Council Goes on Pilgrimage

Council Goes on Pilgrimage

The Rev. Vicki Ix, Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times

Have you ever wondered what Diocesan Council does? We elect them at convention and then they go to work for us. They meet regularly at Diocesan House with the bishop and canons to oversee the mission of our congregations and our community-based ministries. It’s not glamorous ministry. It’s roll-up-your-sleeves work, but it is grounded in common prayer and inspired by the Holy Spirit. “I think, if nothing else, it’s giving those of us on council a chance to talk to people in churches that we typically wouldn’t talk to,” Janet added. It is about discovering who’s doing what where.

Recently, I sat down with two members of Diocesan Council, Wende Wheeler and Janet Walsh Young, to talk about the council’s Pilgrim age Project—a virtual visit to every congregation via phone interview or email.

It was Mark Rogers’ idea, according to Janet. It bubbled up at the 2019 council retreat. Mark suggested that the best way for the council to help congregations would be to find out what’s going on in each congregation. Council members would call every congregation and interview the leadership—lay and ordained—to learn about the great ministry going on out there. The second stage would be to make this information available to parishes so that new ideas could grow and be shared. The idea was overwhelmingly approved. The 51 congregations were divided up and council members began their “pilgrimage” last spring.

Wende Wheeler

Photo: Episcopal WMA

The project is ongoing. Phone calls and emails are being exchanged, and as connections are made and interviews completed, each council member submits a report of what they have learned. “The data is coming together to form this rich document,” Wende said. “We can be a more effective council when we know more about the diocese at large, as opposed to just our own little silos.”

Janet Walsh Young

Photo: Episcopal WMA

“I think, if nothing else, it’s giving those of us on council a chance to talk to people in churches that we typically wouldn’t talk to,” Janet added. It is about discovering who’s doing what where.

As part of the pilgrimage project, every congregation is being asked about the ministry that has the most energy right now, that is engaging members and meeting some need. Both Janet and Wende noted that, of the responses so far, the signature ministry isn’t always some innovative, out-of-the-box idea. “Some churches are doing small, consistent work of some sort that they feel the need to do,” Janet said. “There are really good things going on and they’re not all huge bells-and-whistles going off. They’re just quiet, good ministry.”

What began as an effort to deepen and enrich the relationship between council and congregations can now become a source of inspiration for congregations. When the Pilgrim age Project is complete, council will share these ideas for ministry with the diocese. In the meantime, they hope that congregations will go on pilgrimage themselves and be inspired by the ministry happening here in our diocese.

For more about this, check out page 9 for using The Episcopal Asset Map as a tool for “visiting” our congregations. In "The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning", Ernest Kurtz reminds us that the journey does not have to be long. “[A] journey becomes a pilgrimage as we discover, day by day, that the distance traveled is less important than the experience gained.” ♦

Here's a sample of what some churches have shared with council so far:

"We open our doors on Thursday afternoons and welcome the under-served in our community. We provide warmth, warm and cold meals, beds to sleep on, fellowship, hygiene products, clothing, and community. We’ve had as many as 170 guests come through the doors. This ministry runs from September through May."

Thursday Café All Saints Episcopal Church, Worcester

"We have three different elder homes in which we celebrate Eucharist each month. But this is truly a group ministry. Members come along, provide snacks for fellowship, and help residents find their way in the BCP. Some weeks, we even have more members worshiping than residents."

Traveling Church Trinity Episcopal Church, Ware

"This is a group that goes out into the community to do odd jobs for people that no longer have the physical capability, or the financial resources to hire people to do things such as fall and spring cleanup or something as big as build a wheelchair ramp on a house."

Helping Hands Ministry St. Francis Episcopal Church, Holden