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COMMISSION ON CONGREGATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Diocese of Rhode Island is committed to strengthening our faith communities in the work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the ministry of the baptized. In order to support this Diocesan strategy, the Congregational Development Commission seeks to partner with congregations to facilitate their growth and development . Our mission is to actively engage a number of congregations chosen through a selection process to assist them to grow and develop. In order to accomplish our mission, we seek to partner with congregations that: - Have a demonstrable potential and desire to grow and thrive as healthy congregations; - Are strategically located in areas that can sustain growth; - Are willing to work with the Diocese in a deliberate plan for development; - Are willing to take risks by trying new methods or new configurations. Our Program: Transforming Congregations Our Strategy: To gracefully transform the vision and increase the skills of ten parish leaders (clergy and lay) who in turn will lead their parishes through the changes necessary to grow and thrive as Transforming Congregations. Our Method: To form a Learning Community consisting of Leadership Teams (8-10 parish leaders and clergy) from each selected church. The training sessions will be specifically designed to give Parish Leadership Teams the tools and methodologies that can be directly implemented on the parish level. What the leaders learn during their Saturday training sessions will be directly applicable within their home parish. Our Plan: The Learning Community will meet six Saturdays over a year's time to learn sound methods and techniques in such areas as - Parish Planning - Stewardship - New Member Incorporation - Marketing - Making Sunday Work Our Focus: While we will spend a good deal of time learning how to utilize sound planning methods and tools, our primary focus is to Empower the members of our leadership teams to become disciples who make disciples for Christ through the transforming power of the Gospel. Our experience together will encourage each
of us to deepen our relationship with God through the practice of prayer,
Bible study, and the spiritual disciplines. In this way, our leadership teams
will be ready to lead their congregations to discern how GOD is calling their
parish to change and to grow! Our Outcome: To empower these parish leaders to guide their congregations to discern God's call for their unique ministry as a congregation and to develop a clearly defined ministry plan with expectations for development and growth which will include regular evaluations to ascertain progress toward those goals. The Commission will serve as mentors to the individual Parish Leadership Teams and will provide resources, which may include financial grants, to implement a congregation's unique ministry plan. We understand that this is a radical approach to the way we support the churches in the Diocese of Rhode Island in that Congregational Development Funds will NOT be utilized for maintaining the status quo or to rescue parish budget short-falls. What We Need From You: The CHURCHES selected for our congregational development project will: - Be willing and able to change and grow. - Select 8-10 of their most capable leaders depending on parish size (clergy included in the group) who are committed to growth and are representative of the congregation's demographics. These leaders will commit to a 36-month covenant during which time they will serve as agents for change and growth in their congregation. - Be willing to undergo an in-depth assessment of who they are and what they do as a faith community in order to design an effective development program tailored to the needs of the parish. - Be willing to work with the Commission and any resources it recommends to develop and carry out a detailed plan for congregational development. For more information contact the Staff Members: Ms. Betsy FornalOffice: 401-274-4500 ext.225 efornal {at} aol.com; betsy {at} episcopalri.org 2008 The Rev. Greg Cole Mr. Rick Robinson Mr. John Bilotta 2009 The Rev. Evangeline Anderson The Rev. Donald Paker Ms. Merredythe Nadeau 2010 The Rev. Alan Gates Ms. Lillian Hargrove Appointed for 3 years to 2010: The Rev. Eletha Buote-Greig Ms. Linda LeBreux | |
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