Small Church Ministry Steering Committee Update

My husband, Mark, and I participated in something totally out of character for us recently; we celebrated New Year’s Eve in downtown San Antonio, braving the crowds, cold weather, carnival atmosphere, and LOTS of street food vendors. We were rewarded with watching the best fireworks display we have ever witnessed, bringing in the new year with good friends and fellow Episcopalians and eating some good German food, washed down with some mighty fine German beer, on the riverwalk. Little did we know that our New Year’s Eve experience would be connected to the Small Church Gathering in San Antonio a short month later!

“Try it on to see if it works, and if it doesn’t, let it go and move on.” So said Canon Leyla King at that Gathering. To be honest, when she first brought it up to the Steering Committee, I had some doubts about her planned presentation.  As a cradle Episcopalian, I am well versed in the importance of honoring traditions in the church.  What did she mean about letting go? Trying something new or letting go of the old does not come easy for many Episcopalians. We like what we like about the Episcopal Church- its history, service, prayers, and yes, its traditions- and we want everyone else to like what we like, too.

But as Canon Leyla explained, “Try it on” can be a way of being, especially in small churches – a way of thinking about trying something new in the church. It is about recognizing that trying something new means just that, something to try and not something that will last forever. It is okay for churches to be open to adapting, revamping, or even letting go of programs that do not serve the purpose of fostering growth, physically or spiritually, in a congregation. It is a mindset about embracing the freedom to take risks, of seeing if something is a good ‘fit’ and if it is not, then taking it off and moving on to try something else.

While walking through La Villita on our New Year’s Eve experience, we stopped to read a historical marker in front of the Little Church of La Villita and learned that it was once owned by the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas.  A month later, our travels brought us to another historical marker, located in front of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, the host church for the Small Church Gathering. We learned from that marker that The Little Church of La Villita was once the site of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. Established in 1895 as the first Episcopal Church in the Diocese of West Texas for African Americans, it was the foundation of what is known today as St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. We discovered that our journeys to two seemingly unrelated sites were actually connected!

I am thankful that the Diocese of West Texas over a hundred years ago had the leadership and foresight to ‘try it on,’ to establish the first Episcopal Church for African Americans in the Diocese.  There have been many challenges and changes, many new ‘tries,’ over the years for St. Philip’s, including its location, programs and services, some of which the church kept, and some the church let go.

I doubt that Mark and I will celebrate New Year’s Eve again in downtown San Antonio, but we “tried it on” and if we had not done so, we would not have learned about the rich history of the Diocese of West Texas, and particularly of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. And if we had not gone to the Small Church Gathering, we would have missed the opportunity of meeting the wonderful people of St. Philip’s who are proud and passionate of their heritage, history, and service to those in need and each other (and who are really good cooks and great hosts!). For me, as a member of a small church, I now understand what Canon King was trying to say, that “trying it on” is a mindset for our churches to embrace: to be willing to take risks, to try something new, learn from each experience, and if it is not a good fit, then to let go and move on.