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 Information 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.”
In recent months the task force members have read five books with different views on the rural and/or struggling situation. They have also reviewed suggested web sites and attended presentations on the diaconate, the work of layreaders, synod's historical commitment to rural and/or struggling parishes, the amalgamation of parishes in the lower St. John River Valley, United/Anglican partnerships, and parishes sharing Anglican clergy.
“We have held five full-day meetings, and for the most part the information gathering stage of our work will be over some time this summer,” says Archdeacon Drummond. “That will leave us the work of analysis, consolidation and discussion, as well as the formulation of our report and recommendations. All of this work will begin in September.”
The Task Force covets your prayers over the next year as the information it has received sinks in and members have time to ponder its implications, as the members meet to work on their findings and produce a well considered, helpful and stimulating report to guide our diocese in the years to come.
