The leaders of two Damariscotta churches say the decision by one church to share services and space with the other this winter will strengthen both.
The Rev. Gail Kendrick, minister and team leader at Damariscotta United Methodist Church, said concern about soaring heat bills factored heavily into the decision to migrate to Damariscotta Baptist Church, a few hundred yards away.
The monthly bill for the 99-year-old building at 40 Church St. has topped $1200, an imposing figure for a church where an average of 17 people attend Sunday morning service.
“We’re hopeful that our savings over the winter will be about $4000,” Kendrick said. The savings would allow the church to dedicate more of its modest resources to ministries instead of overhead, she said.
The leaders of the churches met before the Methodist church’s members made the final decision to move in. “It was a courageous thing for the folks to do and a wonderful step to be good stewards of their resources,” Kendrick said.
Joint services began the first Sunday of December. The Methodists plan to stay through March.
Pastor Glen Vaughn of Damariscotta Baptist Church said the approximately 60 people who attend Sunday services there are excited to welcome their neighbors and guests.
The churches’ cooperation, in this and other ways, sends a positive message to the community, especially in a bitterly divisive time in politics and elsewhere in society, he said.
The common beliefs of the churches, especially regarding the message of salvation and of a loving God who offers “hope and healing and light” needs to go out to “a world that is where a lot of division is, a lot of hurt and pain,” Vaughn said.
“If we can become more united together, then that message becomes stronger, I think, to people who need hope and light,” he said.
The churches do have some differences in theology. Kendrick notes a difference in emphasis, while Vaughn said Baptists and Methodists have different beliefs about the practices of baptism and communion.
The denominations also have different forms of government. Baptists have a highly democratic style of government, whereas the United Methodist Church has an episcopal system with a council of bishops at the helm.
The ministers agree that the similarities far outweigh the differences.
“Our basic beliefs are the same,” Kendrick said, including “the most basic one – that Jesus is the son of God who came to forgive sins and grant salvation.”
Pastor Vaughn was a pastor at Methodist churches in Tennessee before coming to Damariscotta Baptist Church in November 2008.
Rev. Kendrick said she frequently watches his sermons on the Lincoln County Television website. “It could be me up there preaching,” she said. “Our messages are very similar.”
Pastor Vaughn said his members, like himself, often have backgrounds in other denominations, and include Congregationalists, Methodists and individuals from non-denominational churches.
“I think that helps to be open to welcome others,” Vaughn said.
The Methodists appreciate the warm reception. “The Baptists have been so gracious and hospitable and welcoming,” Kendrick said. “The Methodist people going have been very happy with this arrangement.”
Both ministers said area churches collaborate in other ways. The Ecumenical Food Pantry, in Newcastle, is a prime example. The Second Congregational Church provides a space for the pantry, but several local churches support the initiative financially and with volunteers.
The same church also hosts a community dinner every Wednesday at 5 p.m., and area churches provide labor for the dinner on a rotating basis.
Local churches organize occasional ecumenical services, and an ecumenical group has been meeting to talk about homelessness in the community.
Local clergy also work together within an informal network to solve problems as they arise. For example, Pastor Vaughn sometimes finds out about someone in the community who needs help with a bill or a place to stay for a few nights.
The Baptist church might not have the resources to help, but Vaughn calls other clergy members and organizes whatever the person needs.
“We communicate with each other and we pitch in,” he said. “With our budgets the way they are, it’s hard to do things to help people, but when we come together and everybody pitches in,” it’s possible.
Kendrick and Vaughn said they do not know whether the Methodists will move in again next year, or whether a shared space might be a long-term solution.
The members of the Methodist church have yet to discuss plans for future winters, Kendrick said.
“We’re waiting to see what God provides, but if it goes well this winter, we’ll certainly try it again,” she said. “The long range hope is that we will strengthen each others’ ministries by working together, not just this winter, but in the future.”
Other churches might find themselves considering similar arrangements, and some already have.
Kendrick said another church in the Midcoast already shares space for the same reasons. The region has approximately 70-80 Methodist churches, and 2/3 of those have less than 50 members, she said.
“I think it is a common thing that’s happening, especially today, as we have lots of churches but dwindling numbers,” Vaughn said.
“I think it’s a very hopeful thing that people of faith can cooperate,” Kendrick said. “We’re all trying to do God’s work in the world, and if we can make ourselves more effective in doing that by working together, what a blessing.”
