St. Clement’s 2040
We’ve completed the first two phases of the St. Clement’s 2040 process, and are moving into a new phase in 2024. After five initial parish-wide sessions (scroll down for material used, descriptions of the sessions, and the results of assessments used with those present), we held a couple of follow up meetings and the vestry and rector decided to integrate the 2040 process more fully with the vestry and rector’s decision-making authority. This year, meetings will be faciliated by Sister Michelle Heyne, OA, who is also the chair of a new Parish Development Team. So far, the team is made up of Michelle, Jr. Warden Neil Beaver, and Fr. Kevin, but we are actively seeking some additional members interested in learning about parish development and helping St. Clement’s nurture its strengths in an inclusive and open manner. Future meeting topics will be based on what we’re hearing from the parish community in the 2040 meetings, as well as the priorities identified by the rector, vestry, and Parish Development Team.
Upcoming Meetings
March 17, 2024
We will follow up on the discussion we had at the annual meeting. We will focus on service and being a sanctifying presence in the broader community. We will reflect on both service in daily life and corporate efforts by the parish.
May 5, 2024
We will check in on where things stand with our property, incuding updates to the parish hall and the worship space.
September 8, 2024 - Topic TBD
November 3, 2024 - Topic TBD
Past Meetings
December 17, 2023 Parish Meeting
The meeting was faciliated by Fr. Bob and was about music, with focus in two broad areas:
First, there was an opportunity for parishioners to share their experience with music at St. Clement's in recent years, including with different clergy and staff. We also gathered hopes and expectations for music in the coming years. Click here for a summary chart of the parish’s history (this is cursory and definitely missing some things), and click here for the parish’s hopes for the future. We brainstormed ideas and then prioritized them - the checkmarks indicates how many people present valued that particular item.
Second, Fr. Bob helped the rector and other leaders and advisors to hear from the broader congregation so they might take that into account as decisions are made in the coming months.
Two resources were offered in advance of the meeting:
The first is from Sister Susan Latimer, OA - "The Healing Power of Song: Singing and Chanting as Spiritual Practice." Susan is a Professed Member of the Order of the Ascension, a priest, and a professionally trained musician. She connects music with healing both broadly and in her own life.
The second is "He stands in the midst of nations" from "A Wonderful and Sacred Mystery," a new Substack blog from Fr. Bob and Sister Michelle. This article is a simple reflection that may draw you to consider the relationship between the hymns we sing and world affairs. It begins with our final hymn from the prior Sunday.
Octobe3 22, 2023 Parish Meeting
Topics: 1) A broad assessment of parish life and work (using the Parish Life Cycle model) and 2) an exploration of the vestry's decision regarding the planned use of funds received through bequests.
Fr. Bob. talked a bit about the parish’s history, focusing on its Anglo Catholic and African-American roots. He then took us through an exploration of the Parish Life Cycle, which describes dynamics present in all organizations and offers a way to think about ongoing improvement. Those present then assessed where they think the parish is - see the results by clicking here.
The vestry shared their initial decision making about use of funds, as well as their assumptions about how future decisions might be made. Here is the information the vestry shared about decisions already made, as well as how the vestry is thinking about future uses of the money - click here and here for the materials. At the end, Fr. Bob tested with the group what they thought about what they’d heard so far - click here for the results of that testing process.
Decision making: The decision making authorities in the parish remain the rector and vestry. We are not taking votes in these sessions. The meetings are designed to hear from the congregation, to see if there is a collective voice, and in all that to provide advice to the rector and vestry.
Facilitator: Fr. Robert Gallagher, OA - background on Father Bob is on this webpage (see bottom of the page)
September 2022 Parish Meeting
Click here to see a full report of the September 11, 2022, parish meeting about potential changes to the liturgical space.
Summary of the Original Five Sessions:
Key strenghts to build on are our liturgy, with its music and beauty, our worship space, and our time together in coffee hour – all strengths (in Some Key Factors and Incorporation Assessment, Session 1 and Session 5)
Formation and Sanctifying Relationship with a broader community showed less strength in the same assessments. A number of members showed interest in relationships, especially with the neighborhood and the music community.
A small Anglo-Catholic Parish with an African-American heritage – this is the ground of our self-definition, a starting place. Our strengths in liturgy and social connection are factors in parts of our life that help people stay with us (Session 3 and Appreciative Questions).
In Parish Options (Session 2) we saw membership growth and increased financial giving as pathways forward. And property redevelopment as something to be explored to see if it was viable. We have already increased our pledging, including 6 brand new pledges and 11 increases. We are no longer operating with a deficit budget.
Parish size (Session 3) – an overwhelming desire to remain small but to grow from an average attendance of about 40 to someplace between 56 and 100.
It was wonderful to have so many members participate, and to hear so many different voices.
Next Steps
We’re pleased about the quick results on increased pledging. We’re reaching out to professionals to learn more about our options for the property and buildings. The rector and wardens are prioritizing a list of issues, including how we can build on our strengths and identity, be more welcoming to newcomers, and provide additional opportunities for formation. We’ll select a manageable list of things to work on and complete, ideally setting up a system of ongoing change and improvement that fits our gifts and size.
About the five PARISH-WIDE sessions
We looked at three things
1. How are we doing on some of the key factors that make for a stable and faithful parish life?
2. What are the options available to us in planning for the future? (Probably two sessions)
3. What size would we like to be? What would we like to see as our average Sunday attendance?
The sessions will be facilitated by Michelle Heyne and Father Bob. Both have considerable training and experience in the field of parish development. Here’s a link with information about them.
Dates of the Sessions
The sessions were held immediately after Mass in the parish hall on February 13, 20, March 6, 13 & 20.
More About the Sessions
The sessions were structured to:
· Be at the parish, in person
· Be structured conversations that will allow members to express their ideas and feelings.
· Provide important information for the rector, wardens, and vestry to consider as they make decisions for the future. Decision-making authority remains with that group; these sessions were planned to engage the parish and inform those decision-making bodies.
· Include completing an assessment worksheet on the topic for that day. The assessment gave the group an understanding of the range of views in the group, and served to stimulate further discussion. This helps a group take notice of everyone’s views, not just the most assertive.
· Some included at least one time when we went around the room giving each person a short period to address the issue. This helped us hear from everyone.
· Each included at least a brief time in breakout groups (this helps us avoid “group think” and can generate more ideas from more people).
Resources
You may want to do some reading related to each session:
From February 13: Key Factors
Related reading: An article on Key Factors The Sunday Morning Experience The Purposes of the Parish Church
SURVEY RESULTS from February 13: Some Key Factors - use the readings above for a description of the factors
From February 20 - Topic: Parish Options
Related reading: 1. Parish options; 2. An Article on Parish Options
RANKING RESULTS: Parish Options - Ranking of Basic Choice
March 6 Session - Topic: Membership Growth - Do we need to attract new people? What size would be best for us in the future? What methods of growth offer the most promise for St. Clement’s?
RESULTS on Growth and Size of parish
March 13 Session - Topic: Defining and Marketing the Parish - We looked at ways to be clear about who we are and how to communicate that to people outside the parish.
Related reading:
1. Background material on “Anglo-Catholic” and “African-American Heritage.” Anglo Catholics - a bit of history. John Orens’ “The Anglo Catholic Vision” may be the most useful overview and resource for the future. The Anglo Catholic Icons: This page offers some background on each of the saints with us at Mass each Sunday. In 2013-14 there was a newsletter on the parish identity (Anglo-Catholic & African-American). Here is a PDF of some of those newsletters
2. Review Six Strategies for Growth and Evangelization (focus on I. Revitalization.., II. Incorporation.., IV Defining and Marketing); Review Four Growth Strategies (focus on Organic Growth and Appreciative Marketing)
3. Buzz
4. Incorporation Process Assessment - we'll be filling this out toward the end of the session on March 13. The results will be part of our work on March 20
Related reading:
2. Parish Size: Categories, Dynamics, and Issues;
3. Saint Clement's trends 2011 - 2019 (membership, attendance & giving data from the national church)
March 20 Session - Topic: Incorporation of New Members
We'll review the results of the assessment completed last week and explore ways to make progress on the incorporation of new members. RESULTS: Incorporation Process Assessment
POSSIBLE STRATEGY: from Michelle and Bob
Related readings:
Sunday Morning - An example of one resource to help visitors. It was used by Trinity, Seattle on their website for many years. St. Clement's could produce one that fit this parish.
Related Reading: Six Strategies for Growth and Evangelization (focus on “Incorporation of New Members on Page 2, and “Friends,” “Category of Relationship,” on Page 5)
Other Information and Resources:
Fr. Bob's sermon introducing Saint Clement's 2040: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbf9x0V1Iso (sermon at 20:50)
Appreciative Questions Results: February 13, February 20, March 6, March 13
If you are interested in learning more about the field of parish development, Michelle and Bob have a website blog called "Means of Grace, Hope of Glory." There are articles on two sites Since November 2020 and Between 2012 and 2020. If you would like to be on a list to receive a notice when a new article is posted send Fr. Bob a message at ragodct@gmail.com.
