Synod staff focuses vision
Synod Office staff members are in place to support the ministry of the bishop, parishes and people of this diocese in our shared mission and vision.
Synod Office staff members understand their ministry as a servant role in support of Church. This understanding was recently focused in the vision statement above. Like most straightforward concepts, it is the result of rigorous brainstorming and discussion.
“Our diocesan mission statement –– Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the making of disciples –– 
defines what we are about,” says Bishop Claude Miller. “Vision statements, like the one recently articulated by Synod Office staff, describe how we accomplish our mission.”
The seven diocesan staff members work day-to-day on administration, communication, and programming tasks, but their wider purpose is to advance the mission of the diocese. They set aside time each Wednesday morning to meet for Bible study, prayer, briefing, training and planning. Enhanced and effective communication is a regular topic of conversation and analysis. The need for a staff vision statement grew out of a recent communications review.
“We were challenged at one meeting to make a list of key words that we thought described our role in the diocese and bring them to the next meeting,” says 
Archdeacon Geoffrey Hall, Bishop Miller’s executive assistant. “Service, commitment, ministry, administration, stewardship, charity, sincerity, support, encouragement, formation and many others were put on the table. While we tried to create a statement that embodied these words and ideals, we found ourselves examining the structure of the office. We have always considered ourselves as a support to the bishop and the parishes. We came up with a longer statement that included encouraging, equipping and coordinating resources, but finally settled on the more succinct statement.”
Visitors to the Synod Office in Fredericton can expect to see the staff vision statement prominently displayed, a reminder to all of the importance of staff’s work and witness.
