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by Marlene Gasdia-Cochrane, Editor
April/May 2009
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There were reasons for putting up metal bars on the front doors. It is a city church in an economically challenged neighborhood – in a community known for danger, not dandelions. Several of the church entrances are deep alcoves that offer weather protection as well as hiding places on this poorly lit street. The alcoves were even used as bathrooms. In the 1980’s, the situation reached a critical stage when a fire (believed to be the result of free-basing cocaine) was started in one of the alcoves. The bars went up shortly thereafter.
Then, two years ago, the Rev. David Hammett arrived as the new pastor of Pilgrim United Church of Christ in New Bedford. Hammett, who specializes in working with troubled churches, said the church looked like it was either “afraid of the neighbors or didn’t like them.” He also heard from a number of people who thought Pilgrim was closed because of the gates and the lack of any signs of life outside the building.
So the first step in ministering to the community was to take down the metal bars at the well lit main entrance. The other two entrances, although still gated because of poor lighting and safety issues, now display welcome banners (stating the church is Open and Affirming), a flag, and planters. “Color, motion, plants – more obvious signs of welcome,” said Hammett.
When this small, still struggling but growing, congregation removed the bars, it opened a doorway to more remarkable things. Members now focus on ‘bringing the outside inside,’ serving the homeless, and including the homeless and former drug addicts into membership and service.
“I don’t know that things in the neighborhood have gotten any better, just that we need to be better neighbors if we are going to make a difference,” said Hammett. “Someone has to take the first step and it might as well be us.”
Pilgrim has hosted the city soup kitchen over the past 25 years – serving over a million meals throughout that period. There are 15-30 volunteers who help serve each time: people from the congregation, their friends, or others within the community. There is usually a prayer with the servers before beginning service at which time Hammett reminds the volunteers that the people who come “often have the whole world on their shoulders and that our sole job is to bless them.”
“We have a number of people who used to be guests of the soup kitchen now wearing aprons on the other side of the counter,” said Hammett. “With more openness to the neighborhood, more of our neighbors are coming and joining. We’ve had people from a broad spectrum of backgrounds come into the fellowship – gay, straight, Portuguese, Native American, Jewish, recovering addicts, people with AIDS, clergy between churches or in need of renewal, poor, middle class, a few professional folks. We’re a pretty eclectic bunch.”
When Hammett first arrived, some prejudices were expressed but during the church’s frequently informal ‘roundtable discussions,’ he asked the folks what sort of church they wanted to be. The vast majority wanted Pilgrim to be a place of sincere welcome that affirmed everyone. They lost a few people in the process, who chose not to be part of such a community. The majority stayed and most have become more active as new persons have been welcomed in. The people of Pilgrim are excited about the new life, growing sense of mission, music, and uplifting worship.
Hammett attributes the ministry’s success, including an 18% increase in membership over each of the past two years, to the congregation. “The work I do is really just to help uncover the gifts that are already there. I could see the faith, energy, interest and hopefulness just waiting to emerge when I first read the church’s profile. Mostly I saw a genuine honesty about the reality of the situation the church was in and a willingness to try anything to turn the church around. The ideas didn’t really come about on my watch – they were already here just waiting for some affirmation and opportunity.”
Members of the congregation believe there are many people who are hungering for a community of people who will accept and love them as they are. Consequently, there is a high expectation that people treat each other with respect and kindness.
The comments from Pilgrim’s so-called ‘eclectic’ membership are proof that the church has succeeded in its quest to be a great neighbor...
Hammett guesses the unique ministry that is emerging at Pilgrim is a good and important idea because Jesus is the one who came up with it. “Jesus demonstrated that God’s love welcomes and affirms the stranger, the foreigner, the marginalized, the needy, the whole people of God,” he said. “We’re trying to see every person we serve and every person who comes through the door as a gift from God.”
As one long-time member told Hammett, “I don’t agree with everyone’s lifestyle but we can still love each other and worship together.”
Rev. Mr. David Hammett can be reached at Pilgrim United Church of Christ in New Bedford at (508) 997-9086 or office@puccnb.org.