Pruning for Growth
The diocese has launched a new strategy that, over the next year, will take a root and branch look at how every church is performing.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15.1)
The strategy was unveiled at an Extraordinary Diocesan Conference held on Saturday July 6th. and consists of four phases.
The first, to be completed by the end of this year, is a fact-finding exercise to establish an up-to-date snapshot of each church, based on an eight-point matrix that will identify churches that are either flourishing, growing, declining or dying.
A task force consisting of senior diocesan clergy, laity, officers and staff has been established to undertake the work, known as The Gardening Group.
The matrix covers community engagement, education, stewardship, children youth & family provision, governance, buildings, attendance and ministry. There will also be a Miscellaneous category that will cover anything that does not fall into any of these but which are deemed relevant.
The second phase will take the form of conversations with key individuals based on the findings gathered in Phase One to drill down into the detail. Then, Phase Three will draw up recommendations ahead of the final phase, when decisions will be made about implementation.
An interim report on progress will be made to the Diocesan Conference in October and the final outcomes are expected to be in place by the 2025 Conference.
Introducing the strategy, the Archdeacon of St Davids, Paul Mackness, stressed that Pruning for Growth was not about closing churches. "But nor is it about keeping them open," he added.
"Something has to change," he said. "We need to go back to basic church principles and seek to re-orientate the Church towards growth. We need our churches to be tools to be used for the mission of the Church"
In the event that closure is recommended, there will be an opportunity for congregations to receive 'palliative care' to help achieve the best possible outcome. Equally, the strategy is designed to identify areas of activity in a church that is deemed to be under-performing where targeted investment of either finance or other resources could bring about positive change.
In his Presidential Address to the July conference, Bishop Dorrien said the new strategy was long overdue. “We need to take stock of what has been, what is and what should be,” he added. “The time has come for us not to live in the past but to learn from it.
“This strategy brings with it an opportunity for us to make the Church in St Davids Diocese relevant and a positive presence for good.
“We all need to be open to change. There are exciting times ahead. Let’s walk together towards a brighter, stronger future.”