked, as they return to their sessions, to begin with a time of one-on-one relationship building, and a time of deep prayer together. It was suggested that, to allow conversations and prayer to go deep, the same questions might be asked that were asked of the representatives from the eleven churches that gathered together: 1) What gives you passion? 2) What makes you angry? In one-on-one conversations, in silent contemplation, and then in prayer for each other, God lays the foundation. Prayer, relationship building, hopes and dreams — might these things form the blocks upon which the future of collaborative urban witness is built?