Falcon Heights Church and New Life Presbyterian Church are exploring a merger of the two congregations. Here are some answers to questions from our congregations. If you are a church member and have questions, email [email protected] .

Constitution(s)

Q. Will the Falcon Heights UCC constitution be replaced by the PC(USA) Book of Order? The Book of Order is the constitution of a Presbyterian Church. The merged church can be considered Presbyterian only if its constitution is the Book of Order. If not, what is the plan?

A. The plan is for each congregation’s Constitution to remain as it is currently written. What will be addressed/re-written will be the Articles of Incorporation and the By-Laws to combine into individual overarching documents that the new church will function under.

Blood drives

Q. I organize the blood drives at NLPC about quarterly. Our next two are in August and November 2025. How far into the future will I be able to schedule future blood drives? Will we still be able to host them?

A. The need for blood is always high! The Merger Steering Committee recommends that you work with FHC’s Outreach Ministry Team to combine personnel and resources to initially continue this much valued and needed community service project. The plan currently is that NLPC & FHC will begin functioning in just a single building (FHC) as early as December and FHC’s building has space to accommodate blood drives, as they have done so in the past. The merger opens the opportunity to evaluate ALL outreach projects that both congregations have traditionally been involved with, keeping in mind the level of passion and/or fulfillment to our mission as a church.

Plan of Union document

Q. Under Governance: What is meant by “each board shall select a President and Secretary”? What are their responsibilities?

A. We assume this question is related to the language in “Phase 2 – Post-Ecclesiastical Merger”. We want to offer an explanation to help understanding of the terms of “post-ecclesiastical merger” and “post-civil merger” (Phase 3 in the Governance section). Phase 1 is our “current state” of basically functioning autonomously, with the exceptions for joint worship and social activities – our courtship and engagement time. Phase 2 (post-ecclesiastical) would represent our church wedding that joins us within our faith beliefs and practices. Phase 3 then represents the legal steps required for our marriage (i.e. marriage license, name change, etc.) to become one legal entity.

So, in Phase 2, our Executive Board and Session will begin meeting jointly, but each should have their own president/moderator and secretary/clerk during this interim time period. This time period is expected to be relatively short.

Q. Under Additional Requirements: It calls out to elect one Treasurer. With a combined church budget and personnel, wouldn’t it be more efficient to have a treasurer and assistant treasurer?

A. Functioning with an assistant treasurer was unique to FHC, but will definitely be taken into consideration when the By-Laws are re-written when merging the two governing bodies into a single body during Phase 3. (The Merger Steering Committee also discussed FHC’s practice of also having a Financial Secretary.)

Q. I did not notice an area that addresses having an office manager/administrative assistant. I believe that is a must position to have in running an efficient office. Or is there going to be a general manager who will pull daily activities together so the church is run more smoothly and there will always be someone who knows what is going on in the church? Is this being figured in the budget?

A. These types of “functioning” details will also be part of the discussions and planning during Phases 2 and 3. However, they could maybe be considered as a Phase 4 – the “time to live together now” phase.

All of this important work will require input and participation from everyone! This is a tremendous change for our congregations. It will take dedication, time, energy, enthusiasm, laughter, knowledge, forethought and afterthought, and a willingness to adapt as we stumble down our mutual path to re-define and re-imagine our little piece of this giant world.

Quilters’ group

Q. What is the plan for providing space for the quilters’ group?

The Merger Steering Committee is committed to ensuring the quilters have a space to continue their ministry. The merged Building Use Team will be charged with identifying an appropriate space. Part of this process will be to meet with the quilters’ group at an appropriate time to discuss their needs to help identify a space.

Church Reformation Task Force meetings

Q. Are CRTF meetings still open to any member of the congregation?

Any member of the congregation can attend CRTF meetings and their role is as a listener. The CRTF is appointed by the Session, and both Session and CRTF members represent the common interests of the congregation. If there is concern about any issue(s) not being addressed in the CRTF, prior to a meeting please speak directly with any of the representatives so they can do so.

Meals on Wheels

Q. Will we continue our two Meals on Wheels schedules (third Monday and third Wednesday) or go to just one schedule? If continuing the two, will members be invited to volunteer for either schedule? Will there be just one scheduler?

A. The need is high! The Merger Steering Committee recommends combining the two current schedules into one that incorporates both days/dates. We think it’s reasonable that teams could interchange dates. The merger opens the opportunity to evaluate WHO we serve and HOW we serve them. We hope the current schedulers and participants for each congregation will work together, along with others interested in Meals on Wheels, to come together for discussion and planning in the coming months.

Worship services and meetings

Q. Will all worship services be held at the Falcon Heights location once Presbytery has approved the merger? Will all church meetings be held at the Falcon Heights location once Presbytery has approved the merger?

A. After there is approval from the Presbytery for our congregations to merge, the steering committee recommends both the worship services and church meetings be held at Falcon Heights Church to help establish best practices and communications for merging our faiths and ministries and to also provide the opportunity for NLP’s congregation to truly get used to the spaces and ambiance of FHC. We recognize the magnitude of this change for that congregation.

Accessibility concerns

Q. Is the building accessible for wheelchairs? Is there a bathroom that is fully accessible for wheelchairs? Will Falcon Heights consider carving out some pews in the way New Life has done to accommodate someone in a wheelchair, so that person does not have to sit in the aisle? Is the space where the choir is or handbell choir is accessible for wheelchairs?

A. Falcon Heights church’s most recent major addition/construction was in 2002. An elevator, three handicap-accessible bathrooms, and one wheelchair space in a pew were included in that project and were ADA complainant at that time. When the FHC’s handbell choir was a consistent part of worship, their performances were done on the main floor of the sanctuary, with rehearsals conducted in the basement level that’s accessible from the elevator. However, it’s anticipated further work will likely be required to enhance the FHC facility and the Merger Steering Committee will ask interested congregants to be part of the discussion and decision making as we move forward through the merger process.

Technology

Q. Will there be a large screen on which the worship service and hymns can be posted during the service to aid those of us who need that? Will the taping of services improve to the level of those taped at New Life? Can the taping of the services at Falcon Heights be improved to the level done at New Life, so that someone worshipping remotely can feel a part of the service, as I do when I watch a service from New Life?

A. The shared mission of our congregations to better serve our immediate communities elevates the issue of improved technology. A full evaluation of what can be achieved is expected in the coming months as a part of the merger process.

Miscellaneous topics

Q. We (NLP) are a visual church. The small hangings from the lectern, along with others sometimes on the cross? Will Bells continue? What happens to the hymnals?

A. The Worship Ministry teams from both congregations have met jointly and these topics have been part of the discussions. FHC also has many banners that adorn the sanctuary. Almost all of NLP’s banners are expected to be moved to FHC at the appropriate time, along with the purple hymnals. Each will be used regularly in our worship experiences.

Merger Steering Committee

Q. Who are the members and how can we all know what the committee has been doing?

A. Members of the Merger Steering Committee are:

From New Life:
–Pastor Riz Prakasim ([email protected])
–Tom Ruter ([email protected])
–Jane Husman ([email protected])
From Falcon Heights:
–Pastor Rick King ([email protected])
–Bryan Seyfarth ([email protected])
–Carol Holm ([email protected])

There is regular information in both weekly newsletters and on each church’s website and Facebook accounts. There is also a private Facebook group created called Walking the Merger Path: NLPC & FHC that you can search for and ask to join.

Older Q & A (2024)

Q. From what I’ve seen of New Life and Falcon Heights (watching services, reading pastor’s columns in our newsletters), it looks to me like the two churches have slightly different theologies, more traditional/orthodox or more open/liberal. How would we reconcile our respective approaches to how we think of and talk about God?

A. We often notice the theology of a local church in the language used for God in worship, governing documents such as a constitution and bylaws, etc. Not all UCCs have the same local theology, and neither do all PCUSAs: some tend toward the conservative/traditional end of the spectrum, and others tend toward the liberal/progressive end. Overall, the PCUSA as a denomination tends to have more local churches that embrace traditional language for God, and the UCC as a denomination tends to have more local churches that embrace non-traditional/inclusive language for God.

But what matters is the local language: how can we reconcile these differences and create a shared language in the future?

Q. Are the Communion practices similar in both churches, and how will we celebrate Communion and how often, if we merge?

A. In our shared Reformed Protestant heritage, the elements of bread and cup are seen primarily as outward and visible signs of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, but not seen as literally changing materially, the way they are in the Catholic Eucharist, for example.

How we celebrate Communion in our two local churches may differ right now: a common cup for grape juice vs. trays of small glasses; a loaf broken and shared vs. wafers or pieces of bread cut up and taken from a tray or plate; the elements served in the pews vs. coming forward to receive the elements.

A good approach, as with our language/theology, might begin with a group with people from both congregations who get together to share stories, traditions, and methods as they’ve experienced them. And then move from that to developing the way to celebrate and frequency of Communion in collaboration with the clergy.

Q. Which denomination will the newly-merged church be part of, and therefore, where will our denominational financial support go?

A. The new church will be dually affiliated with the PCUSA and the UCC, participating in the Presbytery and the Conference, respectively, and the same with other settings of the wider denominations. For the purposes of membership affiliation in both denominations, 50 percent of the members of the new church would be counted as PCUSA, and 50 percent would be UCC. Our denominational support funds would also be divided 50-50 between the two denominations.

Q. What will happen to Every Meal, the DIW Food Shelf, and other mission and outreach partnerships?

A. Since our two churches now have many of the same organizational partnerships, the shared ones will remain as long as they continue to align with the new church’s identity, vision, and mission. New ones can be formed and established ones can be dropped by the decision of the new church, depending on how they align with the new church’s identity, vision, and mission.

Q. Will we still have the same size staffs we do now? How will the newly-merged church decide which positions and people to keep? Will there be merged staff requirements? Other than pastoral duties, how will other paid staff positions merge or be redefined?

A. No one knows yet.

Q. Will the congregation simply be twice the size?

A. That is possible right after the merger, but it’s not uncommon to lose as well as gain members as a result of the merger. Our hope and plan is for the new church to grow as the result of a dynamic plan to reach the wider community.

Q. Will new ministries be added or existing ones ended?

A. The simple answer is yes, to both possibilities: there will be changes, and some things will remain the same. The more complex answer is, at this point we don’t know how much change there will be, or what specific things will change.

Q. Will there be a new governance policy? How will the two governance and ministry structures be merged? How will chairs/leaders be chosen?

A. Yes, there will be a new governance structure, developed by a team drawn from both congregations, and a new Constitution and Bylaws will be written and voted on as part of the merger plan. It’s likely that the governance structure will reflect a more Presbyterian one because the requirements in the Presbyterian Book of Order are more specific. The governing board of the new church will have a Session, which is the PCUSA term, invested with the powers and responsibilities of that body in a local Presbyterian church. In both the PCUSA and the UCC, however, the relationships to the wider church are covenantal, with mutual rights and responsibilities.

Q. Will there be an outside mediator for roadblocks to the merger?

A. The plan is to employ an outside consultant from the beginning of the identity, visioning, missioning process to alleviate the need for mediation. Think of it as proactive mediation, if you will.

Q. Will the new church have a new name (including internet domain name), and will there also be marketing for it such as logos, signs, website and other PR?

A. Yes, the new church will have a new name and internet URL, and there will be branding/marketing under that new name. The new church would be introduced to the wider community and our denominations in its new identity.

Q. How will the church choose a new name? Will there be a congregational vote on it?
A. The church will choose a new name through a joint process that begins in identity, visioning, and missioning, selected from a few final options, and then finalized as part of a Plan for a New Church presented well in advance of the congregational votes.