By Avice Meehan

More than 260 years after its founding, members of Norfolk’s iconic “Church on the Green” decided to take a radical step: survey its members and residents of the town about their perceptions of the church and how it might better serve the community.

“It’s fairly straightforward, but not necessarily ‘normal’ for a institution that’s been around for a couple hundred years,” said the Rev. Erick Olsen, who has served as pastor since 2003. “We are really blessed that the church leadership continues to be as nimble and responsive [as it is] given the changing landscape for religion in general and this church in particular.”

More than 100 people responded to the survey, of which roughly 40 percent did not belong to the congregation. Respondents were asked to describe their relationship with the Church of Christ Congregational and then to reflect on three questions: what programs they found valuable, what initiatives were less meaningful, and how the church might better serve the community beyond the food pantry and clothes closet.

“It has been really helpful to understand what people value,” Olsen said. He noted that many expressed support for the church’s current programming—including the traditional Sunday worship service—and added that there was also a strong push for the church to develop deeper collaborative relationships with organizations in Norfolk. 

As one example, Olsen cited the recent Earth Forum. It brought together the church, Aton Forest, Great Mountain Forest, the Norfolk Library and Botelle Elementary School for a weekend of programming built around the legacy of writer Rachel Carson, whose book “Silent Spring” helped spark the environmental movement.

Other priorities identified by the survey included a role for the church in helping to facilitate difficult conversations among people with divergent viewpoints. Later this spring, the church will hold a workshop in collaboration with Braver Angels, a relatively new organization focused on lessening political polarization across the country.

“We had a few folks sharing the suggestion that we could help address the rampant polarization in our world,” said Olsen. “Could we possibly provide a context for civil conversations to decrease that polarization and to help all of us have constructive conversations with those people with whom we disagree.” 

Olsen said church leadership and members of the congregation are committed to the idea of deepening the church’s service to the Norfolk community across many dimensions. It has also, in his words, “embraced a new calling of Learning, Living and Serving Love.”  

Practical changes at the church are numerous. The Norfolk Land Trust is now using a former classroom as office space. Given the great need for the food pantry and the broad support for the program, the church has now established a separate bank account for it. The pantry was formerly funded through the Minister’s Discretionary Fund, which made tracking donations complicated.

“It is a privilege for us to make our space available to people of like mind who are leading and hosting programs that help people lead better lives,” Olsen said.