The Challenge of Continuity in the Independent Sacramental Movement

One of the most persistent challenges within the Independent Sacramental Movement (ISM) is the question of continuity—how ministries, communities, and missions endure beyond the lifetimes or personal capacities of their founders.

The ISM is a movement rich with visionaries, reformers, and deeply committed clergy who often pour their lives into small, local expressions of sacramental life. Yet this same strength—our flexibility and independence—can also become our weakness when it comes to sustainability.

1. The Fragility of Local Institutions

Unlike the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or mainline Protestant churches, most Independent Sacramental jurisdictions lack the stable institutional infrastructure needed to ensure continuity. Few communities own their own buildings. Even fewer have endowments or financial resources that can support a priest’s successor.

When a priest retires, relocates, or becomes unable to function, there is often no one ready—or able—to step in. Bishops, many of whom already juggle multiple ministries or secular jobs, may find themselves unable to assign replacements or sustain the momentum of a departed cleric’s work. The result is often painful: the dissolution of a community that once thrived around the Eucharist.

2. Personalities over Parishes

In the ISM, ministries tend to develop around the clergy themselves rather than around stable geographic communities. This is not necessarily out of vanity, but practicality. Without diocesan structures or financial bases, the location of a priest often determines where ministry occurs. Churches arise where the clergy live, not necessarily where a sustainable community could most naturally grow.

This model allows for deep pastoral relationships, but it also means that communities can rise and fall with the life circumstances of one individual. When the priest moves, the parish often fades. Continuity becomes almost impossible without an intentional plan for succession.

3. The Wounds of the Faithful

Another barrier to continuity lies in the spiritual and emotional wounds carried by many who find their way into ISM communities. Many people come to us after being hurt, rejected, or disillusioned by previous church experiences. They find refuge in the openness and inclusivity of Independent Sacramental communities—but that same vulnerability can make them wary of outsiders.

When a trusted minister must step back and a new clergy person steps in, the community often struggles to trust again. Healing old wounds and building new bonds of trust takes time—something small, under-resourced communities rarely have in abundance.

4. Toward a Model of Sustainable Sacramental Life

If the ISM is to endure beyond the current generation, we must begin to think institutionally—not in the sense of hierarchy for its own sake, but in the sense of shared mission and structure that can outlast individuals.

Some practical paths forward might include:

• Developing networks of collaboration among local clergy and communities, rather than isolated missions.

• Encouraging lay leadership formation so that communities can function even when clergy are unavailable.

• Establishing regional hubs or partnerships with sympathetic mainline or Old Catholic parishes to share worship spaces and community resources.

• Documenting community life and liturgical practice, so that future clergy can step into a context with continuity and clarity.

• Fostering mentorship between older and younger clergy, ensuring the transmission of both sacramental lineage and pastoral wisdom.

5. A Call to Reimagine Continuity

Continuity in the ISM will not look like continuity in larger churches. We may never have vast endowments or parish schools. But we can have faithful continuity—the passing on of our sacramental vision, our pastoral care, and our commitment to inclusive ministry.

Our challenge, then, is to root our ministries not only in the charisma of individuals but in shared community identity and common mission. Only then can we ensure that when one minister’s work ends, the Church’s work continues.

Peace,

Ben