Meet the Team: Cara Scriven
Meet our newest collaborator, Cara Scriven. Find out why Cara believes that anyone can kill a church, but not everyone can lead congregations toward faithfully completing their ministry.
Pride in Closing: LGBTQ Affirmation and Congregational Closure
How does church closure affect LGBTQ affirming congregations? Is there a Rainbow Glass Cliff for queer clergy? This Pride month Sara and Diane share insights on completing ministry in reconciling and affirming congregations.
The Stained Glass Cliff
Who falls off the “stained-glass cliff” when leading a dying church? When young, new or female clergy take over a struggling congregation, they often face the exhausting task of closing the church.
Resurrection Hope: Church Closure and a Faithful Future
Pastor Lorrin Radzik preaches resurrection — even after closing two churches. For courageous leaders, death is not the end of our story.
When Christmas isn’t Joyful
That Advent wasn't joyful. There would be no new ornament for the Christmas Tree --- until we saw THE BIRD.
Rebirth through Church Merger
Can struggling churches experience new life? Diane Kenaston remembers her baptism — and a rebirth through church merger.
Resurrection in Closing Congregations
Good Friday Collaborative was born out of a desire to offer support and insight to clergy and congregations in the process of closure. Our name points to the reminder that all resurrection requires death, and that death is not to be avoided at all costs.
And at the same time, we are people of the resurrection! Two of our collaborators led their congregations’ final services on Easter Sunday, and offer reflections on what that was like for them.
Lent, Lasts, & Other Holy Things
Can last things be holy? What can we learn as we navigate last things and encounter scripture anew?
Becoming Dust: Ash Wednesday in Dying (and Thriving) Congregations
In a culture consumed with prolonging youth and liveliness, even the word “death” is taboo, as we have been taught to defer to euphemisms that might avoid the discomfort of that reality. Yet no matter how much we cling to signs of life, death is just around the corner., which is why it is so incredibly vital to name:
I will die. You will die. We will die.
Remembering Saint Congregations on All Saints Day
As you remember individual saints on All Saints Day, we invite you to join us in remembering saint congregations: Those communities that have made room for you to experience love, to find formation, and to build relationships with those who taught you what it meant to be a person of faith. Even if the church no longer worships together. Perhaps especially, then. Every good work accomplished through those congregations continues to live in you.
A Ministry of Endings
Would we close? Or could we keep going?
It was the question that occupied my mind as I drove to meet with a denominational leader about my congregation.
Read the full post at Fidelia Magazine.
Meet the Team: Lorrin Radzik
I didn’t go to seminary to close churches. And yet, God calls us to and equips us for ministry in mysterious ways.
Meet the Team: Diane Kenaston
You are only failing if the gospel is failing. All you have to do is be faithful.
Meet the Team: Chelsey Hillyer
The church wasn’t dying. It was being reshaped. What a time to be in ministry!
