A vestry exercise leading to an action plan
Last week, I shared how the priest and vestry must embody the change they wish to see in their congregation. This week, I will map out a simple strategy for setting one or two goals and then following through on them to make a difference in your church. The following exercise is intended to be undertaken by a vestry soon after its election, most hopefully at a vestry retreat.
The priest (whether rector, priest-in-charge or vicar) and vestry should begin by brainstorming what needs to change for the congregation to be even more vital than it is now. Take all answers without judgment, getting as many ideas up as possible. The concerns can be quite broad, such as “increase attendance” or specific such as “hire a nursery worker instead of using volunteers.”
Next give the priest and each vestry member five stickers to use in voting. Each vote could go to a different priority or all five could be placed next to one concern. After giving space for the voting, talk about the findings. Work toward a consensus on one, or at the most two, areas of concern. They do not yet have to be narrow in focus. After the one or to areas are named, they will need to be focused to one very clear relatively small change.
One example is a vestry decides that participation at events other than worship is an issue. If this is the broad concern that gets the most energy for tackling, the vestry can begin work at the retreat. In this case, it would mean working through the annual calendar, making some tough decisions to discontinue some events that have outlived their time. Then comes the looking at what to add. Next the task is to set some clear goals, usually just one or two positive changes, such as a commitment to add a Blessing of the Animals and to enlarge the way the church celebrates its annual feast day. Decide who will need to do what to get this done and create a timetable for the work.
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Then the job is not complete until the vestry discusses how they will be involved. No, everyone can’t do everything, but if the Blessing of the Animals is going to take off, it will probably have some of the vestry taking part on a committee and others at the event. And if each vestry member can not name at least two people to invite using an invitation card, there is no use in creating them.
If you really want to follow through, place the two goals on the agenda for every vestry meeting until they are accomplished. The check in need only be a reminder of the goals and accountability to make sure the follow through is occurring, including the vestry naming how they are taking on their role of encouragement and support for the change, embodying the change as agreed.
The Rev. Frank Logue
Canon to the Ordinary
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