Is your church alive or is it dying? Take a look at the following whimsical poem to see if you recognize your congregation.

Living and Dying Churches
(Adapted from Pilgrim United Church of Christ newsletter, Port Charlotte, Florida by UU minister the Reverend Sam Trumbore)

Living churches always have a parking problem; dying churches don’t.
Living churches are constantly changing their methods; dying churches don’t have to.
Living churches have lots of noisy kids; dying churches are quiet.
Living churches expenses always exceed their income; dying churches take in more than they ever dream of spending.
Living churches are constantly improving and planning for the future; dying churches worship the past.
Living churches grow so fast you forget people’s names; dying churches you’ve known everyone’s names for years.
Living churches move forward and out in faith; dying churches operate totally by sight.
Living churches support community work heavily; dying churches keep it all at home.
Living churches are filled with healthy pledgers; dying churches are filled with tippers.
Living churches dream great dreams of beloved community; dying churches relive nightmares.
Living churches have the fresh wind of love blowing; dying churches are stale with bickering.
Living churches don’t have can’t in their vocabulary; dying churches have nothing but.
Living churches EVANGELIZE, dying churches fossilize.