Grace and peace,

This past Saturday, The Reverend Emily Labrecque, the Diocese of Washington Missioner for Church Vitality, led a working retreat with our Vestry. Emily is well known to those of us who participated in Tending Our Soil, hence, she has an understanding of St. John’s. During the exploration on Saturday, we worked with the feedback on the Vital Signs of a Healthy Congregation that the parish provided during our annual meeting. Across the six vital signs that we explored, there was a consistent theme that centered on the topic of communications. 

Among all the various observations that we discussed; this theme brought with it a lot of energy from the Vestry. It is, in many ways, at the heart of all the other comments offered by the parish. 

Emily did a wonderful job of keeping us from venturing deep into the weeds while trying to problem solve. She led us in discussions and provided guidance and tools that will enable the Vestry to undertake an iterative cycle of 90-day strategic microstrategies. Each 90-day microstrategy will be both impactful and achievable, and will also inform and lead into the subsequent 90-day microstrategy, each building upon the work of the previous cycles. 

With an over-arching goal to increase engagement and discipleship through improved communications, the Vestry will undertake the first 90-day microstrategy by creating an inventory of current communication channels and assessing their effectiveness. 

The visible portion of this work is likely to be a survey issued in the next few months that explores how you currently receive information about St. John’s, and importantly, how would you prefer to receive this information. 

When I arrived here in 2016, one of the first questions the staff asked me is, how would I like my name to appear on the sign out front. My response was “what sign?”. That sign, a product of the 1960’s, is now our food pantry. It is no longer a viable communications method as people drive past here at 35 MPH, while texting. Communications are changing much faster than we changed the usage of that old sign. This work by the Vestry of exploring our communications is sure to bear good fruit.

I am thankful to the Vestry for their work this past Saturday, and throughout the year. I am thankful to Emily for her guidance and energy. I am looking forward to the Holy Spirit leading us in ministries both known and soon to be discovered. As always we are: Called by Christ in love, to live in truth and action. 

Peace

Fr. Henry+