Family sized churches gathered during the Maine Conference Annual Meeting, which was held at the University of Maine in Farmington June 20-22, 2008. During one workshop, friends met with the new Acting Associate Minister for Small Church Development to celebrate the joys of rural ministry and to discuss ways of meeting the various needs of this setting. Participants spoke about the many successes and outstanding ministries in their communities. There was much to lift up and celebrate as we went around the room discussing how each church conducts ministry in their community. There was also much energy in discussing why parishioners attend, and pastors serve, family sized churches as opposed to seeking out larger, program sized churches. There was consensus that God is Still Speaking in the small churches of the Maine Conference, and they are wonderful places to worship and serve God.

After all the accolades, however, we went on to discuss the flip side – what will be the challenges of the small church in the coming year? In no time, hands were flying and there was a unanimous chorus proclaiming how fuel costs will kill church budgets this coming winter. Ugh! After all the wonderful things going on in the life of our small churches – with all the exciting ministries we had just spoken about – there was grave concern about how to handle the quadrupling of fuel costs. We discussed various options – turning sanctuary thermostats down, installing timers, conducting special offerings for fuel, entering into an oil cooperative with area churches, moving worship services from the sanctuary to the fellowship/parish hall or private homes – all good examples of how to reduce fuel expenses. Of course, it seems as if everyone feels stretched to the max and is already following the above suggestions, but still the budgets are tight. Add to the rising fuel costs the growing cost of ministerial expenses, especially when rising health insurance rates are factored in. Let’s face it, ministry in the rural setting is becoming more challenging as the years march on!

To help with these rising financial challenges, there are resources that the Maine Conference brings to the table. For example, the Small Church Mission Team assists churches to fund the compensation of a pastor. The SCMT also has funds for Parishes of Promise, which assists ministries in becoming more actively engaged in their communities. There is also the Resourcing the Local Church Fund, which provides financial assistance to help with various needs of Conference churches.

The Conference office is willing to collaborate with churches to explore options and opportunities in your community. For example, we have learned that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is in the process of funding the installation of cellular towers in over 300 rural communities in the State of Maine as a way of expanding the cellular telephone network. It is well known in the cellular industry that installing this technology in church steeples costs companies less money. Of the over 300 towns targeted for this program, 55 have United Church of Christ congregations in them! There are a number of churches in the Conference that already have cellular technology in their bell towers, and this has been a unanimously positive experience in producing supplemental income (current average lease is $1,600 per month). Since the process of installing towers in churches is a lengthy one, once a church is selected under this program, this income opportunity will probably not help congregations with this coming winter’s budget; however, this represents an occasion to think outside the box, thereby helping fund ministry.

Congregations wishing to discuss how they might proceed in pursing this potential income possibility can e-mail me at dmorgan207@roadrunner.com to receive more information regarding this program. This is but one example of how churches who gather at Annual Meeting to share thoughts can come away with ideas and options that might benefit their community. May God bless you in your ministries within the Maine Conference, United Church of Christ.