The drive to the two churches in the West Sunbury Lutheran Parish can be described as quaint.

The same can also be said of the parish's two Sunday services, where 15 to 20 of each church's members gather in the pews.

Both located in Concord Township, Springdale Lutheran Church is on Mahood Road, while Zion Lutheran Church is about seven miles away on Zion Church Road.

Over the years, the congregations of Springdale and Zion Lutheran churches have shared pastors, picnics, holiday services and a parish council.

The churches also share Dave Adams, a synodically authorized minister who leads the services at both.

Adams, a member of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Butler, took the role of lay pastor in the two churches in 2001. He replaced Virginia DiTullio, who had served as a synodically authorized minister since 1997, when the parish found it could no longer employ a full-time pastor.

After seeking a way to become more involved in the church, Adams, who works in sales, was surprised when he was offered the opportunity to lead two congregations in worship.

"When (the synod) told me that I'd be doing all that, I thought 'you've got to be kidding me,'" recalled the Butler resident.

According to the Rev. Martha Clementson, assistant to the bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, there are currently three synodically authorized ministers working in the synod, made up of about 210 congregations.

"For us, it's sort of the option when geographically and financially there's no pastor available," she said.

Adams is one of three of the designated lay pastors in the synod. The most the synod has had is five.

Though in the past synodically authorized ministers received an informal, one-on-one training with a church pastor to prepare for their new role, the synod recently began a more formal training program to provide the ministers with insight into church history, Lutheran teachings and some basic components of ministry.

Once assigned to a church or parish, each minister is also paired with a full-time pastor, who is able to perform weddings and counsel members with issues that exceed the minister's training and education.

Most synodically authorized ministers give an average of 20 hours a week to their churches, which pay them a part-time wage.

"In general, we feel that you need that kind of time to be able to do all the work that needs to be done," said Clementson. "Generally they use up at least five of those hours on Sunday morning."

The ministers are appointed to a church on a year-by-year basis, with no set limit on their years of service.

"We hope that after a number of years, (the churches) will be able to sustain some other form of pastoral ministry.

After about eight years of leadership by synodically authorized ministers, the West Sunbury Lutheran Parish, is not yet able to support both buildings and a full-time pastor.

Yet despite these financial hardships, the separate congregations have no plans to merge.Though some of the parish's members see no problem with merging the congregations, others are interested in preserving their church buildings and the family like relationship of their congregations."That's the way we want it," said Audean Byers of Zion about keeping the churches separate.This feeling of family keeps some members coming despite the distance and convenient access to other churches."We have a couple of churches right down the road and we don't go there," said Debra Schaeffer, who attends Springdale Lutheran Church with her husband Dan."(Springdale) is like a family. … If you miss, then they call and find out if you're sick."Though only 30 to 40 parish members assemble at the churches each Sunday, a number of members who do not attend weekly still contribute to the church."They're very dedicated people," said Adams of the churches' members. "If it has to get done, somebody gets up and does it.""Everybody works together," noted Katherine McGregor, a longtime member of Springdale Lutheran Church, who hesitated to share how she volunteers her time.This humility comes as no surprise to Adams, who says members of both churches share the responsibilities without judging who does more or works harder than others.While the congregations enjoy the tight-knit feel of their churches, they also hope others will join them, especially current and past members who no longer attend regularly.

At a recent parish council meeting, members came upon an idea to bring people back to Sunday services.The plan, called No Excuse Sunday, came from a passage Adams read from the book "Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul."Adams read a letter addressed to those no longer attending services, giving them no excuses as to why they can't make it on Sunday.Some of the features of "No Excuse Sunday" included a Christmas tree and Easter lilies for those who only attend on holidays, cots for those who like to sleep in, and cotton balls for the ears of those who dislike the music.Entertained with the idea, both congregations plan to hold their own No Excuse Sunday on Aug. 28."We're trying to think outside the box," said Adams. "Our job as preachers, as Christians, is getting more people to come to God."(The congregations) take very seriously what it takes to keep preaching the Gospel."Whether their efforts help the church to grow or simply maintain their current attendance, Adams said the most important message was to let people know, despite their sizes, they offer opportunities for worship like any other church."These are places of worship. … These are real churches," he said.