Small congregations are special. I find myself working with small Unitarian Universalist congregations, and loving them. Worship can be informal and interactive. People can share joys and sorrows without having it become burdensome (well, maybe from time to time...). Children can be invited to make music. Social hour becomes a time of real connection, the kind of communion we make jokes about, except that it really does have a spiritual dimension. I love leading worship in small congregations!
Staff is limited, so the congregation does a great deal of making church happen. There's a lot of hands-on participation right in the church, from teaching children and making music to solving electrical mysteries and fixing plumbing. It's all ministry, more of a karma yoga kind of thing, and some people find it really attractive. It's maybe more of a challenge to find energy for ministries outside the congregation. In one congregation I know, the person who became congregation president was also the most qualified to be Social Action chair, and there was a scramble to keep Social Action coordinated while she served. Yet these congregations are often very active in their communities, finding in congregational life a good way to be with people they know doing things that fit with their values. There is no need, says this minister, for a small church to be inward looking. Of course, if we do a good job of "doing church," more people will come, and pretty soon the church won't be that small any more. And of course, sometimes small congregations have ways of keeping too many people from coming and staying, and that is one of the mysteries to ponder.
The important thing is for the congregation to feel that it is truly a "beloved community," and at the same time have an open door for newcomers. Welcoming is not as simple as it might seem at first glance, for people can be cautious about inviting "just anyone" to be with them in the important business of being a congregation. There's a need to cultivate a sense of openness, a confidence in who we are as a gathered community that allows others to come, try, and become part of it. Just as visitors are believed to make up their minds quickly about a congregation, so too are congregation members sometimes quick to make up their minds about newcomers. Openness. It's something to cultivate. Simple friendliness. Being able to find things to talk about with people of different backgrounds and life stages. Once, as I was working on this with a group in a small congregation, one of the long time members said, "I have enough friends." This is not about having friends. It's about sharing our religious journey with others. It might save their life. It might save yours! Today's light and friendly conversation can be tomorrow's deep reflection together about life, the universe, and everything. Remember, it's all ministry.
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