Definitions as Approved by Diocesan Council

Pre-amble: Vitality and viability are not listed in any order of priority or in a hierarchy of value. Each are of equal merit to this process. Stewardship is not limited to finances, and includes all things God has entrusted to us.

“Vitality is defined as the qualitative aspects of parish and congregational life, viewing

parish ministry from the standpoint of God’s mission in the world, the purpose of our existence

as a church.”

“Viability is defined as quantitative aspects of what is necessary for parish and

congregational life, viewing parish ministry from a stewardship approach with adequate

financial, facility, and leadership assets.”

announcing a new member

We are pleased to announce that Debbie McCuaig, of St. Andrew's-on-the-Red, Lockport, has joined our task-force.

Jane Human has stepped away from actively being involved in the project, but remains an important resource to the team.

Project Description

The Study of Parish Viability and Vitality in the Diocese of Rupert’s Land

The Project Sponsor:

The Rt. Rev. Donald Phillips, Bishop

The Receivers of Deliverables:

The Rt. Rev. Donald Phillips, Bishop

The Executive Committee of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land

The Diocesan Council of the Diocese of Rupert’s Land

The Project Manager:

Mr. Bill Regehr

The Project Team:

The Rev. Geoff Woodcroft, The Rev. Preston Parsons, The Rev. Simon Blaikie, Mr. Bruce Duggan, Mrs. Jane Human, Mrs. Mary Williams

Project Outline: The purpose of this project is to determine the viability and vitality of each parish within the Diocese of Rupert’s Land. In standing up this Project Team, the Bishop of Rupert’s Land is mandating and authorizing this team to develop and implement whatever resources, they deem necessary to the task, in order to complete their work. This will include, but not be limited to, developing methodologies of data collection from parishes and subsequently implementing those methodologies. The framework that their work is to be based upon, though somewhat loosely due to resource limitations, is the work achieved in the Diocese of Toronto generally, and specifically the two pages adopted by the Executive Committee on 12 January 2010.

Goals

Goal 1:

Develop a definition of “viability” and “vitality” as these terms apply to Parish/Congregation Health.

Goal 2:

Submit the definitions of “viability” and “vitality” to the Bishop of Rupert’s Land and subsequently the Diocesan Council for approval.

Note: Approval of these definitions by the Bishop of Rupert’s Land and the Diocesan Council is required for the project to continue.

Goal 3:

Develop a tool to assess “viability” and “vitality” as they are defined in Goal 1.

Goal 4:

Implement the Assessment Tool.

Goal 5:

Analyse the data retrieved from the Assessment Tool in order to determine which parishes are “viable” and/or “vital” in accordance with the definitions agreed upon at Goal 1 keeping in view the ‘Toronto Document’.

Goal 6:

Present findings to the Bishop of Rupert’s Land and Diocesan Council.

Notes:

1. The project team will not make any recommendations as to how the results of the project are used.

2. Members of the Project Team reserve the right to resign from the Project at any point should they determine that their continued presence is not of benefit to the project.

Schedule

Goal 1: Approval of proposal and stand-up of project team + 21 days.

Goal 2: The next meeting of the Diocesan Council following completion of Goal

1. As timer permits, the definitions may be passed through the Executive Committee for Recommendation to the Council

Goal 3: The completion of Goal 2 + 30 days.

Goal 4: The completion of Goal 3 + 60 days.

Goal 5: The completion of Goal 4 + 60 days

Goal 6: Upon completion of Goal 5 and at the next meeting of the Diocesan Council after Gaol 5 is completed.

Human Resource Plan

As outlined above, we propose to sit as members of the project (Rev. Geoff Woodcroft, Rev. Preston Parsons, Rev. Simon Blaikie). We request that Mr. Bill Regehr be recruited to sit as the Project Manager and that two Diocesan Council members join the team.

As well, the team will need the support of Cathy Mondor. Cathy’s duties would include the taking of minutes of meetings, assisting the preparation of the Assessment Tool, distribution of the Tool to addressees and perhaps most importantly collecting data from previous Parish reports.

The team members need to be willing to commit to regular meetings.

Each parish in the diocese needs to be committed to providing timely feedback.

Communications Plan

If the team is to have any chance of achieving the goals and/or meeting the schedule it is critical that The Bishop of Rupert’s Land make a public statement about the Goals of this team as well as the agreed upon definitions of “vitality” and “viability”. It is equally critical that the Dean and Archdeacons of the Diocese issue a similar statement on behalf of the Diocesan Council. These two statements should be issued as soon as possible after the Bishop and Diocesan Council have approved of the definitions. We believe it is important that both of these communications include a clear articulation of what may or may not come from the findings of the project.

Immediately after the completion of the project a report needs to be made to the entire Diocese, perhaps at Synod 2010 if the project is completed by then. This ‘after-action’ report needs to identify what steps will be taken from that point on, i.e. answering the question, “How will the results of this project be used”. (These steps fall outside of the mandate of this project).

Risk Management Plan

It is very likely that members of the Diocese will view this as ‘just one more attempt’ in a long line of Diocesan initiatives that have failed to yield any tangible results. It is also very likely that members of the Diocese will view this as ‘here comes the axe’. We are not making an argument for the validity of these statements, only identifying that some people will hold these viewpoints. We believe that these viewpoints, as well as others, can best be managed with firm direction and transparency from all levels of leadership, i.e. Bishop, Archdeacons, Dean, Executive Committee, Diocesan Council, Parish Priests and Synod Delegates.

Proposal Submitted By:

Rev. Geoff Woodcroft

Rev. Preston Parsons

Rev. Simon Blaikie

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Letter from the Dean and Archdeacons

February 24, 2010

To: Diocesan Clergy

From: The Dean and Archdeacons

Dear Friends,

In our work with you as fellow priests, and as Dean and Archdeacons, we are constantly encouraged by the dedication and skill that you bring to your ministry. Your faithfulness to God’s call has blessed us, your parish, and this diocese in many valuable and effective ways. Moreover, we are also inspired by the great number of lay people who faithfully live out their baptismal covenant, and who regularly provide prayerful and tangible support to our common mission and ministry.

We know, however, that this is a critical time in the life of our diocese. The affects of declining attendance and shrinking financial resources are felt at every level of the Church, and many of our congregations struggle to sustain ongoing ministry in their communities. Bishop Don described this situation as an “almost cataclysmic decline . . . of most of our churches over the last several decades” (Report to Diocesan Council, November 2009). Many of you have expressed your concerns to us about the state of the local church, and have urged us to explore what it means to be a vital and viable parish and diocese. But while we all have a sense that the status quo is untenable, we do not as yet have a clearly defined or widely accepted definition of either vitality or viability. We are convinced that any meaningful discussion and action around these topics will require a common understanding of these terms.

We are delighted, therefore, that Bishop Don has authorized a Vitality and Viability Study, and has called together a group of talented and thoughtful people to undertake this task. Together they will develop a standard protocol, endorsed by Diocesan Executive and Council, to encourage parishes to assess their own vitality and viability. They will need your cooperation to ensure consistent and relevant results. We want you to know that this team has our unqualified support, and we encourage you to participate fully in this process.

The Vitality and Viability Study is the first step in a longer process that will address the crisis we face and help us to discern how best to proclaim the Gospel in a new age. Many dioceses in Canada are also exploring these issues, but we are committed to finding a way forward that meets the particular needs and challenges in Rupert’s Land. We believe that parishioners and parish leaders are ready for this discussion, and need accurate and timely material to assess their ministry and mission. We commend this process to you, and entrust this work to your prayers.

Sincerely, (Dictated but not personally signed)

The Very Rev. Bob Osborne

The Ven. Godfrey Mawejje

The Ven. Norman Collier

The Ven. Jennifer Sisson

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Letter from the Bishop

Friday February 19, 2010

To the Clergy and Lay leaders of the Diocese

Dear friends and colleagues,

Upon the mandate of resolutions passed by both Diocesan Council and Diocesan Executive Committee, on February 10^th I began calling a team together and authorized them to conduct a Viability and Vitality Study of the parishes that make up the Diocese of Rupert’s Land. This team is comprised of Simon Blaikie, Bruce Duggan, Jane Human, Preston Parsons, Bill Regehr, Mary Williams and Geoff Woodcroft and will receive staff support from Cathy Mondor. Their work will include defining the terms ‘Vitality’ and ‘Viability’, creating a tool to measure parish ‘Vitality’ and ‘Viability’, implementing this tool, and finally, assessing the ‘Viability’ and ‘Vitality’ of each parish based on this exercise.

This has not come into being suddenly. Direction 5 of The Way Forward called for a parish audit to “develop criteria to assess viability for mission of current parishes”. The 2008 Diocesan Synod passed a resolution to “support the concept of parishes assessing their ministry and mission as outlined in the Bishop’s Address to Synod.” I have called together and mandated this team as a result of listening to the many voices within our Diocese, including my own, who are concerned about the current health of our parishes and therefore the Diocese as a whole. As many of you are aware, similar work has been, or is being, carried out in many Dioceses within the Anglican Church of Canada. The Executive Committee has been studying these examples and other resources since last May in order to equip us for this work.

Please be assured that this team is not working in isolation. Each phase of the study will be brought before myself, the Executive Committee and the Diocesan Council for approval before proceeding. I have ensured that the entire process is designed to be open and transparent. Furthermore, this team will not make recommendations about parish closures or mergers. If and when that becomes necessary it will be the work of another group, mandated by diocesan authority (Council, Executive), using the results of this study as a place to begin that work. Having said that, once the study is completed it will yield the immediate benefit of providing all of us with a tool to enter into conversations with each other about how best to build and grow strong, healthy parishes into our future. The ultimate goal is to transform our Diocese, by God’s grace working in and through us, to greater health by: more intentionally discovering God's mission in the world, relocating physical resources to do the best work, and helping all Anglicans to grow in faithful discipleship as we reach-out of ourselves into the wider community - to grow the Church that ministers in the world.

I wish to say up front that this team has my full support as well as the full support of our Dean and Archdeacons. Team members are aware that this work will be difficult, and they need the full support of all lay and ordained leaders within the Diocese. I expect that they will be in touch with people all across our Diocese - inviting them into the conversation. Please uphold this team in your prayers and when asked, take that extra step to join in this crucial work.

Yours in Christ,

+Donald

Bishop of Rupert’s Land

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