Elevation

Elevation 2.0

Strategic Planning for St. Paul's Church: Stage II, 2011
Implementing Our Vision & Soaring to Such Great Heights

Following are a list of action items for the year 2011 at St. Paul's Church. Beginning with Worship as the basis for all we do, we then turn to Christian Formation and to Strengthening Our St. Paul's Community, and finally, we Look Outward in mission to our city and to the world. Report prepared by the Elevation Committee, led by Vestry Members Anne Rusbuldt (arusbuldt@gmail.com) and Don Switz (switz@vcu.edu).

Worship

Music & Community: Members of the Chancel Choir join with the Children’s Choirs of Woodville Elementary School and Good Shepherd Baptist during the MLK “I Have a Dream” Celebration at St. Paul’s on Saturday, Jan. 29. The Parish Choir (not pictured) also sang earlier in the week on Sunday, Jan. 23 as part of the annual “Sing out for Freedom” concert at Congregation Beth Ahabah. Photo by Lew Holley

Music Ministry: Under the leadership of Minister of Music David Sinden, we will continue to build our music ministry and to explore new musical possibilities, both at St. Paul's and beyond, as our music ministry reaches out into the wider Richmond community. This year will see the return of Evensong, and of organ recitals; as well as additional "Concerts for Caring" offerings. We also continue to invite increased participation in our choir, through both short-term and long-term commitments.

Liturgical Refreshment: Over the course of the last year, we held three separate series of open conversations, all focused on "refreshing" our worship. Building on that valuable experience, we will continue the essential work of stewarding our worship services, working prayerfully and diligently to make our worship as strong and as vital as possible.

Possible Additional Worship Offerings: (See below under Jazz Expansion and Downtown Mission Team)

Christian Formation

Welcome & Inclusion: Nancy O’Donnell welcomes Pundit Raja Gopal (Richmond Temple) to St. Paul’s and thanks him for his prayers as part of the community Interfaith Service of Prayer & Music on Friday, Jan. 14.

Staffing: In the course of the year, we will address vacancies in the areas of Christian Formation and Youth Ministry.

Theology & Practice of Worship: A theme for the year, in preaching and in teaching, will be the centrality of worship in the life of the Church. A small group offering currently underway focuses on the theology and practice of worship, and a dual forum/sermon series will do likewise. As noted above under "Liturgical Refreshment," we will continue the work of strengthening and deepening our worship of the living God.

Theology & Practice of Welcome and Inclusion: A consistent theme for the year, in preaching and in teaching, will be the importance of welcome and inclusion in the life of the Church. As one expression of this theme, a dual forum/sermon series will focus on the theology and practice of welcome and inclusion. We will improve how we welcome and include people of diverse backgrounds and identities at St. Paul's Church.

Theology & Practice of Prayer: At St. Paul's Church, we are people committed to action. For that action to be everything that God would have it be, we are also called to be people committed to prayer and contemplation. In the coming year, we will offer a centering prayer class, and a dual forum/sermon series on prayer and contemplation. And, in addition to quiet days already offered, Brother Curtis Almquist, SSJE, will lead a retreat day at St. Paul's in December 2011. We will work to become yet more fully a community of prayer.

Spiritual Pilgrimages: Plans are underway for a pilgrimage from St. Paul's to Israel, likely to take place sometime in 2012. This will be the start of a regular, annual rhythm of spiritual pilgrimages for the people of St. Paul's, to Israel and to other locales (for example, Greece, Turkey, or the British Isles.)

Spiritual Retreats: The Women's Retreat has become a much-anticipated annual Christian formation offering. In the year ahead, we will experiment with establishing a Men's Retreat, and we will consider what other retreats might be added to our annual rhythm. (See also above, under Theology & Practice of Prayer: an Advent Retreat with Curtis Almquist, SSJE.)

Strengthening Our St. Paul's Community

Parish Retreat at Shrine Mont: Children, youth, and adults gather together during the 2010 Parish Retreat. Photo by Jeanne LeFever

Caring Companions: Caring Companions, a course designed for those exploring a call to pastoral care, recently got underway in January. This program serves as preparation for anyone interested in participating in the pastoral care ministries of St. Paul's Church (e.g., visitations; phone calls; note writing).

Covenant Groups: This winter we rolled out our first round of Covenant Groups, a selection of small group offerings, running for a fixed number of weeks, and focused on a particular subject (e.g., a prayer practice, or a spiritual memoir). These groups present a premium opportunity to build relationships within the St. Paul's community and to explore various spiritual themes and practices at greater depth.

Intergenerational Relationship Building: Through our experiences on the Parish Retreat at Shrine Mont; the New Orleans mission trip; the Youth Pilgrimage; Earth Day, and other occasions, we know the value of building relationships across generations. In the coming year, we will make a concerted effort to identify and create more such opportunities for all ages. One possibility that we will explore is intergenerational "co-mentoring," where members of the parish from different generations share with one another their experience and wisdom around such things as college applications, career development, or technology.

St. Paul's Ministry Fair: Next year, we will hold the first annual St. Paul's Ministry Fair, where the entire sweep of ministries and activities of our parish will be represented.

Generosity Board: At St. Paul's Church, we have longed to move from a more narrow focus of "stewardship" as being about the annual pledge drive each fall, to something more expansive and year-round. "Generosity" is the word we have begun using to represent this change in perspective. In the coming year, we will establish a Generosity Board dedicated to helping us claim generosity as a core value that has implications for the whole of our lives.

Financing the Future: The Rector, in consultation with the Wardens, will form a team to map out a three-to-five-year financial plan for St. Paul's Church, taking into account possible additional budgetary demands brought on by enlarged mission and ministry (e.g., a fourth worship service; a Clergy Missioner; increased honoraria for Lenten Preachers).

Looking Outward

Downtown Adventures: Nancy Burns, John Jessie, Marti Truman, and Kia Bentley at the February First Fridays Art Offering. Members of the Downtown Adventures Team read short stories and poems, and played live piano as part of the experience. Photo by Kimberly Allen

The Sesquicentennial of the Civil War & Emancipation: The Rector will gather an advisory and planning team to assist in developing plans and programs for the Sesquicentennial period, as we consider how the Gospel speaks to this moment in our history. The theme for the Lenten Preaching Series 201l was developed with the Sesquicentennial in mind. Visit www.stpauls-episcopal.org/lentenseries for more information.

Shaping Public Discourse: Having established a Shaping Public Discourse Committee, which reports to the Faith in Action Board, the committee will continue to explore how we, as a parish, engage the pressing moral and social questions facing Richmond and the world (e.g., the reality of poverty in Richmond, or the state of public education in Richmond). In particular, the committee will study how to integrate Shaping Public Discourse into the fabric of the parish's life, through opportunities for study, conversation, and advocacy.

Jazz Expansion: Building on the success of our Jazz Lunch series, we will lengthen the series and experiment with offering a jazz worship experience, perhaps during the Jazz Lunch season.

Downtown Mission Team: Last year we began the development of a "mission team" specifically dedicated to reaching out to downtown Richmond. The development of that team will continue, and further "adventures" are to follow. As part of its work, the Downtown Mission Team will help St. Paul's entertain the possibility of a fourth worship service designed, in part, as an outreach to our downtown neighbors.

Strengthening the DCM: For over twenty-five years, St. Paul's has been a member of Downtown Community Ministries (DCM), a group of downtown churches committed, in the name of the Gospel, to helping downtown Richmond be as whole and healthy a community as possible. The DCM is currently undergoing a revitalization. In the coming year, the Rector, in conjunction with staff and parishioners, will work to help strengthen the DCM, through improving communication, building fellowship, and strengthening the ministries and events shared between the DCM churches.

Growing Inter-Faith Collaboration: Having established an annual tradition of hosting an Interfaith Service of Prayer & Music, in conjunction with the swearing-in and inauguration of our elected officials, we will work to deepen our connections with Richmonders of all faiths. Specifically, we will explore a) establishment of a "Faith Forum," a regular opportunity for people of all faiths to gather for fellowship and for conversation on important subjects; and b) being part of an interfaith service in honor of the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001.