Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Self-Study Components 

From Presbytery of Detroit Committee on Ministry Pastoral Transition Check List Stage 
2 -Self-Study, Congregational Envisioning 

1. Facts and History 
2. Community Information 
3. Congregation Analysis 
4. Vision 
5. Mission 
6. Leader 
FOREWARD 

Following is the Self-Study Report prepared for Starr Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak, Michigan, in 2010. 
Where possible, the sections outlined in the Presbytery of Detroit COM Self Study -Congregational Envisioning 
were completed as thoroughly as could be. Due to lack of a cohesive vision for the future of Starr at among 
members at this time, several sections simply state “TO BE COMPLETED.” This is intentional. 

1.0 FACTS AND HISTORY 
Compiled from various sources (Peggy Beal, Rev. Kathryn Kelly, and Sandy Woodcox) 

The Origins of Starr Presbyterian Church 

Starr Presbyterian Church (Starr) traces its roots in the Royal Oak area back to 1850, when a group of Irish 
settlers came to the area now known as Royal Oak and Troy to carve out lives for themselves as farmers in the 
fertile swampland present at that time. In April 1850, thirty two people met in Marvin's Schoolhouse on 15 Mile 
Road and Crooks Road in Troy with Reverend James Bull to charter a new congregation under the name Troy 
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. After meeting in homes and schools for over a year, the congregation 
decided to build a one room white wooden church in the style of many of the members' former church in Ireland 
on a site donated by David Chase on the southwest corner of 13 Mile Road and Crooks Road. The Associate 
Reformed Presbytery of Detroit was organized at the site in 1852, with seven churches as members. 

In 1858, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and the Associate Presbyterian Church denominations 
united to form the United Presbyterian Church of North America, and the church changed its name to the Troy 
United Presbyterian Church (the area was not at that time a part of Royal Oak). This congregation shared 
pastors with the Southfield congregation on 10 Mile from 1850 to 1895, and then with a congregation in 
Birmingham (no longer active) from 1895 to 1926. In 1885, after a 4 to 1 vote by Session, the church began to 
allow use of an organ during worship service. In 1912, Session appointed 7 women to sing in the choir, and in 
1916, Session appointed 7 more choir members (only Session approved singers were accepted in the choir). 
Toward the end of the 1910's dissension between the elders of this church and the Birmingham congregation 
resulted in Presbytery intervening, secret meetings within the separate Sessions, and the departure of a Clerk of 
Session along with two years of church minutes and records. 

The first parsonage was built at the Crooks Road site in 1926, when Reverend Harry Rhine was called as pastor. 
He served 18 years from 1926 to 1944. Unable to meet their annual budget, the church received supplemental 
aid from the Board of National Missions of the United Presbyterian Church of North America from 1926 until 
1954. Also during Rev. Rhine's time, Royal Oak annexed the area around the church site in 1927, and the name 
of the church was changed to the First United Presbyterian Church of Royal Oak. In response to the Great 
Depression, in 1933 the church joined other Royal Oak churches in serving soup to school children and the 
needy. In 1934, the annual Gideons led service started. 

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Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Several pastors served in the decade following Reverend Harry Rhine, including Donald Vogel, who left in 1945 
to serve as a chaplain in the Navy in World War II, and Bernard Quick, who served from 1951 until 1954 before 
heading to Egypt for mission work. This time was marked by more unrest in the church, and in 1949 the discord 
within the congregation resulted in Presbytery dissolving the Session and other boards. Presbytery installed a 
Provisional Session of 5 elders from outside the congregation in order to resolve the problems that were 
plaguing the church. 

The Beal Era 

In 1954 the congregation voted to become self-supporting, calling as their pastor Doctor Reverend J. Rodney 
Beal, who served as pastor for the next 34 years until his death in 1988. To make more space for the rapidly 
growing congregation in the 1950's, a new building which included a chapel and education wing was dedicated 
in 1956, and an additional education unit was completed in 1958. In 1957, the old one-room church building, 
unable to meet safety codes, served the community one last time as it was used for a training controlled burn by 
the local fire department. 

The United Presbyterian Church of North America and the Presbyterian Church united to form the United 
Presbyterian Church USA in 1958. This union resulted in two First United Presbyterian Churches in Royal Oak 
and considerable confusion in financial records, meetings, etc. This congregation voted to change its name to 
Starr Presbyterian Church in 1983, after the family of Orson Starr (1803-1873), a New York businessman who 
moved into the Royal Oak area in the 1830's and started Royal Oak's first industry (manufacturing cow-bells). 
Almon Starr manufactured bricks and clay drain tiles just south of Starr's current location on Crooks road for 
some time in prior to the construction of the original one-room church. Also in 1958 Starr was made completely 
handicapped accessible by the extension of an entrance ramp and the installation of an elevator. The sanctuary 
and fellowship hall as they currently exist were completed in 1965. 

After sharing church facilities for many years with the Royal Oak Korean congregation, the Korean congregation 
moved to another church building. Since then Starr has shared its chapel and other facilities with the Taiwanese 
congregation. 

Dr. Beal had a directive leadership style in which he served as the strong shepherd to his flock. Dr. Beal's 
thoughts on all areas of congregational life became the goals and objectives of the church, be it stewardship, 
worship style and music, support of mission, or congregational care and fellowship. Tithing was widely 
understood as a private matter between the individual and God. Other highlights of Dr. Beal's time at Starr 
included the acquisition of an extensive library, the stained glass windows of the chapel designed and created by 
church members, the labor day Family Camp starting in 1961, and in 1981 the Clowns of the Abbey ministry 
organized by Katie Ward, one of the many summer interns that served the church. By far the most memorable 
thing about the time of Dr. Beal in the collective consciousness of congregation members is the Sunday School 
program, which reportedly was filled beyond capacity on a regular basis (though based on church records, the 
actual amount of time this actually was the case was a relatively short period, spanning from the late 1960's until 
the early 1970's). 

Though most members of the church only recall good things about the majority of Dr. Beal's time as pastor, this 
recent (for many members) era was not without difficult or trying times. The Baby Boom of the 1950's lead into 
the Civil Rights Movement, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Sexual Revolution, the gasoline crisis in the 
1970's, etc. As these earth-moving and culture-shattering events affected peoples the world over, church 
attendance around the nation dwindled, the Presbyterian Church and Starr in particular included. Dr. Beal's 
strong but faithful leadership style did not sit well with some people, and some leaders within the church left as a 
result. Also in this era at Starr, at least one family left when Session would not give their blessing or approval of 
a class for children with special needs, though a capable and qualified volunteer was ready and willing to provide 
this ministry. By 1988, the official membership of Starr had dropped from over 750 at its peak in 1970 to less 
than 350. 

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Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

The Aue Years 

In 1988, Dr. Beal died from cancer while serving Starr and the end of his pastorate was a very traumatic time in 
the life of the church. In 1989, Reverend Craig Aue was called to Starr and served for 18 years. In many ways, 
serving as a “rebound” pastor of sorts, Rev. Aue and Starr faced many challenges together. 

One of the first major challenges tackled together by Rev. Aue and Starr was an effort to correct inflated 
membership rolls. Many former members who no longer attended or contributed to Starr were either removed to 
in-activity or removed altogether per their request. From 1990 until the end of 1999, the membership rolls were 
reduced from 317 to 189, partly from better book-keeping, and partly from actual decline in membership, both 
through deaths of aging members and from people leaving the church. It should be noted that the final three 
years of the 1990's actually saw an increase in membership from the previous years. As membership declined, 
so did the money available for church missions and programs, though the cost of keeping a large and aging 
building open continued to increase. 

In the early 1990's, Starr attempted to use a unicameral board that combined the duties of Session and the 
Trustees; however, the unicameral board approach did not work and the congregation voted to return to the 
former board system. 

The music program at Starr suffered several setbacks during the 1990's. First, a choir director was lost due to 
money issues, despite meetings with Session to explain the financial situation (it was Starr's position that they 
could not continue to pay what they had been for the music director). Former choir members dropped out, many 
feeling they were getting too old to continue in the choir. The decline of the music program lead to several 
members leaving Starr and transferring to churches with stronger music programs. 

The beloved Starr Sunday School program also experienced trouble in the 1990's. The long time superintendent 
and one of her staff resigned to transfer to another church. Session notes from the time reveal little about the 
cause and members are quiet on the issue, but the effect was a weakened education program. 

Also during the 1990's, Starr had several conflicts with Presbytery. Session strongly disagreed with some ideas 
and practices presented during a “Re-Imagining Conference” in 1994, and sent a firmly worded letter objecting to 
those ideas and practices to the General Assembly. In August 1995, Starr was cited by the Committee of 
Presbytery for three issues: there was no report of an annual audit, there was no annual joint meeting held 
between the Board of Deacons and the Session, and there were issues with the notations of removals from the 
membership rolls. The three citations were addressed by a special committee by the end of 1995. In 1997, 
Starr withheld the per capita donations to Presbytery, and reinstated them in April 1998 after receipt of a letter 
from Presbytery. 

In response to dwindling Sunday Worship attendance in the late 1990's Starr went from two weekly Sunday 
worship services to one. 

Although Rev. Aue served Starr for 18 years, he was inevitably standing in the shadow of Dr. Beal, who for many 
members of Starr was the only other pastor they had known. When reflecting on the history of the congregation, 
many members remember vividly the events of Dr. Beal's ministry, but little is shared about Rev. Aue's years of 
ministry. He was known for his thoughtful prayers and his pastoral care to members of the congregation and 
their families in times of personal loss, illness, or tragedy. Rev. Aue also had a directive leadership style which 
led to conflict among the congregational leadership and a significant number of them left the church. While 
many congregation members struggle to remember the positive aspects of Rev. Aue's time at Starr, there are 
several positive highlights of ministry that developed in that time. The Clown Ministry led by Diane Cole 
continued for some time. Vacation Bible School was held every summer up until the last few years of Rev. Aue's 
time at Starr. Under Rev. Aue's faithful leadership, Starr began hosting SOS (South Oakland Shelter) one week 
a year (which ultimately lead to Starr's involvement in the annual warming shelter that continues to this day). 
Prayer meetings were held regularly on Thursday nights. Sing-alongs were done once a month for about a year. 

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Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Also under Rev. Aue's watch, the annual “Worship in the Park” at Starr-Jaycee Park down the street from the 
church began. 

The new millennium did not ease the challenges of the 1990's. The tragedy of 9/11 shook the country in 2001. 
The economic prosperity of the US in the 1990's transitioned to an overinflated market, especially in housing, 
gradual decline, and, toward the latter half of the decade, an economic collapse and rampant unemployment. 
Michigan and the Detroit area were hit particularly hard, due to the heavy reliance on the auto industry. As jobs 
left the area, so did many members of the church. Despite the large 20 to 30-something crowd living in Royal 
Oak and the surrounding communities, new members were rare during most of the 2000's. These factors, 
combined with an aging congregation trying to keep their church doing “business-as-normal” contributed to 
continuing decline in church attendance and membership. Starr's operating costs continued to increase as the 
building itself aged and the cost of energy, in particular the natural gas used to heat the building in the winter, 
went up, while less and less people, all with less and less money themselves, struggled to keep Starr open. 

In hopes of revitalizing congregational leadership, the Starr congregation, under the leadership of Rev. Aue and 
the Clerk of Session, voted in 2007 nearly unanimously to dissolve the Board of Trustees and the Deacons, and 
to reduce the size of Session from twelve to six. Each of the three boards previously had 12 seats each. The 
idea was that the reduction of people serving on boards would lead to a greater capability of spirit-led ministries 
to take hold from within the congregation. In January 2008, the change to the new model of spirit-led ministries 
became official, and the new Session began their work with Rev. Aue and the Clerk of Session to transition the 
congregation into this new way of doing things. Congregational participation was very limited, and in the midst of 
the struggle to transition to this new way of doing things, Rev. Aue resigned to pursue a call to chaplain and 
hospice ministries. At the same time, the Clerk of Session, frustrated with the lack of congregational response 
as well as some other issues, resigned and left the church. 

In August 2008, the mostly green Session (most of the active Elders had never served on Session before) had to 
shift gears and find an interim pastor. With the help of the Committee on Ministry, Session called Reverend 
Kathryn Kelly to help lead the congregation through the interim process. 

The Current Interim 

The current interim period has been yet another time of trial for Starr. Consumed by dealing with building issues, 
conflicts with Bluebird Daycare which had rented out the former education wing of Starr for approximately 40 
years, growing fiscal difficulties, and the lack of congregational participation in spirit-led ministries the Session 
and Rev. Kelly could not focus on the interim process as much as they would have liked. In 2009 Bluebird was 
evicted, a process that took over 6 months, and at the request of Session the congregation voted to return to the 
three board system (Session, Trustees, and Deacons) with the caveat that the boards would be smaller than 
before. 

Despite the very short period of time, relative to Starr's history, the current interim period has seen many notable 
developments within the life of the church. A food pantry was started in 2009 to better minister to the growing 
number of needy approaching Starr for aid. Several Bible and Book studies began, and currently there are 
separate Men's and Women's Book Studies on Sunday Mornings, and a Monday night Bible Study. In 2010, a 
weekly Healing and Prayer Service began on Wednesday Nights. In addition to the continuing partnership with 
the Taiwanese Presbyterian congregation, Starr began sharing its sanctuary with New Life Lutheran Church in 
2010, who now worship on Sunday mornings prior to Starr's worship service. 

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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

2.0 COMMUNITY INFORMATION 
Community Statistics 

The majority of Starr members come from Royal Oak (with most residing in the northern half of Royal Oak). 
Other communities with significant Starr membership include Clawson, Troy, Brimingham, and Madison Heights. 
Most of the remainder of members live in communities immediately surrounding those towns, with notable gaps 
in Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, and Ferndale. Approximately 11 Starr members live in areas further 
away from Royal Oak, including one member who lives in New York. Following is a map depicting the area in 
which most of the Starr membership resides (by zip code): 

Figure 1: Starr Membership Map -Most of the membership of Starr comes from the areas immediately 
surrounding the church, most notably including northern Royal Oak, Clawson,Troy, Birmingham, and Madison 
Heights. Huntington Woods, Pleasant Ridge, and Ferndale, while within the main area of membership, do not 
have any Starr Members. 
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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

All of the following statistics either come directly from the 2000 US Census, or were estimated using the data 
therein. The median age in Royal Oak was 38.1%. An estimated 16.7% of Royal Oak residents are gay or 
lesbian. 50.7% of Royal Oak residents over 15 are single, including 7.5% of residents who are widowed or 
widowers, 11.1% who were divorced, and 31.4% who were never married. 49.3% of Royal Oak residents were 
married, and 21.0% of households had children. 94.2% of residents identified themselves as white, and 30.2% 
of residents were living in apartments or group housing. Following are various graphs depicting select statistics 
for Royal Oak: 

Age Distribution in Royal Oak 


20 
19 
18 
17 
16 
15 
14 
13 
12 
11 
10 
9 
8 
7 
6 
5 
4 
3 
2 
1 
0 


% of Population 

Graph 1: Age Distribution in Royal Oak -The majority of Royal Oak residents in 2000 were between the 
ages of 25 and 54. A significant population between the ages of 65 and 84 also resided in the city. 
0-5 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-59 60-64 65-74 75-84 >85 
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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Race Distribution in Royal Oak (non-white) 


31.87% 

5.89% 
1.20% 

3.90% 

23.73% 
33.42%


Black or African Amer


ican 
American Indian and 
Alaska Native 

Asian 

Native Hawaiian and 
Other Pacific Islander 
Some other race 
Two or more races 

Graph 2: Race Distribution in Royal Oak -Approximately 94.2% of Royal Oak residents in 2000 
identified themselves as white. Within the remainder of Royal Oak residents, significant populations 
included Asian and Black or African American residents. A significant number of residents also identified 
themselves as a combination of two or more races. 

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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Marital Status in Royal Oak 

11.09% 

31.37% 


Never married 

Now married, except separated 

0.80% 

Separated 
Widowed 
Divorced 

Graph 3: Marital Status in Royal Oak -Just under half of Royal Oak residents over 15 reported 
themselves as married in 2000, and nearly a third reported themselves as never having been married. 
Just over a tenth of residents were divorced (but not re-married), and almost 7.5% were widowed. 


Community Overview 

Royal Oak has an active down-town area with a significant population of relatively young adults who are involved 
in a variety of activities including arts and music as well as issues of social justice. Most of the residents of the 
community are white, and many are gay or lesbian. Royal Oak is home to numerous schools and libraries, 
including a campus for Oakland County Community College, many city parks, and the Detroit Zoo. Royal Oak 
also lies only minutes from many wealthy communities, such as Troy and Birmingham, as well as not-so-wealthy 
communities, such as Detroit and Warren. The community is wedged between I-75 and Woodward Avenue, and 
has a major Bus Station as well as one of the only Train Stations in the area. 

7.49% 
49.25%


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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

3.0 CONGREGATION ANALYSIS 
Congregational Statistics 

General Statistics 
The median age of Starr members and children of members is approximately 49 years, with at least 41 members 
over 60 years. Two members, or 1.64%, are openly gay. 47.5% of Starr members are single, including 24.6% 
of members who are widowed or widowers and 3.28% who were divorced. 52.5% of Starr members were 
married, 11.5% of households had children. 23.4% of married couples, or 12.4% of the membership, include 
one spouse who is a member and another who is not. 100% of members are white, though several ethnicities 
are included in regular attendees who are not members, and approximately 15.6% of members were living in 
apartments or group housing, including 6.56% of members who are in living in care facilities. Following are 
graphs of select statistics for Starr: 

Age Distribution in Starr 


% of Population 


13 
12 
11 
10 
9 
8 
7 
6 
5 
4 
3 
2 
1 
0 

0-5 6-10 11-18 19-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99 


Graph 4: Age Distribution of Starr -This graph includes members and children of members; however, 
adults (>18) are underrepresented on the graph since 45 of 122 members have not provided birth years. 
Approximately 14% of members of Starr families are under 18, while at least 27.7% are over 60. 

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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Marital Status in Starr 

2.56%


37.18% 

41.03% 


Single Members 

Widowed/Widowered 
Members 
Divorced Members 

Married Members 

19.23% 

Graph 5: Marital Status in Starr -Approximately four tenths of Starr members are married, over two 

thirds have not been married, and nearly one fifth of Starr members are widowed and not remarried. 

Statistics Comparison to Average PCUSA Churches 
Starr's membership in 2009, according to Presbyterian Research Services was 117, approximately 60% of the 
national average (195), and the average weekly attendance was 58, approximately 53.2% of the national 
average (109), which also means that Starr's membership to attendance ratio is somewhat lower than the 
national average. Starr received a total of 14 new members in 2009, the same as the national average, and lost 
22 members, approximately 22% more than the national average (18). About 20 members participated in 
Christian Education, only 17.5% of the national average (114). The total monetary contributions to Starr were 
$135,707, about 57.2% of the national average ($237,343). Per member contributions ($1,159.89) were 4.65% 
higher than the national average ($1,108.32), and per worship attendee contributions ($2,339.78) were 7.55% 
higher than the national average ($2,175.57). The report and graphs prepared by Presbyterian Research 
Services that depict these statistics are attached to this report as Appendix A. 

In short, the congregation of Starr is slightly smaller than the “average” PCUSA church, and the average 
member contributes more money than members in other churches; however, there is significantly less 
participation in Christian Education among the membership of Starr than in other PCUSA churches. The rate 
new members come to Starr is the same as the average PCUSA church, however the rate of membership loss is 
higher, resulting in an overall downward trend in membership slightly greater than what other PCUSA churches 
are experiencing. 

Statistics Comparison to Royal Oak Community 
The membership of Starr is notably different from the make-up of the community in which it is located. The most 
readily apparent difference is that the population of Starr is older than the community's, evidenced by the older 

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Self Study Report 2010 November 8, 2010 FINAL 
Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

average age of congregation, as well as the very high percentage of widows and widowers. The second most 
readily apparent difference is the low percentage of gay and lesbian members when compared to the 
community. Numerous other minute but important differences are apparent upon close examination of the 
available statistics, including underrepresentation of minorities in the congregation, the percentage of families 
with children within the church is about half of the community statistics, and the community percentage of 
divorced residents who haven't remarried is about four times that of Starr members. 

The Present State of Starr 

Currently, Starr is a small congregation in a very big building. It is a family minded church that greets and 
befriend visitors with zeal and exudes an atmosphere of love and (usually) acceptance. It is a church of mostly 
retired, elderly (>70-years old), long-time (>30 to 40 years) members. Starr is a church with a long history of 
both happy and painful memories. 

Starr is also a church divided. The larger portion of the congregation is happy with the way things are: They see 
stewardship as a solely financial responsibility, they want nothing more to sing the old hymns during worship, 
and they see mission as something to be supported financially or to be done entirely within the doors of the 
church. For this larger portion of the congregation, church leadership is synonymous with actually being the 
pastor, evangelism is about getting more people to be saved and to fill the pews. While many of this portion of 
the congregation long for the days when Sunday School classes were filled to the brim with children, they don't 
want to change the tried and “true” traditional style of Christian Education that are currently in place. This part of 
the congregation simply wants to see Starr survive, and includes many of the long-time members. 

The smaller portion of the congregation believes Starr needs some genuine change of heart and practices. They 
want to see the church be an active participant in the community. They see stewardship in terms of more than 
just money, mission as more than just staying in the building, evangelism as more than just getting more hands 
in to carry the load and keep the lights on. To this smaller portion of the congregation, church leadership is the 
responsibility of every member of the church, and as such, they tend to be those within the church who take an 
active roll in leadership. Christian Education is something ongoing, not just for children and teens, but 
something important for adults. Worship is a personal and a communal connection with God, an experience of 
the Holy Spirit, and a time of reverence for Jesus Christ. Despite fairly significant differences in the specifics of 
how this portion of the congregation sees those things, they hold in common the desire to see Starr thrive, and 
grow, and do God's work in the world. While a few long-time members make up this segment of the 
congregation, it is made up primarily of shorter-term members (those who have been with the church less than 
15-years). 

4.0 VISION 
--TO BE COMPLETED 

5.0 MISSION 
--TO BE COMPLETED 

6.0 LEADER 
--TO BE COMPLETED 

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Starr Presbyterian Church 
Royal Oak, MI 

Appendix A 
Presbyterian Research Services Report 


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