Today we are announcing the formation of the Shared Services Task Force.
Last summer, we listened to clergy across the Diocese about what made their lives harder.
In every conversation, they described the difficulty of managing the basic logistics of parish ministry. Running a church is like running a small business – often, more than one small business at a time. Here are some key needs and objectives the Task Force will address:
- We shouldn’t handle basic logistics alone.
- Even growing congregations face increased challenges. The Shared Services Task Force will help us to address these challenges together.
- The Shared Services Task Force will identify areas for collaboration or outsourcing.
- The goal will be to make lives easier for clergy and congregational leaders. This is the Make Your Life Easier Task Force.
- The Task Force will report back before Convention next fall about possibilities to help.
Our story is renewal – which we experience through our congregations, chaplaincies, and schools. Through this year we are organizing renewal together. Stabilizing our congregations represents one strategy for renewal. Soon, we’ll also announce a health care task force to help lower the cost of health insurance for congregations.
We re-weave our pastoral fabric by engaging together. Task Force members are drawn from across the Diocese. Thank you to Emily Nevill & Lorna Lewis will serve as co- chairs. Ashley Gonzalez will coordinate Task Force activities and the Rev. Gay Jennings, former president of the House of Deputies, will help us to learn from best practices nationally. The Episcopal Church Foundation is also interested in engaging in this conversation with us.
We will report back through the year as the Task Force identifies specific areas for collaboration.