Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Across our church, familiar clergy and lay roles are changing. Just as our understanding of church changes with changing times and circumstances, so do our models of leadership. How are these changes impacting our effectiveness as lay+clergy leadership teams?

At ECFVP we are seeing congregations thrive as a result of successful lay and clergy leadership teams. We are also hearing from congregations eager to learn how others are approaching new realities that often mean a change in leadership. In this issue, we’ll share stories, examples, and resources of how congregations and dioceses are creating environments that facilitate people discovering – and acting on – their vocation as a person of faith and at the same time opening doors for broader lay participation across the church.

This month in Vestry Papers:

Forming and identifying effective lay and clergy leadership teams continues to be challenge for many of our congregations. In “Why Vital Teams?” Miguel Escobar introduces Vital Teams, the Episcopal Church Foundation’s new program for strengthening the lay+clergy leadership teams that are at the heart of Episcopal congregations. Available in English and Spanish.

 Effective congregational leadership teams include members with a strong sense of Christian vocation and the gifts they bring to the table. Fletcher Lowe’s “Church as Base Camp,” explores the ways a vestry might stretch its vision to help its baptized discover and claim their ministries in their lives beyond the church doors.
 

Our capacity to move into the future depends on the ability of our congregational leaders to function effectively as a team. In “Teams Built on Trust,” Rosa Lindahl shares the process she and the vestry are using to strengthen their leadership team as they prepare to move from full- to part-time clergy on staff.

In addition to these new Vestry Papers articles, ECF Vital Practices’ offers other resources related to building effective teams, including those featured in our September 2013 digest, Building Leadership Teams.

Do you have a resource you’d like to share with other congregations? Consider posting it on Your Turn: If you’ve a subscriber, click on the Make a Submission button. Not a subscriber? It’s easy – and free – just click here.

Looking for Spanish language content? Please visit our new, searchable index for our Spanish content here; then click on the “ECFVP en Español” button on the right side of the page.

And, please remember to share this issue of Vestry Papers with others in your congregation, along with an invitation to subscribe to ECF Vital Practices and Vestry Papers. Subscriptions are free; visit ECFVP.org and click on Subscribe on the upper right hand corner of this page. New subscribers are asked to fill out a short registration form to have Vestry Papers and ECF Vital Practices content delivered twice a month to your email inbox.