Thank you to those who were able to be at our annual Vestry Meeting Sunday.  We tried a couple of different things - sitting in the "round" and opening the floor for more conversation.  The feedback from those who were there was positive.

As a few people were unable to join us for various reasons, I wanted to share a bit of the conversation that we did have.  The official minutes from the meeting will be available in the next week or so.

In our "Community Conversation" we asked these questions and I share with you here some of the responses:

What has gone well for our community this past year?  What are you particularly grateful for?

People shared their appreciation for:

  • innovation - the new Dinner Church
  • connections with the broader community - nursing home services, supporting Lynne MacDonald's Cuba trips, variosu ways our parishioners engage the local community like volunteering at the foodbank and hospice
  • increased involvement in the parish, particularly having 4 Lay Readers and attendance at bible study
  • communication - the weekly newsletter and recent blog posts

What impact do you think the church can have on our local community and on the world?

  • supporting local needs is important - the foodbank, hopsice, North House, the hospital
  • letting people know we represent one of the area churches when we do so
  • providing an alternative voice to how we respond to challenges and anxious times

What challenges for the church are top of mind for you?

  • adpating accordingly to the changes that are happening in our world and community
  • how we might engage younger people in our community

What dreams do you have as we look towards our shared future?

  • providing different "entry points" into the gathered community - recognizing there are spiritual people who are not going to come to Sunday morning services, but may be glad to engage in more community events like suppers and other gatherings.
  • thinking about how our online presence can offer community to people, whether younger or simply unable to come to church

The reason we met in the "round" for Vestry was to remind us visually and in experience that we are very much "all in this together".  Though faith communities are smaller than they once were, in many ways we are stronger.  We recognize that it really is about "all hands on deck".  We do what we can and we hold our dreams in the context of the energy and resources we have to offer.

This conversation at Vestry doesn't happen just once a year.  It happens during coffee hour, at Advisory Board meetings, and in many other ways and times.  Let us continue to listen to each other and share our hopes and dreams as we continue to offer an Anglican presence, and more importantly, God's Spirit of Love, Hope and Peace in our relationships and this community.