The Rev. Angie Arndt stood in front of the Islands Community Church congregation on a drizzly Sunday morning.
The week’s service was titled “This I Believe.” With poems and songs and speeches, members of the community shared their beliefs and reflected on the Spiritual Support Group the church runs.
“A big part of what I believe is community, and no community shows this more,” Arndt said during the June 9 service.
Inside what looks like a traditional church building, nontraditional activities are taking place. A variety of spiritual practices, concerts, community events, and, on Sunday, an open dialogue about faith are part of the church’s efforts to reach the community at large, not just those who consider themselves religious.
“The most important thing is that it’s a community church,” said Surrey Hardcastle, an active member of the church. “Community comes first, before the church, and that’s reflected in everything that happens there.”
As church attendance plummets nationwide, this nondenominational church on Bailey Island is expanding its definition of church and offering programs that appeal to community members who may identify as “spiritual but not religious.”
Connecting with this community has been a goal of the church for the last few years, but the effort has gained momentum within the last six months.
In the U.S., three out of 10 adults regularly attend church — a 12% drop-off from two decades ago, according to a recent Gallup study. Similarly, Gallup found that church membership has dropped below 50% for the first time since its study began in 1937.
“Church attendance has dropped off everywhere. That’s not unique to Harpswell,” Arndt said. “The research is saying it’s because people, they certainly are spiritual, but they’re not identifying.”
According to Pew Research, 22% of Americans identify as spiritual but not religious. Members of this group are more likely to spend time looking inward and connecting with nature than engaging with any one religious tradition or faith community.
Most importantly, this community tends to be younger, with more than half of the group under the age of 50.
“My theory is that younger generations are a different evolution of humanity, as every generation is,” Arndt said. “We are evolving as humans, but organized religion and church isn’t evolving.”
Arndt pointed out that younger generations are still practicing spirituality, but in different ways — for example, in the form of yoga, astrology or time in nature. This is at the crux of the church’s efforts to expand programming.
One successful means of filling up pews has been concerts, ranging from barbershop quartets to flautists. Arndt said concerts offer a “very spiritual experience.”
Another popular event has been pingpong on Tuesday afternoons from 1-3. While Hardcastle said the competition may not be Olympic-level, the event creates community and a lot of laughs.
“We have people who don’t attend our church who come for pingpong,” Hardcastle said. “It’s not about necessarily the church, it’s about the community.”
Other programs include the Spiritual Support Group, yoga on Thursdays, and contests in poetry and photography.
The Rev. Jody Breton, another interfaith minister, mentioned a phrase she heard at the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine: “Never instead of, always in addition to.” The church is not only appealing to those who are just spiritual, but also to those who are both spiritual and religious.
“It’s not that we aren’t religious, because we are Christ-based,” Breton said. “We welcome other wisdom, teachers, other thoughts, and other ways to connect beyond ourselves.”
The church has a roster of more than 20 ministers, chaplains and others who lead services. This guarantees no two Sundays are alike.
John Ferraro chairs the board of the Islands Community Church. “I actually believe that I would not be here if this was an organized religion church,” Ferraro said, citing the do’s and don’ts of some churches and religions.
Arndt expanded on what, in her opinion, draws people into the church. “It may not be the minister that resonates with you, but come three or four times and you’ll realize, ‘Woah, this is different every week,'” she said. “It’s a very accepting feeling.”
Above all, the church’s mission is focused on outreach and community. “There’s so much division in our world,” Hardcastle said. “This is a place where, no matter what your political beliefs or other beliefs are, we can all get along and have a good time.”
