St. Antony's barn

Probably the most distinctive thing about St. Antony's is our barn. It's a leftover from the time when our property was a residence. Now we use the barn for storage and some activities like Vacation Bible School. For many years the barn was the site of the annual Barn Sale.

Today I had a little time in the late afternoon so I made this watercolor of the barn and the trees behind it.

St. Antony's newest Eagle Scout

Yesterday I attended the Eagle Court of Honor for Tristan, one of our young men at St. Antony's. I was honored to sit up front and offer the opening and closing prayers.

Tristan is an active member of St. Antony's, and for his Eagle project he created a prayer garden and path on our church grounds. Tristan is very active in our church, serving as acolyte and participating in our youth group.

The Court of Honor was held in a stunning location -- a promontory into the waters of Port Ludlow, surrounded by water and mountains on all sides, with the boats from Port Ludlow marina coming and going. An elegant reception was held nearby at The Resort of Port Ludlow. I drove to Port Ludlow and back with Daniel Ferguson, a young man from our parish now in college. Daniel is also an Eagle Scout.

 As I sat and listened to the recitation of Tristan's accomplishments, and the values and purposes of the Boy Scouts of America, I was reminded of my boyhood in Boy Scouts and all the things I learned. It's true that Boy Scouts molds the character of the young men in their program, and creates good citizens. Tristan's accomplishment is truly something to be proud of.

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Cleanup Day at St. Antony's

Today we had a cleanup day to spruce up the grounds at church. It was a tremendous success. About twenty people came and weeded, cut, trimmed, whisked, wacked, scrubbed and dug. The whole place looks wonderful, just in time for Bishop Rickel's visit next week.

What I learned at the College for Congregational Development

I spent eight days at the College for Congregational Development last week, and I learned a LOT. Here are some of the major topics covered this year:

The culture of a congregation. Every congregation has its own culture - the underlying assumptions that everyone takes for granted, the values espoused by the congregation (either tacitly or verbally), and the visible symbols found in the church. Sometimes the culture of a parish is positive and helpful, sometimes not. Sometimes it's necessary to change the culture of a congregation, say from inwardly-focused to outwardly-focused.

Appreciative Inquiry. Usually when we want to bring change to an organization, we ask, "What's wrong with this organization?" Appreciative Inquiry uses the opposite approach. It asks, "What's working well in this organization?" By building on what is positive and healthy, we have the best chance of success. People naturally respond to affirmation and reward. Starting with the healthiest people and programs, we seek to build on what is already working.

Anglican Spirituality and Temperament. Anglican Spirituality is Liturgical and Biblical; Communal; Pastoral; Sacramental; Incarnational; and Mystical. Anglican Temperament is Comprehensive; Ambiguous; Open-minded; Intuitive; Aesthetic; Moderate; Naturalistic; Historical; and Political.

Family Systems Theory. A congregation is an emotional system in which all the parts interact. Understanding triangulation, chronic anxiety, closeness and distancing, and self-differentiation can help a leader be more effective. An effective leader is self-regulated, non-reactive, and offers a non-anxious presence. A leader sets direction; manages resistance or sabotage; and stays connected.

Marketing the Congregation. When we live out our deep identity as a congregation and connect with the world's deep needs, then we are able to present ourselves as something valuable for people to come to. Marketing is not about "selling a product", but about building relationships that are authentic and life-giving. We start by understanding our true identity and our deepest values.
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College of Congregational Development

This week I'm attending the College for Congregational Development at Dumas Bay Centre in Federal Way. This is my second year in a two-year program. Each year there is an eight-day session.

The program is an intensive training in Congregational Development. Each day is an exhausting string of lectures, small group sessions, practical exercises, and intense discussions. CD is the result of a great deal of research and writing by experts in organizational development as applied to churches. We've discussed systems theory, culture change in organizations, leadership theory, self-differentiation, Episcopal Church culture, congregational cycles, and so on. Immensely interesting....but it seems like an overload of information that needs time to sink in.

I brought back a number of practical applications from CCD last year, and I'm sure I'll have useful results this year also. Well worth the time.