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| Bill Exner (Outreach) and Dave Young (Structure) at the BRATs day-long retreat in August |
During summer and fall, at many meetings and a retreat devoted to strategic planning, the Bishop’s Re-Imagining Advisory Team (B.R.A.T.) was at work on recommendations for Convention. This month B.R.A.T. is presenting them to all six convocations, seeking feedback. At Convention, they will offer a resolution that reflects the new visions for Diocesan structure and mission, as will the revised budget resolution.
Structure
The Structure group reviewed governance, delivery of programs and services, and staffing, and makes the following recommendations:
* Strengthen the convocation system in order to strengthen Diocesan Council. Diocesan Council will become responsible for long range planning and setting convocation agendas, serve in an advisory role to the Bishop, and oversee Diocesan staffing, budget and program.
* Re-name of Mission Teams. These will be designated the Commission on Evangelism, the Commission on Outreach, the Commission on Ministry to, with and for Youth and Young Adults. In accordance with existing canons, the chair of each Commission will serve on Diocesan Council.
* Appoint a representative of each new commission to the Finance Committee.
* Encourage congregations to set term limits for their delegates and have at least one vestry person serving as convocation representative/convention delegate.
* Request each convocation to meet at least 4 times a year, to respond to the council’s ideas and decisions.
* Establish 4 regional Mission Centers to facilitate communication between all congregations and the Diocese, provide a gathering place in each region for Diocesan events, to welcome the Bishop for an office day a few times a year, and to serve other uses as needed. The Mission Centers are Grace Church, Manchester, Trinity Church, Claremont, St. Thomas’, Dover, and St. Paul’s, Lancaster.
* Restore a full-time Financial/Stewardship position in January, 2006.
* Create job descriptions for existing staff.
Evangelism
Two discussion meetings, one in the North Country and one in the southern part of the diocese, were held in October to share our ongoing understandings of 21st century evangelism in the Diocese of New Hampshire and to develop a strategy and commitment to cultivate contagious witness. An overview of these two meetings will be presented at the Convention. Recommendations for 2006:
* Encourage participation in Diocesan wide programs to enliven Christian formation, starting with a book discussion group in each parish focused on Marcus Borg’s book, The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith, and parish and community participation in the Via Media Program during Lent.
* Ask each region/convocation
to draft a five-year plan to become an actively evangelizing community of faith, and to present their “best practices” of evangelism at the 2006 Diocesan Convention.
* Continue the practice of telling our stories of faith to ever increasing circles of the Kingdom of God offering radical hospitality with infinite respect.
* Plan a conference/revival (in conjunction with Outreach and Youth and Young Adults) with innovative speakers to continue to widen our understandings of Evangelism and how it connects to our Baptismal covenant and our commitment to radical hospitality and infinite respect.
* Organize, share and discuss progress in a timely fashion so that successes can be duplicated across the diocese.
* Send forth lay and ordained ministers to other dioceses to learn best practices across the Episcopal Church.
* Oversee the requests for support and the 2007 budget process.
Outreach
Parishes and diocesan committees continued to witness by being the comforting embrace of Christ to many people on several levels. Our bishop’s urging to “get in a little trouble for Outreach sake – for God’s sake!” inspired and refreshed us.
In the coming year, Outreach will:
* Broaden our network list.
* Invite regional and parish people to use the Web site Outreach Page and Forum.
* Provide a Journal and Digital Camera to each Regional Mission Center to pass from parish to parish, for recording reflections and images about Outreach and why we do it in Christ’s name
* Set up a formal system for 2007 Outreach Budget planning. Our goal is to have a gathering in which all interested parties can come and bring their outreach requests.
Youth and Young Adults
Following a June gathering of youth, young adults, leaders and ministers from around the diocese, the group focused on the complete evangelism of a neglected group in the Church as well as in the world. By complete evangelism, we mean the bringing in of new youth and young adults into the Church, often for the first time, and the incorporation and inclusion of the same into all aspects of the Church’s life. Outcomes and recommendations are:
* Resolution #5, “Youth Delegates and Voting Privileges at Diocesan Convention,” allowing one additional delegate to each congregation’s convention delegation, provided the individual added is a baptized and confirmed youth. We hope this will encourage youth into fuller participation in the life of the diocese.
* Preserving the half-time youth minister staff position. This person will work with and consult with parishes, in a de-centralized way, on strengthening their local youth ministry. Duties will include consultation and training, education and will assist parish discernment.
* Evaluation of our four campus ministries (Hanover, Durham, Keene, and Plymouth) by a consultant, starting in late October, to determine how the diocese can best use its resources in these mission fields.
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| Susan Garrity (Evangelism) and Kirk Kirkhuff (Chaplain) at the BRAT retreat |
The B.R.A.T.s are excited about the possibilities set forth by these visions and believe they have the power to connect and strengthen our Diocese. We warmly invite the convention to join with us as we continue this journey of re-imagining our Diocese, and to pray for God’s guidance in this new phase.
