Spiritual Vitality in a Declining Church

This paper examines how clergy and lay leaders tend to the spiritual wellbeing of congregations that have experienced numerical decline. It provides analysis from a pilot study including long-form interviews from revitalizing and redeveloping parishes in the Episcopal Church. The analysis considers practices intended to promote spiritual revitalization for the whole parish as well as the devotional, prayer, and self-care practices that sustain church leaders during times of transition that can be challenging to them personally, spiritually, and vocationally. This paper is intended to establish the scaffolding and parameters for a larger-scale, ecumenical study to advance academic knowledge and support religious communities by describing and analyzing best practices to promote spiritual well-being for their constituents amidst organizational change.