The Vision Planning Process Committee (“VPPC”) was
formed as the result of the implementation of the New Century Plan. In April 2001, Council adopted the
recommendation of the Long Range Planning Committee that a new committee be
formed “whose purpose will be the development of a new Planning and Visioning
Process for Old South Church.”
In
particular, the Long Range Planning Committee’s Recommendation report of April
10, 2001, stated that the Church’s purpose “is to ‘worship God, to preach the
Gospel of Jesus Christ, and to celebrate the sacraments; to realize Christian
fellowship and unity within this Church and the Church Universal; to render
loving service towards humankind and to strive for righteousness, justice and
peace.’ As we seek through various
means to manifest this high calling, we will surely want and need the resources
of people, ideas, time and money to affect it.
To make this possible, we believe a new Long Range Planning process
should be mounted and that other matters itemized in the Campbell Report such
as Public Relations recommendations, Membership Growth efforts, Stewardship and
capital programs can be most carefully considered as the church goes about its
long range planning and visioning for the future.”
The
mission of the VPPC was, therefore, to develop and propose a “plan for
planning” for the next five or six year plan for Old South Church. Our job was the first of a three-stage
process. In this first stage, we are
proposing the findings and recommendations set forth herein to the Congregation
and Council, regarding how the next planning process may occur and what
substantive matters it should address.
Our stated goal was to provide
the Congregation with a Review of current significant planning issues and
Proposals for facilitating and implementing steps to achieve planning
priorities.
II.
Work Performed
The
Committee began its work by addressing the fact that Old South operates on a
number of assumptions - - many of which go largely unspoken. We decided it was important to first
determine if those assumptions are shared among us before embarking on the next
planning process. We also sought to
make it clear that the planning process is, of course, open to and dependent
upon the participation of everyone at Old South, and is not driven by any
predetermined goal.
The VPPC met ten times since the Summer of
2001. We met with the Chair of the
prior Planning Committee, John Weingartner, and learned what worked best for
those who went before us. In order to
share information with and obtain opinions from the Congregation, we ran a
series of informational notices in the Sunday Bulletin and solicited member
participation. Those notices also
served to emphasize the Church’s accomplishments through its implementation of
the New Century Plan.
In
addition, the VPPC sponsored three open Church Forums in January 2002. Fifty-five attendees shared their views on
what Old South currently offers to its members and the community-at-large, as
well as what “needs” we each bring to Old South. The Committee wants to thank all those who took the time to
attend a Forum and participate, as well as those who have otherwise contributed
their ideas and suggestions. The
following findings and recommendations are based largely on that input we
received from the Congregation.
In the document attached hereto, we have summarized
1) facts and opinions concerning the current status of Old South most commonly
expressed by the members of the Congregation from whom the Committee was able
to obtain input; 2) what the Committee determined to be their most significant
implications regarding Old South’s future; and 3) our resulting conclusions as
to what issues the planning process needs to address.
All of the “raw data” collected by the VPPC will
also be made available to its successor committee (including all written
submissions to the VPCC from members of the Congregation, both as part of the
Forum exercises and otherwise). While
there may be additional implications and conclusions to be drawn from the
information gathered to date, we have tried to focus on what we believe are the
most important for the planning process.
We will also make available potential questions to
ask the Congregation on a range of issues, including those with regard to
demographic information, as well as our meeting notes and materials.
III.
Conclusions
The information we obtained, and our related
conclusions and recommendations, are organized around the five core “missions”
of Old South at the present time: Worship,
Education, Outreach, Fellowship, and Pastoral Care. Some of the findings may relate to more than one area.
A. Planning
Process
1)
The planning process must be open to all and seek to include those whose
opinions would otherwise go unheard.
2)
It is key for the Congregation to understand the planning is not driven by any
predetermined goal (e.g., membership growth, fundraising).
3)
The planning process needs to be thorough, but should be completed as soon as
possible.
4) Once Old
South has determined its priorities, plans should be designed and steps put in
place to achieve those priorities as soon as possible.
B.
Planning Issues
Old South now finds itself at a crossroad. It is in a different place than it was ten, five, or even one year ago. Challenges have been met and overcome. With burdens of the past no longer on our backs, we are now able to “stretch our arms and flex our muscles.”
At a time when many of our fellow churches have been lost or see themselves shrinking, Old South has been able to hold its own. But will that suffice? Old South stands strong today, armed with significant strengths and resources - - able and ready to face the future in whatever way the Congregation chooses.
Conclusions
Concerning Worship:
1)
OSC should retain its current elements, style and feel
of worship service.
2) Importance and value of Rev. Jim
Crawford’s contribution to OSC is recognized and appreciated.
3) There is a large unrealized potential
for more people to participate in worship at OSC.
4) Why is the OSC worship experience not
widely known?
Conclusions
Concerning Education:
1) Need to evaluate desire and
opportunities to expand further beyond Sunday morning Bible study.
2)
Develop comprehensive Christian education programs based on a desire to
support and encourage children’s education and extend adult offerings.
3) Need to develop a spiritual formation
program based on a desire to broaden small group programs and opportunities.
4) Research and evaluate alternative
venues for learning (video, audio, etc.)
Conclusions
Concerning Outreach:
1) Evaluate reciprocity in outreach
relationships based on desire to maximize what people “receive” as well as
“give” through outreach service.
2) Investigate and make known the broader
historic context of OSC traditions related to support for outreach (e.g., City
Mission Society, Boston Community Loan Fund).
3) Address how to build upon our outreach
traditions based on a desire to extend action within our community.
4) Need new nomenclature to describe our
values for service that indicate a unity of purpose; avoid indefinite terms or
labels (e.g., “social justice”).
5)
Evaluate desire and opportunities for increasing the profile and dimensions of
OSC work and involvement in the community.
1) OSC not perceived by everyone to be as
welcoming as it would like.
2) Those inside the community feel
accepted and want to maintain that aspect of OSC.
3) Need to investigate ways to attract
other segments of the community with a desire to increase diversity.
4) Need to decide whether to grow, and if
so, how - - coupled with desire to maintain best aspects of a “small church.”
5) Staff support, volunteer, building and
financial resources must be evaluated and monitored on an ongoing basis as they
relate to appropriate settings and increased opportunities for fellowship.
6) Diversity in membership may require
diversity in leadership; evaluate desire for diversity in leadership.
Conclusions
Concerning Pastoral Care:
1) Personnel and financial resources
dedicated to pastoral care are important to maintain.
2) Investigate how to deliver
“Caritas-like” service in geographically diverse communities where OSC members
of Congregation live (i.e., the “other 50%” of the Congregation).
IV.
Recommendations
A. Planning
Process
1) We recommend that Council ask the
Leadership Committee to nominate a Planning Committee of six to eight members
of Old South to act on the recommendations of the VPPC set forth herein, and
otherwise as they deem appropriate, to determine the Congregation’s priorities
for Old South Church and propose a plan to achieve them within the following
five years.
The Planning Committee would regularly
report to the Congregation on its progress and propose its final proposed Plan
to the Congregation and Council within 18 months of the Committee’s first
meeting.
2) The Planning Committee should include
Council, Trustee, Deacon, and representation from the Congregation at large.
3) The Planning Committee should seek
information and input from those who do not regularly attend or participate at
OSC; non-members; and both internal and external stakeholders.
4) The Committee should pursue multiple
approaches to data collection, including individual interviews, surveys, etc…
5) The Committee should obtain and make
decisions based upon updated demographic data as needed.
B.
Planning Issues
The Congregation must decide what the priorities are for Old South. What does it mean to be this church - - this Old South Church in Boston?
Recommendations
Concerning Worship:
1) Evaluate whether and how we can build upon current strengths of
worship. Music and worship should
remain a priority at OSC.
2) Need to better understand and connect
with the community immediately outside the walls of OSC.
3) Address matters of pastoral succession
as is appropriate.
Recommendations Concerning Education:
1) Need to collect more data specific to
adult spiritual formation needs (“what do you wish?”).
2) Should address the implications of meeting those spiritual
formation desires with regard to staffing and other resources through program
design (“how shall we do it?”).
Recommendations Concerning Outreach:
1) Undertake evaluation of history and
current status of outreach activity.
2) Recognize and evaluate how outreach
activity and fellowship opportunities relate to, and help sustain, each other.
3) Process must lead to a Congregation
decision about outreach priorities and how to increase opportunities for
engagement of members.
Recommendations Concerning Fellowship:
1) Obtain information and insight about
and from churches that have grown successfully.
2) Plan for growth will depend upon
fundamental choices the Congregation must make. All implications regarding staffing, budget and program
investment must be considered.
Recommendations
Concerning Pastoral Care:
1) Need to better understand the existing successes and unmet
needs, as well as the limits, of pastoral care as currently staffed - - from
provider and recipient viewpoints.
2) Increase awareness in Congregation about availability and
benefits of pastoral care.
3) Consider training Congregation
participants in pastoral care so that support resources are greater and more
capable.
* * * * * *
We
trust this will assist in guiding the planning process as it moves to its next
stage. We are honored to have been able
to serve the men, women and children of Old South Church in this capacity.
It is our hope that our brothers and sisters in Christ will help shape and share in the Vision of Old South’s future - - as we continue to realize God’s plan for us all.
VPPC
Members: Russell Gregg
(Chair), James Crawford (Ex Officio), Eleanor Jensen (Secretary), Steve Silver,
Mary Riffe Hiss, Ron Smith, Linda Jenkins, Phil Stern, Elizabeth Tustian, Lorry
Spitzer.