A three-year church engagement project officially launched with two hour-long sessions on Thursday and Friday of 2025 ELCIC National Convention.
Facing Today – Dreaming for the Future, led by Very Rev. Peter Elliott, Rev. Alisdair Smith and Jane Osler, members of the consulting group that has been formally engaged in the project’s process, will explore at what it means to be the church in the years ahead.
“What we’re going to do first, is to face each other in conversations,” Elliot said Thursday night, while introducing the Facing Today – Dreaming for the Future process to the delegation.
“It’s a big project to have conversations, to face each other…talking about where we are in church, how we’re feeling about it, and as we discern the themes of those conversations, a shape will begin to emerge.”
In the Thursday night session, delegates engaged in table discussions, prompted by the questions: “What are the signs of life in your local congregation?” and “What are the signs of life in your local congregation?”
The findings from these conversations were presented by Jane Osler at Friday’s session. Some of key themes that emerged included: resilience after crisis, youth involvement, and experimentation as signs of life on a congregational level; and shared ministry, lay-led initiatives, and forward movement with representation and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as signs of life on the synodical level. Acknowledged struggles from these conversations included: leadership shortages and survival mindset congregationally, and youth inclusion gaps, communication gaps, and capacity concerns synodically.
“Words such as community, people, church, being together, they’re reflecting that hope that’s grounded in relationships,” Osler noted.
After the results were presented, the floor opened for questions and comments. Discussion included words of affirmation, suggestions for the consulting group’s consideration as they continue in the process and calls for timely and efficient progression of work from various delegates.
“A number of people know that there is a need for change, so it needs to be one step farther, which takes it to acceptance of the change, and then stepping into it and making it happen. So, it’s very, very uplifting to know that we started the process with many, and that we’re going to give the attention it needs,” commented Eastern Synod delegate Rev. Canon Susan Climo during this time.
The consulting group concluded the second and final session by announcing its next steps with the delegation. The consulting group is set to meet with the steering committee in August to further discuss the results of the delegation’s table conversations. Meeting dates have been set with all synod councils, and logistical planning for how congregational engagement and focus groups will be conducted has begun.
