North Kildonan United Church

Scope & Authority : This working group was established by the Board of North Kildonan United Church (NKUC) as an ad hoc sub-committee.

Chair:Clayton Gording Members: Marvelle McPherson, Del Sexsmith, Ron Hutchinson, Gay Todd, Grant McMillan, Rev. Marc Whitehead, Dennis Deley

 Discern what God is calling NKUC to do over the next 10 years.  Develop an understanding of the demographics and needs of the geographic area(s) we serve.  Review the existing ministry, mission, vision, goals, plans, Constitution, committee structures, etc.  Develop/evolve a ‘dream’, vision, values and goals that align with what God is now calling NKUC to do, and the needs of the geographic areas we serve;

 Develop and document a ‘plan’ for the next 5 to 10 years that is consistent with the vision, value, goals, etc. Identify key resource requirements.  Review and develop/revise the Constitution and organization structure to align with the new plan.  Present revised vision, mission, goals, plans, Constitution, structures to the Board, Presbytery and Congregation, revise as necessary & obtain necessary approvals from key stakeholders.

 Reviewed existing data – Environics study  Gathered data on 33 local area churches & analyzed the data  Preliminary work on establishing core values

Environics

In 2005, The United Church of Canada commissioned a national polling firm, Environics, to undertake research regarding the current composition of the membership of the church and compare this to statistical data regarding communities across Canada.

NKUC’s ‘Catchment Area’:  39,800 people (16,150 households)  Predominant ‘declared religions’: o Catholic (27%) o Mennonite (13%) o United Church (13%) o Lutheran (7%) o Anglican (7%)  16% of population declared ‘no religion’ in 2001 Census  Approximately 4200 people in area around NKUC have some identification with United Church of Canada.

 NKUC is a ‘destination church’ as opposed to a ‘community church’.  Bulk of members/adherents are located geographically close to the church – i.e.: most of congregation doesn’t travel across the city to come to our church.  Majority of the NKUC congregation is upscale, well- educated, professional families with kids of varying ages.  Also a significant proportion of active retirees, or ‘empty nesters’ that are further along in their lifestage.

 Largest number of households in area match 3 of 4 clusters:  3,938 households of High Achieving Dual Income Households in Exurbia  1,225 households of Upper Middle Class Exurban Boomer Families  1,582 households of Upper Middle Class Suburban Households Starting to Empty-Nest  A fourth cluster – Low Income Seniors in Urban High- rises comprises 3,822 households in the area – and is underrepresented at NKUC when compared to the service area.

Social Value Description:Trend: Desire to regularly escape the stress and responsibilities of everyday life. Need for Escape In favour of a more informal & relaxed approach to life. Living with a certain amount of disorder as an expression of oneself. Rejection of Order Family takes precedence over other personal priorities. Primacy of Family Desire for frank, warm & spontaneous relations with people. Need for communication & deep, affective exchanges with others. Openness Toward Others Tendency to believe all environmental phenomena on earth are interrelated. Global Ecological Consciousness

Environics - Summary: NKUC is an upper income middle class congregation dominated by married couples in the 45-plus zone who are happy together and have many more folks just like them in the area to become part of the “family.” Emerging Spirit folks are few and far away, and may not want to be part of the group. Seniors of modest means are many but do not seem to hear our call.

PROGRESS TO DATE: Review of area churches – our ‘competition’

Approach:  Identified 33 churches in our immediate geographic area  Personally visited 7 local United Churches to gather info.  Reviewed websites and talked to members of congregations of 12 other area churches

What we learned: United Churches  Most offer ‘traditional’ service format – most with Powerpoint  Lots of ‘gray hair’ at worship services; very few kids or youth  Some have different organizational model  Varying degrees of ‘welcoming’ – ‘very’ to ‘not’  Varying degrees of Outreach programming  Most have similar ‘look & feel’ to NKUC

What we learned: Other Churches  Many ‘competing’ local area churches offering a ‘God product’ – mostly traditional types of worship services  Many have large facilities – sanctuaries, gyms, etc.  Many have significant programming for youth, seniors, congregation  Most have pretty significant outreach programs  Most other denominations less tolerant than UC on social issues – acceptance of non-Christians; divorce, etc.  Most focus on serving the needs of their own congregations – not actively recruiting

Core Values A significant part of developing a ‘plan’ for NKUC for next 5 to 10 years involves:  Discerning what God is calling us to do  Understanding our ‘core values’  Defining/refining our ‘mission statement’ & ‘vision’ The Future Directions team has begun to look at defining core values

Core Values Future Directions team top 5 core values:  Family  Relationships  Fellowship  Helping  Caring We need the congregation’s help to understand what God is calling NKUC to do; & to define NKUC’s core values, mission & vision. This will enable Future Directions to continue the planning process…

Where next??June 18 th … Get together with members of congregation to:  ‘Report out’ - what we’ve learned to date  Brainstorm – ‘hopes & dreams’ for NKUC  Distill the NKUC’s ‘core values’ – determine those we want to ‘live’  Ministry audit - what God is calling us to do  Test our current Mission & Vision & modify as necessary

Why is June 18th important?  Share with the congregation what Future Directions has learned…  Professionally facilitated process to define NKUC congregation’s hopes, dreams & priorities & to provide the guidance to Future Directions to enable them continue their work on longer term plans for NKUC  Please come & share your thoughts & provide your input

Questions??