On Sunday February 10th, 17th & 24th the St. Thomas’ community was invited to attend meetings to determine whether or not the parish was “of a mind” to move forward in our discernment journey, which included the hiring of a financial (fund-raising) consultant and an architect.  Of those who attended the meetings and voted, the final tally was 68 people who voted “Yes” to move forward; 2 persons voted “No”.  The financial consultant will guide us in determining how much money we will be able to raise from within the parish membership for a building campaign, which could include a renovation as well as new construction.  Our architects will conduct an investigation of our current support systems and building structures as well as render some simple architectural drafts of possibility in response to the discernment meetings.  These next two steps will help us determine if St. Thomas’ is in a position to move forward with either a renovation and/or a building campaign.

• “For the past 25 years, St. Thomas’ attendance has hovered from 110 – 140 Sunday attendees; as a parish, we are about at the 150 attendance mark at which congregations begin to feel acutely the pressures brought on by having more active members; the congregation must become more group-centered, because the pastor can no longer carry around the whole system in his or her head; relationships among projects & leaders are becoming too complex to be coordinated solely through vestry discussions & pastoral diplomacy; with 150 or more attendees, there comes a need to develop a well-functioning system of committees and a group of at least half-a-dozen lay or clerical leaders to help operate a growing organizational structure; (pg. 6)
• “Mann writes that worship space is effectively ‘filled up’ when 80 percent of the desirable seats are full on a regular basis; a shortage of education, fellowship, or office space can also create a cramped, unwelcoming environment.  And, social hour is difficult at best for many visitors and becomes totally unappealing if there isn’t even a visible path to the coffee pot.” Alice Mann author of Raising the Roof (pg. 15)
• “Our concept of an adequate budget does not permit growth; Mann writes that as attendance passes the 150 mark, a church budget that previously grew in modest increments may now step up rather sharply because of the changes in scale; leaders responsible for the budgeting process may experience tremendous anxiety; (pg. 16)
• “Our ministry infrastructure is inadequate for movement to the next size…many parishioners feel ambivalence regarding whether growth in our parish’s attendance will result in a loss of intimacy; Mann points out that as a church grows, maintaining the ‘personal touch’ actually becomes impossible without developing organizational (systems); developing infrastructure in the following areas is recommended—New Member Incorporation, Member Ministry Development, Faith Formation, Pastoral Care, Small-Group Ministries, Vestry Development, Staff Team Development” (pg. 17)