At the Annual Meeting in January I challenged the Vestry to make a decision on May 28, 2008 that would determine the future of the parish. I want to help parishioners get their hands around the problem.

The issue:

On May 21, 1998 the Diocese of Virginia approved a request of the parish to acquire a debt of $2,391,000 to pay for the construction of a new Sanctuary. Since that time the debt service on the loan has crippled the parish capacity for ministry. (See the post Time to Act below.)

Through Lent I am helping parishioners explore this challenge on Wednesday nights. Recently I talked about the Vitality and Sustainability Threshold of a parish.

The Vitality Threshold

Experience teaches that the size of a church settles at a level where parishioners experience a quality of spiritual support they value. Call this The Vitality Threshold.

When a church grows beyond its Vitality Threshold, parishioners experience a loss of spiritual support. Parish leaders must provide for new growth or the parish will contract to its Vitality Threshold. If they do not, people feel the loss of spiritual support. People begin to leave. The loss of membership brings the parish back to its Vitality Threshold.

We have 1401 people registered with the parish, and 500 people in worship every Sunday. Having only two members of the staff, a Rector and a Youth Minister we are well beyond our Vitality Threshold.

The Sustainability Threshold

Experience also teaches that a church needs a minimal number of parishioners to survive. Call this The Sustainability Threshold.

The Sustainability Threshold of a parish involves intangible qualities such as the richness of its community life, the faithfulness of its people, the liveliness of its worship, and the outward reach of its ministries. It also involves tangible qualities as well, including the level of its financial giving, its fixed costs, and its debt service.

When the membership of a church falls below its Sustainability Threshold the parish fails. Parish failure can be imperceptible at first. Faithful people volunteer their time. Clergy work harder. Maintenance on buildings and grounds gets deferred.

But then, people burn out and resentment grows. People begin to complain about the quality of service. Buildings begin to look tired. Then systems fail. People leave. The quality of the community loses its sparkle. The die-hards stay but what remains, in the end, is the empty shell of a lost hope.

Despite the current vitality of our covenant community, the cost of our mortgage pushes us beyond the Sustainability Threshold. If we had no debt, we could invest the money we now send to the bank on providing for the spiritual support of our parishioners. This would push up our Vitality Threshold which increases our capacity for ministry. This in turn would lift us above the Sustainability Threshold.

At our Annual Meeting I asked the Vestry to make a decision on May 28, 2008 that would determine the future of the parish. I asked the Vestry to lead the entire parish in a discernment process that will determine how we can push our Vitality Threshold and rise up above our Sustainability Threshold so that our parish may remain in faithful ministry in Ashburn for many years to come.