The key finding of last year's extended Listening Campaign is that some struggling congregations in the diocese are focusing on the wrong question as they seek to revitalize their churches.
"The question 'how do we get back what we lost' is just sucking the gospel out of us," said the Rev. Laurie Wurm, reporting at the 137th annual Diocesan Convention in January. "The question that is bringing new life -- bringing resurrection -- is 'What is God calling us to do?'"
The 20 lay and clergy volunteers of the Listening Campaign, which was initiated by the Engaging the World Action Team of Diocesan Council, fanned out to 52 churches in the diocese that opted to take part in "kitchen-table discussions" about the needs of congregations. The listeners found that in congregations that have focused on engaging the world, "there is more joy in those communities… a sense that the gospel was being preached in tangible ways."
Wurm, who is rector of St. John's in Boonton and served as co-facilitator of the Listening Campaign, told the convention how this worked at St. David's in Kinnelon. The parish there was stagnant, both financially and otherwise, when the Rev. David DeSmith was named rector several years ago. Discussions initially centered on efforts to attract more members to the church.
Until Rev. DeSmith at one point said, "you know, maybe we have as many people as we need after all." The congregation then shifted to the question, "if God has called the assembly of people who really need to be about God's business at St. David's -- if they're already here -- what do we do about it?"
They began talking with local officials about the needs of the community, and were surprised to discover how many people didn't have enough food to eat, in what seemed to be an affluent town.
St. David's responded by launching the Hunger Cycle Tour, which in three years of operation has raised more than $120,000 for hunger-related causes. One quarter of the proceeds has gone to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, and three-quarters have gone to supporting clean water supplies in Africa and Asia through the work of Episcopal Relief and Development.
The Listening Campaign yielded other insights, notably that having a full-time rector is not necessarily the only model for nurturing a vibrant church community. Some congregations also questioned whether the annual Parochial Report, which describes a church's finances and average Sunday attendance, is the best metric to use in assessing a congregation's health.
The Listening Campaign team plans to begin discussing new metrics for congregation vitality, as well as how the diocese can help foster a more relational culture between churches. The first meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 5, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., at St. Paul's in Paterson, where the Listening Campaign's other co-facilitator, the Rev. David Wolf, is rector. Everyone who would like to take part in this meeting is welcome to attend; previous participation in the Listening Campaign is not required.
Questions about the Listening Campaign or the March 5 meeting?
Please contact the Rev. Laurie Wurm (revlwurm@optonline.net)
or the Rev. David Wolf (dwolf@stpaulspaterson.org).
