Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

Imagination is a powerful thing. As a church, it allows leaders to see who they want to be as a community of Christ. And while the visioning can be transforming and energizing, it requires practical planning to begin to work towards that goal. In this issue, our hope is to inspire you to dream big while also sharing practical ideas and resources that will aid your planning process.

Missionaries do, and visionaries dream, but sometimes the processes are not in sync. In Missionaries and Visionaries, Linda Buskirk shares how an explicitly expressed and jointly created vision is the first step to achieving a congregation’s desired impact in the community and world.

How does a parish create a mission and vision statement that reflects who they are and hope to be? In The Process of Creating a Mission/Vision Statement, members of St Philip’s Church in East Harlem, share their experience of working with their congregation to successfully craft a mission that’s uniquely theirs to live into.

Strategic thinking is less overwhelming than traditional strategic planning, and just as effective. In Five Pitfalls of Strategic Thinking, Susan Erdey lists how best to navigate this user-friendly process, while also alerting us to some common pitfalls to avoid.

Visioning the future is one thing, and executing a plan to bring that vision to life, quite another. In Financial Visioning in Seven Steps, James Jordan lays out a practical, strategic planning road-map which can help bring a parish’s future vision to life.

Earlier this year, ECF launched an online book club. The second book that we will read together is The Restoration Project: A Benedictine Path to Wisdom, Strength, and Love by the Rev. Christopher Martin (available in print and e-book formats). Please join us on November 14, 2017 for a lively discussion about this book facilitated by ECF President Donald V. Romanik, and be sure to send your questions and comments to @EpisChFdtn with the hashtag #ECFBookClub or email your questions to mescobar@episcopalfoundation.org.

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

Faithfully,

Charis Bhagianathan
Editor, ECFVP