She sat in the pew absorbing the peace of the place before
people started filing in for the worship service.
I saw her there and went back to speak to her. I commented that she had seen a lot of change
over the decades. She was in her late
70’s and had been attending the church for nearly 60 years.She reminisced about how the ushers used to wear morning coats; she always like that. She talked about the limousines idling along the street. The deacons used to take the waiting chauffeurs hot coffee in the winter. This was a glimpse into another world for her.
She quickly assured me that she still loved the church. She said all the changes that had been made
were good and necessary.
In her youth the church had been quite large and counted
some wealthy, celebrated members among its ranks. The long-term pastor was well know within the
city and throughout the denomination and broader Baptist family. The old imposing Romanesque sanctuary, which burned in
1972, was a landmark in that part of the city.
Now the congregation worshipped in the original sanctuary, more modest
but quite adequate for our needs.
As the neighborhood began to become racially integrated in
the early 60’s, so did the congregation.
By my arrival, the church was predominately African American.
She concluded her reminiscing with a smile of contentment and reiterated
that she still loved the church; it was just the way it should be, she said.Michael K. Girlinghouse (Embracing God’s Future without Forgetting the Past—A Conversation about Loss, Grief, and Nostalgia in Congregational Life) draws a distinction between yearning and nostalgia. Girlinghouse defines yearning as “obsessive rumination and a fixation on the past that paralyzes the mourner and makes it difficult to think about the future” (p. 104). Congregations can yearn for a particular time in the past, a beloved pastor or program. Pastors can also yearn for a previous church or period of ministry that was rewarding and life giving. Yearning congregations and ministers try to recreate what they once had. Often what they are yearning for is the web of relationships and people who filled their lives in that period. This exercise is sometimes based on fantasies that have little basis in the past reality. The congregation is prone to turn inward, disengage from the community, and distance themselves from the denomination (p. 105).
Nostalgic reflection,
on the other hand, “can help us see that while much has been lost, the core of
who the congregation is remains” (p. 165).
We come to a deeper appreciation of the strengths of our past, which
prepares us for the future.
Nostalgia can open us up to that great cloud of witnesses
the writer of Hebrews describes and help us draw from their example as we
contemplate our future (p. 36).
Nostalgic memories can remind us of how our forebears adapted to changed
realities and help us develop a sense of continuity with the past. The most nostalgic memory in every congregation
should be the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (p. 143-144).Nostalgia is not about trying to reestablish or preserve the past. Rather, is it about learning from and giving thanks for our past, which steels us to embrace the future with courage. Nostalgia coupled with faith does not dishearten us; it makes us brave and bold.
That woman in my congregation did not want the past
back. She was thankful for it but was
game for the next new thing God was going to do in us and through us.
I led worship that day heartened by the memory of all God
had done in that place and anticipating the next thing God was going to do among us.Jim Kelsey
Executive Minister—American Baptist Churches of New York State
