Posted on 01/21/2020 12:48:46 PM PST by aimhigh
A struggling Minnesota church is asking its older parishioners to leave in hopes of making it more attractive to young families.
Grove United Methodist Church in the St. Paul suburb of Cottage Grove is closing in June, with plans to relaunch in November. The present members, most of them over 60 years old, will be invited to worship elsewhere, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported. The church is asking that they stay away for two years, then consult the pastor about reapplying.
“I pray for this church, getting through this age-discrimination thing,” William Gackstetter said at church on a recent Sunday as the gray-haired heads around him nodded in agreement. But church officials said the congregation needs a reset and the best way is to appeal to younger people.
(Excerpt) Read more at minnesota.cbslocal.com ...
This is a Methodist Church.
The Methodists just kicked out all the conservative parishes, and I guess now they are going after the conservative members.
A new mission? A new culture? What the hell? I'm gobsmacked. This is evil on so many levels. May this church utterly fail, and may the poor members shoved out the door find far better churches. Preferably ones with no "specialists" on staff.
They are “restarting” with a pro LGBT pastor:
They want to kick the conservatives out.
It’s a dying church in a growing suburb.
They are remodeling over the summer. That’s why they are being told to go somewhere else. It’s the regional Methodist conference that is pushing the change.
They are not barring the grey hairs from attending, they just want them to relinquish their grip on power. (about 30 members)
Satan and his minions still have new tricks up their smoldering sleeves. Keep God’s armor on! It’s like telling a boxer, “Keep your guard up!” And make sure you’ve actually been called into responsibility: some have no business being administrators.
That’s very sad. Very heartless.
The Non-Profit status should also be updated, if money is the only name of the game.
Yep. Exactly what I thought.
Tomorrow in the Babylon Bee: “Struggling Church Asks Christian Members to Go Away”
So they say to the people who supported and served the church for—I don’t know, maybe 20 years conservatively averaged—”Thanks, now go somewhere and die.”
Yeah, that’s going to end well for them.
So they think younger parishioners will share more money with them than older parishioners? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! That’s a good one!
Forget all that Christian theology stuff. Soon to re-open as the “Church of What’s Happening Now” BTW who actually owns the buildings and property.
I thought my post was unreal. Your article shows it’s even more absurd.
Jesus said, “Come unto me, all . . . Wait, don’t come if you are over 60. Everyone else . . “ sarc/
Our local church is having a membership drive.
So far they’ve driven away 14 members...
This “church” is no such thing. It’s a very un-christian Social Club Wannabe. With delusions.
Yes, their attendance sucks. 25 people attend regularly. They can’t even afford a minister, so the congregates do it all, including sermons. So what does the regional body do? They allocate $250K—not to hire a minister, but to hire a 30 year old marketing consultant who thinks he’s rebranding a sports bar. “It’s a new thing with a new mission for a new target and a new culture,” he says.
A “new thing?” Why, yes, yes it is. It’s so new, not even Jesus Christ thought of it.
As others have said, gobsmacked. But then, this IS Minnesota.
It is as if they didn’t even considering having separate services to cater to different tastes ... while keeping the current donating and volunteering members around.
They'd have to beg (in vain) for me to come back.
This happened twenty-five years go at a UMC in the DC suburbs — they installed their first woman pastor and she set about deposing all the long-time heads of committees and holders of elder positions, etc. She was married to a man, but next on her agenda was welcoming her gay brother and introducing his “husband” and their “gayby” to the congregation. Then the youth were assigned gay and lesbian confirmation sponsors. At that, I stopped communicating with the acquaintances at that church who were going along with this apostasy.
“The culture shift, away from worshiping alongside older congregants, does not request that the older church builders stop serving or financing the church, however.
William Gackstetter, an original member of the Grove United Methodist Church, said the aging membership has been asked to continue maintaining the church until it reopens without them.
“They want us to mow the lawn and shovel the snow,” he said. “As if anyone would do that. This whole plan makes me sick. I believe it’s evil.””
From your link.
It IS evil. The progressive/leftists/cultural Marxists are succeeding.
“Just get a “worship band” that plays bad music at 90 decibels, that should do it. Another possibility would be to make all your worship leaders get tattoos, piercings, and bones through their noses...”
The church I formerly attended fired the longtime pastor that did home visits to the elderly and sick in order to fund exactly what is described above.
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