2023 Parish Report Questions & Responses
Recently, Little Fork Church filed our 2023 Parochial Report to the Diocese of Virginia. There is a section of narrative questions on the report that are completed by a member of the Vestry. Faith Dickerson graciously volunteered to do so this year. We thought these may be of interest to everyone.
What opportunities and challenges did the congregation face in 2023?
As a small but vibrant church, Little Fork Episcopal Church welcomed the opportunity to finalize a Master Plan for the long-term use and conservation of the 16-acre campus in Rixeyville, Virginia. The church also held lunches and dinners of Hope that brought together current members, previous members who had moved away and community members to share in a delicious meal in the church and allowed for great remembrances of history and talk of the future. In the summer, the church hosted two outdoor musical concerts that brought in extended community members and not only allowed folks food, fellowship, and great music, but also had tours of the church and particularly engaging conversations with the local Fire and EMS squads. The challenge of how to share the story of the congregation and the church was well met by these community events that brought lots of folks onto the grounds. Also, in the area of music, the congregation cannot offer a full-time choir but has offered seasonal pop-up choirs during Lent and Advent, which have brought occasional visitors into regular worship status. Well received by both the participants and the listening congregation, this idea will continue in 2024.
Thinking outside the box allowed the Vestry to move into a new model in 2023 that was very well received. This included pot luck lunch on Vestry days, followed by hour-long âworking groupsâ where all members of the congregation we encouraged to âplug inâ to one of three focus groups and a Vestry member then brought the ideas from the group to the Vestry meeting that followed. Vestry members were not so burdened with work and parishioners were able to join as their talents led them and much was accomplished by the group as a larger whole than would have been with just the serving vestry members.
With the loss of a couple of parishioners to moves as well as two to lack of support for the inclusive nature of the congregation, the church was in a cash-flow crunch all year. The congregation stepped up and the final deficit was well below the anticipated one. Cash flow continues to be a challenge and emphasis was placed at the recent Annual meeting on the importance of pledged support to meet the budget. There is significant growth in the number of households in the area but being able to âshare the storyâ of the church is difficult as the neighborhoods donât allow sharing of worship information. To that end, Little Fork plans 3 summer concerts that can be advertised in these new areas of household growth.
The Vestry is so uplifted by the dedication of the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to make Little Fork Episcopal Church a church where all are known, valued and spiritually fed.
Looking toward the future, what changes do you hope to see in your faith community? What does your community need in order to bring about these changes?
The Vestry feels that the current worshiping parishioners are being fed and encouraged by worship. fellowship meals and occasional special programs. The desire to see a small but dedicated number of families join the church is an ongoing goal. The Working Group for the Master Plan has been affirmed by the congregation and has short- and long-term goals they are seeking to meet. This includes more grant requests for programs that would benefit not only the congregation but also the local community. The Working Group is also starting the first of many projects to enhance the grounds that will eventually create a Chapel of Ease for the community to find respite and renewal. The rate at which all these projects can happen is contingent on funding, most of which will need to come from outside the current giving population.
We invite you to tell stories of how you have spent the last year naming, addressing, and dismantling the injustices of racism in yourselves, congregations, and your communities.
During 2022 and early 2023 many hours were spent formulating, discussing, amending and approving the Master Plan for the use and conservation of the church building and grounds. One of the first goals was to recognize the significant labors and talents of the enslaved population who helped build the building. In 2023 a plaque was rendered and hung to do just that. Throughout these conversations, the leadership, congregation and outside resources worked to identify how the church could recognize its history and become a more welcoming space to all peoples.