PARISH OF VAUDREUIL VISIONING DAY
APRIL 28, 2007

THE PEOPLE: 25 participants from both churches meeting in the spirit of true Christian fellowship to work, sing, pray and vision together

THE PURPOSE: to set a direction for the Parish whereby we can allocate our time, talents and resources in accordance with what God is calling us to do in this place

THE GOALS:

- to review the results of the last Vision Day
- to celebrate our achievements since then
- to examine our Mission Statement so as to have a clear view of what we set out as our mission and how it is relevant to us today
- to identify the key ministries and related activities underway in this Parish
- to group all ministries into a short list of 6-7 categories
- as a result of prayer, reflection and teamwork, to characterize each of the ministries in terms of their critical dimensions and high priority actions
- to communicate the results of this process to the parish family
- to provide a roadmap for action by the parish


THE PROCESS:

After a delicious breakfast, Father John opened the proceedings with a prayer and a song and then the purpose of the day as defined above was introduced by Tom Pound.


The Results of the Last View and Vision Day

Using overheads, John summarized the results from the last vision day and also from the parish visitation questionnaire. Several areas had been identified at this time as needing work and three of the parish committees were set up following this previous workshop: Youth, Pastoral and Communications. There was a perceived need for Christian Education for adults and the Wednesday morning Bible Study came into being. There has been a concerted effort to become a parish that welcomes youth.

The Mission Statement

Don Maguire led this interactive session whereby we took a look at the Mission Statement and decided whether or not it was still relevant to God’s purpose in this parish. It was felt that the mission statement was unwieldy and not easily recalled - we need something concise that everyone can remember. We can then hold all parish activities up against it. We then underlined the key concepts/words we wished to remain: “community”, “Christ/Christian”, “worship”, “growing”, “loving”, “caring”, “God’s grace”. It was generally agreed that the statement needed to be: timeless, forward-looking, relevant, tangible, achievable, memorable (maybe an acronym) and posted publicly/shared. It should influence behaviour, communicate Christian values and inspire spiritual growth both individually and collectively. Bearing these guidelines in mind, a committee was struck to further consider the statement and report back with their suggestions.

Brainstorming Session

With the help of Chris Garner frantically trying to keep pace on the flip charts, Tom fielded brainstorming ideas from the assembled company. Not only were many areas of ministry identified, but also attitudes, values and vehicles which we need to bear in mind for the successful carrying out of these ministries.
After the brainstorming session, all the ideas were transferred to cue cards (several of which had been made up before with ministries we knew to already exist) and the company split into four groups to sort the cards into the 6-7 ministry categories. A synthesis group catalogued the overall results of the session and Dianne Hooper presented the results.
During lunch the results from the small groups were catalogued under the major ministry categories and a final session was held to define these 6 categories. Once the ministries had been defined, the placing of each sub-ministry, value or action in the various categories was re-examined. Consensus was then achieved as to what belonged in which ministry. As predicted several activities span more than one ministry. The results of this session, along with the definition we gave each ministry are tabulated below.
In addition to the six areas of ministry identified, we also added two other categories whose purview runs across all the ministries. The first was Communication and the second the “How Tos/Values” that were identified. Some of these were highlighted by the groups under the six areas of ministry but they are all included in the summary below.


WORSHIP

Definition – worship includes all the elements (sacraments, music, tradition, liturgy, thanksgiving, praise) whereby we collectively respond to God’s grace and hear His word

Worship Activities:

MISSION AND OUTREACH

Definition - this ministry takes place beyond the family of the parish and involves sharing our gifts with any and all

Mission and Outreach Activities:


FELLOWSHIP

Definition – fellowship involves us gathering together to celebrate our sense of belonging both within and beyond the parish

Fellowship Activities:


PASTORAL

Definition

- this ministry takes place within the family of the parish and involves:
- demonstrating care and nurturing
- visiting/assisting
- shepherding the flock
- passing on God’s love

Pastoral Activities:

YOUTH

Definition – the youth ministry includes all programs to intentionally welcome, recruit and include youth in the parish

Youth Activities:


CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Definition – everything that encompasses learning and growing as a Christian both within and without the parish family along with teaching to meet the needs of others of all ages, experiences and backgrounds

Christian Education Activities:

COMMUNICATION

Communication Activities:

HOW-TOS / VALUES

 

Small Group Workshops

Following the plenary session, six small groups were formed to examine the areas of ministry that had been identified. They were asked to assess the activities already being carried out in this particular ministry and identify areas where it was felt we needed to put more effort or change our emphasis. They were also asked to look at new areas of ministry that might be appropriate to explore.
After this everyone met back together and the workshop leaders shared their results with the whole assembly. These recommendations will be assessed by Joint Corporation and will form the basis for action within the Parish. A summary of the findings appears below.
The day closed with Father John leading us again in song and prayer.


WORSHIP

This group focused on 4 main categories and raised concerns or made recommendations under each:

Music
- could entertain the idea of including a variety of instruments and music
- should try to involve kids – maybe young people taking lessons on musical instruments could be encouraged to play in church
- parish youth choir – Kelly has experience
- need younger choir members

Baptisms/Weddings etc
- need to figure out how to retain people afterwards
- must be fun
- encourage baptisms to be held during Family Service actively involving the Sunday School children (this might show parents how to follow up on their child’s Christian education)
- people must be made to feel they belong or have a connection; they can be encouraged to bring a friend

Family Services/Youth
- how do we integrate kids more into the regular services more (i.e. older ones reading, playing music, giving out bulletins, taking the collection, serving etc.)
- should connect to youth ministry
- summer camp connection too

Liturgy
- how do we blend tradition, reverence and reduce the intrusion of announcements or, at St. James’, the Sunday School arriving in the most solemn part of the service
- others felt, however, that this was a wonderful sharing time and welcoming the Sunday School as we are ready to enjoy the feast at the table was most appropriate
- announcements are fine, but at the end of the service
- are there too many types of services? Are we trying (or succeeding) to be all things to all people?
- at St. Mary’s it was felt that a comfortable balance of tradition and informality had been achieved


MISSION AND OUTREACH

This workshop group felt that we were being called to continue the outreach ministries such as food baskets, Operation Christmas Child, all the mission initiatives of the ACW and Sewing Circle, greeting and welcoming along with supporting others beyond the immediate church family. It was felt, however, that we should consider carefully our financial donations to other ministries and to downtown missions. The achievements of the various groups performing outreach activities in the parish should be celebrated and communicated.
The group identified three major areas where they felt we were being called to expand the ministry:

a) to have a Moms and Tots group at St. James’ also
b) develop a “listening” ministry to be aware of needs of those outside the church family: what do other churches do that meets these needs? This might increase our membership as well as reaching out to others
c) consider a prison outreach ministry

FELLOWSHIP

The Fellowship group had the following recommendations:

a) we should recruit more volunteers for regular events such as after service coffee, “Prayer and Pizza”, pancake supper etc. This would make people feel welcome and part of the parish family
b) given their experience with running successful events the Sewing Circle and St, James’ Church Women should be sounded out for what makes successful activities; close fellowship between the women of these groups is a critical factor here
c) special receptions should encourage and support collaboration between both churches and with other groups
d) we should find ways to further encourage and promote fellowship between the two churches
e) we could hold an outdoor event requesting help from a local business sponsor
f) taking the “listening” action into practice the greeters and others should reach out to both visitors and regular members at after church coffee
g) maybe an afternoon workshop on Christian listening would be appropriate to help us to hone our skills
h) to make people feel welcome at Bible Study fellowship John should briefly outline the content of what will be covered each Wednesday in church
i) the choir could be encouraged to do one or two concerts a year as a fellowship event, maybe in conjunction with a special event as noted in c) above


PASTORAL

The Pastoral group saw us focusing our efforts on:

Supporting each other by:
- visiting the bereaved and shut-ins
- sending cards to parishioners
- caring, as appropriate for the sick (including driving, meals etc.)

Communicating with each other by:
- listening, welcoming and making connections
- phoning
- putting relevant information into Pulse or the bulletins

Exploring ways of:
- disseminating useful health or medical information
- sharing resources

Referring needs to the rector for discretionary fund consideration


CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND YOUTH

Because of the overlap of many of the topics in these two ministries the groups met together. It was decided to split the ministry of education as addressing four major age groups and then look at what could be offered to each in terms of ministry initiatives.

Elders
- Bible studies
- Spirituality of Aging course
- Lent Programs
- Peace and reflection workshops/retreats
- Mentoring opportunities with younger members of the Parish family

Mid-life (Working age)
- Mentoring with any age
- Evening study groups
- Lent Programs
- Peace and reflection workshops/retreats
- Spiritual direction
- Marriage encounter or similar courses
- Alpha

Youth (Teens)
- Youth Alpha
- Youth/Elder interchange
- Server training
- Retreats
- Spiritual quests
- Training for Day camp roles


Children (Sunday School age)
- Day camp
- Story telling
- “Wonder leads to worship”
- Peer group mentoring with teens
- Green gardening for God

General
- Publish a church calendar to educate everyone as to the different colours of the vestments, altar cloths etc. used at different times of the church year (n.b. this information can be found in the Canadian Church Calendar)
- Find out and publish Diocesan courses and programs


This report is a summary of what was achieved during Visioning Day. It is, however, only a first step. We need feedback, further ideas and constructive suggestions in order to prepare an action plan for our Parish. Please be a part of this process.

Respectfully submitted

Alison Bentley,
People’s Warden, St. James’ Church on behalf of the Visioning Day Committee