Continuing the work begun last August with Donald Romanik, president of the Episcopal Church Foundation, diocesan leaders will gather Jan. 25-26 to engage the “big questions” faced by the diocese.
Members of the diocese’s executive council, standing committee, corporation trustees, and trustees for the endowment of the episcopate have all been invited to attend, joining the original group which convened in August. Together these diocesan leaders will engage key questions which surfaced during the initial session:
- Why does the Diocese of Fort Worth exist?
- Who are our “sheep” and where are they?
- How do we “do” church in a post-Christian world?
- What is the role and responsibility of the bishop as the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth develops new, vital, emerging strategies for being church?
The group will gather for supper at 6 pm on Friday night, Jan. 25, at St. Luke’s in the Meadow and will work together until about 8:30pm, re-capping the work begun in August and hearing from the five work groups formed at that meeting:
- Replacing Deanery Structure with Network Model – Marti Fagley, Amy Haynie, Melanie Wright
- Create an Information Hub – Elinor Normand, Priscilla Promise, Bill Stanford
- Cluster Teams – Margaret Mieuli, John Promise, David Skelton
- Common Approach to Outreach / Mission – Sandi Michels, Henry Penner, Susan Slaughter, Kathleen Wells
- Diocesan Office Structure – Richard Cabes, Jim Hazel, David Madison
On Saturday, Jan. 26, the meeting will begin at 9 am and conclude at 3 pm. At the end of Saturday’s session, the executive council will meet briefly to deal with any pressing business that cannot wait until its March meeting.
Donald Romanik, the session facilitator, is president of the Episcopal Church Foundation, which is dedicated to empowering congregations and publishes the monthly online newsletter ECF Vital Practices as a resource for church leaders.