The Episcopal Church of St. Stephen’s and the Vine is one of several churches in the Diocese of Missouri participating in the Requiem or Renaissance program, an 18-month discernment and skills-building program for all congregations currently receiving diocesan financial aid. St. Stephen’s team is made up of Susan Fazio, John Kavanaugh, Laura Watt, Sandy Schmidt Deacon Loretta Go and the Rev. Aaron Rogers.
In this program led by the Rev. Canon Whitney Rice, we enter a discernment process that will help us determine God’s call: to a Requiem, a holy ending of this congregation’s ministry in this location at this time, or a Renaissance, a church re-plant with a new vision. As we are discerning, we will build skills to live out the call we articulate.
An update from Laura Watt, St. Stephen’s Requiem or Renaissance team member:
We are meeting monthly, as a committee, in preparation for meeting with the Bishop in September to answer two questions:
- What is God Calling me/us to do?
- What is happening at St. Stephen’s that is changing me/my community?
We began with an exercise, practicing the art of Discernment, defined as the act of focus, understanding and judgement. When reading a Bible passage together, we practiced the Act of listening. We were reminded as Episcopalians, our belief and source of faith is found in three areas: The Bible, Church Tradition, and Reason. It can be said that: “We read scripture by means of reason, through tradition.”
We later discussed conflict within our church and congregation and how it is imperative that we change our actions from disruptive patterns to more productive patterns and that we have the courage to take risks in order to grow. It is very important to keep in mind that we can only change ourselves and not others. Thus the importance of listening well and keeping open communication at all times.
We ended our day discussing storytelling and curating peoples’ stories to share. We must look at our congregation’s past, present and future and we must discover ways to meet people wherever their need(s) is/are.
Laura D. Watt
12/20/2024
Learn more about Requiem or Renaissance from The Diocese of Missouri.