The Nicodemus Project:
Support for parishes seeking meaningful change
By Jim Morell
The Nicodemus Project is on track and on task as it guides the diocese, 
through its teams and committees, toward transformational change as directed by Synod 2009. Earlier this month the Parish Support and Development Team spent a day training 10 facilitators to guide and support parishes through self-assessment, the identified first step in the change process. The Spiritual Growth Team is looking into establishing programs and opportunities for re-learning what it means to be Christian and Anglican, and the Episcopal Team is working on the idea of a leadership and learning weekend aimed at preparing our clergy and lay leaders for a different future. All this progress even before the project is officially launched in every parish in the diocese on Sunday, Jan. 31.
Parish self-assessment requires a deep and honest look at parish identity and ministry. This is neither a simple task nor a quick fix, but it is something every parish is expected to accomplish by June 2010. The recently trained facilitators are ready, willing and able to share their time and talents to help parishes that see this as a daunting task. It is an essential one, though, because it will enable the parish to recognize new visions and establish challenging, but do-able, action plans for change.
In John’s Gospel, Nicodemus’ encounter with Jesus led him to seek transformation, just as our diocese does today. Nicodemus knew that in order to begin a new life focused on God, he had to change his ways. In honour of Nicodemus’ faithfulness, and with confidence in our own prayerfully revealed priorities, we named our diocesan pursuit of transformational change for him.
We fully expect The Nicodemus Project to be on the agenda of every parish annual meeting, and that congregations will be led to make the kind of life-changing decisions that allowed Nicodemus to be born again and to find God.
The changes we may need to make will require sacrifice. If we want our churches to be strong, healthy, mission-focused, welcoming and growing, then we have to re-set our hearts and minds on what God expects of us as his people and his church. With prayer, strong leadership and a willingness to do things differently, God — through the Spirit, will lead us. We know in our hearts that he stands ready.
The Nicodemus Project is based on the priorities set by Diocesan Council (Synod between synods) in response to Synod’s call to transformational change.
As Bishop Edward Salmon is fond of saying, “We need to speak the truth in love” in this process. Only then can we ask God to help us become re-born and to begin leading a new and different kind of life.
Jim Morell is chair of the Diocesan Council Administration Team, which has responsibility for The Nicodemus Project.
Diocesan Communications
15 December 2009
