Discernment, Envisioning, and Policy

DEAP is a group of people who meet monthly to discern together where the Spirit is at work in our faith community. The role of this group is to listen, and observe where there is passion in our midst as well as noticing where there are challenges. DEAP then reflects back to the congregation what they are hearing and noticing. Through this process of discernment the community of faith is able to engage in long range visioning and planning.

Reflections on the Structure at Robertson-Wesley

Seven Peas in a Pod

Some within the community of Robertson-Wesley United Church have expressed confusion over the unique structure of our Church. Our community is built on a foundation of volunteers, including committees, pods, Board of Directors, and program volunteers.

What is the difference between these volunteer groups and why the differentiation? These reflections were submitted to the Board of Robertson-Wesley in June, 2021 by the Discerning Envisioning And Policy (DEAP).

Recently members of DEAP gathered to do what we do – to listen and discern what we observe, hear, and feel when we are gathered. We reflected on the unique structure at Robertson-Wesley United Church (“R-W” or “Our Church”) and why it is so confounding to many, including to those of us who have been worshipping at R-W for many years.

A few us even become playful with the word “pod” – Jill thought that it could be intended to reflect our group (i.e “whale pod”). Carol Anne identified it more with peas in a pod. Even the word for some of our collectives can evoke a different image to different people (iPod? Detergent pod??)

Our Church’s Leadership Manual*, adopted by the Board in 2016 with amendments in 2018 and 2019, actually refers to a collective of collectives:
“We use the term “Group” in a generic way to refer to a committee, a pod, a board, a team, a unit, etc. For each area of the life of the church, there is a group which takes primary responsibility. For each area, there is a description that is intended to define the area clearly. The area descriptions, however, do not include purpose, goals, procedures or duties.
These are left for each group to define for themselves so that the group has ownership, and to enable revision with periodic review. We think of these as “Role” descriptions which might include purpose, goals, mission, duties, procedures, resources, etc.”

The R-W Leadership manual recommends that each Group engage in periodic review, evaluation and goal setting. These are extremely broad terms and many of us would prefer greater clarity of purpose for each pod, team or unit.

We are challenged to allow the spirit within the Church to move within the groups. Just as we embrace a world where gender identity can be non-binary, we expand our idea of what it means to be Christian and our roles within our community of faith and love.

The community of R-W is comprised of many people united to worship and serve God but motivated differently perhaps more than any other church. The church recently reflected on how one lives their faith through the lens of Janet Gear’s the Theological Banquet which postulates that people may express their Christianity through five different expressions or combinations thereof: messenger (Evangelical), servant (Ecclesial), neighbour (Missional), partner (Ecumenical), and pilgrim (Spiritual).

Each expresses their love for Jesus differently. Because each of us is driven by our own passion and reasons, expressions of our love and worship manifests itself in different ways. These varying forms of expression make our community stronger and more complete.

Most churches the size of R-W are governed by Boards of Directors and supported by committees specializing in finance, property, worship, and outreach. R-W is no different with volunteers dedicated to seeing our church achieve its full potential through their work with the Board and committees.

Our Board and committees meet regularly with a specific mandate. Formal minutes are taken and volunteers generally have longer term commitments. However, there are some in the church that may not have the interest, specific skills, or time to dedicate to these longer term obligations. Many have served previously but would like to remain vital in the life of the church while “stepping back” from the rigors of responsibility and time commitment associated with serving on the Board or a committee.

When the subject of church structure was raised at the DEAP meeting, many of us struggled to define what a pod TYPICALLY does. With Rev. Karen answering our questions and asking her own to us, we came to the beautiful realization that our church structure with its Board, pods, committees, teams, units, and gatherings facilitates and enables members of our community to become involved in ways that we may not even realize.

As an example, the Mission and Outreach Pod is exploring Environmental Stewardship through a variety of activities and everyone is welcome to join the pod….for an hour, several weeks, or longer. This can include someone who may not have the time to dedicate to something more permanent, someone just starting to explore their inner partner, or for someone that would just like to be involved in a group that cares about the environment.

This “loose” undefined structure enables us all to explore our love for God through various means – what better way to let the spirit work in our faith community than to provide an outlet for our faith without the confines of definition, limits, and parameters. As confounding as it may first appear, this structure supports our mission to become an inclusive community.

– the DEAP team

*if you would like a copy of the leadership manual please email mail@rwuc.org