The Canticle
July 2010
THE CANTICLE
July 2010 St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church 14700 N. May Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73134 (405) 751‐7874 http://staugustine. episcopaloklahoma .org/
Father Joe officially arrives at St. Augustine’s! Inside photo pages!
VBS!!! Page 2
Diocese of Oklahoma selected for pilot project From the Episcopal News Service A new pilot project aimed at pairing retired clergy with small, under‐resourced congregations with strong lay leadership to empower God's mission locally is underway, according to a June 10 news release. The project, "New Dreams‐New Visions," is a collaborative effort organized by three lead organizations ‐‐ the Church Pension Group, the Episcopal Church Center, and the Episcopal Church Foundation, working closely with the CREDO Institute and Fresh Start. "The Episcopal Church as we know it
is changing rapidly," said Donald V. Romanik, foundation president, said in the release. "The increasing number of smaller congregations simply cannot sustain the same level of staff that may have been expected in the past. But that shouldn't mean that they cannot remain healthy, vital and vibrant with a different model of dynamic lay leadership and clergy playing a different kind of leadership role." New Dreams‐New Visions convened to address two key issues in the Episcopal Church: A significant number of clergy are poised to retire; and a significant number of congregations will not be able to
afford to pay for full‐time clergy. Five dioceses were identified to participate in the pilot: Vermont, Western Massachusetts, Atlanta, Oklahoma, Eastern Michigan and Southwest Florida. "I am very excited about the roll out of this innovative and collaborative initiative," said Bishop of Vermont Tom Ely, an early supporter of the project. "Our lay leaders and clergy will benefit from a coordinated approach to what so many are facing. New Dreams‐New Visions will help us address the challenges together, in a coordinated way, instead of trying to figure this out as a hundred separate dioceses."