Lay Leaders Days 2014

Hospitality, Mission and Generosity

Making Room

When and Where:                                                          

February 8– St. James, Cambridge                            
March 22 – Church of the Ascension, London                                         
April 12 – St. Paul’s, Southhampton                              
May 10 – St. Andrew's, LaSalle                     

  The current outline for the day is below.

A wonderful day with great participation by the group.  There was a sense that we have moved a fair distance from last year.  People seem to have a sense of new shoots of green grass are popping up here and there and that church is starting to move forward again.  I invite you to leave your comments below.

Fees will be payable on the date of the event.  Checks should be made payable to: “The Diocese of Huron.”

A good day for all who attended the event.  I have read the feedback on the evaluation forms.  Thank you for taking the time to fill them out.  Those that wished handouts of the leadership material please note that we are unable to photocopy the material in the book for you because of copyright considerations.  The 3 Colors of Leadership book is available on the the 3 Color World website.  www.3colorworld.org

Be glad to have you share your reflections on the day with others by posting comments on this blog.

The monthly meeting of SPIG was held on March 23, 2013.  A number of matters were dealt with that are noteworthy:

• The Director for Mission and Ministry reported that the Rev. Andrew Wilson has been asked by the bishop to establish a diocesan network of people who have been involved in Vital Church Planting conferences.  Andrew will be contacting potentially interested parties after Easter.
• Due to the visit of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba the clergy day date and location has been changed to May 10th at Huron College.  This also means that the planned agenda for Mutual Ministry will be somewhat modified.  
• The Mutul Ministry sub-group reported on its meeting. The sub-group produced the following statement about its Mutual Ministry initiative: “The Mutual ministry initiative is a process and a structure of support and encouragement for clergy in order to ensure healthy clergy. This comes as a response to needs clearly stated by the clergy to help them deal with loneliness, isolation, confusion, depression and stress.   Healthy clergy are: confident in their own skills and eager to continue to develop them; able to deal with the stresses of parish ministry; enthusiastic and energetic for their ministry and  feeling valued and supported both personally and in their ministry.  It is not the only response but it is an easy and proven way to offer a first response."
• The Rev. Dr. Gary Nicolosi made a presentation on the formation of church culture that was helpful in developing our understandings of the needs that Mutual Ministry must address.
• The sub-group working on the SPIG's synod presentation made a report of its plans.
• The SPIG was pleased that Diocesan sub-council passed the motion it sent to them concerning a special budget committee for the diocese.  After some discussion the following statemtment was passed as a submission to the newly appointed committee:  "At its March 21^st meeting, SPIG was pleased to hear the creation of an ad-hoc budget committee to assist the annual Budget Development Process of the Diocese of Huron. SPIG had a discussion about how our committee might best further that process, consistent with its mandate to assist the Diocese with the identification of Strategic Priorities within Huron’s Strategic Plan.The following motion was passed and is offered for the consideration of the Special Budget Committee: "The members of SPIG recognize 1) the importance of maintaining a strategic planning function in the Diocese including paid staff support through a Director of Mission and Ministry; 2) the importance of reviewing and improving processes of communication within our Diocese, 3) the importance of providing adequate recruitment, training and continuing education opportunities for clergy and laity and 4) the importance of wellness and support for clergy as frontline employees of our Church and its ministries.“ 
• Following significant conversation about continuing Education for clergy the following motion was passed:  “In cooperation with Huron’s Human Resources Department, SPIG recommends that a catalogue of Continuing Education opportunities be compiled and communicated regularly to clergy for their use.”  
• There was significant conversation about how the diocese can help people discern that they might have a call to ordained ministry.
  
  

We had another good day with Lay Leaders from the diocese in Woodstock on Saturday February 23rd.  A special thanks to all who made this day possible including Church of the Epiphany, the women in the kitchen, Rob Lofthouse, Matt Kieswetter, Paul Silcox and Bishop Terry.  I invite those who attended to leave their comments below.

Richard

The Strategic Plan Implementation Group met for its regular monthly meeting on January 24, 2013.  Highlights of the meeting included:

We had a fabulous Lay Leaders Day in Windsor on Saturday.  All the evaluations done by participants suggest that the day was worthwhile.  Participants in the day - I invite you to leave your comments here.

Richard Salt