College for Congregational Development I

Today I returned home from a week-long stint at the College for Congregational Development, held at Dumas Point Center in Federal Way.

The goal of the College is to help parishes develop into healthy, effective congregations. We learned new models for parish life; we learned how to be effective leaders; and we learned about our personal leadership styles.

There were about forty participants at the College, about half of whom were lay people. Many parishes sent a team of lay and clergy in order to develop a team approach to leadership in their parish. The Rev. Melissa Skelton was the lead trainer, assisted by four other trainers.

What I like about the College is that it works from a Benedictine model of parish life that is especially amenable to the Episcopal ethos. The Benedictine vows of stability, obedience, and conversion of life can be applied to a parish in a way that is true to our Anglican roots.

Stability as applied to the parish means that we remember that God is with us here and now, in the people, buildings, and life of our parish. Our parish is holy ground; our time together is sacred time. We are rooted in this place and these people.

Obedience in parish life means listening to God as a corporate practice. What does God want us to do? How is God leading us? Providing the Daily Office, times of silence and prayer make this happen.

Conversion of life for a parish means that we seek to continually reassess where we are now and how we might find revitalization and new life for our parish. Building on what has gone before, we keep the future open for new ways to be faithful to God's call.

In all of this, we pay attention to rhythm and balance so that we keep the parish centered and whole. I like this model because it seems like it provides many ways to be a healthy, spirit-led parish.