Which Future? A Progress Report on our Vision Work

I have been greatly encouraged by the seriousness and dedication with which we at the Church of the Incarnation have been striving to become clearer about the vision of the future into which we believe God is calling us.

We devoted six weeks to the Marks of Mission (early in 2011) and five weeks to learning about different Models of the Church (after Labour Day).

More than 40 people took part in Travelling the Road Together dessert pot-luck gatherings as we strengthened our community with one another and named why Incarnation matters to us and others.

More than 20 people gathered at (a chilly) St. Aidan’s on October 15th, devoting an entire day to exploring questions such as: How is God active in our lives and world? Who is our neighbour? What do we say about our mission? Where do we believe God is calling us now? What gifts/resources are at hand for ministry?

The result?

We have identified four (categories of) goals for our future and there is much to commend them:

• remaining true to the distinctive, inclusive, creative and caring worship community we have been and have striven to be;
• considering options for developing our physical resources (building & land);
• deepening the engagement of our members (new and longer-standing) more fully, more evenly in the ministries of the parish; and,
• developing the community.

Small groups of workshop participants named several possible objectives & action steps to pursue which further our goals: increase participation in activities and engagement in the parish (also described as “inviting to volunteerism within Incarnation”); build connections to the (wider) community; leverage (build on, further develop participation in, youth involvement with, ranges of) music in worship services; promote spiritual maturity and growth of our members; and exploring alternate uses of our real estate.

When we re-read our current mission statement, vision, core values, motto and some of the other ways in which we present ourselves to the wider world, we discovered a kind of disconnect. We are not in the same space as when these were first written. We also voiced critiques of those texts when it appeared that they implied an inward focus, mostly on ourselves.

What’s next?

There are some questions to be asked about what we mean by “developing the community.” My reflections and conversations with parishioners about what it might mean have led me to name at least three different ways in which we can develop the community:

• develop our parish community (healing wounds, strengthening bonds of friendship, complementing our strengths in worship with more faith nurture/ spiritual development opportunities)
• develop/grow in numbers as a congregation (which was a strong, recurring theme at the Travelling the Road Together gatherings), and
• engage in community development work in the wider communities of Glen Abbey and Oakville (through continuing advocacy and befriending our neighbours and those in need).

Each of these seems to me to be vital to the future of ministry in this place.

Those small action groups which gathered around an idea and a cluster of potential resources/partners for a particular action will, as they have sufficient and energy and passion, will develop more detailed plans and get the needed “buy-in” for and help to move ahead on them.

A review and re-write of the mission statement and other ways in which we describe ourselves to the world is worth undertaking next year.

Many thanks to our Vision Workshop planning team: Jeff Bowden, Peter Heys, Christyn Perkons and myself. We hope that that group will meet soon to debrief the workshop. I also hope that as a Parish Council we will soon be able to name and undertake the next steps towards finding further clarity about our vision and accessing the passion which fuels our following our calling.

- Terry DeForest