This Week at St. Paul's
Mother Michelle Walker
Dear St. Paul's Family,
This Tuesday evening our St. Paul's vestry will meet in the parish hall to participate in a Mutual Ministry Review (MMR) process. Every congregation in our diocese is expected and encouraged to conduct an annual ministry review. The purpose of this review is to:
Provide clergy and vestry with the opportunity to assess how well they are fulfilling their responsibilities to each other and to the ministries that they share;
Evaluate the relationship shared between the clergy and vestry; clergy and congregation, and vestry and congregation; in particular, the relationship with the mission of the congregation;
Evaluate goals set at the previous mutual ministry review;
Establish goals for the work of the congregation for the coming year;
Isolate areas of conflict or disappointment that have not been resolved and may be adversely affecting mutual ministry; address/mediate/reconcile areas of conflict; and
Clarify expectations of all so that goals can be attained through mutual work and that any future conflicts may be diminished or avoided.
Mutual Ministry Review (MMR) is a way for every parish to ask, “How are we doing?” It is a time to celebrate what has been done well and to understand what might be done better. As Christians we must continually ask: “What is God calling us to do and to accomplish here in this place?” And then, “How can we best practice this ministry?”
This is a first time experience for our vestry and for me. We are blessed to have Susan Czolgosz, who has 20+ years of consulting experience including work with the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago, as our facilitator. I trust her to do a wonderful job. And she knows very little about us, which means she'll ask the questions we might not think to ask of ourselves. I am looking forward to the evening.
The vestry has been asked to be prepared to discuss the following questions:
How would you describe your role on the Vestry? Would you like your role to change in the coming year? If so, in what ways?
In what ways have you been able use your gifts, strengths, and experience in your work on the Vestry? Are there ways you would like to use them differently in the future? What might help you to do this?
Reflect on your experience of serving on the Vestry of this church. Please describe a specific time when you felt most alive, most involved, spiritually touched, or most excited about your work on the Vestry and with the congregation.
What do you see as the gifts and strengths of this Vestry - in the ways you work together and with your clergy-leader to serve the congregation?
What do you see as the challenges facing this Vestry in working together and serving the congregation?
If you could change one thing about how this Vestry and clergy work together in service to this congregation, what would it be?
At the end of your term on the Vestry, what do you hope you will be able to say about your service to the congregation?
What would make your and other Vestry members’ work on the Vestry more fulfilling and valuable?
When you think about the various ministries of the congregation, what do you see as the strongest areas of ministry? What is valuable or appreciated about these ministries?
What areas of ministry do you think need to be developed or strengthened? Reduced or eliminated?
Please name several key goals you believe are most important for the coming year for this Vestry and for your congregation?
If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share them with any vestry member or myself. As we look at ways of remaining and increasing our faithfulness in the town of LaPorte, we welcome your input AND your prayers. As I've said before, I believe God still has plans for us here in LaPorte. It's our job to listen diligently for those plans and then ACT!
On another note, let us celebrate the new tenants in the rectory. Dan and Lynn, along with their children Mary and Henry, moved in on the the 15th. Their lease is for 9 months while their home is being rebuilt after a fire. (Yes, of course we'd like a longer lease. We are making the best of the opportunities available!) We are so blessed to have them and appreciate their wonderful care of our property while they live here. So far they are thrilled!
Have a wonderful day and be sure enjoy this summery weather, with or without the rainshowers!
Blessings,
Mother Michelle
priest@stpaulslaporte.org | 219-575-0226 (c)