EVERETT — Throughout time, churches and contemporary cultures have found themselves at odds.
These days, many churches are struggling to maintain their congregations, something that didn’t come up much in the 1950s and ’60s, said Dana Wright, the director of Christian formation and discipleship at First Presbyterian Church in downtown Everett.
The conversation now is turning to how churches and their congregations can adapt together, without losing sight of what’s important, he said. At First Presbyterian, that means a new focus on multigenerational worship, as described in the Book of Leviticus, he said.
That means moving toward church events where everyone participates together, instead of programs aimed at smaller groups. Sunday services and Sunday school formats may change as church leaders see how the new style of fellowship is going.
“That is a strategy for helping us understand what it means to be a people at worship. We’re a people at worship,” Wright said.
The relationship of churches and congregations in modern times is something Wright, 64, thinks about a lot. He grew up in Spokane and became a pastor in Seattle. As he worked on his doctorate degree in Christian education, he changed to see faith as something beyond any one person’s inner life, he said. There was a connection to the community and the role of the church in society.
“It deepened my understanding of what was at stake,” he said.
He started the job in Everett about eight years ago.
“Certain things in the culture have eroded the status that churches used to have, so the task today is for congregations to respond to the new situation that has developed over the last 30 years or so and reconstruct the way of being a church in the 21st century,” he said.
Christianity used to be a package deal, he said, and people accepted church as an establishment in their lives. These days, there is a push for churches to offer elective-style programs for people to pick and choose. That doesn’t sit quite right with Wright, treating church like a marketplace commodity.
The challenge is deciding how much the culture should change the church, and how much the church should change the culture, Wright said. His answer is for a congregation to see itself as a community. The church and the congregation have a committed relationship, and they have to keep learning about each other and thinking about the future, he said, with learning as the church’s constant mission.
“Instead of going to church, we talk about being the church,” he said.
Another way First Presbyterian is reaching out is by offering a quarterly public film series. The idea was to show movies with depth and theological meaning. The current series runs until December, with a theme of immigration.
People still are catching on to the new thinking, Wright said. His message is that faith can shine a light on inner life, but also current and historical economic, political and social conditions.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
First Presbyterian Church in downtown Everett runs a quarterly film series. The next film is “Matewan” on Nov. 20. Each film night starts with a potluck meal at 6 p.m. with the movie at 7.
The church at 2936 Rockefeller Ave. also is in need of volunteers with cooking skills to help with community dinner events. More info: 425-259-7139.
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