St Philip's Anglican Church, O'Connor: Parish Day of Reflection 2022

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Parish Day of Reflection — 22 October 2022

Summary

This summary of the day synthesises notes taken during plenary discussions after the morning session and following the group sessions in the afternoon. The order of bullet points is random and does not reﬂect any priority.

WHO WE ARE
- worship — God-centred, recognisably Anglican, liturgical, familiar, traditional
- mindset - generous orthodoxy, progressive, open-minded, generous, open, accepting, tolerant, welcoming, inclusive, serious yet joyful
- demographics — largely white, middle-class, middle-aged, older people
- outwardness — Pandoras, climate, refugees
- situation — comfortable, sameness, destination church,
- spiritual diversity, financially unsustainable without reserves, safe environment
DREAMING ABOUT THE FUTURE
- worship — more accessible
- mindset — more welcoming, more intentionally prayerful
- demographics — greater visually diverse, more families
- outwardness - more engaged with First Nation's peoples
- situation — more energy, more community activities, more open to gifts
STAND-OUT IDEAS
- build relationship with UC and ANU
- increase visibility and awareness
- run Alpha course
- install technology for accessibility
- engage more with Tongan congregation
- resource use:
  - better utilise retired clergy ‘
  - better utilise church facilities (buildings, outside spaces)
  - create opportunities for prayer to support our missions and activities (weekly prayer time for St Philip's, Parishioners, Parish Council activities, youth)
- employ casual or part time person to provide support
- revive habit of attending church (Back to church Sunday, Christmas invitations)
- establish homegroups (for prayer, study, fellowship)
CONSIDERATIONS
- matters for caution
  - biting off more than we can chew: think big but start small and gently
  - overestimating availability of volunteers
  - moving in new directions without prayer
  - be aware that our Anglican-ness is comforting for some and confronting for others
MATTERS FOR OPTIMISM
- our situation
  - strong Parish and appealing to others
  - our version of church has legs
  - we like our Parish: relevant, related and required in our community
  - willing to share our skills and talents
  - prevalence of energy within Parish
- our dreaming
  - commonalities
  - realistic
  - God is moving, we need to keep up
  - open to miracles
  - desire for God