This Sunday, after we worship together, a team from Holy Apostles will travel to Thomas Berry Place in Queens to participate in the College for Congregational Development. The CCD is a ministry out of the Diocese of Olympia on the West coast. In 2009, the Rev. Melissa Skelton (now a Bishop in the Anglican Church in Canada) launched the first session of the College. It has grown beyond Seattle since then, and a few years ago the Episcopal Diocese of New York received a grant to fund participation for interested congregations in this diocese.
The work of the College is summarized in this description of Congregational Development from the landing page of their website:
Congregational Development is the development of congregations of all sizes, locations, and conditions into more faithful, healthy, and effective communities of faith that are:
Focused on and faithful to their unique reason for being—their primary task—as congregations. Congregations are local expressions of the Body of Christ.
Connected to and expressive of their unique ecclesial tradition, ethos, and character.
Self-renewing and responsive to the challenges and opportunities before them.
Sustainable or working toward greater sustainability in terms of a fit between the elements of their organizational life: vision for ministry, leadership, culture, size, property, finances, etc.
Fostering a culture of transparency, courage, flexibility, collaboration, and forgiveness in which the congregation and its leaders have a greater sense of choice.
Some of this is already happening at Holy Apostles—and, as in all things, we can always benefit from the wisdom of others. In addition to myself, our team includes Mark Larrimore, Diane Wondisford, Steve Turtell and Tina Barth. We will spend next week (and another week next July) engaging with the CCD curriculum, thinking and talking about CHA, and doing so in the company of other congregations from our diocese. Please pray for us. We will be reporting on our experiences when we return!
Blessings,
