This interview series will be exploring a pillar in our community: religious organizations. The News-Gazette prints a “Rockbridge Area Worship Services” page and there are no fewer than 70 houses of worship on that list. The services represent numerous denominations, including but not limited to, Methodist, Baptist, Non-Denominational, and even Buddhist. Locations of these services can be as far away as the Greek Orthodox Church in Roanoke, but about 30 of these services are right here in Rockbridge.
In this series, we’re going to talk with the area leaders of a wide breadth of denominations, religious organizations and groups. We’ll learn about how they view their place in this area, the diversity of beliefs in our community and their opinion of how religion affects people and their community.
This week, I spoke with Reverend Anita Mays Lucord from Trinity United Methodist Church.
How long has this church been here in Lexington and how long have you been with this church?
This location, since 1890. The current building has been here since 1926. Just this week, we celebrated the centennial of our building, which was a big celebration, but Methodism in Lexington goes back to 1794. So it's been here for a long time.
I am in my fourth year as pastor. On July 1st, I'll begin my fifth year. I am originally from Stoney Creek, Virginia, which is an hour south of Richmond and I was appointed to serve here. So I moved here summer 2022. I'm the first female pastor here.
Why do you think there are so many churches in the area, and especially just in Lexington?
I think that when America was being settled and communities formed, church was a central part of family and community life. There were different types of churches and traditions that existed and so as people settled in these places, they brought their faith with them. Lexington, I believe, has been considered the county seat of this area, so many churches of different denominations were planted here as a place for Lexington and the surrounding communities to gather for worship.
Why do you think churches are typical elements in all cities, big or small?
I think especially in the past, churches and other religious institutions were a central part of family and community life and identity. It's a little bit different now. I think that in the midst of city life, people are still looking for meaning, purpose and an opportunity to connect with God and with one another which is especially important when bad news that is happening around the world or you know the divisive nature of politics in our own country tries to pull us apart. So it's a place where people seek connection and meaning and purpose.
What effects do you think religion has on a group of people or a community?
I think that it helps people to know that they're not alone. Again, it's about connection. Connecting people to a higher power and knowing that the one who created them is continuing to do something new in them and through them. I think that all people need some sense of community and so being able to come together and develop friendships and support one another in life's journey and in their faith journeys is an important thing that religious organizations accomplish. I would also add that it presents a way for people to give back to the community, to serve others. When a group comes together, they're able to do more together than alone and that is another reason that the churches and religious organizations are important. It helps people work together for compassion ministries and to work together for justice.
What do you think your religious organization brings to our area?
Well, if I had to summarize Methodism with one word, it would be 'grace.' I would define grace as God's love - present and at work in, for, and through us - throughout our lives. Trinity takes pride in being a place where all are welcomed and included and where one can really experience God's grace for themselves. I would say that we don't always do that perfectly, but we strive to always be welcoming. It's a part of our Wesleyan tradition to say, 'we are moving on to perfection in love.' So we may not be perfect but we're striving to be the best that we can be in extending God's grace to the world.
In addition to being welcoming, I would say that United Methodist churches, including Trinity, part of our identity is being accessible to all people. That goes back to our Wesleyan roots, in the 1700s in England, when John Wesley realized that there are many people who weren't able to come to the church for worship. He would go and preach in the prisons, at the coal mines, meet people where they were and enable them to still be a part of the church community even if they weren't able to be present in the buildings because of what was going on in their lives.
The other thing that I have to say is really important about Methodism, but especially here at Trinity, is we have a wonderful music program. Music is central to our identity as Methodists. Going back to Charles Wesley, who wrote thousands of hymns, we are known as a people who sing our faith and the music program here at Trinity is wonderful under the direction of Angie Rader, our music director. We have a great relationship with the different colleges. We have singers from Southern Virginia University, we've had singers from W&L, and even a few from VMI. She just does a great job having inspirational and quality music.
How would you describe your congregation’s demographics?
Well, I would say that we reflect the surrounding community, so we're predominantly white middle, upper middle class, but we are proud of the diversity that we do have. We have a range of ages from children through senior adults. We are always wanting to grow and hope to welcome even more young families.
We do house Shenandoah preschool here in our building. They're an incredible ministry of the church and such an important part of this community and we love having the preschoolers here in our building during the week.
I would also add that one of my favorite things about this appointment, being a pastor at this church, and my favorite thing about this community are the colleges that are nearby and getting to be in a relationship with college students at this important time in their life. It makes our church better.
How has your service attendance been over the years?
Like most mainline denominations, our attendance is smaller than it used to be decades ago. I'm encouraged by some articles that I recently read, that the New York Times published, about a resurgence of interest among young adults in church. So that gives me some hope.
Obviously, all churches were hit hard during covid when we were all worshiping from home. On the other side of that, attendance was slow to return but since I've been here, in the past 4 years, I've seen a slow and steady growth in numbers. So we average around 100 people in worship.
Have you seen any changes, shifts, or evolution of the area?
It's hard because I've only been here four years. I'm not a lifelong person to have seen what's happened through decades. I think, since I came not long after covid, I've seen a renewed enthusiasm about community, being together, doing things together. So that's been nice to see. I don't know if this is new, because I've only been here for a few years, but one of the real strengths of the religious community in this area is that we work together. It's kind of unique to see this but I know, by name, most of the pastors that are here. We meet monthly, we support each other, we think about how we can work together to address issues in the community, we plan special worship services together. It s really neat to see how we come together. We don't see each other as competition but as partners in ministry in this place.
I know that one of the needs in this community is childcare. That's something that I've seen and I know that the community is trying come up with different ways to be able to meet that need. Also, we're aware that, maybe not so much in Lexington but in the surrounding areas, affordable housing and other issues that affect the poor are issues. Churches and community organizations are coming together to think of ways that we can address some of those issues and meet some of those needs.
How do you see the future of this area?
There's a lot of pride in this area. The people who grew up here, many of them have stayed here because they love it and they're committed to working for good in this place. There's many others that come back here to retire because they love it. I think that the love for this city and for the surrounding area and the commitment that people have to, not only making this community a better place but to really having it have a positive impact in the world, means that positive things are ahead for this community.
As a faith leader, I believe that God is present, working in and through our churches and other religious organizations for good. To make it a more loving and generous place. I would also say that the colleges that are here in Lexington, Washington and Lee and VMI, as well as schools in the surrounding areas such as SVU and local community colleges, are really such an asset to this area and will continue to draw people here for years to come.
