Calling a New Rector

St Paul's Self Study Committee

Update from the Self-Study/Parish Profile Committee   March 1, 2012

By Myrna Koonce, on behalf of the Committee

 The SS/PP Committee has met weekly during January and February.  On February 2, Reverend Ann Broomell met with the Committee and engaged us in Appreciative Inquiry about our own hopes and dreams for St. Paul’s. 

 The results of the small group conversations at the annual meeting were synthesized and discussed by the Committee.  Some of the themes which emerged from each question were:

 Positive moments shared           

              Fellowship and sense of community with other parishioners

              Lay ministry

              Participation in community outreach

  Experience of deep connection to this church and personal  relationship with God      

  Heart and soul of St. Paul’s:

              The people:  talents shared and relationships forged; sense of shared purpose

Opportunity to grow spiritually

            Outreach

            Commitment to youth

 What keeps you coming back to St. Paul’s:

            Friendly and talented fellow parishioners

Loving and supportive atmosphere

Chance to be in small groups and involved in a ministry one cares about

Liturgy, music, weekly communion and other aspects of worship

Commitment to and acceptance of children and youth

Where you would like to see St. Paul’s in 5 years:

           Addition of worship services geared toward young people and families

           More Bible study, prayer groups

Expansion of small groups and times/days of programs 

Growth of music program

Improved and expanded welcoming ministry

Youth involved in community outreach

Sound financial stewardship

Quiet room/space for prayer/meditation

More parish-wide events/suppers

Strengthened ministry to and utilization of talents of retirees

As of February 24, we have received 196 surveys.  Some were paper copies, entered by members of the Committee, but most were submitted on-line.  The Committee will be discussing the data and how to use it in the Profile.

 As we began to set up meetings with small groups in the parish and other “cottage” meetings with the parish at St. Paul’s, the Highlands, and Thornton Oaks, we decided we would pose the same four questions to each group:

                What are we doing right at St. Paul’s?

                What challenges do you see at St. Paul’s right now?

                What gifts would you hope a new rector would bring to St. Paul’s?

                What do you want us to know or to consider as we go about preparing a profile?

These are intended to begin but not limit discussion within the groups.  Experience so far has shown that these small group discussions range over many topics beyond the four questions.

 As of February 26, members of the self-study committee have met with the retired clergy group, Wednesday Bible Study group, EarthCare Commission, Men’s Group, and Women’s Group.  Additional meetings will occur in late February and early March with Holy Stitchers/Bible Study,  Choir, Caring and Sharing, Lay Pastoral Visitors, and J2A.  Others, such as with Outreach, have yet to be scheduled.

 More cottage meetings are scheduled for February 27, 2:00 pm. at the Highlands; March 2, 2 pm, at Thornton Oaks; and March 4 at St. Paul’s, 9:15 am, between the services.   These are open to any parishioner.

 Again, please feel free to contact any one of us at any time.  Our e-mail addresses and phone numbers are on the website, in our report under the “Calling a New Rector” button.

 

Report from the Self-Study/Parish Profile Committee   February 10, 2012

In November, the self-study committee (SS/PP) met with Diocesan Transition Consultant Chris Calloway over two evenings, to organize ourselves and form our leadership. Since our November meetings, the Self-Study Committee has met 5 more times. We anticipate meeting more or less weekly going forward.

The Discernment Committee (DC) met with Chris once in November, previous to the Self-Study meeting, where they determined their leadership and who on the DC would be the "cross-over" members on the SS/PP. The resulting membership is as follows:

Self-Study Committee (SS/PP) Members:  

James Ford (Chair)                           Zack Collins (DC)

Andree Appel (Co-Chair) (DC)        Lynne Caswell

Jean Mulligan                                    Myrna Koonce

Leslie Brancart (DC)                        Caroline Savage

Kate Egan                                        Tom Nugent

Steve Thomas (DC)                         Paul Womer

Discernment Committee (DC) Members:

Eileen Hornor (Co-Chair)       Leslie Brancart

Bonny Labonte (Co-Chair)    Hugh Savage

Anne Del Borgo                     Zack Collins

Mikie Perry                           Mark Nickerson

Andree Appel                       Anne Banks

Steve Thomas                        Bill Martens

Charge to the Self-Study  CommitteeThe SS/PP is charged with conducting the parish-wide self-study and developing St, Paul’s Parish Profile. This Parish Profile will be used by the Diocesan Transitional Ministries Office and the Discernment Committee to try to match the needs of the congregation to the talents and inclinations of the applicants for the Rector’s position.

Communication We hope to maintain regular communication with the parish as we move through our process. One of our methods will be through a new section on the website: "Calling a New Rector." Please visit the website and click on the button to find out what our latest news is. We will also write pieces for the Messenger, and provide short announcements and information about congregational opportunities in the Friday e-mail and the Sunday bulletin.

Survey Our initial focus was to develop the Survey that will allow us to gather data and will be the first step in the creation of the Parish Profile. We plan to use the survey results in conjunction with historical, demographic and financial data, as well as information gleaned from face-to-face conversations, to create the Parish Profile.

The Survey is mainly an on-line survey, to facilitate and expedite tabulating the results, and we ask that as many parishioners as are able fill out the on-line version. An e-mail with the link to the survey has gone out to all parishioners for whom we have an e-mail address, and the link is posted on St. Paul’s website under the "Calling a New Rector" button. Paper copies are available, and have been mailed to those parishioners for whom we do not have a current e-mail address. SS/PP members will enter data from paper copies, and stand ready to assist in any way we can. 

Congregational Meetings and Conversations In addition, the committee has been working to develop other means by which parish groups and individual members can voice their thoughts and concerns about where we are and "where we are going" in regards to the calling of a new Rector.

Our first opportunity was at the annual meeting. 110 people gathered to do the regular business of the parish, hear Tom Nugent’s presentation on the survey, and participate in small table discussions on one of four questions posed by the committee.

These questions were

• Can you share with us one of your most positive moments at St. Paul's?
• What keeps you coming back to St. Paul's?

What do you consider to be the heart and soul of St. Paul's?

• Where do you see St. Paul's five years from now?

Conversation was lively and several common themes emerged during the reporting-out portion of the program. Members of the SS/PP Committee are working on synthesizing the information and will make the results available to the congregation once this is accomplished.

The next opportunity for an open forum parish gathering, "Who Are We? Who Could We Be?: Furthering the Conversation" will be on Thursday, February 16, at 7 pm in the Great Hall. On Sunday, March 4, at 9:15 am, we will facilitate a series of concurrent small group conversations on specific topics, such as Outreach, Christian Formation, The Role of Youth in the Parish and The Role of Music.

We are in the process of setting up meetings at Thornton Oaks and the Highlands.. We also will solicit input from specific groups, including (but not limited to) the Men’s Group, Women’s Group, Choir, Worship Commission, Earthcare, Outreach, Lay Pastoral Visitors.

As always, individual members of the Self Study Committee are available to speak with any parishioner at any time. To that end, we have put our e-mail addresses and phone numbers at the end of this report.

Time Line We have developed a preliminary time line to help guide our efforts. We recognize that this time line may need to be adjusted, based on emerging needs throughout the process, the church calendar and other parish events.

January 22, 2012 Survey rollout and table discussions at Annual Meeting

January 22 to mid-February Parishioners fill out survey. Results are tabulated by members of the SS/PP.

Mid-February to mid-March Focus group meetings and meetings with parish small groups

Compilation and weighing of data from all sources

Mid-March-Easter Writing of first draft of the Parish Profile

Full Participation It is our goal to achieve 100% participation by parishioners in the self-study. As we go forward in the Discernment process, the Self Study Committee hopes to model the type of inclusive dialogue that we would like to see take place throughout the congregation. We welcome the input of all parishioners as we strive to create a Parish Profile that truly reflects who we are in all our diversity. Please feel free to contact any one of us at any time.

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE SELF STUDY COMMITTEE 2012

Name           E-mail Address            Phones:          L-Land            C-Cell

ANDREE APPEL    cybaers@aol.com                        C: 207-319-4993

LESLIE BRANCART     lwrancart@yahoo.com          L: 729-7873

LYNNE CASWELL         lccasw@comcast.net           L: 729-5639

ZACK COLLINS    zackc632@gmail.com                  L: 721-3203

                                nejstpauls@hotmail.com               C: 1-978-387-6059

KATE EGAN kateegan@myfairpoint.net                      L: 729-3146     C: 504-6085

JAMES FORD     jef54@comcast.net                          L: 729-5584     C: 841-9377

MYRNA KOONCE myrnakoonce@comcast.net         L: 725-7103     C: 504-1882

JEAN MULLIGAN     mulls50@comcast.net                L: 798-6765      C:286-7524

TOM NUGENT    tmnugent@roadrunner.com              L: 737-2369

CAROLINE SAVAGE crs.after5@gmail.com               L: 729-8026      C: 751-6393

STEVE THOMAS sthomas@sharondrake.com             L: 666-8296     C: 751-4904

PAUL WOMER pwomer@gwi.net                                L: 373-1020       C:449-7425

 

 

 

February 2, 2012
Have You Completed Your Survey - Answers to some FAQs about the Survey
If you have completed and submitted your survey, thank you!  If not, we look forward to receiving it as soon as possible.  Do you have questions about completing the survey? Please see the following FAQ (frequently-asked-questions) below:

1. After entering the survey can I go back to a previous page?
A: Yes, BUT… At the bottom of each page, the arrows pointing left/right will move you to the preceding or following page. On occasion, some respondents have found that going back to review your answers will delete previously entered information. We cannot correct this problem, but we warn you of the possibility.
2. Is the survey to be completed by families or individuals?
A: We request that each individual complete the survey. We want to hear from each of you. This will also help us determine how close we come to 100% participation. We do request that only one individual (parent) complete the demographic portion regarding the number of children in the family.
3. Why does the email with the survey have two versions, "Read Only Survey" and "Live Survey?
A: The "Read Only Survey" is formatted for printing at home. With the printed version, you can read the questions, contemplate your answers, perhaps make notations before taking the survey. The "Live Survey" is the real survey that records and transmits your responses.
4. I'm having problems with the computer survey. Are "hard" (printed) copies available?
A: Yes, copies are available in the church office.
5. There are parishioners who do not have computers or email addresses. Will they get copies?
A: Yes. Copies have been mailed to church members without email access.
6. I have a computer, but do not use email Can I still complete the survey on-line?
A: Yes. The survey can also be found on the church web site (www.stpaulsmaine.org).
7. I do not have a computer, but would still like to have my information entered via the on-line version. Is that possible?
A: Yes. Self-Study and Profile Committee members can assist you at St. Paul's. Please contact us for an appointment.
8. What about children at home or away at school?
A: We encourage mature children at home to complete the survey. We also realize that we have active church members away at school; we want to hear from them. If you provide the church office with their email address, we will send them the survey.
9. The text boxes within the survey seem quite small. I'd like to write more than the space would seem to allow. What should I do?
A: The text boxes will expand to accommodate any size comments. Please write as much as you need.
10. I still have questions. Whom do I ask for help?
A. Please contact any member of the Self-Study and Profile Committee. A list of their names and contact information has been provided. They are also available after Sunday services. Please do not hesitate to contact us.



 January 22,2012
    Calling a new rector for St. Paul’s requires that we prepare a profile of the parish that can be studied by prospective candidates. The profile includes background information, such as a bit of history, some census data about Brunswick and the surrounding area, and a profile of the St. Paul’s community.
     Some of the information for the profile can be gleaned from census data and by looking at historical materials. But the heart and soul of the document is the content about us, the people of St. Paul’s—our demographic profile, our preferences regarding worship and parish activities, and our desires regarding outreach, stewardship, and the diocese and other spiritual communities.
     The 12-member Self-Study Committee anticipates that the primary means of obtaining this information is by encouraging every member of the parish to respond to our PARISH SURVEY, which we are conducting through a website designed for this purpose. Your participation is critical to a fair appraisal of the “spiritual culture” of St. Paul’s Church. Members of the committee have actually tested the survey and found that it takes about 45 minutes to an hour to complete.  The first link below is to a read-only file (called a “pdf file” in geek-speak), which you can view and print out to see what questions we are asking. It is there to give you some level of comfort about what we are looking for. Please note that it is a “read-only” file: If you try clicking on buttons or filling-in boxes, your efforts will not be saved when you quit.  The second link below is a live connection to the website that is actually collecting and tabulating the responses. When you’re ready to spend the time to fill out the survey, click on this link to go directly to the questionnaire. You may also access the live survey by going to the St. Paul ’s website (http://www.stpaulsmaine.org) and clicking on the section called “Calling a New Rector.”

A couple of reminders about the live survey:

      - If you exit the survey before you complete all the questions and press the “Done” button, you may return another time to take the survey, but your original answers will not have been saved.

       - You are not required to answer any questions.  If you don’t feel like responding to a particular question, just skip it and move on to the next one.  But be sure to go all the way to the end and press the “Done” button when finished.

 

     Here is a link to the read-only (pdf) file: Read Only Survey

 

     Here is a link to the live survey: Live Survey

 

 

January 15, 2012
 A message from the Self-Study Committee:  The annual meeting, always important, will take on special significance this year as we continue our period of discernment.  Besides the usual business, including elections,  the self-study committee has prepared added segments.  Members of the committee will explain the detailed survey that you will be requested to complete.  Small discussion groups will then meet over coffee and light refreshments.  The survey is computer-based to enable speedy collation and tabulation of the data, and actually can be easier to complete than a paper copy.  We know that some of you are less comfortable with computers than others, but if at all possible we ask that you try to complete the survey on line.  Assistance and paper copies will be available as we move through the process.  As a first step, and to fully inform yourselves, please plan to attend the annual meeting, beginning right after the 9:00 service on January 22. 

 

December 18, 2012 
We commissioned our Discernment Committee and our Self Study Committee