What is it like to be the part-time minister of a church that was filled with children and families fifty years ago, with two Sunday school sittings per Sunday, Mother’s Union and much more, but as COVID plunged us into new territory in 2020, had an average of 20 attendees on a Sunday?

Where do you start?

There’s a story of three decades of decline with lightness and deep shadows. The current worship comprises four hymns, four Bible readings, a ten-minute reflection and Holy Communion. There are the faithful who have remained well, faithful, and are an inspiring ‘treasured possession’, ‘oaks of righteousness’.

Yet, everything I pray will happen, with the eyes of faith and imagination, seems so fragile and experimental. Then one Sunday morning when ten masked people are allowed to gather at some point in the twilight of lockdowns, I hear myself confidently say through my mask, ‘A church re-grows through small steps, micro actions’. This sounded comforting and manageable to me, in the first weeks, which became months.

I’d already found a puppet and as we live-streamed the second service I’d ever taken as the ‘priest-in-charge’, with a phone and laptop, I did a very average ‘kidult talk’ (kid+adult) in front of the phone, to set a tone of hope.

I bravely believed that somehow, our God was going to begin a new chapter and that a small suburban church could be a bright light for the kingdom. My missionary childhood had given me a love for people, challenge, and confidence that the gospel can do unexpectedly creative things.

So throughout lockdowns, I rang people, dropped off little parcels of cake if it was their birthday, and newsletters. That’s right – the old parish newsletter came into it’s own and was read! It kept us together! It was emailed to most and printed and mailed to the non-techy elderly.

We used a zoom option where you could dial in from your landline! One lovely senior told me, ‘I’m in my dressing gown in my comfy chair, listening on speaker phone, but when I close my eyes, I’m there, in church!’

As lockdowns ended, my garden produced roses in amazing abundance, so I picked them, removed thorns, wrapped them in wet cotton wool and foil (yes, micro actions speak) and presented each returning person with a rose and ‘Welcome back to church!’ I had not met them in person, though I picked quite a few from their voices!

The following list in no particular order, gives a snapshot of the variety of ministries in a small church that’s kept us focussed, joyful and yes, hopeful, over the past three years:

• Ministry to ageing saints, as their lives end and they go Home. This has become a ministry I cherish, both with them and their families, many of whom have lost faith. The care of the dying and their funerals, have grown me. I hope I’ve also sown lots of seeds in family and friends or thrown compost on the soil of dry hearts.
• Ministry to very competent and mature people as they retire and are the core volunteers.
• Re-starting church morning teas by baking cakes, especially for each birthday!
• Ministry to a small number of new members who have joined our worshipping congregation, including parents and families, mainly from Asia, and their preschoolers, children and young people.
• The start of ministries to young people on Sunday.
• Ministry to grow people who are gifted to lead these groups.
• Ministry to grow young people’s faith practice, through being on appropriate rosters: Bible reading, tech desk, welcoming-sides person, helping cook sausages after church for a simple lunch.
• Ministry to make every Sunday service a time of spiritual refreshment, through song, the Scriptures and the Sacraments.
• Ministry through weddings and baptisms.
• Ministry to the church building and gardens, needing repairs and refreshing – so fundraising and hard yakka.
• Ministry to the local community through fortnightly iGen (intergenerational) ‘Play’ Group, loosely based on the ABC’s TV series, ‘Old People’s Home for Four year olds’.
• Ministry to university students as an honorary chaplain at a nearby University.
• Ministry to two local retirement villages.
• Ministry to colleagues through Deanery.
• Ministry to become financially viable.
• Ministry to grow a paid lay leader to begin local missional activities.
• Ministry to pray for and financially support a missionary family as they travel overseas.

Caroline is Priest in Charge of a Melbourne Parish (name changed due to pastoral sensitivity).