Synod issues identified by task force reports
By Ana Watts
The release this week (Feb. 16) of the Task Force on Rural and/or Struggling Parishes report, and the earlier releases of the Budget 
Support Task Force Report and the National Church, stewardship-based Planning Study Report, identified the major issues of the 130th Session of Diocesan Synod. The June 4-6 meeting takes place at the Trade and Convention Centre in Saint John. Resolutions presented to the 2007 Synod triggered the task force studies.
The rural and struggling parishes taskforce was struck out of expressed concern for synod’s waning “historic commitment to rural and struggling parishes.” As the task force investigated how best to continue to support these parishes “it became clear that most of the 85 parishes in the diocese are struggling in one way or another, not just those in rural areas.”
“It was a privilege to chair this committee,” says the Ven. Patricia Drummond. “We were from all parts of the diocese and from many different experiences of 'church,' from the tiny rural multi-point parish to the city parish struggling to maintain very large buildings with fewer faithful parishioners and rising costs’”.
The report includes six recommendations including renewal as Christians and unified Anglicans, a call for regular self-assessment by the parishes and the diocese, greater outreach and mission, more opportunities for leadership development. All the reports mention stewardship and this task force identified stewardship education and the importance of “first fruits’ giving as important. Communication is also a common theme. This task force recommends improved communication through the appointment of a communications officer in each parish and the constant monitoring of the relevance and efficiency of established diocesan communications tools — the New Brunswick Anglican, E News, the anglican.nb.ca website and the Diocesan Information Management System (DIMS).
“When the report was finished one of our members said in her opinion the regional consultations started the ball rolling as far as changes in the diocese are concerned,” says Archdeacon Drummond. “She said parishes saw the value of meeting to explore possibilities for the better management of resources in challenging times, and, in some areas, this is happening. She thought this was directly related to the Task Force having led the way with the regional meetings.”
An amendment to the budget funding resolution presented to synod in 2007 led Bishop Claude Miller to table it entirely. The amendment called for the adoption of a “10-10-10” model of giving with parishioners tithing to the parish, the parishes tithing to the diocese and the diocese tithing to the national church. The Budget Funding Task Force was struck to investigate the model successfully initiated by Bishop Edward Salmon when he was bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. He was invited to the 2008 Clergy College and put the stewardship model in a context of mission, expert leadership training, relationship hygiene and preaching the Gospel of "Jesus the Risk of God." The clergy, Diocesan Council and task force members were inspired by many of his remarks.
Keenly aware that the Diocese of Fredericton is very different from the Diocese of South Carolina, “and that developing a new system of proclaiming the message of the Gospel will not be an easy task,” the task force recommends moving toward a 10-10-10 model, recognizing that this is a goal that will take years to accomplish and that it is not a technique but part of a major reshaping of ministry within the diocese. It also calls for the replacement of the current system of budget funding through apportionment and mission outreach allocations, with a “one-ask” fair share, single amount. If approved, these changes will be incorporated in 2010 budget planning.
The tough but encouraging Planning Study Report recently prepared for our diocese by consultants from General Synod calls for the provision of a proven stewardship initiative. It also recommends a review of diocesan governance structures and systems; a reduction in the size of synod; the development of a fair, equitable and mandatory system of seeking funds from parishes; the establishment of a communications plan to promote the Shared Ministry Plan. The consultants would also like to see the appointment of a full-time staff person, knowledgeable in stewardship and congregational development, to support a diocesan stewardship initiative.
The establishment of a Sharing Ministry Task Group, with a mandate to coordinate and implement current and significant diocesan initiatives as recommended by the budget support and the rural and/or struggling parishes task forces, was another recommendation. Diocesan Council saw the need for such a group long before the planning study was released and established the group in September 2008. The Sharing Ministry Task Group is analyzing the task force findings in light of the overall diocesan plan and will oversee the presentation of resolutions in support of these initiatives to synod.
