Parish Cooperation vital to
task force's fact-finding efforts
by Ana Watts
Hard facts and compassionate insight will support the recommendations and proposals the task force on rural and/or struggling parishes will 
present to Bishop Claude Miller in March of 2009. Task force consultation throughout the diocese identifies the heart and soul of the issues. A recently launched fact-finding initiative will supply a solid backbone for the final report. Cooperation and input from the parishes is essential every step of the way.
“The Task Force is very pleased to have been able to obtain the services of the Rev. Jasmine Chandra to help us gather this important factual information,” says the Ven. Patricia Drummond, task force chair. Ms. Chandra will map consecrated churches in the diocese, acquire information on other parish-owned buildings and collect statistical and demographic data on the geographic areas of New Brunswick. She will gather a lot of the population, migration pattern and economic information from the Statistics Canada web site and glean more relevant information from the DIMS (Diocesan Integrated Management System) reports remitted by the parishes.
“This factual information will be a most helpful component of our final report,” says Archdeacon Drummond. “To complete the work we have asked her to do, Ms. Chandra may well need help from parishes. Should she call seeking information, we ask New Brunswick Anglicans, especially the clergy, to please do their best to provide her with whatever she requires. The final report will be most valuable if it is complete, and it can only be complete with the help of each parish.”
The Task Force was struck to identify ways to help struggling parishes regain their health and strength so they can fully participate the diocesan shared mission ‘To proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the making of disciples.’ “God has called us to be a diocese of healthy, mission-focused, welcoming and growing parishes,” says Archdeacon Drummond. “As we approach the half-way point in our mandate, the pace is really picking up.”
