The Parish Vitality Wheel
As we continue to emerge from the pandemic, we hear parishes asking important questions: Where are we? What’s next? How do we move forward from here?
One helpful lens for assessing where it might be most fruitful to invest parish resources is to engage with the Seven Vital Signs of Parish Health. The Vital Signs identify key markers that indicate the relative health of a parish. When used as a diagnostic tool, the vital signs can quickly show what areas of parish life are well-tended – and those that might need increased care and attention.
To help parishes better engage the Vital Signs, the School for Christian Faith and Leadership has developed an “on demand” course led by the Rev. Dr. Anne-Marie Jeffery – An Introduction to the Vital Signs of Parish Health – that parish leaders can access at any time and complete at their own pace. Each Vital Sign is a stand alone module within the course and provides both a deep dive into the various aspects pertaining to that Vital Sign and how work done to improve one area may benefit other Vital Signs. Each module includes a reading, video, and ideas to try.
Because this is self-paced, there is no need to complete “the whole course” before getting started. Simply choose which Vital Sign the parish feels would be most beneficial to focus on, work through the materials and resources in the module for that Vital Sign and begin.
Need a little more guidance before getting started? Contact the Rev. Dr. Anne-Marie Jeffery, Canon for Congregational Vitality.
