Reports to General Assembly by the Long Range Planning Sub-Committee of the Assembly Council (2002 – 2011)
2002 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
The Long Range Planning Committee continues to promote the FLAMES Initiative and the particular emphases through mailings and the Presbyterian Record. We are particularly excited about the upcoming year for ‘Active Evangelism’ and about all the work that Jim Czegledi has done to prepare the church for what we are sure will be a very successful year.
The year for Spirituality is almost upon us and we have been discussing how that may be promoted in the church. Leadership for this year will be taken up by various people in the Life and Mission Agency. In preparation for this year, we would suggest that people read the book, Reformed Spirituality by Howard L. Rice. We have also given some thought to the question of how we can evaluate the FLAMES Initiative so that we can build on its successes in the future. We have not yet put together an evaluation process.
We are turning more of our attention to the task of discovering a plan to guide our denomination following the completion of the FLAMES initiative in 2005. The next big step towards this plan will be taken at the joint meeting of Assembly Council and Life and Mission Agency in November 22-24, 2002.
Dr. Art Van Seters, who has agreed to facilitate this meeting, has already been an invaluable resource to us as we begin to piece together what we want to accomplish during that weekend and what the ultimate plan may look like. All those who will be attending that meeting will be receiving information on what we will be doing and how they may prepare by initiating discussion in their own local spheres of church activity.
The remaining FLAMES priorities to be highlighted in the coming years are:
2002-2003 Active Evangelism
2003-2004 Spirituality
2004-2005 Education
2003 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
The Long Range Planning Committee continues to promote the FLAMES Initiative and the particular emphases through mailings and The Record. We are very pleased with the successful year for Evangelism that has just completed and are looking forward to the initiatives that will come as we turn our focus towards Spirituality.
We have also given some thought to the question of how we can evaluate the FLAMES Initiative so that we can build on its successes in the future. Feedback and evaluations have already been gathered on a number of occasions and we are presently having some of our members go through all of this material and bring it to a full discussion of the committee during 2004.
As we have been thinking about the directions that our denomination needs to be taking following the completion of the FLAMES Initiative. In November of 2002 we convened a special meeting of the Assembly Council and the Life and Mission Agency to begin the planning process. We felt that meeting was very fruitful and we are now seeking to widen what was begun there be taking some time during the 2003 General Assembly to foster discussion in table groups and by distributing a workbook entitled “Finding God’s Opportunities” during the coming year. We greatly appreciate the input we receive from commissioners to General Assembly and by the wider church.
The remaining FLAMES priorities to be highlighted in the coming years are:
2003-2004 Spirituality
2004-2005 Education
2004 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
FLAMES Initiative
The Long Range Planning Committee has met through the year to continue to oversee the continuing FLAMES Initiative. The Assembly Council has found that this year’s initiative on “Spirituality” is being well received by the church. Many people are contributing to and benefiting from this initiative in a variety of ways within the congregation and in their individual journeys. The Committee has affirmed the fine work being carried out by the co-ordinator, The Rev. Ken Stright and his committee regarding the year for Spirituality. The Committee on Theological Education is taking the lead for next year’s initiative on “Education for Clergy and Laity”.
The committee also spent the year consulting with various bodies within the church on what might come after the FLAMES Initiative concludes in 2005. The main tool for this consultation has been the document “Finding God’s Opportunities”, that was widely distributed to the church following the 2003 General Assembly.
“Finding God’s Opportunities”
The focus of the committee’s work since January was to review and study the responses to “Finding God’s Opportunities”. The church has provided the committee with excellent feedback to this resource. The breakdown of the responses is: sessions – 115, presbyteries – 6, standing committees – 1, individuals – 13. This is in addition to the responses that were received from the last General Assembly. A letter was sent to the clerks of presbytery expressing the committee’s appreciation for those who submitted information. The responses were so helpful and illuminating that we propose placing them on the church’s website so that they may be widely read.
Responses Received from the “Finding God’s Opportunities” Workbook
The Long Range Planning Committee greatly appreciates all of the responses that we received for the workbook that we sent out following the 2003 General Assembly. There were some problems with the process – the most serious problem being that, because of some shortfalls in communication, the booklet was sent out much later than intended and people had relatively little time to respond – but many congregations and groups took the time and effort necessary to prepare a response.
We feel that we have heard a great deal of what the church is saying right now and, more importantly (because of the deep reflection on scripture that many people have done) we have heard some indications of what God is saying to our church right now. Time and again we saw very similar ideas, images and reflections emerging from the responses and we do not think that this is a coincidence.
The committee has attempted to summarize below what we have seen in the responses and in particular the thoughts that came out most consistently. These reflections are organized according to the questions that were asked.
What are the opportunities that God is placing before us?
1. An awareness of Canadian society: ethnic diversity, social diversity, personal issues that people have to deal with, changes in the family unit.
– Do we need to change our priorities for ministries and put more emphasis on such things as chaplaincy work?
2. An understanding of the nature of our church: Presbyterian characteristics, our roots.
– How can we best be a Presbyterian presence in Canadian society?
3. God is doing some exciting things and God’s people are carrying out some exciting ministries in our local congregations.
– How can our churches go out and meet people where they are?
– How can we make church buildings accessible to the community?
4. There are all kinds of new people out there to whom we can minister. God is doing exciting things in ethnic groups.
– How can we minister to/with immigrants and new Canadians?
– How can we minister to/with new believers?
– How can we minister to/with particular ethnic groups?
5. There is wonderful potential in shared ministries.
– How are we sharing buildings and resources with people of other denominations?
– How can we better share with other Presbyterians (e.g. with different ethnic groups)?
6. We have the opportunity to deal with important theological and social issues.
– How can we find the correct balance in dealing with issues of justice, human sexuality, same sex marriages, etc..
7. We have the opportunity to open up and reach out to others.
– How can we break down barriers that exist between ourselves and others?
8. We have the opportunity to deepen our relationships.
– How can we share our lives with each other?
9. As we are dealing with declining finances and membership in many places, we are given the opportunity to reinvent ourselves.
– How do we do mission and ministry in a new way?
10. We have the opportunity to develop new approaches to professional ministry.
– How does theological education need to change?
– What is the place of lay missionaries and other lay ministries?
11. We have the opportunity to heal conflict.
– How can there be healing between congregations and ministers, congregations and presbytery, etc.?
– Where is the willingness to resolve and heal?
What do we need to do to meet these opportunities?
We need to focus on:
1. Faith building and discipleship.
2. Mission – locally, nationally, internationally.
3. Looking at people’s gifts and how they can be used.
4. Worship – what it is like and where it extends to.
5. Youth participation – how we minister to them.
And we need to be proactive with respect to these things. Living outside the box was a recurring theme. We need to both live and act outside the box. We need to learn to use the tools that we have differently.
We also saw a recognition of the problem of learning anxiety; we need to make a shift, but the shift leads to anxiety. For this reason, change needs to be dealt with in a caring way. We need to realize that change is not the end of the world. We need to deal with our fear for our survival.
What are the biblical images, narratives and ideas that are most vital and helpful to us now?
This exercise and the response to it made it very clear to us that scripture is a very powerful tool. We need to learn to use this tool well. So many of the people who participated found and commented that the Spirit of the Lord spoke to them, challenged and prodded them as they took the time to reflect on the passages. The scriptures that we provided often connected very powerfully with people and their discussion led them to other important passages.
The scriptures spoke to people in many and various ways, of course. But we did note that a number of themes kept repeating themselves. The passages that spoke to people most powerfully seemed to fall into three main categories:
1. Passages that reflected on the Babylonian exile experience of Israel.
– Psalm 137 certainly connected with people and with their present experience in the church and many people also moved on to passages in such places as Nehemiah and Jeremiah that explored that experience from other angles.
2. Passages that made a statement about what our life purpose is as believers and that gave a clear sense of what God wants us to do.
– People clearly appreciated passages such as Micah 6:8, Galatians 5:6 (the only thing that counts is faith working through love) and John 21 and their clear statement of what God expects of us. In particular, Micah 6:8 spoke to great numbers of people. Many went on to dwell on many other passages that stated our purpose such as Matthew 28:18-20 and the letters to the churches in Revelations.
3. Passages that spoke about the spiritual gifts that God gives to believers for them to use in the ministry and mission of the church.
– We had provided one passage (from Ephesians 4) that spoke of these gifts and a number of people also identified other passages about spiritual gifts (for example, 1 Corinthians 12) as vital to the future of our church.
Is there anything else you would like to tell the Long Range Planning Committee?
Many important issues came out in the responses. These are things, feelings, frustrations and needs, that are apparently running deep in our denomination right now and we need to be aware of them.
1. Many of our congregations, session, presbyteries, etc., are dealing with a great deal of disturbing conflict.
2 . Many of our lay people feel as if their concerns, needs, fears, etc., are not being heard.
3. Many people feel overwhelmed by the programming that they receive from the national church and don’t want more programming.
4. People are concerned because they don’t know what is coming next.
5. People are concerned with how to reach particular groups, how to integrate them into the church, how to accommodate them and minister to them and with them:
– the “unchurched”
– the youth
– young families
There were also many suggestions as to how the Long Range Planning Committee ought to guide the church:
1. Invite us to:
– be biblical
– be positive
– be simple
– be relevant
– be lean
2. Invite the church to spend time in discernment and prayer.
3 . Yes, we need to embrace change. No, we cannot simply maintain the status quo.
4. We need to enhance our identity. We must remain who we are, Reformed presence in our society, but we need to learn to do better what we do well.
5. We need to address the mind set of the denomination and we need to recognize that no program or structure adjustment is going to change the mind set. The mind set includes such attitudes as:
– survival mentality
– institutionalism
– negativity
– hostility
– complacency
6. The Long Range Planning Committee (and Assembly Council and the agencies of the church) had better do a good job of communicating with the church about what you are doing with this and where you will go with it.
7. We need to break out of where we are, to break out of our attitudes and mind set. We need to take some risks and find transformation.
Summary Remarks
What struck the committee most strongly in the responses was the openness to change that was seen coming through consistently. This is seen as an indication of what God may be saying to the church at this time. People are coming to the point where they realize that it is not good enough to simply continue to do what we have always done and hope for the best. This is not a promise, of course, that people will be able to tolerate or deal with change well. Nevertheless, people seem to be realizing that the call for change is not coming from people or from organizations within the church but from the Holy Spirit. Like it or not, people and congregations will be dealing with a great deal of change in the coming years and we need to be ready to help people to deal with that change as constructively as possible. The complete responses to the “Finding God’s Opportunity” consultation are available online at www.presbyterian.ca/assemblyoffice/council.
The committee continues to work with the responses. In particular, they will discover which challenges, opportunities, biblical passages and other item relate to the congregational level and which relate to the denominational level. They would also like to see where and how the denomination needs to particularly assist congregations.
Proposals for the Future
A presentation based on the responses to “Finding God’s Opportunities”, entitled “Building the Church that Needs to Be” was made to both the Life and Mission Agency Committee and the Assembly Council. It is a statement of what kind of plan might be presented to the denomination following the completion of the FLAMES. The presentation has been amended and the Assembly Council concurred that the presentation be made to the General Assembly in 2004 with provision made to elicit reflection and feedback from the commissioners.
Other areas relating to Long Range Planning
The committee identified the following areas or pieces of work of which the committee needs to be aware as it deals with long range planning: Called to Covenant, Future Directions Committee of the Life and Mission Agency Committee, Teacher/Learner Course, Stewardship by Design, Healing and Reconciliation Program, Theological Education re emerging issues, and a study on young adults by D. Henderson.
2005 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
Weaving a Church – A Sabbath and Beyond
For seven years now, the FLAMES Initiative has had a very large impact on the life of our denomination. It has guided much of our thinking, our activities and our prayers and it has born much fruit in the life of our churches, but the time line of the initiative will end with the completion of the Year for Education in June of 2005.
Building on the responses to “Finding God’s Opportunities”, and “Building the Church that needs to be” as presented to the 2003 and 2004 General Assemblies, the Long Range Planning Committee has continued to seek to discern an appropriate direction following the FLAMES initiative.
The church continues to face new challenges. Through prayer and consultation with the church at large, the Long Range Planning Committee has endeavoured to hear God’s call to us in these times. We have become aware of issues such as membership decline, financial struggles, the need for better use of our resources and the need to cultivate leadership. We greatly appreciate everyone who has assisted us in this task by sharing their thoughts, ideas and dreams.
Through this process, and being inspired by the story of Nehemiah (read Nehemiah 1-5) and other scriptural themes and ideas, we have come to the conviction that God is calling the church to four particular areas wher e work is needed. We believe God is calling the church to:
– Renew God’s Purpose for us in the Light of our Situation
– Use the Gifts of God’s People
– Engage with the World
– Heal Divisions
We are calling on all of the congregations and the groups within our church to consider prayerfully these areas, working in each of them over the next several years. Congregations are invited to work on these areas according to their own needs and at their own pace, deciding where they need to begin and how much time to spend in each area.
Renew God’s Purpose for us in the Light of our Situation
God has a special purpose for every person and every congregation. We share certain goals in the church but it is up to each congregation to discover what unique tasks God has called and equipped them to do. There are various planning tools that can be helpful in this work including (among others) the recently published Called to Covenant resources. Relevant scriptures include: Nehemiah 2; Micah 6:6-8; Matthew 28:18-20.
Use the Gifts of God’s People
The work of the church belongs to all of God’s people. Often the lay people are not empowered to use their gifts as God leads them or, when they do use those gifts, are not affirmed. We need to free all of God’s people to use the gifts that God has given to them as the Spirit leads. Among the tools that would help us do this are various inventories of spiritual gifts. Relevant scriptures: Nehemiah 3; 1 Corinthians 12; John 15:1-17.
Engage with the World
Jesus calls us to be salt and light in the world. Work is needed to help us relate well with the world outside the church. Often we erect artificial barriers that discourage new people from joining the church. We have good news to share in a world that has great needs. There are many tools that will help us examine this all-important relationship. Some relevant scriptures: Nehemiah 4; John 17:13-19; 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Heal Divisions
We are one in the Spirit. But we have allowed many things to disrupt our unity: theology, language and culture, generational differences etc. Our diversity should be one of our strengths but often we are paralysed by our differences. We need to embrace our differences, working towards creating a sense of unity that is bigger than what separates us. We cannot heal what ails us internally without dealing with broken relationships externally. The work being done on Healing and Reconciliation is one of the tools that will help us in this area. Some relevant scriptures: Nehemiah 5; Philippians 2:1-11; Matthew 7:1-5.
Weaving the Church that Needs to Be
At the time of General Assembly 2004, it was proposed that the year beginning in June of 2005 be designated as a year of Sabbath. The intention of this is not that we simply “take a break” or do nothing. We are thinking of the idea of Sabbath as it is best expressed in our tradition – as an opportunity to set our hearts and minds on God and on God’s call to us. Sabbath is a time of realising that we do not run the world. It is a time to recover the rhythms of grace as we trust in God the Creator. It is a time to realise our responsibilities to the poor and the lost as we look around us. We recommend a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (from “Church Without Walls”, Church of Scotland)
We are inviting the whole church into a period of reflection. Rather than being occupied with programs and activities as such, we want to promote deep reflection on all areas of the life of the church so as to become more spiritually open and allow God to show us what eventually will need to be done. To this end we would encourage broad study of the biblical idea of Sabbath; a theme that runs through all of scripture. In these times of high demands and productivity we would strive to strength the very foundations of our churches by reclaiming our understanding of the theme of Sabbath. In order to prepare fully for a year of Sabbath, the Assembly Council is recommending a year of preparation prior to the year of Sabbath. Think of the areas we have identified as four strands. During this year of Sabbath let the biblical teaching about Sabbath weave through these four strands in the life of your church. As the Bible’s teaching touches each one of these strands, we are certain that it will offer you new insights into how God wants to transform the life of your congregation. It is not enough for us to simply work in our own strength and power to bring necessary changes into the life of the church. True change can only be brought about by God. That is why we must pray (we must pray a lot) and we must make good use of the Bible. The Bible is there to give us a clear view of God and of the Word of God who is Jesus Christ. Seeing God clearly allows us to know ourselves as we truly are and only when we have that knowledge can God work true transformation in us.
And so if we are to allow God to really work on these four strands in the life of our church, we must be continually weaving scriptural teaching through them. Let’s start by weaving the biblical notion of Sabbath through them and perhaps we can move on after that to take up other strands and weave them in turn through these four areas. Surely as we weave scripture through every area of the life of our church, this will strengthen the very fabric of our life and ministry.
We believe that this is a very exciting time to be part of the life and ministry of the Christian Church. God is doing some wonderful things among us as a denomination and opening up much potential for the future. In order to enhance this endeavour for both our individual congregations as well as the national church let us persevere in faithful, fervent and regular prayer and commit ourselves to biblical discovery of its truth and, ultimately, the revelation of Jesus Christ for us.
This will enable us to be open before God and allow us to know and experience God’s true transformative power. Let us join together now and, guided by the above four strands, pray as a united body that God might prepare us for the challenges that face us as the Church of Jesus Christ.
Specific Proposals for a Sabbath Year
Sabbath is a time of realizing that we do not run the world. It is a time to recover the rhythms of grace as we trust in God the Creator. It is a time to realize our responsibilities to the poor and the lost as we look around us. We recommend a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
Recommendation: That the leadership in every area of church life institute the discipline of a period of retreat, rest and reflection to allow space for God to change us. (from Church Without Walls, Church of Scotland)
The Long Range Planning Committee is prepared to provide resources both to prepare for the year of Sabbath, and for the year itself.
So that the year of preparation, and the year of Sabbath would each commence with the first Sunday in the church, year the dates proposed are each the first Sunday in Advent.
Recommendation No. 5 (adopted)
That the church be called to observe a year of Sabbath preparation starting November 27, 2005 followed by a Sabbath Year in its life and ministry commencing on December 3, 2006.
2006 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
A Change in Direction
The Long Range Planning Committee spent considerable time this year discerning how it ought to approach its work. In recent years, the committee has focussed much of its energy on creating the broad outlines of programming for the national church through such initiatives as FLAMES and the Sabbath years. As the committee met, it came to the belief that, although such work has been very positive, it has not really gone to the heart of the mandate of the committee – programming is not long range planning. With the endorsement of Assembly Council the committee will turn to matters more closely related to long range planning.
This is a radical change for this committee. Within the memories of people on the committee, we have always worked under an assumption that people were expecting us to create themes and programming. The Assembly Council approved a request by the committee to review its terms of reference and bring proposed revisions forward, if necessary.
During the process of discerning how to move forward, the committee drew on it’s past consultation with the church (e.g. Finding God’s Opportunities, A&P 2004, p. 207-10) and offered to the Assembly Council the following reflections on some of the areas that could be addressed:
Governance
The consulting process with the church as a whole raised a number of issues related to governance. Over and over, questions were raised about whether or not the General Assembly needs to meet annually, whether synods are necessary or useful in all parts of the country, and whether or not presbyteries are fulfilling their function as pastoral caregivers for congregations and ministers adequately.
These are some of the issues related to governance raised in the consultation process:
1. General Assembly
- a) Monetary costs of annual meeting
- b) Time of national staff spent in preparing
- c) Drain on energy and resources of the congregation
- d) A certain apathy towards the Assembly seems to be setting in
2. Synods
- a) Monetary costs
- b) People question strongly the need for some synods
- c) Draining of resources and energies of member churches
- d) Many are very apathetic about their synod
3. Presbyteries
- a) Spending too much time dealing with the crises
- b) Unable to focus on long range goals
- c) Failures in pastoral care duties
- d) Congregation and presbyteries relationship of trust and co-operation
4. Sessions
- a) Issues of congregational membership and structure that no longer fit our present
- realities
Real Estate
The responses indicated that people are struggling with many issues broadly related to real estate. Some congregations struggle to maintain buildings that are no longer suitable for them. Others find their ministries constrained by their present facilities. Some congregations recognize that they may not be in existence for that much longer but desire to see that their remaining assets are used to build up the kingdom and not simply to stretch things out.
We need to think more strategically about the use of our real estate and our other assets. Also, as it seems likely that we may see an increase in congregations amalgamating or dissolving in coming years and we need to think strategically about how the assets realized because of this may be used by presbyteries and by the national church. What sorts of investments will create new growth most effectively?
Staffing
The restructuring exercise of 1991-1992 envisaged a denomination that would be serviced by the Life and Mission Agency, a Service Agency and an Assembly Office. It is noted that the last fifteen years have seen a radical change in the needs and realities of our denomination. We believe that the national staffing for The Presbyterian Church in Canada must reflect the issues and concerns of today and tomorrow. This would include a consideration of the make up and diversity of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. We do not want to see the kind of traumatic restructuring of the office that has happened in the past and so there is a need to get out ahead of any changes that may be coming.
The above three summaries of the committee’s discussions are not intended to be exhaustive nor do they form a work plan for the committee in the future. They are just three of the needs that presented themselves to the committee in discussion throughout the year.
The Assembly Council authorized the Long Range Planning Committee to propose a strategic plan for our denomination and has made available up to $225,000 from undesignated bequests to facilitate strategic planning by the church.
2007 REPORT OF THE L ONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
This year the Long Range Planning Committee learned about and participated in various planning methods in order to prepare planning cycles for the Assembly Council. Secondly it has been preparing a strategic planning method to involve the broader church in the development of an action plan to “engage The Presbyterian Church in Canada on its future direction in order to create a three to five year strategic plan for the denomination.”
In September and November, The Rev. Virginia Brand led the committee through a process learning session and produced information through an appreciative inquiry process. The committee then focused on developing the strategic planning method that would engage the denomination in this planning process.
This spring, the council agreed to hold a joint meeting of the Life and Mission Agency Committee and the Assembly Council in the early fall. The involvement of the Atlantic Mission Society and Women’s Missionary Society will be welcomed through their representatives on these two committees. Since the Assembly Council and the Life and Mission Agency Committee provide wide representation of the denomination through their membership, and since their mandates include responsibility for leadership within the denomination, the council believes that the church will be well represented in this next stage of planning. This joint meeting will focus on:
- transforming the research and inquiry that was generated in the September and November meetings of the Long Range Planning Committee into a framework for action that includes future directions and strategic objectives; and
- producing the national plan of engagement identifying the parameters for participant involvement across the church,
- timelines and process for engaging the participants, and
- resources to be used in this engagement process that will include a mix of consultant and internal resources (such as those identified in the September and November meetings).
2008 REORT OF THE L ONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
On October 1 and 2, 2007, members of the Assembly Council and the Life and Mission Agency Committee discerned a path forward for engaging the church in a strategic planning process. This gathering agreed that the planning process needs to include the whole church and has potential to help the church experience renewal at all levels: congregation, presbytery and the national organization.
Following this event, the committee reviewed the report from the facilitators which called for two engagement strategies, one with congregations and another with the denomination. The committee decided that the focus for planning at the local level should be the presbyteries, and as presbyteries work through this planning process using Appreciative Inquiry, each one will identify the guiding vision, purpose and key strategies to be implemented within its own area. The presbyteries provide the best setting to participate in planning for themselves and for the congregations within their bounds. The denomination, through the Long Range Planning Committee, will gather information from the presbyteries’ planning process in order to create a guiding vision, purpose and key strategies for the work of the national church.
Inquiry Topic And Statements
The October gathering identified “Meaningful Mission and Ministry for Today and Tomorrow” as the topic of inquiry for the church for this stategic planning process and the inquiry statements are:
- Visibility and relevance that results in change in the world.
- Christ-centred living that nurtures and empowers individuals to embrace God’s world.
- Committed leadership that is prepared to take risks.
- Congregational vitality that enables courageous choices.
- Effective structure that supports meaningful ministry and mission.
Engagement Strategy
The Long Range Planning Committee is currently working on the engagement strategy for this planning process. A strategy similar to that of Stewards by Design, which has proven to be very successful within our denomination, will be used. It will invite 10 to 12 presbyteries to send 4 to 5 representatives to participate in a three day event to develop and implement a strategic planning process. This process will engage the church, through the presbyteries, in an Appreciative Inquiry methodology that will identify a future vision of the denomination in faithfulness to the will of God through Christ. It is hoped that the first event will take place in the fall of 2009.
2009 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
“The Emmaus Project: Open Eyes, Burning Hearts” is the name of the national planning conference bringing together representatives from 12-15 presbyteries to focus on planning. It will be held from April 29 to May 3, 2010, at the Nottawasaga Inn, a conference centre located northwest of Toronto. The Emmaus Project arises from the Luke 24 passage that deals with a new journey, a new insight, a new vision for mission and much more. It promises to inspire and equip presbyteries across the country to plan for specific follow-up strategies within their respective areas. It will also contribute to an emerging vision and strategic plan for the whole church. There will be Presbyterian reflectors from across the country, who with their ability to be faithful and forward thinking, will listen for the directions for the work of the national church.
The leadership will consist of theme speakers including Don Posterski, Bill Easum and Diana Butler Bass, along with Brian McLaren who will appear via interactive video conferencing technology.
Presbyteries will be invited to apply by October 31st to participate in this event. An information mailing will be mailed to presbyteries by the end of April 2009. This event will be financed with funding from deferred bequests as well as registration fees from the presbyteries.
The event has been developed based upon the objectives for a strategic planning event:
- renewal at all levels of the church: congregational, presbytery, national organization;
- engagement of Presbyterians across the country in the planning process;
- identification of key strategies to achieve the vision at each level;
- identification of priority areas relevant to the future effective ministry and mission within The Presbyterian Church in Canada; and
- provision of tools for doing effective planning for congregations and presbyteries.
The Assembly Council is thankful to the design team members who have assumed the leadership to organize this event: Wes Denyer (convenor), Derek Macleod, Lori Ransom, Marty Molengraff, Colleen Wood with Harry Klassen (project co-ordinator) and Lesley Bolton (event co-ordinator).
The Council anticipates that it will be of great value to the presbyteries and to the church at large.
2010 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
The Emmaus Project: “Open Eyes – Burning Hearts” brought presbytery representatives, synod staff and the general secretaries together from April 29th to May 2nd to discover ways to enliven and strengthen presbyteries in their ministry, as well as, to assist the denomination to find means of supporting the church in this adventure. The theme was based upon the gospel story in Luke 24 where in the breaking of bread, the early followers of Jesus recognised him and their eyes were opened and their hearts burned within as their passion was restored. With the assistance of the three primary leaders: Bill Easum, Diana Butler Bass and Don Posterski, the design team selected theological reflectors who accompanied the participants throughout the event.
Immediately following the event, some members of the Long Range Planning Committee met with the design team and the theological reflectors to identify issues for long range planning within the denomination. Later in May, the full team will meet with the design team to develop these plans further (see p. 266).
A large number of presbyteries applied and the following presbyteries were selected:
- Halifax-Lunenburg Hamilton
- Montreal Essex Kent
- Ottawa Winnipeg
- Seaway-Glengarry Brandon
- Lindsay-Peterborough Northern Saskatchewan
- Pickering Calgary-Macleod
- Brampton Kamloops
- Temiskaming Westminster
- Waterloo-Wellington Western Han Ca
The Council is thankful to the design team for their leadership and commitment to this project. The members are: Wes Denyer (convener), Derek Macleod, Marty Molengraaf, Kristine O’Brien, Lori Ransom and Colleen Wood. Harry Klassen (project co-ordinator) and Lesley Bolton (event co-ordinator) have provided administrative support to the Emmaus Project.
2011 REPORT OF THE LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE
The Long Range Planning Committee has concentrated this past year on the Emmaus Project follow-up and its focus for the church to find ways to support and strengthen the presbyteries in their role of planning for ministry and mission.
The Emmaus Project brought together 17 presbyteries in the spring of 2010, where participants were exposed to learnings and understandings of the church today and how to plan for ministry and mission opportunities. Since the event, the design team members posted blogs on the website and suggested directions for moving forward to assist those who attended to implement their discoveries, to offer ideas to other presbyteries, and to encourage denominational committees in their ongoing support for presbyteries and congregations.
A small group began preparing an “Emmaus tool box for presbyteries” in the format of a binder. It will contain various items from the 2010 event such as highlights of the plenary speakers, Bill Easum, Diana Butler Bass and Don Posterski; sermons and theological reflection on Luke 24:13-35 from which the theme was developed; best practices within presbyteries; and one presbytery’s response to the Emmaus experience. The binder format will allow for this “tool box” to be updated with resources and ideas. The committee is also looking at other formats, such as YouTube videos, that can be used for information sharing and study resources.
Throughout the year, participating presbyteries have been involved in implementing new ways of doing things within their local area based upon the learnings and experience of the Emmaus project. Some are finding this to be both uplifting and challenging.
The Life and Mission Agency Committee has also begun to look at its work in light of the Emmaus Project. It is identifying ways that it can assist the church with various resources and methods as it emphasizes the vital importance of congregations and the pivotal role of presbyteries for ministry and mission.
Presbyteries and committees and agencies of the General Assembly, with the experience of meeting Christ on our journeys, will have our eyes opened to serve with burning hearts (Luke 24:31-32).
