Rural churches face changing times

BY PATTY MINTZ

NovaNewsNow.com

It’s hard when a church comes apart at the seams. However old or humble in its construction, whatever the denomination or size of its former congregation, a vandalized interior or collapsing floor in a former place of worship can be a heartache for its community.

Such is the case of the Bloomington Baptist Church south of Middleton, which has been closed for many years.

It’s one of 75 Baptist church buildings in Annapolis and Digby Counties documented four years ago by Acadia University archivist Pat Townsend, working with the Baptist Historical Committee and a Church History student for the records of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches.

During the effort, Townsend discovered that the plain church with gothic windows that once served parishioners in Brooklyn, Annapolis County is now used as a barn. In tiny Falkland Ridge in Annapolis County -- 10-15 houses at best -- the one surviving member of the congregation continues to maintain the little church, even though no service has been held there for many years.

Some of the churches Townsend recorded are in good shape and have active congregations. Others are a different story. “Some of these churches had closed years before, but the buildings are still standing, although some were being used for barns, some for homes and some were in complete disrepair, falling apart. “We know that many churches are going to close. They can’t survive in these really small communities,” says Townsend, noting it’s a national problem affecting all denominations.

She believes because of dwindling rural populations, a large number of Baptist churches in the Maritimes simply won’t survive so the time for updating records has come. “One of the issues for the Atlantic Baptist Archives is it’s very important to document, not just through the record books, but the actual built heritage, because (churches) will disappear.”

Thus, Townsend and her student assistant photographed the churches inside and out.

Historically, notes Townsend, Baptist Churches have been the strongest denomination in the Valley. “There was a stage where along the Fundy Shore there was a Baptist Church every 10 miles.”

Declining congregations a major concern

Declining Baptist congregations in Hants, Kings and Annapolis counties is a concern to Rev. Ron Baxter, Regional Minister for the Convention of Atlantic Baptist Churches. He says many of the Baptist congregations in his area are being served by part-time ministries. Demographic, cultural and sociological changes have contributed to the trend, he says. On the heels of lower membership come other problems. “Their income has reduced and expenses have increased. Much of that expense is related to their building and what they can afford for pastoral service.”

One of the churches faced with such a dilemma is the Hall’s Harbour Baptist Church, which now employs the services of Pastor David Cumby, a mature student who tends the flock while studying for his Masters of Divinity at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville. “This type of solution is available for more churches,” says Cumby. “More may have to (go this way) in the future.”

Once Cumby graduates in a little over a year, though, “I more than likely will go to another church,” he says.

One option for Hall’s Harbour is to find another mature student like Cumby, or they could use a lay pastor. The Lay Pastor Training Program was created in 2000 in response to declining congregations, says Baxter.

The Centreville Baptist Church offers the program over six weekends a year for three-years. At the end of the period, trainees are certified.

The program, says Baxter, “has been very well received. It helps us to address the smaller churches and the opportunities that exist there. “The interesting thing is when a church engages a lay pastor, we discover there is a new life in the church. Hall’s Harbour, and Black Rock, which has a lay pastor, have experienced some growth.”

Baxter says there are additional options for struggling small churches such as revitalization grants, and formal processes to examine a church’s needs and devise solutions. “We take seriously the need to come alongside our smaller congregations,” says Baxter, but that doesn’t mean a church is always open to change. “In general, there appears to be a reluctance to assess the reality of where we are. One of the realities of fear is we don’t like to look at change. Largely it would be the older people who may have some reluctance to change.”

Still a future for the Lord’s work

On the bright side, “we do have several congregations (Centreville, New Minas, Cambridge and Middleton among them) that are experiencing significant growth and that’s encouraging,” says Baxter. “ I’m optimistic. I think there’s a future for the work of the church and the Lord.”

Mid-week in Hall’s Harbour, Richard Parker and Joanne Ward glance about their beloved house of worship and ponder its future.

Parker still recalls its 100th anniversary, with cake and ice cream, even though he was only three at the time. “The church has always been a big part of my life,” he says.

With Rev. Cumby, the situation is better, but the future remains a test of faith. “Our congregation has gotten older – about 50 years and up – and it’s hard to get people to do the work. There’s the feeling that if we’re not getting the younger families we won’t have the people to donate the time and money,” says Parker, referring to the large building’s upkeep. “It’s always a possibility, in the back of our minds, it might cease to function as a church and sit as a vacant building.”

Ward, who grew up in Hall’s Harbour, says with some defiance, “we’re not really a dying church. I just don’t want to believe that, I guess. The members we have now are quite dedicated.”

Dedication is what has saved the little ‘Goat Island’ church in Upper Clements, built around 1810 and believed to be the oldest standing Baptist church in Canada. “It has been fortunate,” says Townsend, “to get a local group to form a charitable society,” intent on preserving the structure. “Community involvement is the key to all of this in maintaining church buildings and documenting them. With community support, some of these buildings can be brought back.”

The irony is that finding people to carry out such work isn’t easy because of declining rural populations.