It's tourist time at churches
By Mary A. Jacobs
Dallas Morning News
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Some, such as Boston's Old North Church (immortalized in Paul Revere's ride), are tourist destinations. Others, such as Idlewild Community Church in Eagle Nest, N.M., are small but beloved churches open only for a few months, specifically for summer residents. And a few, such as Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, Ark., double as destinations for sightseeing as well as worship.
For churches playing host during the tourist season, the influx of visitors makes life interesting.
"You feel a little like a kid in a candy store," said Sandra Serrano of Island Presbyterian Church on Padre Island, which sees a surge of worshippers in the winter. "You never know who's going to walk in the door."
When tourists do walk in, whether in handfuls or in droves, they bring ministering challenges with them. Tourist churches must welcome visitors while meeting the day-to-day needs of the regular congregation. Preachers must prepare sermons not knowing who's coming, or what they want to hear. Services must be designed to make people from a variety of traditions comfortable. And finances — a challenge for any congregation — open a whole new can of worms.
Despite the challenges, many tourist churches feel a special calling.
"We see ourselves not so much as a church but as a mission outpost. During the summer, the world comes to us," said the Rev. Tom Letts, pastor of Community Protestant Church in West Yellowstone, Mont. The small church's year-round congregation of about 125 more than doubles in the summer.
Some, such as Thorncrown Chapel — an airy, wood-and-glass structure in the Ozark Hills — offer an explicit message of Christian salvation. For others, ministry takes the form of quiet hospitality.
"It's a joy to share the church every year with 600,000 people we don't really know," said Timothy Matthews, interim administrator of Old North Church in Boston. The Episcopalian church, with an active congregation of about 150, is famous as the place where two lanterns were hung to signal to Paul Revere that the British were coming.
During the high season, worship at tourist churches is usually kept simple. Ministers learn to go with the flow.
"We never know if we're going to have 10 worshippers or 300," said Jo Rainey, wedding coordinator at Thorncrown Chapel. "We may have a tour bus pull up with 50 to 60 people. Or we may not."
Churches in tourist areas face peculiar fund-raising challenges. Enlisting contributions from seasonal members must be handled carefully so those members' "home churches" aren't threatened. And in many places, even the year-round population tends to be comparatively transient. "The average stay on the island is five years," Serrano said. "People are not really putting down roots here." That means they're less likely to tithe or to leave a bequest.
Many vacation churches try to stay in touch with summer members who live somewhere else most of the year. To help maintain ties, West Yellowstone budgets travel money in case the pastor needs to visit a devoted summer member facing a crisis at home during the offseason.
Balancing the weekly routines of tourists and regular congregants also can be tricky. Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., the oldest synagogue in the United States, closes to outsiders on Saturdays — a day when lots of tourists might drop by — so the congregation may worship. Old North Church must turn away tourists when there's a funeral or other special service; with upward of 3,000 visitors a day at the peak of tourist season, that can be awkward.
Old North was recently in the news when the church got a $317,000 federal grant to restore its windows. Americans United for Separation of Church and State criticized the grant, saying the repairs ought to be paid for by the congregation, not by taxpayers.
There's not much mixing of church and state, however, when tourists drop by to see Old North. Except for a mention of the Sunday worship services, religion doesn't come up during tours.
"We're in a unique situation, because what made Old North famous really doesn't have anything to do with religion," Matthews said.
Not so for Touro Synagogue. "Part of what makes the site exciting to tourists is that not only was it in use 240 years ago, but it's still in use today," said Marla Dansky, education director for the Society of Friends of Touro Synagogue. Each year, 30,000 visitors come through Touro Synagogue, which is home to an Orthodox congregation of about 130 families.
Among churches that do choose to offer an overtly religious message, some reach out in unconventional ways.
During summer, Island Presbyterian holds Sunday services on the beach, attracting worshippers of all kinds, including a few of the canine variety. The organist sets up the keyboard in the sand and everybody fights off the seagulls during Communion.
Travelers who make the effort to find a church say they're often rewarded in surprising ways.
"It's an opportunity to connect with the broader church, to meet people from a variety of walks of life who share this common faith bond," said Amy S. Eckert, co-author of "The Christian Traveler's Companion: The USA and Canada."
