From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

Harvard Business Review ran an article not long ago analyzing how non-profits can emerge from the pandemic with renewed energy and focus.

In it they surmised, “Focusing on impact has to go beyond setting your big-picture organizational direction. It has to involve candid, data-driven discussions about how current programs will deliver impact in a new environment. Program evaluations, focus groups, and reports of constituent and leadership experiences all should be taken into consideration. Stakeholders naturally feel that every program has value, but priorities can shift dramatically during times of change, and not all programs will retain their value or deliver a similar impact as you move forward.”

My hope for the months ahead is that we take the time to assess the impact of the pandemic, discuss new needs revealed by it in our community, and recommit to our core priorities even if that means adapting to a new situation and shifting or uncertain resources.

For example, the nature of outreach and pastoral care has been markedly different in the last eighteen months. If you or your family have not experienced a severe crisis or illness, then you should count your blessings! The outreach and pastoral care have been decidedly different during the pandemic. Care has not been about programs or ministries so much as about one-on-one care for those who were afraid, lost, lonely, and dealing with severe trauma.

We missed loved ones. We lost those close to us. We lost livelihoods, businesses, savings, and hope. That, combined with keeping worship and formation going, has been the work of the last eighteen months. I’ve had more individual pastoral conversations, calls, and Zoom meetings in the last year and a half than in my previous ten years of ministry combined. And the experience of my clergy colleagues here and around the Church has been the same. 

So, as we slowly emerge from the pandemic, what does outreach look like to a community that has experienced that same level of trauma with no church home? How do we reach people who have been afraid, lost, lonely, and traumatized across our community?

We are beginning to bring together groups of lay leaders to form committees to assess all of this in the months ahead. From outreach to formation to intergenerational ministries and more, our plan is to invite people into a range of conversations about what ministry will look like here in the months and years to come. We’re planning parish wide retreats, rector’s forums, and more to gather your feedback, learn from your experience, and follow where the Spirit is leading us.

We’re in conversation with people around the church discussing how to invite more people into ministry and create new opportunities to gather, serve, and grow together. Some of this will involve simply retooling the way we’ve done things before. Some of it will involve new efforts to meet changing needs. All of it will be grounded in the simple conviction that the Church exists to serve the needs of the world and community around us—to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.

That same Harvard Business Review article concludes, “Reimagining your organization is never easy. But the devastating nature of the current crisis is forcing many organizations to do so. The challenge can feel overwhelming, and some of the changes will be painful. Nevertheless, this moment also represents an opportunity for you and your nonprofit: to reinvent who you are, to better focus on your mission, and to better serve your constituents.”

This has always been the vocation of the Church—to adapt to a changing world so that more people can hear the loving message of God in Christ. That mission remains unchanged. That commitment remains firm. How we do it will undoubtedly be different as it has ever been. Thanks be to God that we’ve been given this moment to hear with fresh ears, see with clear eyes, and welcome with loving hearts just what God is calling us to today.

Yours in Christ,
Fr Robert