Statement Regarding St. John’s Church, Ashfield

August 26, 2007.

St. John’s Church – our place in time

Over the past two years the people of St. John’s Church in Ashfield have directed their energies toward creating a new leadership model for how we are as a parish. Bishop Gordon Scruton has recognized this kind of effort as a pioneering journey that reflects the needs of the wider church at this point in time. We hope, as he does, that it will in the end benefit not only St. John’s, but all small churches, here and beyond.

Begun through a collaboration with our previous vicar, deacon, and the lay leadership, we have worked with a diocesan consultant and with one another to define Team Ministry and what it would look like at Saint John’s. Through these conversations and through prayer and mindful dialogue -- amongst the lay leaders and with the congregation as a whole -- we have gradually entered into a discernment process. This has been particularly thought-provoking as we are in a transition, without a permanent vicar. This period has inspired meaningful self-examination and growth and has led us to a place where we can envision being able to support and intertwine both the spiritual yearnings and governance responsibilities of our parish. It is significant that we call the leaders in this journey St. John’s Vestry Team and have committed ourselves to a covenant of honest communication and trust. This process has challenged us in our understanding of how each of us can contribute to the needs of St. John’s and, thus, how we might use our gifts and visions to shape the future.

Calling a New Vicar

While we have made long strides in establishing a Team Ministry model, we have come to realize all the more clearly our need to call a vicar to St. John’s and why that is. Our growth as a parish team has helped us to conceptualize our dream. But this dream and our mission will only be fully realized when as a parish we develop a partnership with our priest that ignites our combined resources and energies. In the past we would have sought a person who would bring us particular strengths, without fully accepting our own responsibilities in mutually serving Christ in this community. Now we see this essential collaboration with exciting freshness and enthusiasm.

Current needs of the church

Our church is small in number, with fiscal constraints. And so these are some of the needs we face and the desires we hold dear:

We seek a spirit-animated parish.

We seek to work as a team, both with one another and with our vicar.

We seek to grow the parish for both individuals and families. And to grow, we need a vicar who will be our spiritual guide.

We seek, while growing, to retain our beloved, longtime parishioners.

We seek to be a presence in the community.

We seek financial stability.

We seek to care for our buildings as a vital and welcoming resource for our parishioners and for our neighbors.

We seek to expand our appreciation of the liturgy and to explore with sensitivity new ways of expression.

We seek to celebrate and foster the arts.

　

At this transitional point in St. John’s life – as we further define the spiritual and practical structures that will renew and sustain our parish community and as we prepare ourselves for calling a new vicar who will enable us to realize this vision – we seek God’s guidance. One longtime parishioner who has observed the work of the Vestry Team said, “When our next vicar comes, I believe we will be more ready to receive this person than we ever have in the history of St. John’s.”

We devoutly hope that this is true, and that we are poised for a bright future as we continue to serve God in peace.