Bishop unveils strategic priorities for the diocese

On March 14, Bishop Shane Parker unveiled the 11 Actions as the top strategic priorities of the diocesan church. These actions, presented in the order of their timelines for completion, are the result of the three Shape of Parish Ministry (SPMC) proposals which were approved with broad support at Synod in October 2022. They are designed to put those plans and hopes into action to help parish ministry in the diocese thrive.

Immediate actions

1

Building ministry resources and knowledge

A working group will establish a process to create a network of knowledge and resources, pilot projects and strategies for sharing materials developed by the network.

Lead: The Rev. Monique Stone

2

Developing strategies to engage with the world

A working group appointed by the bishop will facilitate one or two pilot projects that will help prepare a detailed plan of action focused on engaging with the world through the development of contextual mission and new worshipping communities. (Lead: Archdeacon Mark Whittall)

3Guiding major parish changes

A guidebook will be developed to help parish leaders discern when the time is right to move into a different parish structure. Parish leaders, who have discerned that the time is right, will continue to be invited into active conversations with the bishop and their territorial archdeacon, with the intention to implement changes as soon as possible. A report detailing concrete actions taken will be presented to Synod in 2023. Lead: Bishop Shane

4Stimulating innovation and collaboration

An episcopal panel will be formed by June to develop and implement a plan for stimulating innovation and collaboration between parishes, including a forum of clergy and lay leaders with a mechanism to share experiences and learnings. The panel will present the plan to Diocesan Council for approval in November 2023. Lead: Bishop Shane

5

Reviewing parish fair share

Diocesan Council will strike a task force, with membership

A request from the Action 2 working group to lay leaders & clergy

We are interested in learning how many new worshipping communities are already active and how many are in the process of being born. We also would like to learn how many are in the earliest stages of imagining and considering what is possible in each context.

We are seeking a small number of new worshipping communities that can serve as models or ‘pilots’ to help us share with our whole diocese the new thing that God is doing in those communities.

What are we looking for? When we talk about new worshipping communities, we mean a few specific things:

• By ‘new… community’ we mean a community that may be born out of our inherited congregations and outreach programs or born out of a unique prompting of God (whether it is happening in a church building or not, led by clergy or not).

• By ‘…worshipping community’ we mean that it is a community that nourishes and practices discipleship in Jesus Christ and has the capacity to evolve into a community of word, sacrament, and pastoral care.

• By ‘new worshipping community’ we mean that it may be a new church plant within our Anglican heritage, or something else, new and noticeably different from what we might expect of inherited, Sunday-morningstyle expressions of worship and community.

Does this sound like something you want to start, something you are involved in, or something you are leading? If so, please get in touch at: action2team@ottawa.anglican.ca approved by the bishop, to conduct a review, involving input from parish leaders, of the Parish Fair Share (PFS) system vis-à-vis the diocesan operating budget as a whole and to bring any recommendations to Synod 2023 for approval. This includes identifying alternative sources of revenue that could decrease PFS.

Leads: Director of financial ministry

Sanjay Grover and Bishop Shane

6Using dividends for parish ministry costs

Beginning immediately, dividends from undesignated and bishop’s discretionary trusts held by the Diocese in the Consolidated Trust Fund will be used to contribute to the overall, shared costs of parish ministry and will be factored into the preparation of the 2024-2027 budget for adoption at Synod 2023.

Leads: Sanjay Grover and Bishop Shane

Actions prior to Synod 2023

7Bringing clarity to parish governance

Ascension House staff and relevant diocesan bodies, under the direction of the bishop, will develop a guide defining and confirming the structures of parish ministry and the expectations related to their implementation: such as clergy deployment, scope of ministry, governance (e.g., numbers of officers and councils), administration, property management and finances. This will be reviewed by Diocesan Council in June 2023, with any required approvals by Synod 2023.

Leads: Executive Archdeacon Linda Hill and Canon Henry Schultz, Chancellor

8Training and support for parish leaders

Staff and relevant diocesan bodies, under the direction of the executive archdeacon, have begun to prepare up-to-date resources and regular training sessions (using technology where possible) for parish leadership roles, to be reviewed by Diocesan Council in June 2023 and implemented in September 2023.

Lead: Archdeacon Linda Hill

9Providing services to parishes Ascension House staff, under the direction of the bishop and in consultation with relevant diocesan bodies, are developing plans to improve services and processes, including property and asset management, finances, human resources and general administration, taking into account associated costing, implementation, and evaluation considerations, to be approved by Diocesan Council in September 2023.

Leads: Sanjay Grover, director of property and asset management Joel Prentice, and the director of human resources

Actions for Synod 2023

10Equipping parishes to thrive A working group, appointed and guided by the bishop and accountable to Diocesan Council, is developing a parish advancement program, including an implementation plan and provisions for how it will be evaluated, for consideration at Synod 2023.

Lead: The Rev. Kerri Brennan

11Funding parish engagement with the world

The existing Second Century Fund held in the diocesan Consolidated Trust Fund will be renamed the Future Fund and will be dedicated to funding contextual mission and new worshipping communities. The director of financial ministry Sanjay Grover and the director of communications and development Sandra Hamway will oversee the preparation of a proposal for how this fund is to be used and further developed, which will be brought to Synod 2023 for approval.