Leadership in Collaboration: Pulpit Swap

A pulpit swap is an arrangement where clergy members exchange pulpits, meaning they temporarily switch roles and preach at each other’s congregations. This practice fosters unity and understanding between different faith communities, provides fresh perspectives on familiar teachings, and allows congregants to experience diverse styles of preaching and worship. Pulpit swaps promote understanding and collaboration while enriching the spiritual experiences of preachers and congregants.

During an activity at our clergy conference last October, I (Rev. Hannah) was paired with my friend, the Rev. Dan Kline. The conference leaders asked us to do a pulpit swap as a way to strengthen connections across our diocese. October quickly gave way to winter, Advent and Christmas. Those days hastened into the new year, the baptism of our Lord, and Epiphany. I texted Rev. Dan and asked if we could find a date to swap. We settled on March 3rd and began planning. 

Planning involves several steps. How would we work out the travel logistics? There is a 2 ½ hour drive between our parishes (assuming perfect traffic). What helped was the fact that St. Mary’s has one service at 9:30 AM, and St. Paul’s has two services at 8 AM and 10:30 AM. St. Paul’s was able to arrange for Rev. Hannah to stay for the night in Palm Springs, and she covered both services at St. Paul’s. I (Rev. Dan) woke early and drove to St. Mary’s. Apparently, not early enough as I was a few minutes late due to some rain and traffic, but St. Mary’s was gracious and everything happened without a hitch. After figuring out travel logistics, we then wanted to talk through what each priest could expect at each other’s parish. We were able to put together the liturgies for each service and swap them ahead of time. We talked through each other’s bulletins, noting the nuances of each service and church’s traditions within the wider tradition of the Book of Common Prayer. Thinking through the choices each church makes, as well as what we have in common, was a powerful meditation on appreciating the unity and diversity of Christ’s church.

St. Mary’s in-the-Valley, Ramona is worlds away from St. Paul in the Desert, Palm Springs. The climate is green and lush, while St. Paul’s is hot and arid. St. Mary’s has about 35 people on a Sunday, whereas St. Paul has 260! St. Mary’s is a country church, while St. Paul is in downtown Palm Springs. The community of Ramona is rural, while Palm Springs has a cosmopolitan allure. Snowbirds and travelers attend St. Paul’s weekly, while St. Mary’s is a true local church in the best sense of the word. A few people at St. Paul asked me, “Where’s Ramona?” They had never heard of it, even though we were only a few hours apart!

I (Rev. Dan) immediately noticed another big difference between our parishes. St. Mary’s is mostly women, and St. Paul’s is mostly men! While our church sizes and demographics may be different, there is value in having churches of all shapes and sizes. I particularly appreciated the intimacy of St. Mary’s. During the announcements there was a lot of sharing about what is happening in people’s lives – almost like having dinner around the family table. I miss that sometimes, being in a larger church. At St. Paul’s, we don’t get to experience that same type of atmosphere because if we did, we’d be there until next Sunday! We miss out on some of that familial feel. At the same time, St. Mary’s is a very active church. I was blown away by the fact that they drive over an hour every week to deliver meals to asylum seekers at the airport. Their community garden was huge! It made me wonder, if St. Mary’s can do this kind of extensive outreach, why can’t we? We pride ourselves on our outreach, but we could be doing more and going more beyond our neighborhood, especially with the resources God has blessed us with. Maybe the secret is the often unrecognized superpower of the smaller church – the ability to maneuver and mobilize quickly. In our parish, it takes more time to get different initiatives going because there are so many moving parts. If we focus more on relationship building, perhaps that will help foster a culture where there is more willingness to expand outreach! The other factor is women-led congregations. When we look at the outreach initiatives that St. Paul’s is doing well, we find that they are led by strong lay women. Women know how to get things done. We were challenged by St. Mary’s on how to level the resources of our larger church size for more mission impact and how to become a more inclusive and welcoming place for women in a church dominated by men if we want to continue living into our mission. I was challenged by seeing St. Mary’s space and St. Paul’s was challenged by hearing Rev. Hannah’s powerful social justice sermon on Jesus flipping over the tables.

Despite these differences, our liturgies are almost identical. Both congregations explored Lenten themes. Both read the same scripture. Both accented the service with the color of the church season – purple. It’s amazing how you can walk into any Episcopal church and experience those similarities. I feel comforted knowing mainline Christians all over the world hear the same lectionary readings and meditate about the same themes. Our shared Episcopal identity and our shared diocesan identity bind us together as we seek to contextualize Christ’s work in the diversities of our own communities.

I (Rev. Hannah) loved the swap! It was invigorating to prepare a sermon for a new congregation and to step into the clergy role in a new space. I leaned into this worship experience with different ways of doing things. The way we organize ourselves to give communion is different, but the main thing is the main thing–everyone receives the spiritual nourishment of the bread and wine made holy. I picked up good ideas from Rev. Dan and Rev. Jessie, his co-rector, and wife. And I loved being part of a new congregation. 

I returned to St. Mary’s with renewed energy, an expanded vision, and a hopeful heart for the future. As I reflected on church leadership, I realized that collaboration is not just a buzzword; it’s the bedrock of effective governance and organizational success. In 2024, we live in a complex and interconnected world. No leader has all the knowledge, skills, and expertise to navigate every challenge. Collaboration, such as this pulpit swap, brings together diverse talents and viewpoints, which enriches both congregations and fosters innovation. When clergy participate in a pulpit swap, they tap into the wisdom of a different faith community and are held in the collective embrace of the arms of our diocese. We can get so busy in our individual parishes that we can lose sight of the fact that we are part of a much larger diocese, and the pulpit swap was one way to experience that firsthand. 

By: The Rev. Dan Kline, Co-rector of The Church of St. Paul in the Desert in Palm Springs and The Rev. Hannah Wilder, Vicar of St. Mary’s-in-the-Valley in Ramona)