Introducing the Faithful Innovation Pilot Process

Beloved in Christ:

I have been in my role as Canon for Vitality and Innovation for nearly three months. I've traveled around the diocese learning more about our diverse faith communities and hearing your struggles and joys. It has been exciting to journey with some of you as you begin to ask questions focusing on what the Holy Spirit might be up to in your faith communities, your neighborhoods and towns, and in your unique cultural contexts.

I'm writing today to invite interested faith communities from the Southwest and Southeast Mission Areas to participate in the Faithful Innovation Process Pilot. Subsequent Faithful Innovation processes will be offered in the North, the Metro area, and wherever clusters of churches that want to participate are located.

Faithful Innovation is a process that invites participants to engage in simple spiritual practices and small experiments to develop deeper relationships with God, fellow faith community members, and neighbors.

During seasons when your congregation feels stuck, overwhelmed, and doesn't know what to do, these practices deepen participants' faith and curiosity about God's activity outside the church, and create muscle memory for a process they can engage in repeatedly. Rather than focusing inward on church questions, Faithful Innovation invites participants to focus outward, to be curious about where God is already at work in your community.  

Guiding teams of 3-8 lay leaders from participating faith communities and their clergy will gather three times over a 9-10 month period, work with a coach to process learnings, then envision and enact small experiments to learn more about what the Holy Spirit is up to in the lives of their neighbors.

To learn more click here.

I believe in this process because I've seen it bring hope, new life, and energy to numerous congregations. If you have questions or would like to discuss this process further, please send me an email or give me a call.

In Christ,

The Reverend Canon Blair Pogue
Canon for Vitality and Innovation