Related Pages
In 2022, the Community of Faith Council and Pastoral Relations Council were merged into one Council. This page will provide information on the new Council's activities.
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Contact Information
While this page is in development, please contact Reception for the CFSPR Council's email addresses.
Enjoy learning about the Community of Faith Support & Pastoral Relations Council (CFSPRC) by reading their 2023 report to the region. It can be found on page 78 of the 2024 Agenda & Reports Booklet.
Greetings all,
2023 marked our first full year as a combined Community of Faith Support and Pastoral Relations Council. One of the tasks still to focus on is to come up with a shorter name!
We met four times virtually and in person in the fall for a two-day retreat to assess how the combining of the two councils has gone and to set key priorities for 2024.
One of the highlights of each meeting is hearing directly from the ministers in the field, either hearing a story from a community of faith or a pastoral relationship. We feel this gives us a glimpse at the richness and diversity of ministry through our Region and we are grateful for it. As part of our planning session in the Fall, each member of the council reached out to 3-4 communities of faith throughout our region as another way to check in and get a sense of how things were going. This proved to be a rich experience for Council members who appreciated listening to those in ministry around the Region.
2023 also marked the third of the three-year cycle that we set to review all of the self assessments from the communities of faith in this region. We are grateful for the work of staff, members of our Self Assessment team and the members of the Communities of Faith who worked diligently to complete these assessments. In total, we reached out to 147 communities of faith to complete the self assessment and we received 109 completed within the reporting period. We deeply appreciate the work and discernment that goes into completing them, especially since we know that human resources are usually stretched. This is important work which helps us understand the success and challenges being experienced and detect trends and ways to better support your ministry.
Some of the key trends that we see arising are:
- A renewed focus on refining vision and purpose to guide future endeavors effectively.
- Increasing adoption of digital engagement strategies to reach broader audiences.
- Heightened emphasis on community care and support initiatives amidst evolving societal needs.
- Innovative approaches to worship and outreach to meet the changing needs of congregants.
- Renewed commitment to spiritual formation and discipleship within congregational life.
- Emphasis on adaptive leadership and collaborative ministry models to navigate complexities.
- Firm commitment to social justice advocacy and inclusivity within congregational contexts.
- Ongoing challenges related to financial sustainability and resource management, requiring
strategic planning and support.
In addition to the Self Assessment Team there are other task groups under the umbrella of the Community of Faith and Pastoral Relations Council which meet regularly. The Approvals Working Group meets at least once a month to review and determine whether applications for sales of church property, renovations and lease agreements should be approved. The Pastoral Relations Working Group often meets several times a month to review and approve Ministry Profiles and Search applications, ministry position descriptions, calls and appointments. We are grateful to this team for all the work they do in assisting congregations going through the many steps involved in a change of pastoral relationship.
As the name suggests, the Ministry Personnel Support Team offers spiritual support to ordered ministers in the region, including retired ministry personnel. Two task groups support Lay Leaders in PMR: The Lay Leadership Support Team offers support to self-identified congregational lay leaders while the Lay Leadership Working Group deals with practices and procedures for licensing Lay Worship Leaders, Sacrament Elders, Designated Lay Ministers, and Congregational Designated Ministers. Some of these policies and procedures are in the process of being developed by the Community of Faith and Pastoral Relations Council.
We also spent time this year developing and updating policies and procedures in the areas of Ministry Plans and considering how to support ministries in small towns and rural areas. Our priorities for 2024 are to continue to develop procedures and practices that support rural and isolated communities of faith, educate ourselves on what it means to decolonize our practices, and improve communication and access to procedures and policies.
We are grateful for the leadership of Jim Simpson, who stepped down as Chair in November 2023. Also stepping down from the Council this year are Ruth Stebbing and Donna Ziegler. These three individuals have all been on from the initial creation of the preceding councils and we appreciate their support of this ministry.
We are also grateful for our Regional Staff: Treena Duncan, Victoria Andrews, Kathy Davies, and Marina Lecian for their wisdom, faithfulness, and invaluable support for the work of this Council.
It is a privilege to work with Council members, Simone Carrodus, Heather Clarke, Joseph Kyser, Keith Simmonds, Shannon Tennant, and Laura Turnbull supporting ministry personnel and communities of faith in the Pacific Mountain Region.
Janice Young
Chair