When I started seminary (2008) the hot topic was “what will church look like in the 21st century.” There was abundant evidence that the forecast was dismal. Attendance, donations, participation, and interest were on steep declines. Alienation, apathy, suspicion, scandal, and SBNR (spiritual but not religious) were on steep inclines. The old ways were not going to support the future, but the new ways were undefined. The discussions usually fell into two categories: dread and excitement.

The dread response was typically voiced by older, traditional people who mourned the decline of religion which had played an important part in their lives. The excitement response was from seminarians who saw opportunity in the necessary adaptions—but we had little to no real church experience.

2020 is the test for churches in the 21st Century. All the past angst of worrying about what might happen was useless. Every imagined disruption has happened. We can’t meet, we can’t sing, we can’t gather, we can’t eat together, we can’t touch, we can’t do most of the things that were important to us. But we’re still here—and we are thriving.

UUFSCC has shown that we will be here for the 21st century. We’ve adapted and are adjusting to this new reality. We grieve for our losses, but most of us have adjusted to Zoom, virtual conversations, mask wearing, and social distancing. It is different, but we are still here.

And we are still a vibrant, supportive community. Our response to the fire evacuees was wonderful. We have more Adult and Youth classes than ever before. Our Sunday worship attendance has never been higher—or more geographically diverse. We still support and have our families and children. We are welcoming visitors and had a new members ceremony in November where four people joined. All committees and teams are meeting—and we’ve even created new groups (Sunday morning Tech & COVID response).

I think the church of the 21st century will look like we do right now. We’ll have no set way of doing things, but will respond and react to changes as they come. We’ll support each other with compassion and love. We’ll focus on our core values and walk with each other trying to lead a life of meaning and purpose. We’ll celebrate. We’ll grieve. We’ll be in community and be in covenant with each other. We’ll forgive each other. We’ll cry together. We’ll laugh together. We’ll do all these things as best we can. For me, that’s what church is about—and we’re already on our way………………yours in shared ministry………….Russ