Why is a task force on physical resources asking ministry questions? The short answer is that the use of our physical resources is a "ministry issue."
Our Church has been given many resources to carry out the ministry of Christ to which we are called. In order to carry out our mission we need to use all the resources available to us - including the properties and parish structures of which we are stewards.
One definition of stewardship is "the just distribution of a limited resource." Previous generations have built up physical resources. The question before us now is how we will distribute and utilize these resources into our future.
| Paul Borthistle, Diocesan Director of Parish Support Ministries |
We are a diocesan Church. We meet in parishes for regular worship and community, and yet we belong to a larger whole. In confirmation classes we are taught that "the smallest unit of the Anglican Church is the diocese." By diocese we don't mean "the Synod Office." Rather, the diocese is our collective whole brought together in the bishop.
Most of our physical resources are in land and buildings. How they need to be used into the future is not only a parish question, but also a question for all of us as a diocese. What needs to be built up? What needs to change? What needs to be let go of? And how do we go about doing all this?
When the rubber hits the road, we need physical resources to do what we are called to do. Thanks to the efforts and sacrifice of Anglicans over the years, we are rich in these resources. If we are wise, we will use them graciously and well.