Dear family and friends of Christ Church,

 

Over the course of our May and June meetings, your Vestry and I completed a Mutual Ministry Review (MMR). Together we reflected on the two years we have spent in shared leadership of our parish. We utilized a simple feedback model: Likes, Concerns, Wishes. We offered responses to these three seemingly simple areas:

 

1. What do we like about how we practice leadership at Christ Church? What’s going well?

2. What concerns do we have? Where have we come up short?

3. What wishes do we have for the future of our parish? What do we want to see happen next?

 

Giving and receiving healthy, honest feedback is an exercise in trust for any group. I was proud of the thoughtfulness of responses to these questions, and heartened by the engaged discussion at our June meeting. We were open with both our likes and concerns; I was especially energized by the time we devoted to the third area: our wishes for the future of this parish.

 

We all need people whose counsel we trust, and who trust us to hear them through the lens of love. I know that so many of the “successes” I have experienced in ministry are directly tied to my ability and willingness to hear the wisdom of others. I hope that, like me, part of the draw to a community like Christ Church is a desire to stretch and grow, not merely reinforce.