From the Rector: Asking Questions

Your vestry and I have just returned from a powerful retreat with five other parishes at Amicalola Falls. Meeting together enabled us to have informal conversations with other vestries so we can compare challenges and successes. We were also able to schedule speakers that we otherwise would not have been able to get. These speakers included Bonnie Burgess, the finance director of the Diocese; Bishop Whitmore; and Tom Brackett, who is on the Presiding Bishop’s staff.

Tom is responsible for new church plants and church revitalization. He travels the fourteen countries in which the Episcopal Church is present and learns about the challenges and innovations occurring across our church. This breadth of experience allows Tom to tell stories about other Episcopal congregations and how they are learning to ask questions and adapt as needed to continue as vital missions for the gospel of Christ.

The vestry was so excited by the weekend and especially by Tom’s presentations that they asked if we could meet the very next Sunday to discuss further what we learned and what that means for our beloved parish. Over the next year, expect to hear more from your leaders. But the message will not be us telling you what to do— but rather us asking you questions and asking you to help us discern what the Spirit is calling us to do in and through this parish.

I don’t anticipate radical and immediate change, but a gradual continuation of what we’ve done over the past few years. Our successes in starting the Red Door Festival and beautifying our building and grounds will provide us the blueprint of the process to follow for what we do next. The key will be widespread input and involvement that produces vital ministry that meets real needs. I am excited to find out with you what that will mean for us.

Keith+

New vestry members (left to right) Chris Wilson, Rusty Jackson, Dan Krogh, Judy Foster, Joanie Anderton, Beth Jones and Shannon Darke were introduced at the ECOHS Annual Meeting, January 15. Also joining the vestry this year are Meg Davenport and Herb Linsley.