A couple of weeks ago I drove up to the Chilmark Community Church on a Friday morning to check in with interim pastor extraordinaire the Rev. Charlotte Wright and some of the team from the church — Julie Flanders and Pam Goff. They went through a major shift at the end of last year and moving into this year — they essentially ended their connection with the national Methodist church and are now leading themselves. The church legally retained its land and parish buildings through a legal process and ended its affiliation with the United Methodist Church.
“Julie is the chair of building and grounds and her father was a longtime trustee and the Goff family has been involved in this church for decades,” Wright said. “These are generational families. This really was standing on the shoulders of generations before. We were just at the right time and place that it came together.”
The disaffiliation process was set up in 2019, Wright explained, and UMC leaders allowed churches to leave with their property if they went through a very thorough process. There was also an “exit fee” formula based on the size of the church and its value. Late attorney Ron Rappaport guided the process, Wright said. It likely also went more smoothly because Wright is not a Methodist minister, she’s a United Church of Christ minister, and so it wasn’t a case of a Methodist pastor disaffiliating his or her flock.
The focus now, though, is on moving forward.
“Sunday School is full and there are lots of people in the church now,” Flanders said.
“Pews are so much more filled than they used to be. We feel very optimistic,” Goff added.
Now they will begin to think about putting together a search for a new pastor committed to steering the community church.
Goff said that previously they’ve had a hard time getting a pastor who would stay in Chilmark year-round and lead the congregation. After the most recent minister, the Rev. Ernest Belisle, left, they’ve had a hard time acquiring a new leader. But that was OK in a sense, because it meant the congregation led itself and that helped make them more independent.
“We have a lot of traditional things still occurring — lobster rolls, our music and light program — and slowly we can add new ideas and ventures. Right now, we’re trying to hold the course,” Flanders said.
Goff says they are open to doing things in a different way.
“There’s a little freedom here — the music is freer. We’re all doing our jobs and trying to think of better ways of doing them,” she said.
Wright explained that the church became incorporated last year and that means they are responsible for writing their own bylaws and developing their own organizational chart. They had to rethink boards and committees and then learn to live within that new structure as an independent church with no heirarchy. They’ll have quarterly open congregation meetings and vote on what needs to come to a vote.
While there are processes that are working their way into place now, it doesn’t mean the changes didn’t come without challenges.
“The scary thing for this church was not knowing what the outcome would be,” Wright said.
The congregation boldly told the New England Conference of the United Methodist Church they wanted to separate, but there was that outside chance “that it could go south and they could come and close the church down,” Wright said. In other words, to make the move required a leap of faith.
They trusted Wright’s leadership — she is one of those specially qualified ministers who are sent in to help congregations through interim times when they have no pastor.
“We had a steering committee that kept the wheels on the bus and then it got scarier when we got to court…we could be told no or it could drag out and be very expensive. There was that whole unknown, but they knew it was the right direction for this church. There were lots of midnight prayers…God, I thope this is the right thing to do,” Wright said.
They plan to host an event in September and invite the Island community to join them in celebrating the changes. And they may also have to think about starting a capital campaign to replenish the funds used to carry out the disaffiliation process. The women said the church was lucky in that they’ve had conscientious fiscal management with the pastors they have had in place. Soon they’ll be writing a profile and coming together to find out what type of new pastor they are looking for, and reaching out to advertise the position.
Wright said she’d like to see someone more local who might understand the Island culture. “I think this is a unique position,” she said. “I believe that people might be very interested in coming here. There is full housing with a parsonage and a 20-hour work week, so they could get another job …”
“Or write a book,” Goff added.
“You need a pastor who can connect into the future,” Wright said.
Well, the congregation has their work cut out for them, but it’s joyful work and they’re ready to take it on.
