THE PRIESTLESS PARISH - LEADERSHIP

In order to discuss the idea of going priestless (the term is being used broadly to identify all ordained ministers who lead a congregation), one has to consider what a priest does.  Ordained clergy of any denomination have a lot placed on their shoulders.  So if a congregation decided to go priestless, what consideration would they be faced with?  Who would take on the various roles and duties that priests are traditionally expected to do?   

PRIESTS

This primary role of a priest, pastor, or minister is to be a shepherd - a pastor- one who cares for the flock,meets their spiritual needs, guides them along life's way, prays for them, prays with them.  As such, priests are expected to be available to the members of the congregation 24/7.  Priests preach, teach, give spiritual counsel and direction,  are the chief liturgist of the congregation, and administer the sacraments according to church doctrine.  In addition, in most parishes the priest acts as the executive director and chief administrator of day to day affairs.

Beyond that, they act as lieutenants for the bishop, the diocese, the synod, or the conference.  They are expected to carry out the orders or initiatives set by the church.  Depending on the structure of a particular denomination, ordained clergy are limited in what they can initiate on their own. They are there to protect the denomination's interest.   After all, ordination is more than a conferring of the duties, rights, and privileges bestowed on such individuals in those roles, it is being ordered.  The English have an apt way of referencing this sense of being ordered  by calling the broad white collar most Anglican priests  wear the "dog collar."  That is a heavy load for one person, and most priests, pastors and ministers carry out their responsibilities with a sense of deep commitment to the congregations they are serving.  

Going it alone; going priestless, requires a deep commitment on the part of a congregation  to get along in order to move along.  The fact is, the model for a priestless parish is found in the New Testament.  Christian priests are mentioned only once in the New Testament and that is in reference to the priesthood of all the faithful.[1Peter 2:9]  Paul famously promulgated the notion of the church as the Body of Christ.  In this model of church life, everyone was responsible to play the part that they are.  No one was expected to do it all or to do nothing at all.  The only "ordained" clergy in the early church were apostles and deacons. Bishops get mentioned in Paul's letters to the Philippians, Titus and Timothy, but the term "episkopos" translated as bishop today, was originally understood as a overseer to churches established by the apostles. I think it safe to say that these "overseeers" were consecrated and established what is known as apostolic succession through which bishops in the Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran traditions have claimed their spiritual and authoritative lineage to this present day.     

Priests grew out of a need that bishops encountered as the number of Christians and Christian congregations grew.  This was especially true when Christianity became a recognized religion in the Roman Empire.  Bishops needed  lieutenants to carry on their liturgical and sacramental duties. The idea of a priest was a culturally familiar role the proved suitable for the task. Priests make offerings and sacrifices on behalf of the people. 

As the Church grew, it became more ritualized; replacing temple worship while keeping much of its ritualistic patina. This factor likely had more to do with how Holy Communion became known as the Sacrament of the Altar, how this one-time sacrifice became in the imperialized church of the Roman Empire a repeated sacrifice at the hand of the priests who performed this ritual on behalf of the people of the day.  Beyond the Sacrament of Baptism, the initiation rite into Christianity, the Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion is considered the most sacred and valued of the two main sacraments of which there can be as many as seven.  Protestants, with the exception of those in the Anglican Communion, do not identify seven, but generally practice them.  

So the primary issue that small congregations face when they can no longer afford a priest or an ordained minister is who should handle the sacraments.   Of the two main sacraments, most denominations allow that any Christian can perform the rite of baptism in an emergency.  Holy Communion, however, almost always requires an ordained  priest to perform this rite.  


In many Protestant churches, the rite of Holy Communion was not an every Sunday affair, including in many Episcopal churches.  In some, the practice of Holy Communion was to perform it once a month or at the very least four times in a given year.  In many Protestant liturgical churches the practice to offer it every Sunday is relatively new and this newer practice of having Holy Communion at every Sunday service  has  presented a conundrum for small parishes that have come to see it as an essential part of every service.  

LEADERSHIP

In the early church, leadership was established by raising up someone in the eccelsia to take on the role, to be appointed either by an apostle or in the absence of an apostle by the church community. Little is known about how Christianity spread among the smaller communities, but spread it did and we know through Paul's writings that it was spread by those less familiar to Christians of today.  Churches found themselves in households of wealthier merchants.  Paul frequently addresses the heads of households, including women, as heads of these nascent congregations.  

While Paul exhorted women to follow a line of strict, almost stoic practices regarding appearance and public speaking as not to confuse the non-Christian and the new Christian as to how Christians should behave in public, he exhibited a broad view of acceptance in how those in the church are perceived by Christ; that there is neither male or female...  in Christ. [Galatians 3:28] Paul's rather confusing approach to women in the church reflects more a culture of piety of the time than it does his theology of the Christ. It has taken the Church roughly two millennia to evolve to the point that women are beginning to be treated as equals in their capacity to lead the Church in some denominations as expressed in Paul's vision of the Body of Christ and the priesthood of all the faithful. 

There are many facets to the concept of leadership in a church.  In larger parishes, these facets are dolled out to various priests and laity to handle the business of the  larger parish.  Priestcraft is predominately retained by ordained priests and herein lies a dilemma for the small parish who can no longer afford a priest or do not have ready access to supply priests.  Small congregations may have members who are very capable of handling the day to day administrative affairs of the church; paying its bills, keeping up with correspondences, writing its newsletters, keeping the diocese informed of its activities, people who are willing to preach, lead an occasional service when needed, visit the homebound, and teach.  Where the small parish runs into difficulty is when it comes to the sacraments; particularly, the Sacrament of the Altar, Holy Communion.

Many mainline churches, such as the Episcopal Church, recognize the importance of lay leadership when it comes to filling in when a priest is absent.  The church licenses laity to fill the roles of worship leaders, preachers, catechists, lay readers, sacramental visitors, and pastoral care providers.  The one role that none of them allow the laity to offer is the Sacrament of Altar, and I am not sure why that is, apart from a fear that it might eliminate the need for ordained priests and undo Holy Orders, but I don't see that happening nor am I suggesting that it should.

POST-CHRISTIAN CHRISTIANITY 

What interests me is how the sacramental life of a parish can continue without the presence of an ordained priests or minister.  At present, there is no adequate way forward to accomplish this. The Episcopal Church allows for locally ordained deacons and priests, but what if there is no one willing to be ordained?  

The Post-Christian world of Christianity is a topic in itself that I will ponder at a later date, but what I would say here is that there has been a major shift taking place in Christian theology that can be viewed I suspect is the result of entering into a Post-Christian world.  These theological shifts are not well articulated to most people in the pews. If expressed at all in a sermon, they come across more as hints or suggestions.  

Most of these fly over the heads of the people in the pews, unless the person seated there is a reader and is interested enough to study these trends on one's own. There are shifts in how the sacraments are viewed, what they mean and some of these shifts are radical in the light of longstanding doctrines.  

Liturgical churches are edging closer to involving laity in the consecration rites of this sacrament, at least in a shared way with ordained clergy, and why not?   After all, the priest is merely acting as a representative of the congregation; consecrating the elements on their behalf - for them.  Why not let the laity actively participate in this ritual - consecrating the elements?  Consecration is not dependent on who does it, but rather the faith of the recipient.  I will discuss this particular sacrament in another post.

To the small parish, a shift to allow laity to consecrate Holy Communion could breathe life into it in ways that have not been considered.  When I look at our small parish, what I see is a congregation pulling together as we always have done when we're without a priest. The laity taking on a sacramental role when no priest is available can bring deeper meaning to the vitality and the necessity of a parishes existence 

My parish is not trying to go it alone.  For the first time since I've been a member, we have hired an interim priest, who is very good, is very helpful, and will be missed.   We are now actively seeking a rector - a part time rector since such a candidate has appeared on the radar and our diocese is interested in the candidate as a resource for the diocese.  

My hope in this adventure is that we end up with someone who leads us to become leaders, to bring the church into the community and invite the community in; to shake up the hardened soil of our church, to allow us to grow new roots in its elaborate old pot, to help us branch out, to see our traditional way of worship take on new and deeper meanings, to embrace the diversity that exists in our community and help it flourish.  

The Post-Christian world offers Christianity a chance to rethink its theology; to remove the encrustations that surrounds the valid traditions that Christianity is rooted in.  The larger parishes have the luxury of professional leaders who can say things and do things that most laity wouldn't consider approaching, but unless the laity; in particular, the laity found in smaller parishes are willing to think beyond their comfort zone, to study and to embrace the ignored obvious; that change is upon us and that we must change and find what it means to be Christian in a Post-Christian world, churches will close because they no longer have the will to live.  

My parish is not there, yet.  They will to live, and they have a good basis on which to start, people who care for another to build upon, a style and form of worship they are committed to, and the liminality of  a place in which encounter the sanctity of a new vision.

Until next time, stay faithful.

Norm