Synod delegates prepared

to act on task force recommendations

by Ana Watts

When the Diocese of Fredericton Synod convenes at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre in June, delegates will have all the information they need in order to chart a course toward spiritual, numerical and financial growth. They will have two years of extensive research, consultation and advice on parish strengths, weaknesses and challenges as well as matters of formation, communication and stewardship at their fingertips. They will also have the benefit of expert analysis and succinct recommendations to consider, thanks to a Sharing Ministry Task Group empowered by Bishop Claude Miller and Diocesan Council.

Synod 2007 struck two task forces, one to investigate and recommend strategies to help rural and struggling parishes, the other to search for an equitable system of parish support for the diocesan shared ministry budget. In 2008 Diocesan Council asked the National Church to conduct an in-depth survey of this diocese’s stewardship efforts and outcomes. The result was a planning study to address our many needs in this area. In late summer 2008 Bishop Edward Salmon, retired from the Diocese of South Carolina, spent three days with diocesan clergy and made a profound impression on virtually all of them with his mission-minded approach to spirituality and his dedication to “spiritual hygiene” as essential elements of faith as well as tools for church growth. He impressed Diocesan Council and the Finance Committee with just an afternoon presentation. (In the photo above Bishop Salmon  - second from the left - chats with l-r Gerry McConaghy and Pat Drummond, task force chairs, and Bishop Claude Miller during his August 2008 visit.)

“We studied the three written reports presented to the diocese carefully, gave their more than 60 recommendations very close attention, and are doing our best to employ the wisdom and perspective of Bishop Salmon in our deliberations,” says Jim Morell who chairs the Shareing Ministry Task Group. “The three reports reflect an astonishing amount of prayer, discussion and clear thinking — and everything points to the need for systemic change. The reports and Bishop Salmon all recognize that unless we take immediate steps to reverse the decline in our diocese, Anglican ministry in many parts of this province will soon be unsustainable.”

At press time this task group, whose membership includes the Ven. Patricia Drummond and Mr. Gerald McConaghy, chairs of the Rural and/or Struggling Parishes and the Shared Ministry Budget Support task forces respectively, was finalizing a list of about 10 resolutions to present to synod. “Many of the recommendations from the three reports overlapped, we are doing our best to mirror them all,” says Archdeacon Drummond.

The amount of data, the depth of insight and number of recommendations that came from all these initiatives is daunting to say the least, but synod delegates have time to read, mark, and discuss it all. The three studies and their recommendations were all made public between December 2008 and early March of this year. Clergy were advised to ensure their synod delegates had access to the available studies from the moment of their election at parish annual meetings. The task group even suggested Archdeacons call another Archdeaconry Greater Chapter meeting in May, before Synod 2009. “The report and resolutions from our Task Group will certainly be available for May Greater Chapter meetings. We have even suggested clergy discuss the studies, recommendations and task group findings at their vestry meetings as well, so parish leaders are prepared for the kind of changes that this year’s synod is poised to adopt,” says Mr. Morell.

Soon after the Rural and Struggling Parishes task force got to work its members came to the conclusion that all parishes struggle in some way, and they changed its name to the Rural and/or Struggling Parishes task force. “Clearly the resolutions that synod delegates face in June are crucial to every parish and every Anglican in the diocese,” says Archdeacon Drummond.

While the research that led to the task force recommendations revealed many positive things about the diocese of Fredericton, issues around leadership, stewardship, Christian formation and governance need serious intervention.

“The good news is, both synod task forces, populated by New Brunswick Anglicans with theological perspectives running the very wide gamut embraced by the Anglican Church, were able to reach consensus on their reports and recommendations,” says Mr. Morell.

“That is an outstanding achievement,” says Mr. McConaghy. “Members of the Budget Support Task Force agreed on a ‘one-ask’ fair share (single allocation) formula for parish support of the diocesan budget to begin with 2010 budget planning, and stepped out in faith to move the diocese toward a tithing model that is not so much a budgeting technique as it is a major reshaping of ministry.”

Members of the Rural and/or Struggling Parishes Task Force also recognized their mandate was not to come up with a scheme for financial intervention, but to propose ways in which to help the Anglican Church in New Brunswick strengthen itself through Christian renewal, leadership education, community mission and biblical teaching on stewardship.

 

Diocesan Communications
24 March 2009