Rev. Yme Woensdregt

You’ve heard about Together in Mission before. Last year, we concluded a Feasibility Study about the possibility of conducting a financial stewardship campaign in our Diocese. Many people in the Diocese worked hard at this task. I am deeply grateful for your work and your interest in being part of the study.

The result of the study was an 80–page report by Martha Asselin, the Consultant with whom we worked. The study is chock full of data, and gives a very important picture of our Diocese at this time in history. You can find the full report on our Diocesan website at http://www.kootenayanglican.ca/together-in-mission/. Go ahead. Have a look. It’s good stuff.

The report tells us that there is strong support for a campaign, and that the biggest need revolves around developing and nurturing leadership within the Diocese—clergy leadership, lay leadership, and developing young people to become strong leaders.

The Diocesan Council has given leadership to move into the next phase. We have recruited a new committee to refine the Case, to articulate a compelling vision, and to begin implementing a campaign.

The Committee is comprised of Archbishop John Privett, Nissa Basbaum (Kelowna), Trevor Freeman (Fernie), Kim and Paul Glen (Okanagan Falls), Chris Harwood–Jones (Vernon), Robin Ruder–Celiz (Creston), Richard Simpson (Summerland), Sandra Stickney (Naramata) and Yme Woensdregt (Cranbrook). We will add more people as the campaign progresses.

The Committee has met once at the Diocesan Centre. Three very important outcomes of that meeting are:

1. We have set a goal of $2 million, and we are refining the Case, focusing on Leadership Development as a key element of this campaign.
2. We completed a Request for Proposal which was sent to 4 fundraising consultants recommended by the Anglican Church of Canada. We hope to have responses by the end of January so that we can proceed to hire a consultant by the end of March.
3. We are planning to hold a Leadership Weekend in late April or early May, bringing together allthe clergy and representative lay leaders from every parish. We hope to build ownership in the campaign and to build enthusiasm for it; we want to hear reservations about the campaign, and we hope to communicate a common vision for the campaign.

These are exciting developments. Please hold this campaign and the Steering Committee in your prayers. This is an important moment in the life of our Diocese; I look forward expectantly as God’s Holy Spirit leads us into the future. I pray we may respond faithfully and with open hearts to God’s call. Indeed, we are together in mission.