It was a beautiful spring morning. The sun was glistening in the distance on the waters of Narragansett Bay as the Vestry gathered at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Saunderstown for our annual retreat.
From 8:30 until 2:30 we prayed and looked at St. Paul’s in the light of stories from the Book of Exodus about how God’s people organized their life together as they followed their journey to the Promised Land. We read that Moses initially tried to do everything when it came to leading the Hebrew people, but in response to the uninvited advice of his father-in-law that changed. Moses learned how to delegate – how to organize the people God had put into his care so no one would get overextended and the leadership would be spread out among the people. That just happens to be the same lesson the apostles learned soon after the sudden influx of new converts after the Day of Pentecost. Moses and the Apostles learned to delegate authority, designate diverse responsibilities, and organize themselves in such a way as to carry out their mission most effectively. That’s what the Vestry and I feel that we need to do at St. Paul’s.
You see, during these past six months or so the Wardens and I have noticed a pattern that we might just be able to improve upon – to accomplish the parish’s ministries more effectively. This is what it looks like: A need arises, and naturally, those who notice it go directly to the rector or the wardens and the vestry to address it. Out of compassion, concern and pastoral support, the people I’ve just mentioned swing into action – trying to meet the need themselves. In the process, what happens is that a bottleneck is created – ensuring that we can’t possibly attend to all the matters we need to address, and under the press of time, we wind up calling on those we already know for help, which naturally creates a smaller circle of volunteers than we’d like.
We don’t want to lurch from one urgent need to the next, reacting to each need as it arises. Instead, we want to get to a place in which all of our parish ministries are accomplished as gracefully and effectively as so many have been over the years, including: music, the altar guild, lay Eucharistic ministers, greeters, ushers, Christmas baskets, hospitality, and the like. Otherwise, we unnecessarily limit our selves. And that limits our mission – the mission that Christ gave us to do.
Therefore, following the example of Moses and the Apostles, at our vestry retreat, prayerfully, we decided to restructure the organization of our life together. We’ve tried to create 10 teams – under which everything we do in and through St. Paul’s can be coordinated, guided and supported. These are the 10 teams: Christian Formation, Fellowship, Christian Outreach, Liturgy, Stewardship, Pastoral Care, St. Paul’s Nursery School, Communications, Church Relations, and our 300th Anniversary.
Each team will seek to better coordinate those aspects of the life and mission of St. Paul’s that are under its oversight moving forward. Each one will have a member of the vestry assigned to it. Those vestry members will contact parishioners to join a team – to help guide and support the ministries under their purview. But the members of the vestry don’t know everyone, let alone each parishioner’s interests. And so, if you’re interested in any of these ministries, please feel free to contact the vestry representative for that team. They’re listed here.
The mission we’ve been given is the most important one there is – to do the work of our risen Lord Jesus Christ in our little corner of this world and beyond. Everyone in this church has a part to play – an indispensable part to play in that mission. Every one of us is welcome and urged to shoulder his or her part in it. Being part of the church includes each of us following our Lord to do His ministry as each of us has the interest and ability to do so. Everyone is welcome.
Affectionately in Christ, Phil +