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From: John Walworth  Saturday, April 29, 2006 5:03 PM
Parish:  St. George's, Salinas

What do all parishes really need in order to thrive?

A Rector with excellent people skills. We are very fortunate at St. George's to have Fr. Raj as our relatively new Rector.  Vincent has been with us for (4) years.  We are experience growth (slowly) and increased involvement and commitment from the congregation.

Programs (ministries) that involve the congregation; these need to be ministries that the congregation can develop a passion for with a leader that has a passion for the particular ministry. If this doesn't exist at the moment . . . some ministries need to be let go. 

An operating budget of approximately $160K.  This may vary somewhat from congregation to congregation.  St. George's has no debt so a slightly lower figure works.  For another congregation with a mortgage, it will be a higher figure.

The diocese needs to have a realistic understanding of the financial requirements for a self supporting parish. Draining funds from parishes that are not financially or spiritually healthy is self defeating.  Draining funds from parishes that are struggling to survive to grow missions that are not self supporting is a formula for disaster.  This creates a downward spiral that destroys the overall health of the diocese. 

What do we need to do to fulfill God’s purpose for our congregation?
See above.  Congregations inherently want to fulfill God's purposes. Once they pay their basic bills they look to serve.

How should we respond to God’s call to serve the world beyond our own congregation’s walls?
Our congregation (all congregations) will respond to effective leadership to serve beyond our own walls.  I am personally thrilled at the leadership shown by Vincent Raj and Richard Smith to involve St. George's in the Relay for Life.  People will give to vision and to effective leadership.  I am hopeful that the current diocesan leadership has the skills to get our diocese out of the hole that we have gotten into. The effort at shared ministry and involvement of all of the diocese in this change process is outstanding. 
Keep it up.  It will slowly lead to success.

What does our parish need from the diocese?
Support and guidance if asked for.   Diocesan programs need to be lead by successful leaders (not directors) who have demonstrated skill in an area of need.  Where growth is needed, we need to learn from those who have demonstrated skill in growing a congregation.  
 
What would hurt us if eliminated from the structure/budget?
I think change is essential.  Pain is part of the process. Change does not come without pain and commitment. We need to remember the messages from our leaders at the last convention when they discussed "pruning".  I have had considerable experience with change and pain in business. I would strongly suggest that where pain is part of the process . . . all need to be involved in influencing the change. Our diocesan leadership is doing is doing just this.  Our leaders that are walking us through this process need to be recognized and appreciated for their willingness to involve everyone.  There must be some pruning of the missions.  The missions need to understand this and be involved in the process.   We might be pleasantly surprised that they may come to the table with something to offer.  If their survival is a stake, I am betting that some of the missions will be remarkably resilient and creative.

What would help us if added or changed?
The effort to revise the "Fair Share" formula is essential for many of the smaller congregations.

What does our parish want from other congregations in the deanery/region?
We need to share success stories and failure stories.  We need to learn from each other.  We need to learn.  We will be stronger and more vital "if we learn to fish" and learn to support ourselves. 
 
Further Editorial
If you have taken the time to read the above . . . thank you.  Obviously, I am a proponent of the effort by some of our leaders to take us in the "10+" direction.  Any structure (including a diocese) must have a strong foundation. For our diocese the strong foundation must start with self-supporting congregations that eventually become prosperous enough to support beyond our own walls.