Exploring unity

The only thing certain is uncertainty as three Spokane Valley Lutheran churches take steps toward combining their congregations.

The list of decisions to be made by Christ Lutheran, Holy Trinity Lutheran and Good Shepherd Lutheran members is long. How much staff will the new church have and who will they be? What will the name be? Where will the new congregation meet?

The only thing that has been decided is that the churches, by a majority vote in all three congregations, will form a transition council with members from each group to work out the details during the next several months.

The churches, all members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, have held events together for years. A few years ago their ties got even stronger when they collaborated to hire one youth minister to run a program for all three churches. “We can do more together than we can do apart,” said the Rev. James Kashork, pastor of Holy Trinity.

While small membership and limited income are challenges, those are not the reasons the churches are exploring consolidation. There are nine Lutheran churches in the Valley area and that’s simply too many, said Larson. “It’s nuts, it really is,” he said.

Together the churches will have a greater volunteer base to draw from, more ministry options and fewer buildings to maintain. “We know we’re not making the best use of our resources at this point,” Kashork said.

“It really isn’t three sinking ships about to go under,” Larson said. “What it really is, is three viable churches coming together and saying, ‘Let’s do it together.’ ”

The pastors have not led the effort to consolidate the churches, Larson said. “It’s been the membership that has pushed this,” he said. The pastor of Christ Lutheran retired and a short-term interim pastor was recently named to lead the church.

Both pastors said repeatedly that they have no idea what the consolidation will look like yet because the transition council is just beginning its work. “That council will draft proposals about staffing and building use,” Kashork said. “There are a lot of things we don’t know. A lot of stuff has been tossed around.” Congregation members will be able to vote on all the proposed plans as the process moves forward.

During voting congregants seemed to favor using one of the current church buildings as the home of the new congregation, but which one is yet to be determined.

Despite the yes votes ranging from 75 to 90 percent at each congregation, there is some nervousness about the process, the pastors said. “People are anxious,” said Kashork. “It’s understandable. It’s a big change.”

Apparently word has started to trickle out, leading to some unexpected interest. “At this time, none of the properties are for sale,” Larson said. “We’ve gotten some calls already.”

Part of the process will be combining the unique flavors each congregation brings. Christ Lutheran has an annual hanging of the greens event while the other two do not. Good Shepherd is alone in having a Santa Lucia celebration every year. “We’ll have to figure out how to take the best of our traditions and customs,” said Kashork. “And we’ll make new ones,” added Larson.

Despite not knowing if they will have jobs at the end of the process, the pastors seem excited about the plan. “We have faith and trust in the people and God,” Larson said.

“I think it’s an exciting time,” Kashork said.