Tensions in Ontario rural churches among long-term members, newcomers, and local residents

Religious decline in small-town rural Ontario churches has created a vulnerability in their systems of belonging, including reduced levels of volunteerism that have traditionally provided significant sources of social capital within churches themselves and for the larger community. Attempts to counter this decline have also created the potential for conflict and tensions amongst church members. Newcomer retirees (predominately from large urban cities) who resettle in rural areas present opportunities for rural churches to encourage and support them as new members, to engage in lay leadership for administration, and to help sustain the array of pastoral services and activities that serve broader community interest and participation. Newcomers, however, also bring different attitudes and values regarding church buildings, spaces, and objects, and within the liberal churches, they expect to have their views and interests addressed. Subsequently, liberal churches face more overt challenges to existing traditions and symbolic meanings of identity and belonging, likely experiencing a greater number of frames of conflict. Utilizing Becker's (1999) approach to congregational conflicts and Davie's (1994) model of believing and belonging, this article explores how larger issues of power, authority, and control between retiree newcomers, long-term members, and local residents reflect the symbolic materiality of church space and furnishings, highlighting tensions in sustaining church identity and place within a wider community context.