The eCrozier

In March the Diocesan Council called for a feasibility study during 2010 to determine if the time was right in the coming years for a diocesan-wide capital campaign. Before we can make that determination, we first have to listen to the leaders of the diocese, both clergy and lay. During May and June, we will do just that. Council engaged the services of Dr. Royster Hedgepeth, an Episcopal layperson with years of experience in strategic planning and capital campaigns, to help us in this discernment process.

We will have at least six gatherings, one in each of the convocations. Each gathering will last two hours. At each gathering, participants will be able to share what they are passionate about; what they feel is most important for the Diocese to focus on. Once all that is listed on newsprint around the room, participants will have the opportunity to vote by placing colored stickers on the priorities that they feel are most important. By the end of each evening, participants will have visual evidence of that gathering’s priorities for the Diocese. Once all the data from all the gatherings is collected, your Diocesan Council hopes it will have a clear idea what the leaders of this Diocese have deemed important for our future. We will also have a better idea of what members of our Diocese would be willing to give if we had a capital campaign in the coming years. A summary of what we learned from these gatherings will be published on the Diocesan website.

Let me be clear here. Your Diocesan Council and I will pay attention to the data collected. If there seems to be a clear direction from the data and an equally clear signal that the people of our Diocese would give generously to that direction, then we will propose to the 2011 Diocesan Convention in Valdosta that we engage in a capital campaign. If, however, the data is not clear or the time for a successful capital campaign does not seem right, then we will choose not to have one. Either way, we will have learned something important about where the heart of the people in our Diocese is focused.

If you have not yet heard from the Dean of your Convocation, you soon will about the dates in your area of the Diocese for one of these gatherings. I hope each of you will make every effort to participate and invite others in your congregation to do so as well. Every person counts and your voice and passion for our common mission matters.

+Scott