The members of Old South Church in Hallowell, Maine will gather after worship tomorrow, Sunday, November 12, 2023, to vote on a plan put forward by the governing body of the church to put the sanctuary building up for sale. We’ve known this day would come— eventually. Our congregation is shrinking and our buildings are becoming harder and harder to maintain. Nestled into a hill with only a couple of parking spots immediately adjacent, the sanctuary building has also become harder for our older (and younger) folks to access.

One of the things that I’m finding especially interesting is to listen in for the words that are uttered as people talk about the decision ahead. Some of the words are not surprising: sad, anxious, worried, it’s time, heartbroken. Other words are surprising, like “angry.” One woman started talking about how sad she was about the vote. She hasn’t been attending Old South for very long and loves the sanctuary. And, now we are voting on a decision to try to sell it. “I’m just so . . . ., “she said lingering on what to say after “so.” The first word she said was “sad,” but then she said that wasn’t the right word. Finally, the word popped out: “angry.”

People at Old South don’t use the word “angry” a lot. I found it interesting to hear this woman not only utter the word, but struggle to find a comparable word before finally uttering the word that clearly was on her mind. She just wasn’t sure what sort of reception it would get.

She’s actually not the first to say the word “angry” in recent months. Others are angry too. What prompts the anger is connected to the realization that we find ourselves in a situation we never imagined. When most, if not all, of us first became actively connected to a church, we assumed that the church would continue, mostly as is. Sure, there would be change, but nothing so dramatic as selling a building or, as other congregations have been forced to face, closure. For those of us who like to attend church, who count on our community of faith to get through life, it’s very difficult to find ourselves with the sort of decision point that looms before us. How did this happen?

In the book The Great Dechurching, Jim Davis and Michael Graham seek to unravel the various issues that have led to the “largest and fastest shift [in the religious landscape] in US history.” From their more evangelical position, the trends are especially alarming. From a traditional mainline church, we’ve been in the midst of the shift for a very long time. There’s a lot going on in the great shift, but at Old South, part of our response is anger— anger directed at those expressions of the Church that have torn at the fabric of Christian legitimacy. Those who are angry are especially angry at those who have perpetrated or have participated in—directly or indirectly— the myriad moral and ethical scandals that have rocked the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptists and many evangelical churches. While no denomination is free from error and sin, the United Church of Christ has not experienced anything like the terrible scandals of clergy abuse of children and women. Yet, we feel the punishment, as people flee Christian communities. We feel the judgment. While we certainly feel sympathy toward those who have left the Church because of serious moral lapses and hypocrisy, some of us our angry at those who have so wantonly harmed the Church and her denominations.

So, along with the sense of heartbreak, sadness and anxiety, there’s anger. And, it’s not just about the scandals. There are other issues too, like the decline in attendance that began in the 1970s, especially in mainline churches. The anger is not simply about what we ourselves are losing, but what wider communities are losing as churches shrink to the point of vanishing. It doesn’t take much looking to see the brokenness of our society, the frayed edges of our threadbare social fabric. The Church, and her denominations, is not the perfect antidote. But, churches have been significant resources of hope and healing. They are places that are usually good at reaching out to the lost and least, the isolated and the lonely. They are places, usually, that help people appreciate that each person is valued and treasured.

That we are being stifled and harmed from the inside and the outside, it’s no wonder that we are struggling to find just the right words to describe our experience. Heartbreak and anger. Sadness and frustration. But, it’s important that in this time we consider not only our words, but the Word, the One who offers hope and love even when things look so bleak, even unto death.