"Gospel Merger" in Greenfield

"Gospel Merger" in Greenfield - Letting go yields "a new church; a new work of God "

Diane Kurkulonis, Saints James & Andrew, Greenfield

We called it “Emerging Sunday.” It seems incredible that it has been four years since the parishes of St. Andrew’s in Turners Falls and St. James in Greenfield came together as one. And emerge we have! We are stronger, more adaptable, and better together; we are a place where love, joy, hope, and healing abound.

We began with a new name, a new vision, and a new mission statement. We incorporated new leadership chosen from both congregations. We listened and continue to listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We asked,

“God, what do you want us to do? Who do you want us to be? What might you have planned for our two congregations? What is your will and what might we do better together?”

Merger is not easy. There is grief and loss on both sides. The people of Saints James and Andrew will be the first to tell you that there have been growing pains in the process of becoming a new parish. Change is never easy. But our merger was between two churches with a desire to become one stronger church, better together with a stronger presence in our community, with more effective outreach, and a better utilization of the resources that God has entrusted to us. For this to work, the leadership of both churches needed to be in philosophical and theological agreement with each other. Compromises were made on both sides in order to make a healthy transition. When one congregation keeps their building, there is almost always a feeling from “the other side” that the church isn’t really theirs. We worked hard to alleviate this feeling by offering new liturgies and adding familiar altar furniture, stained glass, and icons from the church building that was gone.

We called it a “Gospel Merger” - two congregations entering into a new partnership, on an equal footing, to create something new. We came together to form a union where neither partner saw the other as dominant. We encouraged dialogue about how we would handle finances and how we would assimilate each other’s church family and traditions. We took seriously the fact that both brought into the relationship a way of living and being that was formed over many years. We viewed our shared histories as an important aspect of what our shared future might look like.

By letting go of many long-time practices and old ways of doing church, our merged congregation has had the opportunity to begin anew, free of hindering traditions and programs. We are not a continuation of the old congregations. We can truly see ourselves as a new church; a new work of God with a new mission and an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to start afresh.

Some of the initiatives that we have taken on since we merged, that we might not have accomplished had we remained in our own silos, are:

• RenewalWorks, to help us grow our faith

• The creation of a new Spiritual Life Team that gives us many opportunities to go deeper

• Several book study discussion groups

• A Caregiver Support Group

• We have enjoyed retreats at the Society of St. John the Evangelist, St. Margaret’s in New Hartford, NY, and a parish retreat at Silver Bay in New York

• We have held several fundraisers like the Maker’s Market Craft Fair on the lawn, a Recycling Day for our community, and, after the pandemic hit, we offered an online Mistletoe Mart To-Go Fair. A brandnew online Gift Shop is also in the works

• A Sunday Sandwiches feeding ministry was created out of a deep need in our community when other food resources closed. Contactless pickup at the Parish Hall window allows our volunteers and neighbors to stay safe during the pandemic. This particular project would have been impossible for both former parishes, but now our stronger base allows us to do things like this.

Renewed and energized, even amid a pandemic, we embrace the path forward as the ever-emerging church of Saints James and Andrew. ♦