Two United Church parishes in Saanich are attempting to get ahead of any upcoming decline in attendance by merging.
Ministers at St. Aidan’s United Church and Cadboro Bay United Church say both congregations are strong with about 250 families each. But they can also see the aging demographic of their parishioners and read reports of declining church attendance Canada-wide.
The formal day for the union has been set for May 31.
“Rather than wait until we have to be reactive, we are looking for a way to be proactive,” said Cadboro Bay lead minister Rev. Mark Green. “We want to put ourselves in a place where we can launch new kinds of ministries.”
Rev. Cheryl Black, St. Aidan’s lead minister, said the coming amalgamation is driven by a shared vision. “We both believe the progressive Christian voice needs to be a strong voice and we both believe we will be stronger together.
“We are all pretty pumped.”
Congregations in both parishes voted in November to join by 87 per cent at St. Aidan’s and 80 per cent at Cadboro Bay.
No name has been chosen for the new church and no decision has been made on a site — either Cadboro Bay at 2625 Arbutus Rd. or St. Aidan’s at 3703 St. Aidan’s St. Whatever is eventually decided will require votes by the two parishes.
Across Canada, churches face declines in membership and are struggling to deal with a demographic whose members are aging and changing. Younger people no longer share the same commitment to church membership, attendance or support.
In Trust, a magazine for theological schools, wrote in 2016 that weekly religious attendance in Canada has plummeted since the end of the Second World War, going from nearly 70 per cent of the population in 1945 to 13 per cent in 2013.
A study in 2017 by Sarah Wilkins-Lafflamme of the University of Waterloo — Religious Spiritual Secular and Social Landscapes of the Pacific Northwest — reported a small uptick and stabilization in B.C., with 17 per cent of people attending religious service once a week and a further eight per cent going at least once a month.
Laflamme’s study revealed, however, a growing lack of commitment to any specific religion among younger people in B.C. Her study says 45 per cent of those ages 15-34 reported no religion at all in 2014, compared with 32 per of those ages 35-54, 20 per cent of those 55-74 and three per cent of those over 75.
These widespread social changes are forcing most religious organizations to respond with church closures and amalgamations such as the one planned by St. Aidan’s and Cadboro Bay United.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Victoria, which extends across Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, has a relatively stable membership, boosted by an influx of immigrant families from countries such as the Philippines or those in Latin America.
But Victoria Diocese Bishop Gary Gordon said a shortage of ordained priests is forcing parishes to adjust. Six in the capital region are now twinned, with one priest administering to two parishes or sharing other resources, such as bookkeeping.
The Anglican Diocese of British Columbia, which serves Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, has closed, joined or attempted to amalgamate several churches since the late 1970s.
In 2010, five churches were dis-established in Esquimalt, View Royal and Vic West, and their parishes moved to St. Paul’s, which was renamed the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul’s in Esquimalt.
About the same time, two others — St. Philip and St. Mary the Virgin, both in Oak Bay — were directed to amalgamate. But the process failed and both parishes now continue separately.
Both Gordon and Anglican Bishop Logan McMenamie say modern circumstances are a challenge, but also represent new opportunities to remake their churches for a healthier future.
Gordon envisions a future where parishes are less priest-driven and reach out to their various congregations for assistance and guidance.
“I see this as embracing our poverty to open us up to possibilities of the Holy Spirit to create a more collaborative leadership in the church,” said Gordon.
McMenamie said after he became bishop in 2014, he announced he would not instruct any churches to close or amalgamate. Instead, he will take direction from local parishes if they decide to do so.
He said the Anglican Church on Vancouver Island has had a number of amalgamation successes.
For example, St. Matthew’s in Langford and St. John the Baptist in Colwood came together to become the Church of the Advent, which opened in 1986. In Port Alberni, All Saints Church and the Church of St. Alban’s disestablished in the 1990s and congregants now meet as Trinity Anglican and Lutheran Church.
McMenamie said both those unions were successful because no bishop, or outside agency, came in to say: “This is what is going to happen.” Instead, congregants met and made the decisions on their own.
The notion that success is best achieved when parishioners drive the change is why the St. Aidan’s and Cadboro Bay United Churches are confident they will enjoy a successful union.
Plans are already afoot for the churches to invest in a home-care business, a franchise operation that will provide assistance to seniors or people with disabilities. The care will be based on what parishioners have heard or identified as missing with existing services.
Both parishes have sponsored and assisted refugee families to settle in Canada. By joining together and streamlining their operations, the two churches believe they can assist more refugee families to make the move to new lives.
The two parishes favour a different style of worship. St. Aidan’s is led by a choir and Cadboro Bay has a modern group that plays everything from the Beatles to jazz.
So the new church plans to hold at least two different worship sessions on Sundays. But that’s only a start — there could end up being three, four or more different styles during the week, they say.
“It won’t be an attempt to say: ‘Now you all have to fit in and have the same kind of worship experience,’ ” said Green. “We want people to be able to look and say: ‘Hey, this is a worship style that works for me.’ ”
Black agreed joining together is a risk. But she believes there will be a long-term payoff.
“We can say: ‘Hey, this is really going to be a foundation for a good strong church for years to come,’” said Black. “And it will be an inclusive church with the focus on justice that the United Church has always maintained.
“Stay tuned.”
