Rev. Tammy Allan said a fellow minister from Innisfail best described the resource-sharing agreement finalized between the Olds and Sundre United churches last month.
“She talked about it in terms of the courtship,” Allan said. “So the conversation period was the courtship, we're now formally engaged or betrothed to one another and by the fall we will have evaluated this twice and the hope is, by the end of December, we will either be breaking the engagement and going different ways or formally getting married.”
After signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February, the churches are carrying out a trial run of sharing “ministry personnel” over the next 10 months.
As part of the agreement, Allan, who has served as minister at the Olds United Church since January 2013, will lead worship services in Olds and Sundre.
The Sundre church has been without a minister since last June.
Allan said the agreement is the culmination of several years of discussions among regional United congregations about how “to more effectively minister to our communities.”
Those discussions, she added, narrowed to the Olds and Sundre congregations in the last year.
Along with a morning worship service on Sunday in Olds and an afternoon service in Sundre, Allan will dedicate roughly 10 hours of her workweek to Sundre and 30 hours to Olds.
“For me it's an exciting opportunity to do ministry in a different way that meets the needs and supports two communities,” she said, adding having a minister rotate among congregations is common at certain times of year or in smaller, rural areas.
The congregations will also share “joint” Worship and Christian Life and Ministry of Personnel committees
The reason for the agreement comes down to the congregations looking at the best ways to manage their financial and personnel resources, Allan said.
Up until last year, Rev. Frank Johnson, a retired minister who returned to active service, had carried out worship services in Sundre for seven years.
Since he was already retired, Sundre did not have to pay him benefits or a pension and he worked on a “three-quarter-time” basis during the week, Allan said.
After Johnson decided to retire for good in June, different people led worship services in Sundre each week including laypersons from the congregation or outside clergy who were brought in.
But when looking at a more permanent plan for replacing Johnson, Sundre had to consider the costs of bringing in a new minister who would have to be paid benefits and a pension.
Allan said the local congregation and the “Presbytery,” the regional body governing the church, carry out a “joint needs assessment” when a minister leaves.
During the assessment, the needs of the congregation and the community are surveyed and a determination is made on what type of ministry is needed for the congregation, including whether a full-time, part-time or shared minister is required.
The Sundre congregation decided it needed a minister who could work on a half-time basis.
“But when they really took a close look at their resources, half time would have really been a stretch,” Allan said.
At the same time, it's more difficult to find a minister right now as fewer people are going into the ministry, said Joyce Quaife, chair of the Olds congregation's church council.
So Sundre's active search for a minister was put on hold last year and discussions with the Olds congregation about resource sharing began, Allan said.
The MOU, which includes covering the cost of Allan's travel between Olds and Sundre, was signed in early February and the Presbytery, based out of Red Deer for this region, approved the agreement on Feb. 27.
The resource-sharing trial began March 1.
The only “hiccup” in the trial period, Allan said, was how she would lead services in hospitals and senior lodges.
She said lay people have assumed such duties in Olds and she carries out those services in Sundre following Sunday worship.
The congregations will evaluate how the resource-sharing project is working in June and again in October and Allan said a decision on a more permanent use of resources will likely be made before the end of the year.
That decision could be to continue sharing resources or to find Sundre its own minister, but likely won't mean either community would lose its church, she added.
“I think closure will not be on the table in 10 months.”
The Olds congregation is made up of 125 to 150 families with an average worship service attendance of 60 to 70 families each Sunday.
Sundre has 75 to 80 families and the average attendance is roughly 20 families a week.
Allan said the size of the congregation in each community is remaining stable with some families “aging out” and new families coming to the church.
Quaife said the transition to sharing resources was easy for the two congregations since members already knew each other well as many participate in both churches.
She described the congregations as “extended family.”
Murray Ball, a member of the church council and a former Olds councillor, added groups from either congregation often work together and that tradition will continue.
“If we're having special events, they would probably participate in ours and vice versa. You might see that at a Christmas concert.”
He said along with finding a way to “maximize resources” between the congregations, the resource-sharing project will also expand the church's presence in both communities.
“Together we're better and stronger.”
