Town Meetings” headline the schedule across the Diocese of Lexington beginning in mid-late April and concluding in late June. Teams from the Long Range Planning Committee will travel the length and breadth of the area to listen to the dreams, visions and wishes of members of each of the congregations. The eight teams have been trained in facilitation and listening. They are members of the Diocesan Long Range Planning Committee, which was formed in mid 2003 at the request of Bishop Sauls to look at where the Diocese would like to be 25 years from today; 50 years from today. Members of the Committee (see box) represent the geographical, gender, age and philosophical diversity of the Diocese of Lexington, whose territorial boundaries stretch from the urban Ohio Valley to the Bluegrass of Central Kentucky to the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and to the southern tip of the state. Garland Barr of Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, is chairperson of the 16-member committee. The group meets monthly for several hours, and in February attended a two-day training weekend in preparation for the Town Meetings.

Long Range Planning Committee Members
Jim Adams – Trinity, Covington
Garland Barr (Chair) – Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington
Gayle Box – St. Mark’s, Hazard
John Brice – Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington
Ken Cottrell – St. James, Prestonsburg
David Cupps – Development Officer, Lexington Diocese
Ellen Darnall – Staff
The Rev. Bryant Kibler – St. Timothy’s, Barnes Mountain
Randy Lisk – St. Michael’s, Lexington
Leah MacSwords – Ascension, Frankfort
Susan Miller – Consultant
The Rt. Rev. Stacy F. Sauls – Bishop
The Rev. Robert Sessum – Good Shepherd, Lexington
Dick Spears – Good Shepherd, Lexington
The Rev. Sandy Stone – St. Michael’s, Lexington
The Very Rev. Morris Thompson – Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington
Dr. Austin Tuning – St. Andrew’s, Lexington
Therese Yeiser – Emmanuel, Winchester
(Some members not pictured)

“Our upcoming conversations hold the possibility of people being together in a different way,” says Randy Lisk, committee member from St. Michael’s, Lexington. “These conversations can be the beginning of an ongoing dialogue that affects and connects all members of the diocese. The roots of the word dialogue are ‘dia,’ meaning through, like diameter, and ‘logos’ meaning ‘the word’ or ‘the meaning.’ So, the image I have of these dialogue conversations is people talking with and listening to each other in a respectful way, creating a shared picture of their desired future.”

David Bohm, describing dialogue, said, “The truth arrives, unannounced, out of the middle of the group.” We hope to create conversations where that happens.”

The committee members are hoping for a broad base of participation in each congregation, including young people, leaders and members of various ministry groups as well as vestry members and clergy. “We need to hear from everyone,” says Barr. “We want to know the hopes and the dreams of young people, single people, women’s groups, men’s groups. What do we want this diocese to be, to look like in years to come?”

The “we” is an all-important word to Barr, who emphasizes that the committee of 16, which includes 11 lay people and five clergy, is a microcosm of the diocesan family. “We have spent time as a committee getting to know each other; we have learned that we can be open and frank with each other. We acknowledge that there are theological differences among us, and in our churches, and we treat each other with mutual respect. We all belong to each other — to this larger family called a diocese. We are about connecting this family; building relationships, so we can go forward in the mission we are called to as Christians. Like any human family, we have differences. But we love each other.

“Obviously we have different experiences in different areas of the Diocese, and as individuals. What we have in common is being Episcopalians.

“We want people to know that all voices are and will be valued. We are on a journey together. The only way to have a shared vision, plan and goals is to have the input and the participation and support of all the people of the diocese.

“‘Thinking out of the box.’ ‘Enthusiasm.’ ‘Creativity.’ ‘Innovation.’ ‘Potential.’ These elements are not the property of this or any other leadership group,” stresses Barr, “but reside in the gifts and talents of all of the people who make up the Diocese of Lexington.”


Garland Barr of Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, chairs the Long Range Planning Committee. Photos by David Cupps

The Town Meeting is not a presentation, Barr stresses, rather, a time of listening and information gathering. Each of the teams will visit five churches, where one team member will function as facilitator and one as observer and note-taker. All information will be brought back to the group to be studied. Follow-up meetings will be held to see if the teams were hearing people correctly. “We are not interested in a plan to be imposed,” says Barr. “We are interested in a unifying, connecting vision where we’re working together, loving what we’re about.”

Long-range plans have long been a part of the corporate world.

Define the entity you want to become.
Define mission and goals.
Develop a plan to accomplish the mission and reach the goals.
Set a course on how to do it.

The church needs such a strategy to move forward in mission, and not become bogged down, say committee members, echoing Barr’s words.

The LRP group has already faced a few of the hurdles that are before any long range planning committee.

When 16 leader-types commit their energies to a project, there is some impatience for conclusion; product; respect for busy schedules and efficient use of precious time.

Harnessing that impatience is an ongoing group maintenance task. Likewise, the awareness that long range planning is about process, not product. And this particular process will be a two-three year one. “We’re in the early stages of conceiving,” says Barr. “It will take time to build into reality.”

Gayle Box from St. Mark’s, Hazard, moved to Eastern Kentucky from Waco, Texas. This is her first experience of living outside of her home state. Serving on the committee has given her an opportunity to know Episcopalians outside of her immediate area — something she sees as a plus for the upcoming Town Meetings. “Ironically, through these town meetings, I expect to have a better way of understanding who we are as a diocesan family and what we may accomplish in the near future than I had after years of being active in churches in Texas. I think this concept of functioning as God’s family is exciting, with marvelous possibilities. I appreciate the willingness of all concerned to actually take the time to listen to every parish and discuss what might be accomplished by uniting as a diocese. I feel very privileged to be living in the Diocese of Lexington and to be a part of such an important process.”

Austin Tuning of St. Andrew’s, Lexington, says, “There is no congregation that is so small that it has nothing to give, or no congregation so large that it has nothing to receive. It is our prayer that both the givers and the receivers will come to the realization that this thing we call a diocese is all about us — and not about ‘us and them.’”

The first step toward the future begins.