Interim Ministry – an Overview
January 2017 Interim Ministry- an Overview The interim period – the transitional time between incumbents – is a critical stage in the life of every congregation. As you move through this interim period, St. John’s has a unique opportunity to reflect on the chapter of your story just concluded and to seek to understand where God is calling you to go in the future. The interim period therefore provides a time for a congregation to explore creatively future ministry options and to articulate a compelling vision of future mission. This exploration provides the basis for describing the qualities and skills in leadership needed to help the parish achieve its goals. Process (usually 18-24 months) Interim priest-in-charge appointed and letter of Agreement drawn up Interim ministry team formed to give support and guidance to interim priest-in-charge Goals and objectives of the Agreement reviewed at intervals, e.g. 3, 6, 12 months Final review to determine readiness to enter canonical process Serving wardens, delegates and alternates become canonical committee Parish profile created and call for a new incumbent circulated by diocese Canonical committee interviews candidates Successful applicant is offered position Interim may remain until new incumbent is ready to join parish or supply is arranged Possible Timeline Months 1-2 acknowledging current reality Meeting with leadership and individuals Developing understanding of who does what and how Creating an interim ministry team to provide feedback and reality checks Sharing understandings Months 2-10 assessing the parish system Sharing stories and developing narrative history Identifying sources of vitality and strength, acknowledging growing edges Identifying areas where adaptive change is needed Engaging with as many people and groups as possible Months 11-18 building capacity for future Putting energy towards possibilities Promoting reflective capacity and practicing adaptive changes Celebrating successes Further developing self-differentiated and reflective lay leaders Readying the...
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SUBMISSION TO ANNUAL REPORT
ANNUAL VESTRY REPORTS-Submissions for the Vestry report can be submitted until January 19th. Please be sure to get your report into the office within the designated timeline. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. If you are unsure if you are required to submit a report, please contact Karen in the office or see the one of the Wardens for clarification. A short explanation of your groups ministry and hopes for the coming year is much appreciated.
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Annual Vestry Meeting – Feb. 19th, 2017
The Annual Vestry Meeting will be held following the 10:00am service on Feb. 19th. If you or your group are required to submit a report, please be sure to email the report to Karen in the office on or before January 19th. Your cooperation regarding the timeline is very much appreciated!
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Nov. 20th – Reign of Christ the King
We are pleased to welcome Archbishop Douglas Hambidge as preacher and presider at the November 20th service for the Reign of Christ the King.
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An Update from the Wardens
Dear Friends We are writing to provide an update on St. John’s. As we announced in Church on October 24th, the Reverend Stephanie Shepherd will join us as our interim priest-in-charge effective January 1, 2017. An interim priest’s role is to help parishes as they say goodbye to one priest and prepare to call another. This is not a permanent placement. Generally speaking, interim periods can take from 12 to 18 months. Since we as a community has already started the process of looking at our mission and vision, we are already further down the road than some parishes and we expect our interim period will likely be 12 months. In that time, we will consult with the Parish and reflect on where we believe God is calling us now and we’ll prepare a Parish Profile for approval by the Bishop. Once approved, the Synod Office will then advertise and we will interview candidates for our new priest-in-charge. We will keep you informed as we proceed. Between now and the end of the year, we will have services conducted by Sunday supply and by our Deacons. Father Michael Chin will also lead some services. Our Christmas Eve services will be led by our Archdeacon, the Venerable Karen Urquhart. It is very important that we keep the lines of communication open between now and year end. If you know of a pastoral emergency of any kind, please be sure to let the office and us know so that we can resource assistance. If you have any questions at any time, let us know. Finally, we would like to remind everyone that next Sunday, November 6 is Pledge Sunday. Please bring your signed pledges with you and place them on the altar at the time indicated by the Deacons. If you know...
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Godly Play Sunday Morning Program
We honour the presence of children and young people at St. John’s and we offer Godly Play as our Sunday morning learning experience for them. Godly Play enables children to wonder and explore the teachings of the church, of God, of Jesus and of the people of God through hands on experience and play engage and identify through interactive play with the Hebrew and the Christian stories empowers them as they learn how to live following the teachings of how God wants us all to live For further info contact Deacon Anne Anchor at office@stjohnanglican.ca
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Prayer for our Transition
Please include in your personal prays a pray for our community as we enter into a time of transition with Grant’s departure. The following is a suggested prayer you might wish to use. Compassionate and loving God. I lift up to you all of us at St. John’s. Guide us, strengthen us and support us all as we discern your will for us as your church in this place and this time. Help us to love and support one another as move through our transition as we prepare to call a new Priest-in-charge. Help us to reflect on and learn from our past and help us to dream about the future. Help us to continue to see joy and hope in our lives as your people. Help us to love each other in Christian fellowship as we work together seeking your will. All this we ask in the name of your Son, Jesus the Christ. Amen
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READERS WANTED FOR FALL SCHEDULE
Do you have a clear articulate voice, a love of the Bible and a willingness to read in public? If so we would be interested in including you in the roster for Scripture Reading. Please contact the office at stjohn7@shaw.ca or by phone at 604-936-7762 as soon as possible if you are interested, we are currently looking to fill our upcoming schedule.
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Deadline for Apostle Submissions – July 24th, 2016
If you or your group have information that you would like to appear in the summer issue of the Apostle which will be sent out the last week of July, please email the information to Karen at stjohn7@shaw.ca . Submissions will be accepted until July 24th.
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General Synod 2016
General Synod begins this week. This is the synod for the entire Anglican Church of Canada, and some very important issues are being discussed and decided upon. You can watch via live streaming or check the Anglican Church of Canada web site www.anglican.ca
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