News Detail

June 10, 2010, New York, NY – New Dreams-New Visions (NDNV) is a collaborative pilot project convened to address two key issues in the Episcopal Church:  1) that a significant number of clergy will retire; and 2) that a significant number of congregations will not be able to afford to pay for full-time clergy.  The purpose is to connect vital retired clergy with vibrant, small worshipping communities with strong lay leadership in order to further God’s mission in their unique contexts.

Three organizations have agreed to be the lead agencies for this effort:  The Church Pension Group, The Episcopal Church Center, and the Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF).  This group will also be working closely with the CREDO Institute and Fresh Start.

“The Episcopal Church as we know it is changing rapidly,” said Donald V. Romanik, President of ECF, coordinating agency for NDNV.  “The increasing number of smaller congregations simply cannot sustain the same level of staff that may have been expected in the past.  But that shouldn’t mean that they cannot remain healthy, vital and vibrant with a different model of dynamic lay leadership and clergy playing a different kind of leadership role.”

At a recent meeting of the Coordinating Committee, 5 dioceses were identified to participate in the pilot:  Vermont, Western Massachusetts, Atlanta, Oklahoma, Eastern Michigan, and Southwest Florida.  The goals of the pilot are:

• Work with a targeted group of clergy and congregations;
• Engage in a deliberate, thoughtful process to develop healthy models of congregational ministry with lay leaders who work in partnership with clergy who are serving less than full-time;
• Provide resources and training to enhance existing diocesan transition processes
• Result in research, data, and information to benefit transitions in the Church

Tom Ely, Bishop of Vermont and an early supporter of the project, said, “I am very excited about the roll out of this innovative and collaborative initiative.  Our lay leaders and clergy will benefit from a coordinated approach to what so many are facing.  New Dreams-New Visions will help us address the challenges together, in a coordinated way, instead of trying to figure this out as 100 separate diocese.”

In addition to the pilot diocese, NDNV is made possible by the generous support of the Roanridge Trust, the Transitions Ministry Conference, the Diocese of Maine, the Diocese of Delaware, and the Diocese of Southern Virginia

For more information about NDNV, please contact the Rev. Canon Thaddeus Bennett at 802-863-3431or email Thadinvt@svcable.net.