Saddle-Bag Ministry
[As we talk this month about Collaborative Ministry, let us hear some description from Joyce of the 4 year project (called Saddle-Bag Ministry), taken from her article in her on-line book “Gleanings of a Prairie Pastor”.
Available for downloading from CiRCLe M (circle-m.ca).]
In 1974, there was opportunity for a convergence between myself and the Saddlebag Ministry Committee in the Moose Jaw Presbytery, United Church of Canada. The lay-based committee sought to employ a person for a 4-year period (1974 – 1978) who would help them try to determine what they could about “Rural Ministry as a Specialized Ministry”.
How might a local-initiated ministry function as compared with the more traditional way ministry in rural areas had functioned under the direction of Presbytery?
A cluster of concerned persons who had worked hard to envision rural ministry from a different perspective was formed out of the Moose Jaw Presbytery. This group named their priorities for local ministry: to canvas local people regarding their spiritual needs, focus on visiting and community involvement, plan worship experiences and special events that would be more occasional and with content specifically focused toward those in attendance, the minister have holidays when rural travel and activities were difficult and other people were away (i.e. winter). This work would be inclusive (not bound by denominational boundaries) and innovative (we couldn’t say, “but we’ve never done that before”).
With a National Church financial grant to cover a good percentage of the costs, the Presbytery launched a 4-year experimental project. The intent was to develop an initiative by which the ministry would work in liaison with other established congregations in the Presbytery.
The Saddlebag Committee saw me as a resource person who would give input and follow the directions determined by our working unit. I worked with the help of a voters’ list from the previous provincial election and a municipal map.
Rural ministry needs to be inclusive, inter-denominational / interfaith, help interpret what is happening in the community (e.g. in times of grief, conflict, or experiences like bankruptcy), help community members move from lament to expecting hope, find a place for newcomers in community, invite people to talk about where they have been in their travels and what they have discovered of God. Wonderful alliances can be made when church folk work together with those who have arts and cultural interests, and those who have environmental interests.
