St. Augustine‘s Parish Visioning – September 13^th, 2009

St. Augustine’s Anglican Church is a moderate sized parish consisting of approximately 350 families. We are located adjacent to Memorial University (about 20,000 students) and are surrounded on one side by 987 low cost housing units where the average income per household is $14,000.00.  We enjoy a strong outreach to our neighbourhood through outreaches like the Community Kitchen, support of the local Community Center, an outreach of hospitality to the university campus and a warm and inviting worshipping community.  We are very proud of our Gospel Band and the appeal they have generated through their ministry.

We are blessed to have a fairly modern church building, built in the shape of an ark, it is 6 sided and is very ascetically pleasing. Our church building holds about 500 people and between our three Sunday services, we average approximately 160 – 180 per Sunday.  Our Hall is also built for hospitality and can sit about 200 people for a meal.  About 50 parishioners took part in our visioning workshop

“As a Parish, we see that St. Augustine’s is in a time of transition.  The society that many of us began our church life in has changed dramatically. The promise of a housing development our church was built in the midst of has been replaced by the University, Hospital and other commercial ventures.   Our Church’s prominence within society and the changes in the school system has caused a major rethinking of how we reach out to our young families.  Many original families to our church have experienced the pain of out migration.  Part of St. Augustine’s parishioner’s pain includes the sense of failure many feel in knowing that their own children have made choices that have led them away from the Church.  While at times we long for simpler days, we are pleased that our Lord has placed these challenges before us and has encouraged us to respond with a transformational faith – and we see evidence of this transformational faith all around us.

As we long for an increased number of young families, we find ourselves rejoicing in the youth who call St. Augustine’s home.  As a church, we know that it is never enough to want young families, it is also in making young families feel welcome that always must be a priority.  We know that as St. Augustine’s continues to transform, it must celebrate all ages, knowing that each generation offers significant insights and contributions to the body of Christ.  One way, that we as a parish wish to do this, is learning from other churches and denominations of their success and seeking to share our successes and resources with sister churches within our city.  In saying this, we are aware of our unique heritage, and that we never want to lose sight of our roots.  St. Augustine’s is at its best when we promote fellowship, address personal issues, work for advocacy, and enhance learning opportunities.

As we engage society, we believe St. Augustine’s  must create additional worship times throughout the week – times for young families whose Sundays are crowded with sports, times for those who work in the area, and times of meditation within our busy lives.  We celebrate our groups who have helped create our church to be a major focus for many of our parishioners, yet we also know that more must be done to enhance our hospitality as we seek to reach out to the community – we continue to seek to make St. Augustine’s a center of worship and fellowship.  We know that making better use of our facilities will promote this vision.

Christian education is an opportunity to pass on our faith and is a gift from God and must be treated as such.  Whether it be preparation times for Baptism, Marriage Confirmation, or studies of God Word, due honour must be given to these times and the our parish must find ways to not only honour them but uphold them in prayer.  Increased times of prayer, study and learning must be at the center of our outreach.”

Draw your church together, O Lord, into one great company of disciples, together following our Lord Jesus Christ into every walk of life, together serving him in his mission to the world, and together witnessing to his love on every continent and island. We ask this in His name and for His sake. Amen.

I am an Anglican and also a full time staff member of Alpha Canada Ministries. I oversee the Atlantic region and also the development of The Marriage and The Marriage Preparation Courses as well as the new Parenting Courses in Canada. I work with all denominations and ministries so find it interesting to be in churches and traditions other than my own – it stretches me and gives me a broader perspective.

I get frequent emails from couples looking for a Marriage Preparation Course after they google “marriage preparation” and find our website at: www.themarriagecourse.ca. Many have no relation to a church, but sense that this course, although based on Christian principles might have the practical information they are looking for. Often, they make a connection with a church by taking the course and beginning a relationship with us (they are relieved to see we are normal!). Unfortunately, there are not many churches running the course which I find so frustrating as it is an opportunity to bridge the gap between the outside and inside the church and we are not able to provide a church with a registered course.

I would LOVE our Anglican Church to embrace some of the new tools to reach those outside the church (our kids who we long to be part of a faith that has sustained us). The Alpha course is one example. I just returned from an International Alpha Conference in London, England where we heard wonderful testimonies from over 100 countries of transformations of churches where young people had come to know what Christianity is all about. There were 75 Bishops in attendance (many attended a lunch meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury!)

I believe our beloved church is at a stage of assuming a new and emerging identity.  Those who cling to a past identity of the church often seek refuge from anything that exhibits change.  Those who embrace an emerging identity often lose patience with others who do not share the vision.

Despite these apparent conflicting views, one thing should remain true and foundational – we are people of GOOD NEWS!

I dream of a church that seeks only to tell the GOOD NEWS even if there is still a misunderstanding of what this Good News actually means.

I vision a church that seeks to partner with secular groups to show that Christ’s mission is indeed incarnational.  That is, we continue to show forth the “word made flesh” in our daily activities as a church living in the world.

I hope for a church that does not need to ask “where will we be in ten years time,” but asks “where do we need to be right now!”

I pray for a church that remains Christ-centred and wonders not “why have I chosen God,” but “why has God chosen me?”

I seek a changing church that responds to the unchanging grace that God gives to those who seem outside or forgotten by both the church and the world.

I know that we are a church that will have a place in the world, even if those within think we have lost our way.

Thank you for the opportunity,

Fr. Sam Rose
Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland & Labrador