Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Visioning and planning often begins from a place of pausing and re-assessing what is working and what isn’t. Focusing on what our core values are, what makes us unique, and what we want to evolve into will be the foundation on which to build our new vision. In this issue we bring you tools and examples that encourage us to ask the tough questions so we can vision and plan both strategically and powerfully.

If we want to reveal what we truly value, it helps to look beyond what we say is important and study where we actually invest our time and money. In Investing in a Multiracial Vision of Church, Kenji Kuramitsu asks challenging questions and offers an unafraid vision of what the church may be if we are brave enough to live into our calling.

How do we discern which long-term ideas are worth pursuing before we invest our precious time and resources? In St. John’s Plays Music in the Key of P, Miguel Escobar shares a tool that helps vestries and other leadership groups think through the strengths and weaknesses of an idea as a team.

What makes us unique? And how can we celebrate and build upon our uniqueness? In Making Episcopal Identity Strategic, Daniel Heischman uses examples from Episcopal Schools, and urges us to claim our unique Episcopal identity, using it to form the core of our strategic visioning and planning processes.

In Visioning and Planning at ECF’s First Spanish Bootcamp, Sandra Montes shares the experience of ECF’s pilot Spanish bootcamp which included topics like stewardship, finances and team-building, and brought together church leaders for the critical task of visioning and planning. This article is available in English and Spanish.

ECF is pleased to announce that the application for the 2018 Fellowship is now open. Visit the ECF website to learn more about the Fellowship Partners Program and begin the application process. Since 1964 ECF has awarded 223 Fellowships to individuals pursuing advanced academic studies and special ministries with the aim of educating and equipping future clergy and lay leaders.

To learn more about ECF and our programs, please visit our website.

On behalf of the Episcopal Church Foundation and the ECF Vital Practices team, I’d like to wish all our readers a blessed Advent, festive Christmas and a joyous new year to come.

Faithfully,

Charis Bhagianathan
Editor, ECFVP