Out to Pastor
At the Ginger Hill Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Slippery Rock, a lack of money was the original reason for not hiring a pastor. Now church members say they wouldn't have it any other way.
As an alternative, members take turns leading the Sunday services.
"We're a small church without a lot of congregational support," said church member Tom Bodie. "We had to choose a church or a minister. We bought a building."
Started in 2003 with the parent church's principle of democracy, the group of 35 meets at the former Slippery Rock Grange building at 174 S. Main St. Money raised is now used to pay for the mortgage and special programs.
"We all appreciate what we have to give," said member Caron Carnahan. "It's always a lot of fun."
Carnahan led one service on yoga, with church members participating and doing all the postures as she showed them.
Services can include anything the leader believes is spiritual. Over the years, services have been held on friendship, democracy, death, television, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism and consumer culture.
Sometimes the services are hands-on, with church members making a quilt, creating small stained glass windows or doing pottery.
A coordinator is elected to make sure each Sunday is covered. If no one volunteers to lead, the coordinator usually fills in. Summer months are especially tough to schedule since many people travel.
Those listing drawbacks to a lay-led congregation named only that one.
"It's harder," said church member Sharon Sykora. "There's not one leader and a bunch of followers. Without that, people need to figure it out."
Bodie added, "It's a pure democracy. Everyone has to take responsibility and we have to have ownership."
Though Bodie recently went to school and became ordained as a minister, he doesn't want to take over the church. Instead, he'd rather enjoy the diversity of services held.
Though the church has a certain order and some traditions like communions, the variety is what keeps the services interesting, he said.
"It energizes the church and keeps people paying attention," said Bodie. "Everyone has a spiritual experience that is unique."
Church member and coordinator Amy Walters agreed.
"I think it's much nicer this way," she said. "There are some very interesting and intelligent people that all have something to say."
At the Church of Christian Science in Butler, members also rotate through leading Sunday services.
But instead of switching the leadership weekly, leaders are elected by the congregation and in place for one to three years.
Each Sunday theme is sent down from the mother church in Boston, established in 1879 as The First Church of Christ, Scientist.Butler's branch, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Butler, is governed democratically, according to Anne Wright of Butler.Wright, Butler's current lay leader, said the guidelines were passed down by the church's founder Mary Baker Eddy, who said the Bible and the Christian Science Textbook, which she wrote, should serve as the pastors.Wright declined to say how many members belong to the Butler church, which was founded in 1920.The basic tenants of the church are based on the Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount, according to Wright."Eddy thought that was enough for Christian practice," she said.Eddy, who was raised Puritan and Protestant, also believed in the church as a healing power. Over the years, that focus has been lost in some other religions, Wright said."This gets back to pure spirituality," she said.For Sunday services, Wright receives information in the mail from the mother church with a theme and readings that apply to the theme. There are 26 themes including God, truth, man, love and life, for example, and each is used twice a year.The Butler church also has a Wednesday service that is less structured. The theme is at the choice of the leader and the service is more informal, Wright said.The advantage to being lay led, Wright said, is keeping personality out of the Bible interpretation."(Eddy) didn't want personal opinions in the way," she said. "This is how she designed it in 1895. This is where you get your ideas," Wright said, pointing to the two books that are used in the church."I can find the answers to all my questions if I keep coming back to the books," she said.That includes healing emotional and physical problems since most church members don't visit traditional doctors. It's not that the church doesn't believe in modern medicine, according to Wright, it's just that members choose not to use medical services.Wright's mother, Ruth Evans of Saxonburg, has been a member of the Christian Science church for more than 60 years and enjoys the lay leadership. She does see a drawback to holding the unpaid position, however, pointing out the hours that Wright spends preparing services. Wright estimates that time at well over 10 hours per week."It is quite a commitment," she said.For more information about the Ginger Hill Church, call 724-735-4407. For more information on the Church of Christian Science, call 724-352-8773.
