1. Introduction

In October 2004, the Renewal Team prepared a Report of Key Findings of the 2004 St. James Parish Survey. The findings were discussed with the members of Parish Council in detail at a special meeting held on November 8^th.  The complete report gives statistical detail as background.

1.1 Objectives

The purpose of this report is twofold: 

·    To present a summary of conclusions drawn from the key findings, and 

·    To bring forward a set of recommendations that best respond to the needs and wishes of St. James parishioners, in support of our church vision to be “A Christian community joyfully serving and growing in God’s love”. 

The recommendations made in this report are at a high level. That is, they are intended to offer overall direction for the various ministries and parish groups at St. James toward fulfilling our church vision statement. As such, this report does not constitute a proposal for specific action by each parish group and church organization, but rather provides the direction and guidance to assist each group in their respective efforts to develop, and ultimately implement, an integrated action plan in 2005.
 

1.2 Next Steps

The contents of this report will be distributed to all parish group leaders for review and consideration, and will be discussed fully on November 30, 2004. Following the November 30^th meeting, each parish group leader will be tasked with the responsibility of meeting with their respective group members with a view to preparing a strategy statement outlining how they will apply these conclusions and recommendations to the activities of their particular group. 

The last section of this report is intended to provide each parish group leader with guidelines on how to approach their strategy development process and the framework within which to prepare their strategy statement. 

The end result will be a strategic document ready for presentation at the next Vestry Meeting on February 13, 2005.

2. Conclusions

The basis for conclusions is the report of Key Findings as published in October 2004. The findings touched on the various areas of activity undertaken by St. James and its many ministries and parish groups and included both qualitative and quantitative assessments. 

To provide the appropriate context, the conclusions are presented in two groups:

·    Non-specific in nature dealing with St. James Anglican Church Manotick as a whole, and

·    Specific statements related to a particular parish group or activity area within St. James.

2.1 Non-specific – St. James Overall

The People

·    The majority of parishioners can be characterized as being over 55 years of age, who have been attending St. James on a weekly basis for over 10 years, and who live within a 10-minute drive from the church.

·    This core of parishioners tend to belong to a parish group and participate actively and regularly in its activities.

·    Active parish groups, and their respective members, work hard to organize and conduct traditional activities in pursuit of fellowship, outreach, education and/or worship.

·    The parish is underrepresented by younger families needed to evolve and grow St. James presence in the community.

 

The Place of Worship

·    St. James is a healthy place of worship with solid support by a sizable loyal base of parishioners.

·    The traditional Anglican celebration of the Eucharist is closely adhered to, and this is a comfort to many/most parishioners.

·    Among St. James key strengths (i.e. why people come and stay) include the music performed by the choir, how people are made to feel welcome and part of the church community, the quality of priestly services provided by Father Rick. And the Eucharist service itself.

·    The needs of younger families and their relative importance to St. James’ future should be considered as critical considerations in all aspects of St. James’ strategy going forward.

·    The length of the 10:00AM Sunday service and the sermon are areas of potential improvement.
 

The Organization

·    St. James is a very active church with nearly half of its parishioners participating in church activities.

·    Most parish groups focus on either the ‘worship’ or ‘outreach’ components of St. James’ mission and embrace and foster a strong sense of fellowship.

·    Parish groups have tended to behave in an insular fashion with little communication, interaction or integration between groups. This is likely related to leadership and the need for common vision.

·    Parish group activities are determined by tradition and comfort level rather than in response to the parish group mission and goals (i.e. outreach, stewardship, etc.).

·    Awareness by parishioners of specific parish group is high, but perceptions expressed by parishioners indicate that there is little understanding of why groups do what they do.

·    Presently there is no dedicated leadership in either the men’s group or the youth group at St. James.

·    Internal and external communications should be viewed as a critical area to enable future awareness, participation, involvement, and growth at St. James.

2.2 Specific – Ministries and Parish Groups 

·    Any and all activities at St. James can be characterized by one, or a combination, of the following key areas:

§         Worship

§         Outreach

§         Education

§         Fellowship 

·   Each area is critical to the fulfillment of St. James vision. The diagram below depicts each key area as a sphere and plots the various parish groups, parish activities and/or ministries identified and commented on by parishioners in the parish survey according to the key areas(s) they support. It is understood that this diagram might not include all groups and activities that are part of our parish life at St. James.

 

 

Conclusions 

Worship 

·    Overall, the current mix of 10AM and 8:15AM Sunday services and Evensong services are meeting the spiritual needs of parishioners.

·    The choir is a (if not the) focal point of the Sunday service and key to the favourable perceptions of the worship experience.

·    Aspects in need of attention are the length of the 10:00AM service, and the preparation and delivery of the sermon.

Outreach

·    St. James is well-perceived in this regard. Father Rick, the ACW and the Pastoral Care team lead activities in this area, although not necessarily in a coordinated fashion or with particular goals in mind.

·    The ACW has succeeded in leveraging the drawing power of specific fellowship events to  raise funds and support various outreach programs. This could be communicated more clearly to parishioners and serve as a model for other parish groups whose activities tend to be more insular.

·    Planning and coordination of outreach programs is needed to ensure that centrally-managed (St. James) and decentralized (parish groups) activities are providing the best support possible. 

Fellowship

·    With the exception of the coffee time following the 10:00AM Sunday service, fellowship activities are scheduled events open to the parish at large or to specific groups.

·    The ACW is credited with leading the way in organizing such events throughout the year. No other parish group appears to engage in fellowship activities beyond its immediate membership.

·    The survey findings lead us to conclude that there are no youth activities at St. James. The reality is that there is renewed leadership (Jennifer Sturton) within an informal youth group that meets regularly at various social venues.

·    Phil Whittal’s Monday Night Youth Bible Study stands out as a successful program that marries Christian education needs with playful fellowship.

·    Fellowship activities targeted at newcomers is an area where more leadership and effort would be of benefit. 

Education

·    Church school is well-perceived, overall, and attendance seems to validate this.

·    The primary youth education programs are the confirmation classes and Phil Whittal’s Monday Night Youth Bible Study.

·    There is no evidence that the Christian education curricula for church school, confirmation class and bible study are adequately coordinated and structured to deliver the required foundation of Christian faith and spiritual health.

·    Adult education programs are not known. This is due either to a lack of programs, communication and/or leadership.
 

Parish Groups

·    Parishioners do not share a common knowledge of the parish groups and their activities.

·    Parish groups operate independently from each other, and without reference to an overall mission to guide their efforts.

·    The Choir focuses primarily on worship, with other activities like musicals and caroling being undertaken occasionally. It also includes educational/training activities specific to its function.

·    Pastoral Care bridges outreach and worship, but is in need of more resources to carry on its mission.

·    Altar Guild purpose and activities mostly support the worship area of St. James mission, and also include educational aspects specific to that function.

·    ACW is the most visible group supporting both outreach and fellowship objectives.

·    Youth Group does not have an official organization to harness and direct new immerging youth activities.

·    Welcoming is crucial to St. James’ growth, yet is perceived as not concentrating enough on engaging newcomers.

·    Men’s Group is non-existent. 

Leadership

·    Father Rick, whose energies are focused primarily on areas of worship and the spiritual wellbeing of parishioners, is a key strength of St. James’. Perhaps a balance needs to be struck to also provide leadership and direction in other crucial areas such as education and outreach.

·    Corporation tends to concentrate on issues of church operations and financial administration.

·    Parish Council has not benefited from a “bigger picture” in the conduct of its regular monthly meetings. As such, while information is shared on various activities, there are no goals against which performance can be measured on issues of worship, outreach, fellowship or education. Attendance is viewed as “optional” by many members.

·    Better internal and external communication will be an outcome of improved organization, leadership and accountability by all members of the St. James leadership groups.

3. Recommendations

The conclusions reached in this report indicate that to take St. James to another level in the fulfillment of its vision to be “A Christian Community Joyfully Serving and Growing in God’s Love”, the challenge ahead is not one of rebuilding but rather of making measured adjustments and improvements in the way we, as parish leaders, address the spiritual needs of our church community. 

If indeed “Saints are the windows through which God’s light shines”, then we at St. James truly have an opportunity to make St. James a beacon of spirituality and outreach. 

The following recommendations offer a proposed course of action for St. James Corporation and the leaders of its ministries and parish groups in the development of a Strategic Plan (the “Plan”) for St. James. The plan should be ready for presentation and discussion at the next Vestry Meeting on February 13, 2005.

 

3.1 St. James Vision Platform

Vision Statement

“St. James is a Christian Community Joyfully Serving and Growing in God’s Love” 

Vision Platform

St. James’ vision platform defines those areas on which the specific ministries, parish groups and organizations are built. Parish groups should build their respective plans on this foundation striving to include all elements of the platform in the pursuit of their respective missions and goals. 

The St. James Vision Platform includes worship, outreach, education and fellowship. This is the framework for strengthening internal and external relationships throughout the church community and ensuring that ministry goals are met. 

It should be acknowledged that parish groups differ from one another in terms of their objectives and, therefore, will focus on certain elements of the platform more than others.  The image below provides a graphic representation of each element of the platform working with the others in support of our Vision Statement.