A radical new model of ministry is being explored in the rural Eastern Townships. In the southeast of corner of the Diocese, our Regional Ministry encompasses eleven active church buildings (marked in red on the map at right), across a territory more than double the entire Island of Montreal. Luckily, there are fewer stop lights, orange cones, and construction zones out in the country — especially on the gravel backroads!
In addition to these eleven, there are a number of mission communities (marked in blue), where we no longer own a physical church building, but where we are still regularly called to provide pastoral care in baptisms, marriages, and funerals. Moreover, a committed cohort of volunteers from across the region, and as far away as Montreal, also meet routinely at the Cowansville Federal Penitentiary (marked in green) to lead chapel services, Bible study, and a monthly book club. All of this makes up the landscape of the Eastern Townships Regional Ministry.
Each of the eleven churches in the Regional Ministry contribute to having two full-time priests living and serving in the area: Archdeacon Tim Smart, as Team Leader, and myself as Associate Priest. On any given Sunday, Tim and I each cover services in one to two (and occasionally three) different churches. Rural ministry requires a lot of driving. Regularly 100km per Sunday— even more at Christmas and Easter!
Archdeacon Linda Borden Taylor is a welcome addition to the ministry team as an Honorary Associate. The region is also served by Deacons Randy Gates and Judy Ball, and a dedicated group of Lay Readers. Together we tirelessly provide services across the Townships based on a regional schedule.
Some churches have a Eucharist every Sunday, while others have a priest once or twice a month, or only a few times a year. Churches without a priest on a Sunday may have services of Morning Prayer, or are encouraged to commute to another parish with a Sunday Eucharist. Anyone can also tune into the live-stream broadcast from Grace Church in Sutton, the “digital hub” of the Regional Ministry.
Certainly, it is daunting to juggle so many different churches across such a large geography. Yet, ironically, COVID19 provided the initial momentum towards a team ministry, as we all gathered online for a single Zoom service from across the whole region — and beyond. These Zoom services provided an environment for fostering new relationships, new friendships, and unity. Those who now travel around to different churches for Sunday worship often remark how they already know so many friendly faces because they’ve met online.
To continue to build momentum, the Regional Ministry hosts special joint worship services on months with a fifth Sunday, during which we all worship together in a single service and share a potluck meal afterwards. Upwards of seventy to eighty people attend these regional services, and they are important opportunities for building a strong team spirit; there is a tremendous sense of fellowship at these services, and it is a real joy to see churches so full.
Crucially, these big services also provide a sense of hope to rural churches whose congregations are otherwise very small (often with less than a dozen in attendance), and who face decreasing financial resources. Alone, many of the churches in this region have limited futures; together, we have an opportunity for greater longevity. The team ministry exploration here in the Eastern Townships may even provide a much-needed model for other areas of the Diocese!
