The Renewal Process at Saint James'

In July and August of 2004, a paper entitled Building for Tomorrow was discussed by Parish Council. The paper focused on improvements aimed at strengthening and revitalizing the life of the parish through a renewal program and then a stewardship campaign. The Parish Council meeting of August 24 passed the following motion unanimously:

It is recommended that we undertake a concerted effort at parish renewal, including an examination of the strengths and weaknesses now existing, with a view to bolstering the former and repairing the latter. The renewal program should be followed in due course by a stewardship campaign, to include an all-member visitation.

A small working group (the Parish Renewal Team) was established consisting of Spruce Riordon, Barry Maloney, Ray Armstrong and Ron Brophy to follow through on this motion. At the meeting of September 28 the team proposes a multi-stage process, with dates subject to some revision as the project proceeds:

Stage	Date
Data gathering	October 2004
Parish Interviews	December 2004
Parish Planning	February 2005
Plan Implementation	February - September 2005
Stewardship Foundation	September 2005
Stewardship Campaign Development	September 2005 - March 2006

The data gathering stage took the form of a questionnaire, which was sent out to all families on the parish list, with copies for all members over 13 years old. By late October, over 140 questionnaires had been completed and returned by parishioners; this is an unusually high response rate. A report was made at the Parish Council meeting of October 26, 2004, covering the demographics of respondents. The renewal team presented its findings at a special meeting of Parish Council on November 8, 2004.

In September 2004 the Budget Review Task Force of the Synod of the Diocese of Ottawa recommended that each parish prepare and conduct a stewardship campaign. Synod met in October and agreed to this recommendation. The Diocese will provide parishes with advice and training in this direction. Thus it appears that Saint James' parish has in fact begun a process which other parishes will also follow in due course.

The findings based on the parish survey led to a series of conclusions and recommendations which were discussed at a meeting of parish leaders on November 30. In particular, the vision platform comprises the essential elements of our Christian life as a parish, embodying worship, education, fellowship and outreach.

Parish organization was also addressed, with the recommendation that Parish Council retain approximately its present form, but that Action Teams (equivalent to committees or working groups) be used more frequently to address challenges which require a focused, action-oriented response, sometimes in a short time interval (the Renewal Team is an example).

Each parish group was asked to prepare a brief (one page) plan, including a mission statement, goals, strategy, organization and membership, within the context of the four essential ministries above. The plan and the process received general agreement from those attending. The revised timeline is shown below:

Milestones	Target Date
Conclusions & Recommendations discussed with Parish Leaders	November 30, 2004
Parish Leaders submit “Plans” to Renewal Team / Corporation	January 19, 2005
Parish Group plans distributed to Parish Council for discussion (1-pagers only, no detailed action plans)	January 25, 2005
Renewal Team integrates parish group plans (1-pagers)	January 31, 2005
St. James Strategic Plan prepared and distributed	February 6, 2005
Vestry Meeting	February 13, 2005
Parish Groups prepare detailed action plans	March 25, 2005
Presentation of action plans to Parish Council	April 5, 2005
Plan implementation begins	April 6, 2005
Stewardship Committee Recruitment	June – August 2005
Stewardship Foundation Readiness	September 2005
Stewardship Campaign Development	September 2005 – March 2006

The Rector and eight church groups submitted plans for review by the Renewal Team, and the team provided a report to Vestry on February 13, 2005. The Renewal Team recommended that each group now proceed to its more detailed planning stage; this recommendation applies equally to those groups which have not yet submitted plans. The table below summarizes the principal areas in which we expect to move forward during the coming months.

Planning	v All groups to prepare detailed action plans by 3 April.
Worship	v With Father Rick’s guidance, establish a team to examine worship at Saint James’ Church.
Education	v Develop initiatives in youth and adult education.
Youth	v Coordinate youth activities, and recommend new initiatives where necessary.
Men’s Activities	v Establish a Men’s Group
Operations	v Coordinate internal and external communications, and recommend new initiatives where necessary; v Establish goals for Corporation, Parish Council.
Stewardship	v Begin stewardship campaign planning

The following motion was passed at the Saint James' Vestry meeting of Sunday February 13, 2005:

The Renewal Team reported to Vestry in February 2006, indicating those areas of progress with renewal, as well as those in which greater effort was needed. Results in key areas are as summarized below:

It is evident that some progress has been made, but that much remains to be done, especially in the area of youth activities.

As of March 2006 the work of the Renewal Team was essentially complete. It is recognized, though, that the success of this initiative relies upon it being built into the ongoing operation of the parish. In other words, each group must continue to set goals and make a realistic evaluation of its progress.

The next stage of the process has been foreshadowed by the original Parish Council motion of August 2004: "The renewal program should be followed in due course by a stewardship campaign, to include an all-member visitation", and by the Synod motion of September 2004 recommending a diocesan-wide stewardship campaign. Preliminary work towards such a campaign began at Saint James' in the spring of 2006. The 2007 Vestry Report and Reports on the Stewardship Campaign provide more information.

Area	2005 Vestry Recommendation	Now Done?
Planning	v Parish groups to prepare detailed action plans	P
Worship	v Establish a Worship Committee.	P
Education	v Develop initiatives in youth and adult education.	Partial
Youth	v Coordinate youth activities, and recommend new initiatives where necessary.	Partial
Men’s Activities	v Establish a Men’s Group	P
Operations	v Coordinate internal and external communications, and recommend new initiatives where necessary; v Establish goals for Corporation, Parish Council.
Stewardship	v Begin stewardship campaign planning	P