In the fall we had a series of cottage meetings concerning the future direction of St Mark’s. After being your rector for 10 years, we thought it was time to see where we’d all like to go in the next 10 years.
We had some great conversations, and received some really good feedback. We’ll be talking about some of this feedback at the Annual Meeting, and then the vestry will be using the data at the annual vestry retreat to chart the course for next year and beyond.
If you did not have a chance to participate in one of the meetings, we’d still love to hear your perspective. Below is the full text of the four questions that were asked and discussed. You can email, mail, or drop by your responses anytime.
Thanks so much!
Fr Rick
Or: 140 South Finley Ave, Basking Ridge, 07920
1. It’s truly mind boggling to think that my family and I arrived in Basking Ridge a decade ago. When the moving van pulled up, and we began this new chapter of our lives here, our kids were just these little girls, and I had a full head of dark hair. My heart is very glad to have the privilege of serving as rector of St Mark’s. I love my job, and I love all of you. And, I love what we’ve done with the past ten year’s. But, now it’s time to look forward to the next ten. After Fr. Rosselle finished him time as rector, people of St Mark’s began the hard work of discernment; asking the questions: Who IS St Mark’s? What makes St Mark’s tick? These questions were posed and answered so that the discernment committee would know what to look for in a new rector. Ten years later, we aren’t looking for a new priest, but I’m very much interested in asking those questions of discernment again. The answers you give will help the vestry and I chart the course for the next decade of ministry at St. Mark’s. The first question is a simple one that comes right out of the discernment process that St Mark’s initiated a decade ago: What makes St Mark’s, St. Mark’s? What makes up our core identity? What aspects of our personality, what ministries, what quirks make St Mark’s the kind of church you want to belong to? Is there anything that’s important to you about St Mark’s that you feel we’ve lost sight of? The convener should make sure that the discussion covers worship/music, outreach, Christian education, and fellowship.
2. There’s a national trend, that is very much reflected here at St Mark’s, where regular, committed church members are attending church with less frequency. This becomes reflected in sinking Sunday morning attendance numbers and a significantly reduced Sunday School each week. This means that there is less continuity from week to week, where people in the pews this week don’t know what was done last week, or what will be going on the following week. Because of this, we worry that it causes people to feel less connected to the parish family—less connected to the mission of St Mark’s—less connection to the various ministries we offer—and even disconnected from the financial needs of the parish. With this in mind, we are always looking for new ways to get people connected and keep people connected. We have a modern and up-to-date website. We have a full presence on social media. We broadcast our Sunday 10AM services online. From time to time we purchase ads on Facebook and Instagram to let people who aren’t members of St Mark’s know that we’re here. We send handwritten notecards to people who move into town. We create videos as the core of our Adult Education programs, so that people can engage the content even if they aren’t in church that week. We are putting a lot of effort into Alpha—one of the most proven ways to grow a congregation. We try to do things out in the community, like the services in the Park and book studies in Starbucks. How do you think we could better meet the spiritual needs of people today in the Somerset Hills? You might also want to discuss whether you think YOUR Sunday attendance has changed in the last decade, and if so why? Have your own spiritual needs shifted?
3. Over the past several years we’ve sought input from parishioners about the Sunday service itself. In response to the feedback we’ve received—mostly on the 10AM service—we’ve changed up the number of readings we do, how we do the prayers of the people, we’ve expanded our repertoire of music, we’ve made some parts of the service more participatory, we’ve put a spotlight on our healing and prayer ministries, and we’ve tried (and mostly succeeded) in getting the 10AM service consistently down to an hour. I have two questions here: What changes have worked for you, and what haven’t? That might be an easy one. The second question is: Would you be willing to be LESS satisfied with our worship in order for it to potentially attract new people who might be looking for something different than we currently offer?
4. Again, thank you so much for your time and your willingness to share. We are going to take your responses, and the responses of the other groups that are meeting, and sift through the wisdom of St Mark’s. Finally, What do you dream St Mark’s could be in 10 years time? What do you want St Mark’s to look like? To be like? How might we get from here to there, and what are YOU willing to do to help make those dreams a reality?