tude to Sherry Ralston (Chair), Lyn Omphroy, Bob VanNeil, Chris Luedde, Karen Hanson, and Julie Cicora,for serving on <strong>the</strong> Search Committee and bringing thisto fruition. Well done saints!Two things are happening or should be happening in allour congregational contexts. The first is <strong>the</strong> care, nurture,challenge and formation <strong>of</strong> those faithful memberswho make up our current congregations. This group <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> faithful is crucial to <strong>the</strong> future <strong>of</strong> our Church in that<strong>the</strong>y are <strong>the</strong> encouragers or <strong>the</strong>leaven to help raise <strong>the</strong> newdough <strong>of</strong> what is emerging. Thesecond is a clear focus on sharing<strong>the</strong> joy <strong>of</strong> Christ with those whodo not yet consider <strong>the</strong>mselvesmembers <strong>of</strong> our congregations.This invitation is happeningin pockets where some leadersin existing congregations areintentionally seeking ways tomake our worship, our teaching,our fellowship, our part inGod’s mission, our fun-raisingand fund-raising events more and more relevant to ourcommunities around us. They pay attention to followup! They are adding new liturgies to reach new seekersand making disciples for Christ. I find that this is having<strong>the</strong> best results in contexts where <strong>the</strong>re is little orno internal conflict, little or no secret-keeping, less <strong>of</strong> asurvival mentality, and more <strong>of</strong> a single-minded joyfulway to proclaim <strong>the</strong> Gospel <strong>of</strong> Jesus Christ leading tointentional formation <strong>of</strong> those who will follow Christ for<strong>the</strong> rest <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir lives!In some instances, however, I find that <strong>the</strong> existingfaithful band <strong>of</strong> members is not able to midwife whatis emerging because <strong>the</strong>y are too tired, but <strong>the</strong>y are<strong>of</strong>fering prayers for what will be. Healthy clergy andhealthy lay leadership are an important common factor,too. When I say healthy, I am thinking <strong>of</strong> leaderswho can self-differentiate between <strong>the</strong>ir personal,familial, and congregational stuff and lead with <strong>the</strong>ireyes on empowering both <strong>the</strong> good old faithful and <strong>the</strong>newer faithful.We aregetting clearerabout our wayforwardAno<strong>the</strong>r important factor is size and financial resources<strong>of</strong> congregations. In ascending order from small tolarge, our Diocese has: twenty-seven type-one, thirteentype-two, five type-three, and two each <strong>of</strong> type-four,five, and six congregations. The second redevelopmentactivity has greater potential to succeed when <strong>the</strong>re isa baseline <strong>of</strong> critical mass <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> faithful and o<strong>the</strong>r resources.This obviously leaves smaller congregations ina place <strong>of</strong> extreme vulnerability. Companion relationsbetween larger and smaller congregations could infusenew ways to grow mutually as a <strong>diocese</strong>. Most importantly,we need some benchmarked plans with a circle<strong>of</strong> accountability and encouragement.We are getting clearer about our way forward withsome <strong>of</strong> our smaller congregations where <strong>the</strong> numbershave been steadily declining over <strong>the</strong> decades. In a few<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se contexts, lay and clergy leaders have taken ahard look and have decided not to fund <strong>the</strong> sustenance<strong>of</strong> worship and ministry at full-time or even <strong>the</strong>ir nearestmemory <strong>of</strong> part-time clergy a<strong>ny</strong>more. My <strong>of</strong>fice isworking with <strong>the</strong> Deans in<strong>the</strong>se contexts to support <strong>the</strong>sefaithful saints as <strong>the</strong>y discern<strong>the</strong>ir way forward. Whereverthis is happening, <strong>the</strong> beautyis that we now have a way todiscern and bring in new leadershipwith passion and skill tostart up new ministries that arecreatively missional as well asopen to bringing in new followers<strong>of</strong> Christ. A wonderful wayto honor and direct <strong>the</strong> blessing<strong>of</strong> those good old faithful memberswho have dreamed dreams is to allow a new set<strong>of</strong> leaders to midwife <strong>the</strong>ir dreams and realize <strong>the</strong>irprayers. Through <strong>the</strong> messiness <strong>of</strong> changes and transitionsaround us, we are invited to take heart in <strong>the</strong> factthat we are coworkers in God’s mission articulated inIsaiah’s vision, “See, I am doing a new thing! Now itsprings up; do you not perceive it? I am making a wayin <strong>the</strong> desert and streams in <strong>the</strong> wasteland.”Three years ago, I promised to roll up my sleeves andget to work. Well here we are, toiling hard, praying fervently,laughing and dancing with <strong>the</strong> new and <strong>the</strong> old,<strong>the</strong> joyful and <strong>the</strong> depressed, weak and strong, healthyand sick, but working away toward God’s fresh, new,vibrant, and emerging future. Let us not be afraid. Letus hang tight like our forebears in faith did. Like Maryand Joseph who presented Jesus at <strong>the</strong> temple let us,with renewed wisdom, present <strong>the</strong> teachings <strong>of</strong> Jesusin our Churches and intentionally take <strong>the</strong> gospel messageoutside our red doors.Have a Holy Lent and a Blessed Easter!Prince4
Worship Services forFamilies with Special NeedsChrist Church, Pittsfordby The Rev. WinifredCollin, Paul Frolick, JaneMoore, Nina Ornt, andTracey TaylorJust over a year ago, longtimeChrist Church parishionerJane Moore cameto see <strong>the</strong> rector, WinifredCollin. Jane shared some<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> struggles her familyhas with <strong>the</strong>ir young special-needsson. Her familyhad been unable to attendchurch toge<strong>the</strong>r, because itworked better to have oneparent stay home with him.Jane relayed that <strong>the</strong>sestruggles are shared byma<strong>ny</strong> families with childrenwith special needs, needsranging from attention deficitdisorder and autism toa variety <strong>of</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r physicaland behavioral issues whichmake church attendancedifficult. Ano<strong>the</strong>r parishioner,Nina Ornt, a certifiedspecial-needs teacher whoseson has cerebral palsy andis confined to a wheelchair, had been working withWinifred for some time, trying to develop ways <strong>the</strong>church might serve <strong>the</strong>se families. Winifred broughttoge<strong>the</strong>r a small group to plan a worship service forspecial-needs families, including Jane, Nina, parishionerTracey Taylor, whose occupational <strong>the</strong>rapy practicefocuses on children with special-needs, and staffmember Paul Frolick. They developed a short service,with easy-to-remember responses, fun and familiarmusic sung with instruments like shaker eggs andjingle bells, and <strong>the</strong> Christmas story told in pageantform, with members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> youth choir dressed up asshepherds, angels, and <strong>the</strong> holy family.In preparation for <strong>the</strong> service, Jane Moore prepared avideo social story to share with families to help <strong>the</strong>mprepare for <strong>the</strong> new experience. The video showed <strong>the</strong>church and some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people involved in leading <strong>the</strong>service, and helped lower <strong>the</strong> anxiety <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>children who attended. Nina Ornt developed a seriescontinued on next page5
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