[1] The challenges for small town and rural America continue to
be significant, as they have been for some time. In
particular, small town and rural America faces financial stress in
many sectors, especially in those communities financially dependent
on the agricultural industry. The presence of financial
stress has affected these communities, and these effects present
some significant challenges for congregations and pastors in their
ministries.
[2] The 1970s were a time of optimism for the U.S. agricultural
sector. Exports of U.S. agricultural products were high,
resulting in an increase in market prices for products and a
general increase in farm income. At the same time, land was
increasing in value and interest rates were low. The
combination of low interest rates, increasing land values, and high
farm prices led many lending agencies and agricultural experts to
encourage farmers to expand their operations. Many farmers
took this advice, expanding their farm operations by borrowing
against the collateral represented in high commodity prices and
increasing land values. During the 1970s farm debt
tripled.1
[3] In the 1980s the farming financial landscape changed
dramatically. A rise in the value of the U.S. dollar made
U.S. farm commodities more expensive on the world market, resulting
in a decrease in exports. This, in turn, led to lower market
prices for agricultural products and lower income for
producers. Simultaneously, land values generally decreased
nationwide, while there was an increase in interest rates.
Farmers who had expanded their operations by absorbing more debt
were particularly affected, as they tried to pay off debt with
commodities which were lower in price and land collateral which had
decreased in value.
[4] Some described this farm financial crisis as the most severe
economic period since the Great Depression. Many studying
small towns and rural communities note that the effects of
financial stress in the agricultural sector continue to the
present, with commodity prices continuing to be low, and costs of
inputs and equipment continuing to rise. This crisis has had
ripple effects in agriculturally-dependent communities across the
nation. One word - loss - perhaps best exemplifies what many
communities have experienced. A significant number of
producers who borrowed money to begin farming or to expand their
operations have had to quit farming, due to the stress of their
debt loads. Many of these have had to leave their communities
to find employment in other occupations. This has resulted in
a loss of population for many communities.
[5] Likewise, these communities have experienced a loss of
businesses, a loss of services (such as hospitals, banks, and
social services), and consolidation of the local schools with those
of neighboring communities due to a decrease in the number of
youth. Many communities experience a loss of
self-determination; banks or hospitals that do remain may be bought
out or consolidated with larger corporations, with the result that
decisions affecting the local branch are made at distant corporate
headquarters by persons who have no stake in the community. A
decreasing population will likely lead to a loss of political power
as well. It is often noted that, in severely affected
communities, the church may be the last service organization left
in the community.
[6] Individuals and families experiencing farm financial stress
experience loss as well. People report a host of financial
and psychological consequences as a result of farm financial stress
including reduced income, job loss, loss of major possessions,
depression, family and marital problems, withdrawal from family and
friends, increased anger, sleeping and eating disorders, increased
substance abuse, self-depreciation, feelings of worthlessness, a
sense of loss, and suicide proneness. A sense of guilt within
family generations may also be present. Some who have left
farming report feeling guilt that they were not able to keep land
that may have been in the family for years. They feel that
neighbors and family members view them as failures, and within a
community where everyone seems to know everyone else, they report a
sense of being the subject of conversations in the coffee shops and
around family tables. This sense of failure is reinforced as
farmers wonder why their grandparents could survive the Great
Depression, but they could not survive the current farm
crisis. It is clear that persons experiencing the farm crisis
present a need for pastoral care within congregations and
communities. Yet many farmers and their families find it
difficult to share their condition and struggles with their
neighbors or pastor.
[7] Farm crisis presents some significant challenges for pastors
and congregations in small towns and rural communities. While
the congregation is facing challenges of membership loss and
financial stress, the needs for pastoral care actually
increase. When community social service resources are
curtailed, congregations are often called upon to fill the
gap. The community asks congregations to provide food,
clothing, emergency funds, counseling, and shelter.
[8] Maintaining a sense of Christian community within
congregations and between neighbors is also a challenge for
congregations and pastors. Research has shown that while most
persons who leave farming report that they exited farming due to
factors beyond their control, a significant proportion of those who
continue to farm say that people leave farming due to poor
management. Some who left farming report that their neighbors
were interested in obtaining their land in order to expand farm
operations. People who continue to farm, those who have left
farming due to financial stress, bankers who may have had to
foreclose on a farm operation, and merchants who extended credit to
farm operators are likely to be sitting in the same
congregation. Dealing with the feelings of loss, hurt, and
anger that accompany farm crisis, while still maintaining a sense
of grace, forgiveness, and community in Christ, is a challenge for
congregations in these contexts.
[9] Pastors and congregations serving in
agriculturally-dependent communities need to be aware of what is
happening with community members. While many suffering
economic hardship may be unable to share their predicament with
others, pastors and members of the community should be aware of
changes in attitudes and behaviors of their neighbors, and be
willing to address these concerns with them. Likewise, the
congregations and members of the community should anticipate
struggles, and provide forums and activities that may help
alleviate the effects of financial crisis, or at least provide
possible avenues of action for those experiencing financial
stress.
[10] Communities of faith must address the fear of an uncertain
future as well. These fears will likely be found not just in
families, but in communities and congregations as well. 'How
will we be able to survive?', 'Will anyone want to live here, or
serve here?', 'What is the mission God has for us here and now?'
could well be very real questions for individuals, communities, and
congregations in the midst of farm crisis.
[11] Yet the Lord Jesus bids us to have no fear (Matthew 10:31),
as individuals, as congregations, and as communities. The
Lord Jesus also reminds us that we are not alone (Matthew
28:20). And here may be the greatest hope for small town and
rural America and those called to serve in that context. God
has called into being a group of people in faith, the Church of
Jesus Christ. Persons and congregations serving in small town
and rural America need the prayers and support of people of
faith. But they also need their Christian sisters and
brothers to understand the challenges of life and ministry in
communities experiencing financial stress, and they need partners
in advocating for justice in the global agricultural system, so
that producers receive a fair price for commodities and the ability
to make an adequate living from their labor.
End Notes
1 Steve H. Murdock and F. Larry Leistritz, The Farm Financial
Crisis: Socioeconomic Dimensions for Producers and Rural Areas
(Boulder, Colorado: Westiview Press, 1988), p. 14.
© October 2003
Journal of Lutheran Ethics
Volume 3, Issue 10
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