Steady Growth at St. Patrick’s, Albany
In the past two years, the congregation of St. Patrick’s has experienced a 38% increase in its Sunday attendance going from 73 in 2009 to 90 in 2010 and 101 in 2011. This growth has come by attending to the basics of being the Body of Christ in worship, in welcome, in pastoral care and in Christian education. Rather than some one “silver bullet” approach, the congregation, under the ordained leadership of its rector, the Rev. Jay Weldon who was hired in 2009, it has been a matter of tending to the basics.
In the early 2000s, St. Patrick’s committed to a process of redevelopment as a congregation that had endured some rough years. Then in the mid 2000s, St. Patrick’s sold its property which was off the beaten track in Albany, worshiped in a Methodist Church at an earlier time, and built in their current location. Two years later, Weldon was called to St. Patrick’s to build up the parish.
While continuing to emphasize the worship life of the church including celebrating the feasts of the church year, the church began by expanding opporunities for children and youth. After these were underway a Bible study for young adults was created which brought them in, together with their young children. Communications were also boosted through both weekly emails and a frequently-updated website. With Weldon’s leadership, the parish began a relationship with two congregations in Azua, in the Dominican Republic making several trips to our Companion Diocese in recent months. But it has been sustained attention to the basics of being the church while being a welcoming community of faith that have resulted in growth.
Bobby Smith says that when he first attended the church, he and his wife Laura were complete strangers, but that soon changed. He said that three things immediately stood out, “The members of the church were so warm and friendly that we immediately felt very at ease as if we had been attending for years. Second, when we left the church service, we felt we had been to a worship service rather than a performance. Third, we loved the formality of the service: the readings from the Bible, the bowing to the cross and altar, the kneeling, and celebrating the Eucharist at each service.”
Prior to that first visit, he said that he and his wife had been wanting to grow spiritually and had visited several churches without finding a church home. Then after one visit to St. Patrick’s, he said, “Our impression was that we were worshipping God by humbling ourselves before a holy God and giving him all honor and praising his holy name.”
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In 2011, St. Patrick’s celebrated its 50th anniversary, which called on the long time strengths of the parish and built anew on its history including inviting older members back.
Barbara Durham remembers that she and her husband Jim had been active for many years at St. Patrick’s Albany and were happy until as she puts it, 
“Family illnesses and other responsibilities became convenient excuses for us to forget about church.” As she saw members of the church, they would invite them back. On returning to their church home she says, “We were welcomed back with warm smiles, handshakes, and hugs on our returning Sunday. As we walked into the sanctuary we felt God’s spirit surround us with love. By the end of the service we knew we had come home. But more importantly, Jim and I knew God lives in this place.”
The Rector, the Rev. Jay Weldon, said, “From the first time that Alison and I walked into the church, we recognized St. Patrick’s as a warm, caring and loving place with unrealized potential.” He went on to say, “This is the basic resource on which we have built and my part in the growth of the parish has been easy.” He credits the labor of love of the many people of the parish with its sustained growth.
The Rev. Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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