David Edwards offers experience and enthusiasm to parish development

by Ana Watts
Archdeacon David Edwards considers the “expansion of the hinterland” of Stone Church in Saint John the greatest achievement of his ministry there. “We have a stable congregation with between 90 and 110 in church each Sunday, and another 20 or so who come to our Uptown Church on Sunday night. But there are another three-to-four-hundred people in the community who are in touch with us regularly. Whether that’s three times a year or once a week, they regard Stone Church as significant to them.” Clearly he thrives parish work and its challenges, especially development. So he will leave the Stone Church congregation in the Parish of St. Mark at the end of this month to assume a new position as Parish Development Officer for the diocese on Nov. 1. “In that position I see my role to primarily work with parishes or groups of parishes who are seeking to discover God's next steps for them."

Whether parishes are venturing out into neighbourhood communities, or getting to know near-by parishes with a view to strengthening ministry by combining resources, they are actively working to build the Kingdom. “And it is our work, to make disciples for Christ. One of the ways we do that is to bring people to our churches to join us in worship.”

That's in line with The Nicodemus Project embarked upon by the diocese following Synod 2009. It calls for spiritual, numerical and financial growth. “Clearly stewardship and parish/congregational development need to be encouraged in this diocese but we must move beyond the present model," continues David. "Parishes need to engage in the community at the mission and the economic development levels. We need to find alternative revenue streams. We are talking about more creative evangelism than ever before. We need to look at the community then ask ourselves "How do we retain what we have in our Anglican tradition and at the same time become more open to developing new traditions?" We have to think creatively about where we are going and decide how we will get there. Different parishes will think differently and come up with different solutions.”

For some parishes, the future may include a Messy Church, that engages young families and takes the good news of Jesus Christ into their lives. In a recent article Archdeacon Pat Drummond called Messy Church “Church without being churchy — fun, interactive, reflective, musical, creative, delicious and prayerful — families come and wanting to keep coming.”

“As congregations we will have to work out how we exercise the cure of souls within the Anglican tradition, how we serve the community in which we are set — there is no one-size-fits-all,” says David. “But that doesn’t mean we focus only on the social gospel. Our primary purpose is to draw people to faith in Christ and to be open to Christ in serving those we are given to serve.

“My role in all this will in some ways be as varied as the congregations who seek to develop in this area. I expect it will mean spending a lot of time with people, helping them and me to think through mission. We will only be able to influence the society and culture around us by drawing people in, and we will only do that if we are authentic. If we mean what we say, perhaps people will come to know us as people of God.

“What people of God look like is difficult to describe though, because we are a pretty diverse group. But we are God’s people, so let’s go from there and ultimately help others come to faith in Christ because that is what Church is about, and that is our reason to be. People come to faith from very different places and a significant role for the Church — for us — is to provide companionship along the journey, and that means sticking with people for a very long time.

“As Parish Development Officer I hope I can provide some help as we think through the issues we face, and I hope I will receive some help in thinking through these things myself.”

Diocesan Council approved the creation of a development officer position late last winter. At that time Martha Jo Hoyt, chair of the Stewardship and Financial Development Team that recommended its creation, congratulated council on the decision. “We feel very strongly that our parishes need a resource person to consult in the areas of stewardship and congregational development. We are certain that person will give all parishes, not just the ones that struggle, the help they need to fully embrace the Nicodemus Project and we will become the kind of Church God is calling us to be.”

Archbishop Claude Miller also celebrated council’s support for the position. “The world is changing quickly and we need to take advantage of opportunities to respond to things that really matter.”

David and his wife Janet came to Saint John from the Diocese of Chelmsford in England where he worked half time in parish ministry and half time in congregational development. They came with the Church Army to start Taylor College and planned to stay three years. That was 13 years ago. They will be here at least another two if not three, because the Parish Development Officer contract for this diocese is for two years with the possiblity of a third. He went to Stone Church (Parish of St. Mark) as rector in 2002 and was appointed Archdeacon of Saint John in 2008.

Although his new position officially begins on Nov. 1 he is ready and willing to consult with parishes now. He can be reached at 634-1474 or 721-6701. He will eventually move to an office in Anglican Houses on Princess Street in Saint John and will have a dedicated telephone there. The number will be announced in E News.

 

27 September 2011
Diocesan Communications