TimeLine for St. John’s Discernment Team
From March 20 to Advent 2022:
Working with Angie and Rick to define our work.
Key topics about the parish include Discernment, Vitality, and Sustainability.
March 20 – Introduction to the Sabbatical Year Process
July 10 – Sending and Blessing Sunday
July 11 – Fr. Rick begins his Sabbatical and we begin our own discernment of the parish-based on our process
November 13 – Fr. Rick returns from his Sabbatical
Advent 2022 – Season of Listening and Preparing for the results the parish has developed
Discernment, What does it mean for
St John’s in the Mountains
Introduction to the Sabbatical Year Process
March 2022
1) Discernment
The process in which we will be engaged is discernment.
Discernment is done in community, with gathering of information and discussions. Discernment is done with openness to the outcome. This can be hard, especially if you are wedded to the past or the present and not future-oriented. Discernment is done with openness to the Spirit. It’s about discerning God’s will for us, not what we want. This process puts us in a liminal space, where much is unknown, and the possibilities are limitless.
2) Sustainability
The continuum of the discernment time is sustainability. Sustainability is an ongoing process. We know about this really in asking “What is God calling us to do?” and “In what ways do we seek and try to discover God’s call?” What sustains us?
As we explore these questions, we look at the growth and changes of the number of St. John’s members, members involvement and participation, parish needs, the number of pledges, pledge amounts, the increased use of St. John’s endowment, and the use of the building, to mention a few.
Institutional wisdom and your participation will greatly contribute to our purposeful conversations as we talk about these details about sustainability throughout the discernment time.
Sustainability embraces opportunities and encourages everyone to participate. We need one another in moving forward. Participation is giving to our endowment. We all have gifts, strengths, and assets to offer. The depth and breadth of participation are part of sustainability. Love for St. John’s, ourselves, other parishioners, visitors, Stowe and our surrounding communities, the building, to the VT Episcopal Diocese are all part of sustainability. Exploration of who are we, who is our neighbor, what are the gifts, and what are the needs are all part of sustainability.
We ask you to be prayerful about your valuable contribution to St. John’s sustainability.
3) Vitality
The dictionary defines “vitality” as the state of being strong and active, with energy and liveliness,” and adds the term “the power giving continuance of life, present in all living things”
So what’s that for us?
We’ll be discussing the views about the connection parishioners have with our parish. In particular, we’ll discuss how we, as members, are related to the parish in at least the following areas:
• Love for our community
• What ministries at St. John’s call you, and what ministries might be missing for you?
• What’s the role of worship for you?
• What gifts or personal assets do you have that you give to the church, or would like to share with the church?
• What ministries apply to your family?
Creating Sacred Space
January 2022