This was recently posted at TitusOneNine from the DCNY. ed. Diocesan Vision Our Vision: "To be the passionate presence of Christ for one another and the world we are called to serve." Our Mission: "To restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ" (BCP p. 855, from An Outline of the Faith). We will do this by: † Being committed not to mere survival, but by being a vibrant, vital Church for the people of the 21st century. We will be a Church grounded in the mystery of Christ; deeply prayerful; prophetic (as in daring to speak the truth even when difficult); offering radical hospitality; and, filled with infinite respect. † Addressing the spiritual crisis in our midst. The main thing has too often ceased to be the main thing, as in keeping ourselves centered on God. We must be a clear vehicle of the Holy Spirit for the transformation of ourselves and all God's people. Our Diocesan Formation Program will be central in training leadership, lay and ordained, for this age. We will reclaim our baptismal promises as the basis for our ministry, reclaim our passion as the people of God and once again astonished by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. † The Diocesan Board owning its call "to articulate the mission of the Diocese, formulate strategies to carry out that mission?" We will be willing to encourage and enable all of us to make the at times hard decisions necessary to better live out the ministry of the Gospel in Central New York. † Being clear about who we are as a Diocese. No longer are we working primarily a one priest/one parish model. In addition, out of 105 churches, 69 are part-time, 60 are in some sort of decline. † Always becoming more mission oriented. We will develop mission teams in cooperation with district structures to better support ongoing ministries and strategize for newly forming ministries arising among us. To this end we will exercise flexible deployment policies. The Diocesan Formation Program will prepare people for ministry who are committed to this perspective. One of our mission priorities needs to be with youth, 21 years and younger. † Seeking to live by the example of Jesus as we seek to touch and be touched by the lives of the alienated, the un-churched, the least, the so-called unclean, disenfranchised and marginalized. † Having a Commission on Ministry that incarnates Title III of the Canons of the Episcopal Church to be more deeply faithful as we better prepare people for living out the ministry of all the baptized for this time. † Supporting and developing a viable ministry of the diaconate that will be a cornerstone for ministry in Central New York. We will have deacons in every parish who will assist us in being the Church's conscience for interpreting the needs of the world to the Church and keeping us connected to the communities we are called to serve. They will enable the ministry of all the baptized. † Continuing to develop a Diocesan Staff each of whom clearly understands her or his role as servant, being available to the parishes of the Diocese to assist the people of God in the work they are called to do. In so doing we will help instill confidence among us in the stewardship of our resources; the development of faith-filled and excellent leadership; communication to share the stories of God working among us and how we live together as the Body of Christ in Central New York; ministry to and with youth that continues gathering young people from around the diocese, yet is focused on locally based ministry; new mission opportunities for service and growth; and, deployment strategies which recognize the needs of individual parish communities along with the wider mission of the Diocese and the realities of Central New York. † Beginning preparation for a capital campaign to develop the resources necessary to carrying out our vision. † Having a clear and unwavering commitment to being a Safe Church for everyone who walks through our doors and all to whom and with we minister in Christ's name.

Comments at T19:

Loren+ wrote:

There’s an intriguing tension within this statement that I have seen elsewhere—between parishes and ministries. The statement here is clear that the diocesan parishes are struggling, 60 of 105 are in some sort of decline. (BTW I appreciate that honesty.) In the next paragraph however, rather than speaking of building up churches or parishes or congregations, the statement speaks of mission-oriented structures to better support ministries. I surmise that the authors of this statement, like others, have doubts about the integral good of being a church, a community called together by God out of the world (ecclesia) and filled with His Holy Spirit by the grace of Jesus Christ to be an “outpost” of heaven. Churches need ministries—but I am persuaded that the number one ministry of the Church is to be the Church, sinners worshiping an almighty and loving God as His sons and daughters, holy saints by faith in Jesus Christ.

Statmann wrote:

Reading the 2008 TEC Charts for the diocese offers little, if any, good news. From 2002 through 2008, the diocese lost 25 percent of Members, lost 22 percent of ASA, and lost 19 percent of Plate & Pledge when adjusted for inflation. Using these data I ranked it at 89 of 95 dioceses considered. The vision of the future is also bleak. Aging is very visible given 246 Infant Baptisms and 395 Burials in 2008. Parish size is not good when one sees that 64 of its 94 churches had ASA of 70 or less and 21 of the 64 had ASA of 20 or less. And Money is visibly tight as 76 of its 94 churches had Plate & Pledge of less than $150K in 2008 which means that each “rich” church had 4 “poor” churches to help support. And the fiscal mess in New York is not going to help. Statmann

Adam 12 wrote:

I can only think of the wonderful continuing parish I have visited in Syracuse that is down the street from the shuttered building the folk were forced out from [This would be St. Andrew's, Syracuse. ed.]. If you want to find people who are passionately presenting Christ to one another, visit that storefront ministry. Their suffering has produced people who radiate the Spirit and clergy and dedicated layfolk who have also lived the pain and are feeding their sheep. This piece talks about living in an “age” as if it were some sort of enlightened epoch that, once entered, has to be lived out on the world-directed intellectual plane inherent in the times. I think that if the diocese wants to start a self-examination it should begin with that notion as illuminated by the light of Scripture. Talk of radical hospitality is just codetalk for something else and perhaps the true theme of this piece.