Consider the following facts:
- Over 2000 people in attendance at this year’s 115th Niobrara Convocation.
- A record number, 370, of young persons throughout the Diocese attending Thunderhead Episcopal camping program this past summer.
- Over 200 young persons attending the Diocesan Youth Convention in Sioux Falls this past winter.
- Two additional priests for the Diocese in 1987.
- The beginning of lay ministry conferences throughout the Diocese this past year.
- Increased participation at the second annual Deacons’ Conference held in Pierre last November.
- A strengthened deanery structure throughout the Diocese with support from local congregations; new programs being developed at the deanery level.
- A new Native American Clergy Association with its first chairman, a priest from the Diocese of South Dakota.
- Rave reviews for the third annual Niobrara Summer Seminary held at Huron College this year (emphasis: Church history).
- A record number of seminarians (eleven) from the Diocese attending four accredited Episcopal seminaries in the United States. These seminarians received base budget support for the first time from the Diocese (T.I.M.E.).
- New ecumenical programs and cooperation at the diocesan, deanery and parish level,
- Increased lay participation through new licensed lay ministries as a result of recent changes of Title III of national Church canons.
- Increased awareness of our unique ministry in South Dakota by the larger Church through publicity in various national Church publications.
- A significant growth in both Church membership and attendance over the past year, building on similar increases for the previous year.
What do these facts mean? As I review the renewal, new life and growth within the Diocese over the past year I cannot help but think and feel that our prayers and hard work with regard to increasing ministry effectiveness are beginning to bear substantial fruit.
T.I.M.E. is more than a fund-raising drive. While collections of pledges near the $1,000,000 mark and our T.I.M.E. fund-raising comes to an end, these monies will enable the goal of T.I.M.E., which is to increase total ministry effectiveness throughout the Diocese, to continue.
Convention minors growth
As we gather at Convention, the quality and substance of the resolutions, canonical changes and budget clearly reflect a growing concern for supporting people and programs to enhance and deepen the quality of ministry, spirituality and care within the Diocese.
Specifically, the important work of the deacons this past year throughout the Diocese has led to a greater awareness of problems and issues that confront us within the communities in the Diocese and the state as a whole. Our deacons have prepared, as they are charged to do, a list of concerns throughout the state for presentation to Convention.
The concerns in turn result in substantive resolutions asking for advocacy and empowerment of persons and programs, addressing and redressing the various injustices and evils that confront us as a Diocese. The Social Concerns Commission called for at this Convention will take up some of these issues within the upcoming year.
The budget is a clear reflection of how we as a Diocese are supporting programs within the deaneries and commissions and committees of the Diocese that are intending increased education and awareness of who we are as Episcopalians. Such awareness will enable us to shape better the shared ministry with other denominations in the state.
In light of the goals of T.I.M.E. as well as the broader ministry of the Diocese, the budget is finally supporting the ministry rather than the ministry being controlled by the budget.
Empower the people
The canonical changes that are being considered at this year’s Convention reflect a need to empower persons throughout the Diocese and provide for grass root structures that work and allow the voice of persons within our congregations throughout the state to be heard with renewed clarity and force.
A wise person once said that within the Church we spend 95% of our time talking about the 10% of things that are negative rather than affirming and celebrating the 90% of the positive things that make up the ministry with the individual churches, deaneries and dioceses.
We have much to affirm and celebrate as a result of our faithfulness, prayers, hard work and sharing this past year. Let us celebrate and thank God for the many blessings in 1987. Let us allow those blessings to be seen as a sign of our Lord’s favor and the work and movement of the Holy Spirit among us as God’s people.
While celebrating and offering thanksgiving, let us also continue to increase ministry effectiveness and avoid the ever present temptation toward complacency. While major progress has been made in increasing ministry effectiveness, much remains to be done. As we anticipate the Advent of the new Church year let us indeed celebrate the blessings of the past, including the immediate past, as we look forward to the promises of the future.
In Christ,