Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Resurrection
2nd Annual Parish Leadership Conference
October
4, 2008
Preparing
God’s People for Works of Service (Ephesians 12:4)
Proceedings
& Reports
Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Resurrection
2nd Annual Parish Leadership Conference
October
4, 2008
Preparing
God’s People for Works of Service (Ephesians 12:4)
Proceedings
& Reports
Executive Summary.......................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction......................................................................................................................................... 4
Background.......................................................................................................................................... 4
Conclusions.......................................................................................................................................... 5
Summary of Feedback...................................................................................................................... 6
Proceedings........................................................................................................................................ 8
Opening Prayer – Fr. John Vlahos.......................................................................................................... 8
Welcoming Remarks.............................................................................................................................. 8
Father John Vlahos, Proistamenos............................................................................................................ 8
Jim Gabriel, Parish Council President..................................................................................................... 10
Keynote Address - Fr. James Kordaris................................................................................................... 16
Your Ministry as a Parish Leader........................................................................................................... 16
St. Paul on Service................................................................................................................................ 18
Building a Leadership Team................................................................................................................... 18
“Without Vision the People Perish” (Proverbs 29:18)................................................................................ 19
Volunteerism....................................................................................................................................... 20
Reasons Why People Do Not Volunteer.................................................................................................... 20
What Does It Take To Volunteer............................................................................................................. 21
Encouraging Volunteerism..................................................................................................................... 21
What makes a Good Volunteer?.............................................................................................................. 21
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................... 22
Break-out Sessions.............................................................................................................................. 23
Introduction of Breakouts – Recap of 2007................................................................................................ 23
2008 Breakout Sessions......................................................................................................................... 24
Wrap-up............................................................................................................................................... 26
Follow-ups........................................................................................................................................ 28
Survey Results................................................................................................................................ 32
Summary of Data................................................................................................................................. 32
Reasons for attending............................................................................................................................ 32
Interest in attending.............................................................................................................................. 33
Overall quality of day............................................................................................................................ 33
Components of Day............................................................................................................................... 33
Individual Comments........................................................................................................................... 34
Acknowledgements....................................................................................................................... 38
Appendix A – Correspondence...................................................................................................... 40
Invitation............................................................................................................................................ 40
Agenda................................................................................................................................................ 41
Appendix B - Handouts................................................................................................................... 42
Ephesians 4: Preparing God’s People for Works of Service.......................................................................... 42
Parish Leadership: Connecting the Dots................................................................................................... 44
Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism: Some Practical Steps................................................................... 47
Family Outreach Sunday........................................................................................................................ 51
Appendix C – Survey Questions (Unabridged).......................................................................... 53
This document is intended to serve two purposes:
o To provide a recap for conference attendees.
o To provide an overview for those who were unable to attend.
As a result, some of the information in these proceedings may not be of direct interest to every reader. The Executive Summary is intended to provide an overview that will be useful to all. The reader should then choose the sections and Appendixes that are of interest based on his/her role.
The Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Resurrection held its Second Annual Parish Leadership Conference on Saturday, October 4 and Thursday, October 23rd, 2008. Similarly to the inaugural event in 2007, the goal of this conference was to bring leaders from the community, both those with experience and those newly engaged in parish leadership and committee roles, together for a day to set priorities and objectives for the remainder of the year. An invitation was sent out initially to all members of the Parish Council, Parish Council committees (both standing comities and currently active ad-hoc committees), Youth Commission members, Past Presidents and Philoptochos Board members. A general invitation to the community was sent out subsequently.
Thirty members of the community attended the conference as participants, and six GOYA members provided administrative assistance. Fr. Jim Kordaris, the Director of the Archdiocese Department of Outreach and Evangelism, was our special guest and Keynote Speaker.
This year’s breakout sessions, which were the source of most of the brainstorming and discussion, focused on two areas:
o Membership & Outreach
o Fundraising & Finances
This is not to say that other areas, such as Youth Programs and Facilities are of lesser importance. Youth Programs, for example, were specifically excluded because of the tremendous momentum and focus that they already enjoy. The categories above were deemed to be those that meet the criteria of (a) being of critical importance to the growth and well being of our parish and (b) being able to benefit from discussions that might introduce fresh ideas and new energy.
At a high level, the conclusions were quite simple. Virtually all of the breakout sessions converged on three themes:
o Expand our membership
o The Keynote address and Breakout Sessions on Membership & Outreach were the most popular sessions of the day. This, by itself, indicates a keen interest in this theme.
o A particular focus in our discussions was not only to add numbers to the membership rolls, but to provide ministries and programs that will in turn provide incentive for new members to become more engaged.
o An increase in engaged parishioners will, in turn, will allow us to expand our leadership base.
o The Membership / Outreach breakout sessions were full of many ideas to assist here. There was particular focus on:
§ Developing a package to introduce visitors and new members to our community.
§ To expand the scope of our new member events, and make sure we include families whose children are involved in our Sunday School, Greek School and other Youth programs.
o Find ways to improve out finances without repeatedly asking the same set of people for additional money.
o Interestingly, the Fundraising and Finance breakouts focused on increasing Membership as a critical requirement. Thus, while the list of conclusions from the Finance/Fundraising breakout sessions appears shorter than that from Membership/Outreach sessions, it is largely because the discussions overlapped.
o The ideas that did emerge related to ways where we can find news ways to increase income from new sources:
§ For example, many of our parishioners already shop online. We can create income for the church by shopping through iGive.com without costing parishioners any extra money.
§ New Special Events (e.g. Golf Outing) will allow us to bring in non-parishioners as contributors and/or elicit money from parishioners while giving them something back in return.
o In addition to specific tasks that emerged, each of which will require follow-up and commitment, a number of Best Practices emerged. (For example, we should make sure that “old friends” do not always spend all of Coffee Hour or Special Events talking to each other, but rather that we mix old and new members.) While these Best Practices do not require a committee of people to implement in a time-consuming fashion, they can go a long way towards achieving some of our goals.
An on-line poll was conducted following the Conference. The complete results may be found in the Appendix. Highlights include:
o 27 out of 33 responders (including both attendees and invitees who were unable to attend) indicated that they would attend if we held a similar event next spring.
o 19 out of the 21 attendees who responded indicated that the conference was productive or extremely productive.
o 11 out of 12 invitees who did not attend indicated that they “really wanted to attend but had a conflict that they could not change”
Selected Comments (Full comments can be found in Appendix)
o On Strengths of the Conference:
§ People who walked in the door seemed very prepared to participate and make their opinions heard.
§ Good focus on issues of importance to parish. It was great to have Fr. Jim Kordaris present to provide some perspective that we don't usually hear. The focus in welcoming remarks on teamwork were very important - I hope everyone listened.
§ The volunteerism speech set the tone for the conference.
§ … I know that our church will be a stronger community through such conferences.
§ The fundraising was so timely. We need more of this
§ The fact that it was held at all is a real tribute to our Church...I loved the volunteerism talk from Nickie. It was a great day and a wonderful way to brainstorm and get to form ideas with others for a way forward. Way to go!
o On Attendance
§ While a higher turnout would have helped, we walked out of the day with a large list of ideas and very high degree of enthusiasm.
§ We had enough people to generate stimulating conversation, but could have easily benefited with even more attendees.
§ ... Better attendance at the wrap-up session would have helped a great deal to make sure things moved forward.
§ There can never be enough people. (Unless we reach a fire hazard)
§ I would like to see more non-active Church members
§ If there were more attendees, it would have taken longer to successfully go through all topics for discussion..
o On what can be improved in the future:
§ Provide more information outlining the conference and its goals, more advertising, and get people to sign-up prior to the day of the conference
§ “Nothing”
§ Needs more hands on
§ There was overlapping on some ideas from finance into membership.
§ Too many opening remarks … too much time sitting
§ Getting the simple ideas done immediately
Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, present in all places and filling all things, the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of life: come and abide in us. Cleanse us from all impurity and save our souls, O Good One..
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.
(All together)
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us;
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen
It’s a joy for all of us to be together for this, the Second Annual Parish Leadership Conference. I did not have the privilege of being here, obviously, last year. It was started under the direction of Fr. Manny, with Jim Gabriel playing a very important role, so it’s a pleasure for me to enter into this second Parish Leadership Conference, which I think is a beautiful initiative on our part.
Today’s theme is a quote from Ephesians, which is “Preparing God’s People for works of service,” and this theme is a beautiful theme for us and it is very fitting for the idea of leadership because I see, in front of me here, people that have served in different capacities in this parish as leaders. Now it’s fitting as well that we’re having this conference this weekend because tomorrow is the 2nd Sunday of Luke and in this reading we are introduced to what is now commonly refer to as “The Golden Rule.” Our Lord Jesus Christ says, “Do unto others as you would want others to do to you.” Now this quote by Christ was not something that he just came up with out of thin air. The concept pre-existed Christ. Confucius said “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” Isocrates, the Greek orator taught, “What things make you anger when you suffer them at the hands of others, do not you do to other people.” However, when we contrast their statements with Christ’s we notice that the Lord’s is positive and invokes action. Confucius and Isocrates say “What you don’t want done, you don’t do; what you don’t want to suffer, don’t make other people suffer.” But Christ reverses it and modifies it in a positive way. “As you want others to do to you, you do to them.” So it’s this idea of not simply refrain, but rather actively seeking to good to people.
So for us as leaders of this community of the Church of the Holy Resurrection in Brookville, we are to seek actively to do good - wherever we can. Our leadership has to be a divine leadership, a model based on the divine, because this is the church. The Christ-like model of leadership that we are aiming for is “servant leadership”; this is the example that Christ gave with his life and with his words. He gives us this idea of leadership where if you want to be a leader you serve. And beautifully and powerfully it’s recorded for us in the both the gospel of St. Matthew (20:20-28) and the gospel of St. Mark (10:35-45) that St. James and St. John came to the Lord and ask “Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and one at your left, in Your glory.” But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you’re asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” meaning, “Are you prepared to drink from the cup of suffering and are you prepared to be baptized with blood like I’m about to go do?” And both of them said, “We are, Lord” and Jesus said, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink , and with the baptism that I am baptized with you will be baptized, but to sit on My right hand and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it’s been prepared by My Father,” meaning whoever sacrifices and serves to the degree that Christ did on earth, in the same way and to the same degree they will be reigning with Him in glory. So from here, the other ten apostles, the Scriptures say, became indignant. They were angry. We can almost hear them saying, “Who are you two to ask for this? What are we chopped liver?” So Jesus says powerfully utters something that’s never been said before. He said “Whoever desires to become great among you, shall be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, shall be slave of all—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
And Christ gives us all an example of washing the twelve disciples feet in a chore that was the most menial, even for the servants, even for the slaves; they all hated washing people’s feet, not only their master but the guests; their master would have guests, and one of the slaves was positioned “you be at the door and you wash their feet.” It was the least tolerated duty and the worst thing for them to do, but Christ himself now does it. So if God in the flesh goes all the way to the bottom, willing to do that, how much are we willing to do? And even in business, there are Fortune 500 companies that model this servant leadership, because they see that this ultimately really works. This is the divine model of leadership.
These are just the few ideas or words that I wanted to share today, this idea of leadership focusing on Christ. And there’s a beautiful book called “Oriented Leadership” by Benjamin Williams and Michael McKibben. They say, “When you became Christian, you were oriented – you were pointed towards the East. You renounced Satan towards the West. Your godparents spit on him for you if you were baptized as an infant. Then you’re reoriented – you’re directed east. Everything is towards the East. Everything is toward where the sun rises which is Christ, the son of God.” So everything is oriented towards Him. So our whole life, our whole leadership, and everything else is oriented towards Him. And the temptation is “alright, I’m here at the church; I’ll orient myself that way, but when I’m out there, I orient myself towards that model and this is the breakdown; this is where every mission of Christian pastors is the same: what you feel here – your orientation here – take it with you there, to your work, to your homes, to your schools, and offer Christ to everybody that you come in contact with in this way. So ultimately, this is what we’re doing as a body. We’re collectively offering servant leadership, and if you look at everyone next to you, you see that, be it Philoptochos, be it Sunday School, be it Parish Council, be it Youth Commission, be it Fundraising, be it Festival, be it Church office. We are all together as one family serving in this way, oriented towards Christ, offering leadership by our actions, leadership by loving, by serving.
I just close with one nice, true story that really made an impact on me. I don’t know how familiar you all are with monasticism, but there are plenty of writings on monasticism, especially Mt. Athos, as you know monks and nuns are very strict, especially on themselves; they eat very limited foods; they barely sleep; they’re continually offering services and prayers and everything else. So, you get this frame of mind of always being tough and finally they went to a holy monk, a holy elder, and said “Father, when someone, one of us monks, falls asleep during the vigil, should we wake them up?” And the Holy Father said, for me when I see a brother falling asleep during the vigil, I offer him my lap so that he can rest his head. So this ultimately is a beautiful model of leadership for us, that says, “I’ll make it as comfortable for you as possible, but as for me, I am going to work. I’ll stay up. I’ll pray for you. I’ll serve. I’ll work for you. You rest, if you need that rest and when you are ready and willing and able, come and do your part.” So this is our model, I think, of servant leadership of loving and serving people for the good of the church and for the good of our Lord, Jesus Christ and his ministry in this world.
So thank you very much for being attentive today and now I’ll pass it over to Jim, who will give you more of a detailed explanation of today’s events and also recap some of the things we did last year, where we were, where we are now, and where we want to go, and then from there, Jim will introduce Fr. Jim Kordaris, who will then give our keynote speech for today.
Thank you, Father John. Tough act to follow. It reminds me of the day five months ago when the Archbishop introduced you to us. After a long, very worthy introduction of Fr. John, His Eminence asked Fr. John to speak. And Fr. John said, “Your Eminence, you said I was wise, and the wise thing would be for me to not try to speak after you.” I think I feel the same way right now, but I’ll try.
Welcome, everyone, and thank you for waking up early on a Saturday morning to be here for what I hope and expect to be an exciting day for all of us.
It’s been over a year and a half since we gathered for our first Leadership Conference, a year and a half that has been unlike any other we’ve known. Our life, as a parish community, has changed drastically in many ways. We felt grief, we felt loss, and we felt fear of the unknown. Yet, thanks to 30+ years of inspiration from Fr. Manny, thanks to superhuman efforts of so many members of our community, thanks to the guidance we received from His Grace Bishop Savas and from Fr. Milton, and thanks to the path provided for us by the Holy Spirit, we never once felt like a ship without a rudder. We moved forward to continue the ministries of our Church. Then, five months ago today we welcomed Fr. John at the helm to guide our course for the next exciting stage in our parish.
Today is not about the past – it is about our future, but I bring up these points to help illustrate a few points:
o In times of adversity, we accomplished a great deal because we had to. I’d like to think that we can teach ourselves to accomplish just as much because we want to.
o We’ve seen in the past 18 months how much we can accomplish when we have a strong team. We should learn from this experience that our highest priority should be to continue to grow and strengthen that team.
o By doing this, we can realize St. Paul’s goal in his letter to the Ephesians that is the subtitle of today’s conference: To prepare God’s People for Works of Service.
How do we do this? Well, on one had, we are here today in part to answer just that question. Why else are we here today? The fact is, for those of us who were last year, our reasons are essentially the same. This is all a very cheap trick on my part to allow me to re-use some of my welcoming remarks from last year. So, allow me recap the reasons I cited last year for my excitement about our First Annual Parish Leadership Conference:
o I was, and still am, excited to see how many members of this parish are ready to invest a day of their time for the good of the community.
o I was, and still am, excited because I think that today will help us build up our base of active parishioners.
o I was, and still am, excited because we don’t often get a chance to spend a full day with one another. If we get nothing out of today other than getting to know one another better, it will have been worthwhile for us personally and for our ability to work together going forward.
o I was, and still am, excited because I think that we can come out of today with a solid list of priorities and objectives for this year. With such a list, we can (a) further the progress of our community, (b) be better prepared to communicate our plans to the rest of the community.
But there are a few reasons why I am even more excited about this year’s conference:
o Statistics. (Statistics? You may ask). Statistics can be boring, but I love these. We typically think that you have to have a title to be part of Church Leadership (a myth I hope to debunk today) If we look at the classic definition of leaders: Parish Council, Past Presidents, Philoptochos Board, and Youth Commission this group accounts for only 60% of attendees this year, down from 80% last year.
o Fr. Jim Kordaris: I’m saving a more complete introduction for a few minutes from now, but I am thrilled that we were joined today by Fr. Jim Kordaris, Directory of Outreach and Evangelism for the Archdiocese. I know that his presence will be a tremendous help to us today.
o Timing: This year’s conference coincides with the start of the ecclesiastical year. It gives us the next 8-9 months to follow through on objectives we set today. I’d like to all to challenge ourselves today to meet back here in the spring to review our progress.
So what are we trying to do here today? I’ve already mentioned that the subtitle for this year’s conference is from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians: “To Prepare God’s People for Works of Service.” I found this a reference to this quote in a context very appropriate for today on a web site regarding leadership in the church (it was not from an Orthodox Church) and would like to share it with you all:
Leaders exist
to prepare God's people for serving others. Leaders inform, encourage, train
and organize to bring out the most in the people.
Well, in order to inform, encourage, train and organize, I think it goes without saying that we need to be informed, encouraged, trained and even (while perhaps a tall order for those of us who are Greek) organized.
I’d like to think that we can make progress towards all of those goals today.
o Informed: Today’s breakout sessions will provide us with an opportunity to discuss some of the major challenges we face as a parish, out of which I hope we will all come out with more information that we had going in. We have so much to learn from one another.
o Encouraged: I’m already tremendously encouraged by today’s turnout. I hope that we are all encouraged throughout the day, just as we look around us and see the enthusiasm and dedication that everyone in this room brings to the table not only today, but as we leave here to lead.
o Trained: Not to put pressure on Fr. Jim, but I’m viewing his talk to, which follows my comments, as a great training session for us all. Most of us are used to dealing with issues at our parish level, but we can learn a great deal from the experiences Fr. Jim has had at the Archdiocese, working with other parishes.
o Organized: I know, I know – a tall order for Greeks. But I’d ask the rest of you in this room to help us out. To be quite honest, this is the one area where we made some progress last year, but I’m hoping for a big step forward this year. We will come out of today with ideas, but let’s also come out with specific objectives, milestones and ownership of issues. The organization is in place with our large number of parish committees, but we should all look to make the organization as effective as possible through follow-up from today’s discussions.
I’d like to shift gears for a few minutes prior to wrapping up. While we are not specifically focusing on team building skills today, they are super critical to everything we do here day after day. Our best decisions are made by consensus. Our best efforts are accomplished by teamwork. This becomes challenging in any organization that is comprised almost entirely of volunteers. We don’t always have the time we want and things get delayed waiting for one member of the team. Believe me, I experience the frustration occasionally, and I hear about other’s frustrations more than occasionally. However, I cannot possibly stress enough the benefits of teamwork. They way outweigh the drawbacks. Just to name a few:
o Skills – we all have different skills. By working as a team, the parish can leverage a larger skill set.
o Creativity – a different flavor of the skills benefit: we all have different ideas. By utilizing all of these in one team, we can generate more creativee solutions.
o Speed – by dividing up work, we can accomplish tasks more quickly.
o Support – by using each other as sounding boards and for emotional support, we become stronger as individuals, which in turn strengthens the whole team.
Now I know that sounds like a bunch of clichés, and you may be thinking “but I could get results faster if I was not waiting on person x”. Perhaps you can at times, but (a) those times are the exception, (b) you lose all of the benefits we just reviewed, and (c) perhaps most importantly, we will never grow our community if we do not engage more people, and we can’t engage more people with individual efforts.
There is an important flip side that I need to mention: We are volunteers. We don’t always have the time we need. If any one of us has on the critical path for an important function and we know our external demands will make the difficult, we should never be scared to ask for help. That is not admitting defeat – it’s part of effective teamwork.
Bringing this back to today’s theme: St. Paul asks us to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up, and goes on to say that the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. If that is not a call for us to work and grow as a time, then I don’t know what it is. As we go through the day today, and through our parish life in general, let’s keep effective teamwork at the top of our priority list.
Finally, I’d like to steal a few moments for some very important thank you’s to people who helped make this day possible:
o For the second straight year, Nickie Demos was a huge help in preparing the agenda. It is thanks to Nickie that the agenda in front of you is different that my original tentative agenda in ways that undoubtedly will make the day more productive.
o Also for the second straight year, I’m excited to have a number of our GOYAN’s assisting. A day like this takes a great deal of coordination, and having them hear to handle registration and to assist with serving of meals take a tremendous burden from the rest of us. Thank you all.
o Both sets of Breakout sessions were well thought out in advance by the members of the committees who are most involved with their areas of focus along with the facilitators. Thank you to all of you who met to prepare and special thanks to Stella and Jamie for serving as our facilitators today.
o While I must apologize to all of you if you were hounded by e-mails and phone calls about attendance, I must thank Effie Marie and Heather for doing the hounding. Believe me, the blame for the hounding goes to me, as I kept asking how we were doing. The credit goes to them, for helping me to organize the day and preparing materials (not to mention giving me constant reminders).
o I mentioned earlier that today marks five months from the day Fr. John joined us. I’ve said this to some of you already in smaller groups, but I would be remiss if I did not repeat how much we’ve come to love and respect Fr. John in such a short time. We are all blessed to have him leading us, and I personally thank him for the encouragement he has provided for this, as well as other, initiatives.
o Finally, I want to thank you all again for being part of this day.
A few admin notes:
o We have a relatively tight schedule. We’ve eliminated the formal breaks but I think we will likely end some of the sessions early. Please feel make every effort to be at the appropriate location for the start of each session.
o If you look at your nametags, you will see that you have been assigned to a team. These teams are divided between the two breakout sessions – please make sure you attend the appropriate session at the appropriate time, so that we have balanced attendance.
And now, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Fr. Jim Kordaris. I first met Fr. Jim eight years ago when I was lying in a hospital bed at North Shore with pneumonia. It was early November, 2000. I was admitted on Election Day eve and spent 12 days there. I got to see every blow by blow detail of hanging chads in Florida. You can believe that I was bored, not to mention groggy and tired when Fr. Jim, then the Assistant Priest at Archangel Michael came to visit me. I don’t think I was the best conversationalist that day, and I like to think we’ve made a lot of progress since then.
Since then, I’ve had the good fortunate to work with Fr. Jim at both Diocese and Archdiocese Clergy Laity Conventions at his Committee meetings. I’ve learned that Fr. Jim’s department provides a huge array of services for parishes. We’ve seen just a few here: the rack of pamphlets on Orthodox topcs in our narthex? From Fr. Jim. The banner by our driveway on Northern Boulvard? From Fr. Jim. There are so many others: work with mission parishes, resources for parishes to perform community outreach, the articles that each of you can find in your folders today, just to name a few.
Given that Membership and Outreach is one of today’s two breakout topics, I am excited to have Fr. Jim in our presence. He will be with us through the first round of breakouts. In the meantime, however, he has graciously volunteered to provide the keynote for today’s conference so, without further ado, It gives me great pleasure to introduce Fr. Jim Kordaris.
Director of Outreach & Evangelism
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
The interviewer asked, “How many churches have you converted to Orthodox Christianity?” The answer was “None.”
Converting churches is an impressive feat, but even if it occurs often, it is unlikely to revitalize or grow existing parishes. Unless we instill an outreach mindset in our parishes, they will not grow. But with over 600 priests, over 6,000 parish council members, and hundreds of thousands of active parishioners, we have an army of believers, each of whom could invite one or more people to church.
If you want to fill a dozen milk bottles,
you can’t stand back and spray them with a hose.
You’ll get them wet but you won’t fill them.
…You have to fill them one at a time.
Outreach is a person-to-person process.
Research has shown that ninety-six percent of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to attend church if they are invited (Rainer). In other words, more than nine out of ten unchurched individuals would come to church if invited. We need to invite them, and we need to be ready for them when they walk through our doors.
Forty days after His Resurrection, at the time of His Ascension, Jesus gathered His disciples with Him and promised that they would soon receive the Holy Spirit. He called upon them to be His witnesses “…in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
This same calling is directed to each one of us – not just to professional religious people such as clergy and monastics. This calling to be witnesses of the faith was originally directed to the disciples, who were faithful people with ordinary professions. And these people changed the world by their witness. They didn’t do this by use of their vast knowledge of theological issues, but by their simple faith in what they had experienced in Jesus.
The front lines of Jesus’ army today are you – faithful men and women who live ordinary lives in the world, attending school, making a living, raising families, participating in the daily life of our society. You are the ones who will reach the people whom we as clergy may never see – relatives, friends, coworkers, and in athletics, clubs and organizations. You will be placed in situations where you will be a witness to your faith – not by standing up and preaching – but by the way you conduct yourself as a Christian. In whatever you do, you are a Christian first – a Christian athlete, a Christian doctor, a Christian in business, a Christian parent, Christian teacher, a Christian friend.
There will be good days – those days when things fall into place and you feel that God is using the gifts that He has given you for His purposes. You will sense that He has placed you in a certain situation for which you are uniquely prepared. You will succeed and hopefully you will honor Him with your success, knowing that all that you accomplish has come from Him.
There will be bad days – those days when the world seems to reward those who do not honor God or His commandments, those who strive to succeed regardless of the spiritual cost to themselves and others. Success, as it is measured in the world today seems to reward unethical, un-Christian behavior. As Christians living and working in this world, we struggle to remain faithful, and are wounded in the battle.
This community has built a beautiful church complex. This church with its dome and bell towers can be a beacon of Orthodox Christianity, welcoming Orthodox and inquirer to learn and grow in the faith.
Saint John Chrysostom referred to the Church as a “hospital” where people come to wash away their sins. The Church is like an army field hospital where clergy and staff work behind the lines, providing spiritual nourishment and a place to be healed and refreshed in the faith. People enter these doors each week, tired and wounded in their daily lives, doing their best to be faithful Christians in a world that does not always encourage or reward Christian values.
The Church should be a safe place. Just like the giant cross painted on the army field hospitals and vehicles to keep them from being attacked, the cross of this church should remind us all that Church is a safe place where we come to be healed, to be what God created us to be.
People come to church looking for three things:
1. TRANSCENDENCE - A sense of the presence of God in worship
2. SIGNIFICANCE – the opportunity to serve others through charitable efforts
3. FELLOWSHIP – the opportunity to share their lives with other people of faith
As our parishes become so busy with programs and activities, it is important to take a step back as you are today to assess and evaluate – to ask ourselves, “what are we trying to accomplish here?”
We are busier than ever with youth activities, seniors group, athletics, choir, junior choir, Bible studies, support groups, community outreach, Sunday school, educational programs and much more. As these activities grow and develop leadership from within, they often take on a life of their own, disconnected from one another and from the Eucharistic community out of which they were formed.
St Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Cor. 12:27)
For a parish to be effective in its mission, all of its organizations and activities must be seen – and more importantly – must see themselves as members of one body, pursuing the same goals, and always leading toward the Eucharist. Sometimes we find that people will participate in one organization or ministry of the parish, yet they are rarely seen participating in Divine Liturgy.
A priest from a large parish refers to this as the need to “connect the dots.” All the activities, organizations and ministries need to lead us to the Divine Liturgy and the Eucharist. And while all the various activities of the church may be worthwhile endeavors, they may not be moving people toward transfigured life in the within the body of Christ.
We all know the argument: “What if this activity is the only activity in which a member of the parish is involved? Isn’t it better to have some contact than none at all?” But if a parish organization is not led by a Christ-centered individual who sets an example by being present in Liturgy, how do we expect this activity to bring people closer to their faith? An activity is effective when lives are transformed in such a way that people are inspired to become more Christ-like. One way to change perceptions is to refer to every activity and organization of the parish as a ministry, reminding us that everything the Church community does should lead people to Christ.
Paul wrote that there are “Different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” (1 Corinthians 12:5)
Often the various parish ministries and organization develop into one person’s or one group’s turf. The activity becomes an autonomous group within the church, not coordinated or integrated with others. Sometimes there may even be competition among the groups. This is not compatible with the vision of the Church as the body of Christ with many limbs and organs all working together.
This leadership conference is an excellent way of bringing the leaders of the parish ministries together as limbs and organs of the body of Christ. This idea could continue to develop as ministry leaders gather on a regular basis to pray for the church, coordinate the parish calendar of events and discuss common activities and goals of the parish. With Fr John providing a vision of the mission of the Church, these leadership meetings open the lines of communication between organizations and ministries. A positive result of this can be that all begin to coordinate their efforts and cooperate in working toward a common goal.
This happened at the parish of Saint John in Youngstown, Ohio where a monthly Saturday morning breakfast meeting of all the leaders of the various parish ministries and community organizations was initiated. As the ministries planned the parish’s first annual Family Outreach Sunday, they were drawn together to work toward making this a successful event for their individual organizations and for the parish.
Their coordinated effort resulted in attendance not seen at St. John’s since Pascha with attendance up by nearly 50 percent. Each organization hosted a booth in the church hall. Many provided food or refreshments to be served at the brunch, and the day was a positive experience for those who hosted and those who attended. Their first Family Outreach Sunday was a success in that it brought many inactive Orthodox Christians to church while bringing the ministries of the parish together to work toward a common goal.
When the ministries work together toward a common goal, we are building up the Body of Christ, fulfilling our calling as Orthodox Christian leaders.
Every parish has a different personality – different strengths and weaknesses. Every parish is located in a particular environment in a particular neighborhood. Every parish is made up of a different group of people with different needs, ethnic heritage, skills and education. For these reasons, every parish will have a different vision for the ministry that lies before them. Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion.
With Fr John as your guide, you, the leaders of this great parish are encouraged to hammer out a vision for the future of their church. Vision causes people to imagine the future of their church and to develop concrete steps to realize that vision. The greater importance of vision is that it creates passion in ministry. And if we are passionate about ministry, that passion will be contagious. People will be inspired to accomplish great work for the realization of the vision.
As Orthodox Christian leaders, give all you can to this effort. Give all the time, service and prayer that you can give. Apply whatever gifts you have to this calling, because eternal lives are at stake.
I should begin with a disclaimer, the very fact that you are here today tells me I may be targeting the wrong audience about volunteerism. I say the wrong audience because I see faces that have been volunteering for years.
So what is volunteerism? May I quote?
1. Volunteerism is not a choice but a responsibility. It is the unselfish act of giving back.
2. Volunteerism is the rent we pay to be living. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.
3. Volunteers do not get paid because they are worthless; but because they are priceless.
Motivation is an inside job. People do things for their own reasons not yours. So our role is to create an organization and atmosphere that stimulates their inner motivations. Most people respond to one of three levels of motivation:
1. Basic level – self serving – volunteering meets their needs. This level creates a networking opportunity for the volunteer. This can be a win/win. The organization benefits from the volunteer’s expertise and the volunteer make business connections.
2. Relational level – people volunteer because of friendship. When a friend personally asks someone to volunteer it is often hard to say no.
3. Belief level – this is the strongest motivator because here, people are passionate for a cause. When people believe in the cause of the organization, even if that cause will cost them a great deal of personal sacrifice, that is when the volunteer is highly motivated.
In any organization you find volunteers at each of these levels and each kind can be used to help the organization be successful.
Why it is some organizations have a waiting list of volunteers and others despite repeated efforts to recruit volunteers always fall short?
Experts believe that people stop volunteering because they may feel that the organization was poorly managed, their time was not well spent, their expertise was not a good use of their talents, they received no help, time committtment was too much, when approached to volunteer they were scared of the responsibilities, volunteering took them outside their comfort zone and let’s not forget, volunteering takes a lot of energy and can be a lot of hard work. Some people said they were never thanked, although I feel the organization should thank its volunteers, I do not feel you volunteer to be thanked.
What spreads faster than wildfire is bad news. People talk and they are apt to discuss their bad experiences more than good ones. A poor volunteer experience reflects badly on the organization and makes the job of recruiting volunteers as well as donors more challenging.
The problems of any organization might overwhelm an individual. They might even feel like there is no point trying to do anything. Honestly, how can one person really make a dent in anything that needs to be done?
Well, think of standing in a completely dark room with no lamps, or light switches. You are alone and it’s scary. You light a candle and suddenly there is a little light and the darkness does not seem quite so bad. Then slowly people join you until there are lots of people with candles. Now the room is bright. Volunteerism is like this. One person can make a difference. A whole bunch of ones gathering together can make things better and easier, making theses problems go away or at the very least cut down to a manageable size. Also, let’s be realistic. There are limits to your volunteering. There are time constraints, how much of a commitment you are willing to make, how much of your day, week, month or year do you want to spend. Let’s not forget you also have to follow your family’s rules and routine.
People want to volunteer. Our emphasis needs to be focused on retaining volunteers through outstanding volunteer management. I believe in the trickle down theory: if the people who are presently in leadership positions in this church (this includes Father, youth leaders, Sunday school, P.C., Philoptochos, Greek school etc) are enthusiastic, the excitement will snow ball, becoming contagious, eventually reducing the time recruiting new volunteers.
I know what you’re all thinking; at times if the person is breathing she/he is a viable candidate.
Seriously a good volunteer is:
1. One who is selfless. Do not think of what you can do to make yourself look good, rather think about what you can do to help others.
2. Know what you’re doing as a volunteer. If you need to learn the job asks questions have someone show you what to do.
3. Be dependable – do what you say you’ll do and do your best.
4. Be enthusiastic – do not moan and groan your way through your volunteer work. Be positive and show others that your doing this because you want to
5. Be open-minded – keep your mind open to new ideas, others suggestions, new possibilities. You will grow as a person and ultimately you will be more productive as a volunteer.
6. Be cooperative – do no try to be a hot shot. Do no try to do everything yourself. Work as part of a team making sure everyone gets a chance to participate and do their share of the work.
7. Be understanding – try to see things through other people’s eyes. Try to understand what they’re going through.
8. Be humble – volunteers do not brag to everyone about all the good they have done. They are happy knowing they are making a difference. There is no need to shout about it.
9. Be friendlily – it goes a long way
I was going to add be prompt; but I have come to the realization this is a foreign concept to Greeks!!!!
I hope volunteers will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that they will ever make. People should make a conscious effort to give of their time and volunteer.
When people volunteer they can make a difference where someone or something needs help. If people never help each other and only care about themselves our world and our church becomes a sadder place. When we volunteer our time, money, talents, we help make our community a happier home, where people work together to make life easier for all.*-
At the beginning of my talk I said you were the wrong audience to be speaking about volunteerism. I still stand by that; but would like to leave you with this thought. You people are also the right audience, for you can offer your guidance, assistance and knowledge to new volunteers. You can encourage people in our community to take on the responsibility of chairing a committee. This is where I feel we drop the ball. We have a wealth of talent to tap in this community. These people maybe hesitant to step forward and volunteer: but I have faith in our ability to give them the tools they need to become confidant.
I believe people would like to volunteer. They just want to make sure that someone will be there to show them the way. That is what we should be doing, mentoring these new recruits. Eventually they will take over our positions. I do not know what you; but I am not getting any younger.
Jim Gabriel introduced the breakout sessions, with comments about last year’s sessions and our objectives for this year.
Last year’s breakout sessions focused on four areas:
1. Youth Commission
2. Strategic Planning
3. Membership Development
4. Facilities
Many strong ideas surfaced during these sessions, but unfortunately, we never conducted a formal follow-up. In spite of that, a good number of objectives were satisfied. In some cases, this was a natural, albeit informal, result of the conference – in others, it may have been coincidence. In both cases, it demonstrated progress.
Recap of 2007 Objectives and their current status:
1. Youth Commission (5 out of 7 objectives met)
a. Stop-and-go Liturgy
§ Fr. Milton conducted a wonderful service for the kids just before Christmas.
b. In Sunday school, students should be occasionally brought to church
§ Our new Sunday School format, recently implemented by Fr. John and Tina Mihaltses, accomplished this.
c. Schedule in the fall a youth orientation program for all parents.
§ This was done for some of our largest youth programs. For example, the night of the first GOYA meetings, the GOYA parents held an orientation meeting of their own.
d. Begin a YAL program
§ Huge progress through the efforts of Alex Gratsias, Ari Kakounis, Peter Koumoulis.
e. Begin a Junior Choir
§ The Junior Choir is now meeting regularly
a. A standing Welcoming Committee should be established
§ This was discussed and deferred, but significant effort was placed on those on Church Order serving a welcome function.
b. Include new members on committees.
§ A prime example of this is the Membership Committee itself, which now consists 80% of non-PC members, including one brand new member of our community.
c. Plan more social get-togethers.
§ We’ve had a number this year, including a new-members wine-and-cheese, a welcome dinner for Fr. John and his family, and a church Picnic.
3. Facilities
a. Review quotes to seal the Granite Floor
§ Floor was sealed prior to installation of new chairs
b. Create a list of year long maintenance items and ensure they are all in the budget
§ 2008 and 2009 Budgets now include Maintenance items
c. Communication needs to improve
§ Facilities web site
d. Put the master parish schedule onto the website for check and book dates
§ Parish schedule is now online with major events. Incorporation of all other relevant calendars coming soon
e. Status of C.O.
§ Expect to be resolved within the next month.
4. Strategic Planning
With Strategic Planning committee, last year’s conference provided a forum for our Past Presidents to begin brainstorming sessions. They produced a mission statement at the end of the day:
To Act as an advisory group made up of Past Presidents and others that identifies the long-term needs of the Parish, develops recommendations regarding these issues, and presents them to the Parish Council.
They began meeting regularly and their effort has been instrumental in driving our renewed fundraising efforts.
Our goal was to focus on those areas of high priority to our parish, but at the same time, not to divide people into too many small groups. This, related topics were grouped together:
1. Membership & Outreach
2. Fundraising & Finance
With the exception of facilitators, our objective was to have every attendee have a chance to attend both breakouts. Therefore each breakout met twice, with a lunch break in the middle. Attendees went to one prior to the lunch break and the other following the break.
Each session concluded with a distinct but overlapping set of recommendations. Facilitators maintained these lists on flip charts, with the initial lists enumerated below:
Raw Lists:
o
Membership
and Outreach
o
Breakout
Session 1
§ New Members should ave a mentor until assimilated
§ Welcoming Table at Bottom of Stairs
§ YAL Welcoming Table
§ Fr. John announces names of visiting parishioners
§ Name tags for those on Church Order / Recognition
§ Follow-up with new S.S. Registrants for Picnic / Pot Luck Dinner
§ More frequent wine / cheese
§ More attention to families with kids
§ Effie Marie to provide names from new member forms to Philoptochos in addition to Membership committee
§ Formally welcome / assign parishioner to each new person
§ Brochure about our church
· Welcome Packet / Outreach brochure
· Vision / Message from Fr. John
· Schedule of Services
· History
· Group heads
· Latest Koinonia
· Latest Journal
· Photos
§ Continue Town Halls meetings with Specific Topics
§ Mix New & Established Members at events
§ Newly married couples: Within 6 months invite back for meeting and focus group
§ Give YAL reason to attend and follow-up with recognition
§ Communicate by phone as well as internet
§ Welcome packet should reflect broad georgaphical area of membership
o
Breakout
Session 2
§ New member event will be Pot Luck Dinner
§ Welcome table at Coffee Hour with Survey to get people's interests
§ Brochure with Photos of PC and other Board members
§ Board at Coffee Hour with Photos of PC members and other leaders
§ New member events should include Board heads
§ Add board heads with Photos on web site
§ Bulletin boards should include photos of events
§ Name tags for PC members
§ More social events
§ Hold events for kids during coffee hour
§ Basket for business cards to add occupation to directory
§ Complete survey in September
§ Welcoming committee should visit new members
§ Include Resurrection Icon in Packets
§ Offer house blessing for people who join
§ Begin a seniors group for social acivites
§ Old Movies night
§ Adverstise YAL grooup in bulletin
§ Start a Mr / Mrs Club
o
Finance
and Fundraising
o Collect coins
o Life Insurance Policies
o Credit Card / Debit Cards
o Parishioners with businesses
o iGive.com
o 300 / 1000 / $1000
o Fundraising events: Greek Films
o Fundraising Events: Vendors
o Fundraising Events: Yiayia / Ancestry / Cooking
o Second Home
The intent of the wrap-up session had been to come up with 3-4 common ideas from the breakout sessions, to prioritize those and assign ownership. However, given that the raw lists were very large and full of many well thought out ideas, a suggestion was made during the wrap-up session to convene again in 2-3 weeks time to review these lists.
Breakout Facilitators, along with Fr. John, Jim Gabriel and Committee Chairs, reviewed and triaged these lists in preparation for the follow-up session, scheduled on October 23rd. The merged, prioritized list is included in the following section.
A few things to note on the list:
§ The “Low Priority” tag did not mean that these ideas were not important. A key objective of the conference was to come out with a list of follow-ups that was achievable. To do so, some that were great ideas but might take longer to accomplish, or drain the same pool of resources working on other ideas, were prioritized lower in the list. It is highly likely that many of these items in the futures.
§ A number of the ideas were tagged as Best Practices rather than follow-up items. These are ideas which may not require a specific “committee” or “task force” to accomplish, but rather are recommendations for ongoing Best Practices (e.g. Don’t rely solely on e-mail for communication – personal contact is very important).
§ Due to the high number of recommendations for New Member Events, they were grouped into a single category rather than prioritized individually. These events have been, and remain, a focus of the Membership Committee, and all of the ideas will be incorporated into planning of future events.
|
Project / Effort |
Category |
Notes / Scope |
|
Basket
for business cards to add occupation to directory |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
Can
we do this within context of currently directory effort? If so, we should begin
immediately. If not, then we
defer. |
|
Facilities
Rentals |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
We
have been waiting to move aggresively on Facilities Rentals until we have C
of O. We expect to have it
within small number of weeks. We
should come up with strategic and begin marketing once we have C of O |
|
Fundarising
Events |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
2009
Operating budget will refelect need for increased fundraising events. |
|
iGive.com |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
We
are already set up on iGive, but average very very small income. Need someone(s) to own marketing
& follow-up |
|
Loose
Change Campaign |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
|
|
Name
tags for those on Church Order / Recognition |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
|
|
New
Members should have a mentor until assimilated |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
Mentor
would be responsible for serving as buddy, introducing new members to others,
encouraging them to attend events, etc. |
|
Welcome
Packet / Outreach brochure |
A.
Follow Up (High Priority) |
Should
reflect broad geographical areas of membership |
|
Project
/ Effort |
Category |
Notes / Scope
|
|
Advertise
YAL group in bulletin |
B.
Follow-up (Med Priority) |
This
could be done very much like current Philoptochos "box" in
bulletin. Primary responsibility
will like with YAL. We have
already begun including events at their request. |
|
YAL
Welcoming Table |
B.
Follow-up (Med Priority) |
|
|
Hold
events for kids during coffee hour |
B.
Follow-up (Med Priority) |
Supervision
is key. Is this as simple as
arranging supervision in basement? |
|
Life
Insurance Policies |
B.
Follow-up (Med Priority) |
|
|
Old
Movies night |
B.
Follow-up (Med Priority) |
This
was recommended both for Outreach and for fundraising. What is the primary objective? |
|
Welcoming
committee should visit new members |
B.
Follow-up (Med Priority) |
This
is being initiated by the Membership Committee |
|
Photos
of church leadership to facilitate recognition: |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
|
|
Credit
/ Debit Card for Church |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
Most
banks will likely require minimum # of cards greater than we can obtain. |
|
Fr.
John announces names of visiting parishioners |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
Will
some be embarrassed? Will others
feel excluded if we miss them? |
|
300K
/ 1K / 1K Campaign |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
Both
of these should fall within scope of Fundraising Committee, which needs to
define/implement consistent approach. |
|
Matching
Donation - Challenge Grant |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
|
|
Start
a Mr / Mrs Club |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
|
|
Welcoming
Table at Bottom of Stairs |
C.
Follow-up (Low Priority) |
Include
survey for new members' interests? |
|
Project
/ Effort |
Category |
Notes /
Scope |
|
Communicate
by phone as well as internet |
D.
Best Practices |
|
|
Give
YAL reason to attend and follow-up with recognition |
D.
Best Practices |
|
|
Mix
New & Established Members at events |
D.
Best Practices |
|
|
More
attention to families with kids |
D.
Best Practices |
|
|
More
social events |
D.
Best Practices |
|
|
Begin
a seniors group for social activities |
E.
We already do this |
|
|
Bulletin
boards should include photos of events |
E.
We already do this |
|
|
Continue
Town Halls meetings with Specific Topics |
E.
We already do this |
|
|
Effie
Marie to provide names from new member forms to Philoptochos in addition to
Membership committee |
E.
We already do this |
|
|
Offer
house blessing for people who join |
E.
We already do this |
|
|
Project
/ Effort |
Category |
Notes /
Scope |
|
Follow-up
with new S.S. Registrants for Picnic / Pot Luck Dinner |
F.
New Member Events |
|
|
More
frequent wine / cheese |
F.
New Member Events |
|
|
New
member event will be Pot Luck Dinner |
F.
New Member Events |
|
|
New
member events should include Board heads |
F.
New Member Events |
|
|
Newly
married couples: Within 6 months
invite back for meeting and focus group |
F.
New Member Events |
|
An on-online survey was sent to all invitees and participants following the conference. The full survey is included in the Appendix.
General conclusions that may be drawn from the survey were:
§ The Conference was enjoyable and productive for most everyone. Only one participant called it marginally productive. While only three said that it exceed expectations, comments suggest that expectations might have been set very high based on last year’s conference.
§ There were a significant number of attendees who wished for better attendance, but most still seemed to think the conference was productive (and one or two thought that more people would have reduced productivity.)
§ Attendees enjoyed the breakout sessions, with minor concern expressed about the overlap in topics discussed.
§ Comments on the wrap-up and follow-up sessions were mixed, ranging from “unnecessary” to “the real deal”. We may be able to draw a connection between these concerns and that lack of attendees, as the follow-up session would likely have produced much better defined results with more attendees.
§ 21 of 29 attendees completed survey.
§ 12 invitees who were unable to attend completed an abridged version of the survey.
§ Primary Reason for attending (Raw / Weighted[1])
§ To learn others' ideas for Parish development – 12 / 7.78
§ To become more involved in Parish Leadership – 10 / 6.78
§ Enjoyed 2007 Conference and hoped for another similar day – 5 / 3.2
§ To make sure I had a chance to make my opinions heard – 4 / 1.78
§ To spend a day with my fellow parishioners – 2 / 0.45
§ Most popular Secondary reasons for attending
§ To learn others' ideas for Parish development
§ To make sure I had a chance to make my opinions heard
§ Primary Reason for not attending
§ I really wanted to attend but had a conflict that I could not change – 10
§ This was not a priority for me - 1
§ It required too much of my time – 1
§ 27 out of 33 surveyed indicated they would attend a similar event if one was held in the spring. (This question was asked, with the springtime component, in order to determine whether there is interest in a twice-yearly event.)
§ 17 out of 21 who attended the October PLC
§ 10 out of 12 who did not attend
§ Attendees rated the conference as a whole:
§ Extremely Productive – Exceeded my expectations: 3 attendees
§ Productive – Good use of a day: 16 attendees
§ Marginally productive - got something out of it but less than I hoped: 1 attendees
§ Attendees thought the level of participation was:
§ High - everybody was enthusiastic and involved: 14 attendees
§ Medium - about what you expected: 7 attendees
§ Low – only a few spoke up: 0 attendees
§ 100% of attendees believed they had a chance to participate
§ On attendance:
§ 14 attendees believed that not enough people attended
§ 6 indicated that attendance was about the right level
§ Each attendee rated each session on a scale of 0 (“Waste of my time”) to 4 (“Excellent”).
§ Welcoming Remarks: 3.4
§ Keynote Address: 3.7
§ Volunteerism: 3.6
§ Breakout (Membership/Outreach): 3.5
§ Breakout (Finance/Fundraising): 3.1
§ Wrap-up: 2.8
§ Follow-up (Oct 23rd): 3.2
§ Each attendee chose the session they found most enjoyable: (1st / 2nd / 3rd place votes)
§ Keynote Address: 7 / 2 / 1
§ Breakout (Membership/Outreach): 4 / 9 / 2
§ Volunteerism: 3 / 3 / 5
§ Welcoming Remarks: 3 / 1 / 2
§ Breakout (Finance/Fundraising): 2 / 3 / 1
§ Follow-up (Oct 23rd): 1 / 0 / 6
§ Each attendee chose the session they found most productive: (1st / 2nd / 3rd place votes)
§ Breakout (Membership/Outreach): 8 / 5 / 2
§ Keynote Address: 6 / 2 / 4
§ Volunteerism: 3 / 6 / 4
§ Breakout (Finance/Fundraising): 3 / 4 / 1
§ Welcoming Remarks: 1 / 1 / 1
§ Wrap-up Session 1 / 1 / 1
§ Follow-up (Oct 23rd): 0 / 1 / 6
All constructive comments were included, both those with praise and those with criticism or recommendations. Please note that these quotes were taken as written. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. are not touched. (Only capitalization was modified in order to provide a consistent presentation.)
1. Brought up
some ideas but a good amount of similar ideas from last year
2. Excellent
ideas came out of the membership session. I had a chance to voice my opinion
and some even thought my ideas were good.
3. It was very
good. I wish more parishioners had attended. We need more people to become
interested in and feel as thought they are an important part of our parish.
members need to take ownership and be willing to work on behalf of our parish
4. Many new ideas
were presented that will help us grow as a parish.
5.
While a higher turnout would have helped, we walked
out of the day with a large list of ideas and very high degree of enthusiasm.
1. Break
out
2. Concrete ways
and dates to implement new ideas.
3. Conference
was well organized and all was necessary.
All should be included although could be themed differently.
4. Discussing
how to make things better in our church.
5. Enthusiasm
good, need more attendees to continue to generate additional solutions and
ideas
6. Follow ups
7. Good focus on
issues of importance to parish. It
was great to have Fr. Jim Kordaris present to provide some perspective that we
don't usually hear. The focus in welcoming remarks on teamwork were very
important - I hope everyone listened.
8. I believe
that the conference provided the attendees with pertinent info regarding the
state of the church as well as the challenges facing us.
9. I regret that
I wasn't in attendance for the main part of the conference, but I know that our
church will be a stronger community through such conferences.
10. I think there
needs to be more of an attendance.
The people who participated had great feedback. This would be the
strength-the ideas presented.
11. Most
participates were very attentive. They also felt free to make comments and
suggustions. There was good constructive dialog. Father Kodaris or another
guest speaker should definitly be included.
12. Provide a
preliminary outline for the break-out workshops to provide a foundation for the
discussions.
13. The breakout
sessions were effective
14. The fact that
it was held at all is a real tribute to our Church and our President. I loved the volunteerism talk from Nickie.
It was a great day and a wonderful way to brainstorm and get to form ideas with
others for a way forward. Way to
go!
15. The fact that
we were all there dedicating our time and effort into making strives for
positive changes and continued growth..
16. The fundriasing
was so timely. We need more
of this
17. The
volunteerism speech set the tone for the conference. Next year's conference
should do the same with a different theme.
18. There was a
proportionate balance of the topics presented. Break-out sessions were very
informative and maybe the time could be extended on this part.
19. To discuss
things in small groups.
20. Very
interactive include breakout sessions in the future.
21.
We need to have different people that come to this
conference. It happens to be the same faces that show up & volunteer to any
of the events that it is church involved.
1. ATTENDANCE There should be a minimum of 50
people. If not, it's the same
people who do the same thing...we need new blood. I would omit assigning people to goals this is a church not
a corporation. when people see
their name next to a goal it may be intimidating.
2. Getting the
simple ideas done immediately
3. I don't think
there were any. :)
4. I was very
disappointed that some of our people in important roles did not make the effort
to make either session. Better
attendance at the wrap-up session would have helped a great deal to make sure
things moved forward. There were
way too few Parish Council members present.
5. Must find
ways to have more people attend.
6. Needs more
hands on
7. None
8. Not enough
attendees
9. Not getting
anything really accomplished.
10. Perhaps an
agenda to keep the sessions moving forward and not to run off topic.
11. Prep
discussions
12. Provide more
information outlining the conference and its goals, more advertising, and get
people to sign-up prior to the day of the conference.
13. The
conference was good. I think that
we need to define out agenda more clearly and then let the participants come
together behind it. I felt that
there wasn’t consensus among the people in the breakout sessions. The sessions seemed rudderless. I think that we need to communicate our
mission more clearly in the future.
14. The day was
smooth-flowing, the real deal was at the follow-up meeting..
15. The validity
of suggestions to be utilized in future projects and not be neglected because
they are not bearers of immediate financial resource.
16. The wrap up
session was not necessary. A brief closing statement by the facilitator of the
last session should be enough.
17. There was
overlapping on some ideas from finance into membership. Committees need to be
kept more on task to the topic of that particular session.
18. Too many
opening remarks … too long too much time sitting
19. We need
greater partcipation. Key people should be notified in advance of possible
dates so they can give input on availablity
20. weakness is a
difficult item to describe for the conference. Only because what I mention
previously is the we need to make any events more desireable to the Church
Community.
21.
?
1. I only
attended the membership session. It was great. Lots of ideas were met with
enthusiasm. I liked that.
2. Medium to
high. Everyone in my group seem to
contribute
3. People very
vocal
4.
People who walked in the door seemed very prepared to
participate and make their opinions heard.
1. Always good
to have many ideas and participants.
2. I was
disappointed with the turnout. With so many new families, I thought more people
would attend.
3. I would like
to see more non-active Church members
4. If there were
more attendees, it would have taken longer to successfully go through all
topics for discussion..
5. It was
productive and alot was accomplished---but it is always better to have more
people--more ideas.
6. More people
could have easily been handled. More participation would have increased the output
7. Perhaps
separate sessions aimed at specific topics of interest to people would result
in more people attanding, rather than one big meeting.
8. There can
never be enough people. (Unless we reach a fire hazard)
9.
We had enough people to generate stimulating
conversation, but could have easily benefited with even more attendees.
This conference would not have been possible without significant input and effort from a large number of people. Special thanks to:
Event Planning
o Nickie Demos
o Stella Hetzer
o James Kalpakis
o Edith O’Donnell
o Anne Vandoros
Catering / Kitchen set-up
o Nickie Demos
o Sally Gabriel
Administrative Assistants (GOYA)
o Jamie Leigh Catacosinos
o Ariana Cicarelli
o Chris Gabriel
o Nicholas Mihaltses
o Valerie Sakellarides
o Krista Soteriou
Video / Photo
o Chris Gabriel
August 5, 2008
Friends:
I am excited to be able to invite you to our Second Annual Parish
Leadership Conference, to be held on Saturday, October 4th. Last year’s inaugural event was both extremely
productive and enjoyable. It
provided us with an opportunity to gather for a full day of fellowship,
brainstorming and team building.
As many of you are aware, we had originally scheduled this year’s
conference for the spring of this year, but then decided to defer the event so
that we could use it to kick off the ecclesiastical year along with our new
proistamenos. We have now been
blessed with Fr. John’s leadership for three full months and I know that I
speak for many when I say how excited I am to be able to plan for our future
with him.
While we had begun to mail invitations in the spring prior to cancelling
the conference, I realize that not all of you received one. I’d like to apologize in advance for
those of you who did, as the remainder of this letter may sound familiar.
It is not very often that we have the opportunity to bring the combined
energy of all of our key groups and individuals together to discuss the issues
that most affect our parish. I
think that last year those of us who were able to do so found it both
invigorating and enlightening. In
a survey conducted of last year’s participants, 93% rated the day either
Productive or Extremely Productive.
Those results set a very high bar for this year, but I am confident that
we can live up to these lofty expectations.
At a high level, this year’s conference will have the same objectives as
our first: to set goals and
objectives for ourselves and to cultivate increase levels of teamwork. The main
difference is that we hope to be able to use last year’s conclusions as a
springboard, enabling us to get reach higher, build on our successes, and react
to the areas where we may not have attained our goals. .
While the conference will be open to all members of the community, it is
specifically targeted towards those people who are involved in parish
leadership roles and those who have expressed an interest in such
involvement. If you are receiving
this letter, then I would like to thank you for your role in our parish and to
ask you to strongly considering participating in this conference.
Please let me know whether you will be able to attend using the RSVP
information below. More details
will follow as they become available.
In His Service,
Jim Gabriel
Parish Council President
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Saturday, October 4, 2008 |
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Time |
Session |
Speaker / Facilitator |
Location |
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8:30 am
– 9:00 am |
Registration / Breakfast |
Galleria / Fellowship Hall |
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9:00 am
– 9:30 am |
Opening Prayer |
Fr. John Vlahos |
Fellowship Hall |
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Welcoming Remarks |
Fr. John Vlahos Jim Gabriel |
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9:30
am – 10:00 am |
Keynote |
Fr. Jim Kordaris Director, Department of Outreach and Evangelism Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America Greek |
Fellowship Hall |
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10:00 am
– 10:15 am |
Volunteerism:
Nickie Demos |
Fellowship Hall |
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10:15 am
– 10:30 am |
Introducing Breakout Sessions: Progress Against Last
Year’s Objectives |
Jim Gabriel |
Fellowship Hall |
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Breakout Sessions |
Membership / Outreach |
Finance / Fundraising |
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Facilitator: Stella Hetzer Location: Library |
Facilitator: James Kalpakis Location: Board Room |
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10:30 am
– 12:00 pm |
Team A |
Team B |
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12:00
pm – 12:30 pm |
Lunch |
Fellowship Hall |
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12:30
pm – 2:00 pm |
Team B |
Team A |
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2:00
pm – 2:30 pm |
Review of Breakout Sessions: Milestones / Ownership |
Stella Hetzer James Kalpakis |
Fellowship Hall |
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2:30
pm – 2:45 pm |
Wrap-up |
Fr. John Vlahos Jim Gabriel |
Fellowship Hall |
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Closing Prayer |
Fr. John Vlahos |
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1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
7But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." 9(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
17So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
20You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26"In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
PARISH
LEADERSHIP: Connecting the Dots
“…there
are many parts, but one body.”
1 Corinthians 12:20
Fr. James Kordaris
Our
churches are busier than ever with youth activities, seniors group, athletics,
choir, junior choir, Bible studies, support groups, community outreach, Sunday
school, educational programs and much more. As these activities grow and
develop leadership from within, they often take on a life of their own,
disconnected from one another and from the Eucharistic community out of which
they were formed.
“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you
is a part of it.” (1 Cor. 12:27)
For a
parish to be effective in its mission, all of its organizations and activities
must be seen – and more importantly – must see themselves as members of one body, pursuing the same goals, and
always leading toward the Eucharist. Sometimes we find that people will
participate in one organization or ministry of the parish, yet they are rarely
seen participating in Divine Liturgy. This happens in everything from Bible
study to basketball.
A priest
from a large parish refers to this as the need to “connect the dots.” All the
activities, organizations and ministries need to connect in the Eucharist. And
while all the various activities of the church may be worthwhile endeavors,
they may not be moving people toward transfigured life in the within the body
of Christ.
We all
know the argument: “What if this activity is the only activity in which a
member of the parish is involved? Isn’t it better to have some contact than
none at all?” But if a parish organization is not led by a Christ-centered
individual who sets an example by being present in Liturgy, how do we expect
this activity to bring people to the Eucharist? An activity is effective when
lives are transformed in such a way that people are inspired to become more
Christ-like. One way to change perceptions is to refer to every activity and
organization of the parish as a ministry,
reminding us that everything the Church community does should lead people
to Christ.
“Different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” (1
Corinthians 12:5)
Often the
various parish ministries and organization develop into one person’s or one
group’s turf. The activity becomes an autonomous group within the church, not
coordinated or integrated with others. Sometimes there may even be competition
among the groups. This is not compatible with the vision of the Church as the
body of Christ with many limbs and organs all working together.
Building a Leadership Team
An
effective strategy for getting the limbs and organs of the body of Christ
working together is to gather the leaders of all the various ministries on a
regular basis to pray for the church, coordinate the parish calendar of events
and discuss common activities and goals of the parish. The priest directs the
parish leadership by presenting the vision or mission of the Church, and opens
the lines of communication between organizations and ministries. A positive
result of this can be that all begin to coordinate their efforts and cooperate
in working toward a common goal
This
happened recently at the parish of Saint Nicholas in Youngstown, Ohio where a
monthly Saturday morning breakfast meeting of all the leaders of the various
parish ministries and community organizations was initiated. As the ministries
planned the parish’s first annual Family Outreach Sunday, they were drawn
together to work toward making this a successful event for their individual
organizations and for the parish.
Their coordinated
effort resulted in attendance not seen at St. Nicholas since Pascha with
attendance up by nearly 50 percent. Each organization hosted a booth in the
church hall. Many provided food or refreshments to be served at the brunch, and
the day was a positive experience for those who hosted and those who attended.
Their first Family Outreach Sunday was a success in that it brought many
inactive Orthodox Christians to church while bringing the ministries of the
parish together to work toward a common goal.
Parish Activities/Ministries Coordinator
In 1999
the clergy and lay leadership of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church of
Portland, Oregon began to assess the growing needs of the parish, and to
consider ways to coordinate and grow the ministries of the parish. Initially
they considered hiring a youth director, but upon further consideration
realized that there were parish needs beyond the scope of the youth program.
The leadership at Holy Trinity concluded that what was needed was a parish
staff member whose responsibility it would be to coordinate the growing number
of existing parish ministries and to develop additional ministries.
With the
assistance of a grant from Leadership 100, the parish established the position
of Parish Activities Coordinator, to address the challenge of organizing a
large and active parish life, promoting volunteerism, fostering involvement in
existing ministries, and working collaboratively with clergy to develop new
ministries. Under the guidance of the parish priest, the coordinator works with
the leaders of all parish ministries with a particular emphasis on youth
related activities, and connects parishioners with suitable church ministries
and programs. The position of Parish Activities Coordinator is outlined in the Ministry Profile section of the
www.Outreach.goarch.org web site.
“Without Vision the People Perish” (Proverbs
29:18)
Every
parish has a different personality – different strengths and weaknesses.
Every parish is located in a particular environment in a particular
neighborhood. Every parish is made up of a different group of people with
different needs, ethnic heritage, skills and education. For these reasons,
every parish will have a different vision for the ministry that lies before
them. Vision is a picture of the future that produces passion.
With their
priest as their guide, parish leadership is encouraged to hammer out a vision
for the future of their church. Vision causes people to imagine the future of
their church and to develop concrete steps to realize that vision. The greater
importance of vision is that it creates passion
in ministry. And if we are passionate about ministry, that passion will be
contagious. People will be inspired to accomplish great work for the
realization of the vision.
As Orthodox
Christian leaders, give all you can to this effort. Give all the time, service
and prayer that you can give. Apply whatever gifts you have to this calling,
because eternal lives are at stake.
Father James W. Kordaris
Management expert, Peter Drucker, was told the story of a museum that once polled its visitors to determine why they had come to the museum. The greatest percentage of visitors replied that they came into the museum because it was raining outside. The second most frequent response was that they came in to use the rest room. To this story, Drucker responded with the question, “How many of these visitors came back?” God brings people through the doors of our churches for many reasons. How many of these visitors will come back?
When Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” He gave us the great commission which today calls us to transform the parish into an agency of Christian mission. This will require a renewed effort to reach out and welcome all parishioners, inactive Orthodox, visitors, inquirers and all who walk through the doors of our churches. Described in this article are practical first steps toward parish renewal, outreach & evangelism that may be implemented in every parish.
Visitors
With our doors open to visitors, it is suggested that they be welcomed publicly by the priest at the conclusion of the liturgy and invited to the coffee hour, setting the tone for the congregation's response and personal welcome. Names, addresses and telephone numbers must be obtained using either a guest book or a guest card that may be completed before entering the church. Ushers/greeters must be shown the importance of reaching out to visitors, with a warm greeting and a Sunday bulletin.
The church hall should be set up with a visitors' table at which would be stationed parishioners interested in this outreach mission of the Church. Available at the table would be information on the parish, its programs, membership directory, bulletin, upcoming events and brochures on Orthodoxy. All items that the visitor receives should be well marked with the name, address, telephone, e-mail and website of the parish, and the name of the priest. If visitors would like, they may be added to the parish mailing list for bulletins and special events.
Public Awareness
Dignified and respectful ads could appear regularly in the Saturday religion section of the local newspapers as a resource to visitors and to those who have recently moved to the area. The same ad could also appear in the area Yellow Pages telephone directory. Area hotels should be made aware of the parish location & worship schedule. There is nothing more frustrating than desiring to attend liturgy and not being able to find the local Orthodox parish.
Local Ecumenical
Activities
Be aware of opportunities for Christians of different traditions to cooperate at the grass roots level, especially food banks, soup kitchens, and social service agencies. Stay open to the possibilities for the sharing of resources toward a common goal with Christians of other traditions. Be aware of those special occasions when Christians come together for public prayer, such as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January), Thanksgiving, Advent, Lent, September 11, or a special day of prayer called for by a national leader.
Parish Bookstore /
Book Table
There is a hunger for knowledge among people of growing faith. There has also been an increase in the amount of Orthodox writing available in English due to many excellent translations of classic works. This is complemented by the great number of writings in English by current Orthodox theologians. Awareness may be raised through book reviews in the church bulletin, recommendations from the pulpit – especially of books appropriate to the current cycle of worship, and parish book discussion groups.
The Parish Council
and Missionary Vision
Place missions on the agenda of annual planning meetings with the suggestion that the parish begin its commitment to mission with a line item in the budget for the Missions (domestic & abroad). Establish a parish committee for Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism.
Publications
Great care must be given to parish mailings (bulletins, stewardship packets, special letters, notices, etc.). For those who rarely come to church, this will be their impression of the parish, clergy and staff.
Priests and qualified parishioners might offer to periodically submit articles, commentaries and/or book reviews to the local newspaper on religious topics of general interest. The parish could invite reporters to cover the traditions and services of Lent, Holy Week and Pascha, offering background information on Orthodox beliefs, customs and traditions of the season.
Computer
Publications & Communication
Equip the parish with a computer, and set up a parish website. The site could include all information that is distributed in bulletins, schedules, pamphlets, as well as photos, letters from the pastor and/or parish council president. Assistance in this area is available from the Archdiocesan Department of Information Technologies.
Conclusion
There is nothing that is done in the parish that is not apostolic. Parish renewal, outreach and evangelism is not a person, a committee, a mission center or a project. It is an attitude . Everything we do is an opportunity for renewal. Every person, every project, and every list of names offers potential for outreach. There is no limit to the time we may spend on evangelism. Parish renewal, outreach and evangelism is a person-to-person process.
Fr. Jim Kordaris is the Director of the Archdiocesan Department of Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism. A revised & expanded version of this article will soon be distributed to parishes as a booklet by the same title. Inquiries and comments may be sent by e-mail to ParishRenewal@goarch.org. Website: www.renewal.goarch.org.
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2008
PLC Invitees |
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* Q0: Did you
attend this year's conference? |
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[Only answer this question if you answered 'Yes' to
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Q1: For those
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[Only answer this question if you answered 'No' to
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Q2: For those
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* Q3: If we
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2008
PLC Attendees |
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* Q1: How would
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* Q2: Did you
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Q3: Did you
feel the size of the conference was |
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* Q4: Do you
think the level of participation by those who attended was |
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[Only answer this question if you answered 'Yes' to
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* Q5: Please
rate each of the sessions that you attended |
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