I've been very, very busy for the last 6-9 months working on a series of projects that have coalesced into three main initiatives for the Church of The Messiah: Messiah Media, Messiah Market, and Messiah Commons. Messiah Media is about creating a resource centre for churches across the Diocese (including Messiah) to do New Media Evagelism. Messiah Market is a weekly Farmer's Market to take place at the church aimed at the local neigbhourhood. The last project on this list, Messiah Commons, is the most important of the group in terms of transforming the parish: we want to create a neighbourhood hangout where people can enjoy community without needing to be members of our church. It would be a third place possibly serving coffee and snacks. There would be wifi and events that would be attractive the Young Digerati, Urbane Villagers, and Rooms with a View people who live near our parish.
The Parish Council shared these plans with Bishop Yu at a special meeting last week. Below is the "Prezi" I used to do that. You can go through the prezi by pushing the forward and back arrow, or explore freely by zooming and navigating with your mouse. Enjoy.
-t
Showing posts with label Messiah Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Messiah Media. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Thursday, June 13, 2013
A Day in the Life....
I know some of the people who read this blog are interested in the occasional "Day in the Life" kinds of posts from parish priests, so keep reading if that appeals to you, but skip it if don't care, I won't mind! This what my day was like....
6.00am
Henry (3.5yo) came upstairs and Betsy pulled him into the bed between us. We all went back to sleep for a little longer. Betsy got up and went downstairs to work around 6.30. Henry and I kept sleeping.
7.15am
I woke up and took a shower. By the time I finished he was awake and asking to go downstairs. I took him off the bed (he doesn't like to slide off on his own) and he trotted down to Betsy's office in the basement.
7.45am
Henry was already mesmerized by Lego: Star Wars. Betsy was making him breakfast. I made myself a quick shake of milk, frozen mango, frozen strawberries, and honey. Not bad, but next time I'll put in a tad less honey.
8.00am
Biked to church (about 10 minutes away) and set up for the 8.30 Contemplative Eucharist. Put the chairs and some cushions in a circle.
8.30am
The Contemplative Eucharist begins. Seven people--which is a little higher than normal thanks to a guest. I felt that my Eucharistic Prayers, which I ad lib for this liturgy, were particularly poetic this time. I chalk it up to a good night's sleep the day before.
9.15am
Discussed the "Messiah Media" project with a co-conspirator. He and hash through several new scenarios for what shape the project might take. New plans are made. Ambitious, very cool plans that aren't ready to see the light of day just yet...
9.30am
A guest is ready to talk to me--I make coffee for us and then spend five minutes with the Parish Administrative Assistant before sitting down with him. We talk about the "Messiah Commons" project and some other things I'm working on at some length. He's a semi-retired minister with a lot of experience in church planting, missions, etc. I look to him as something of a mentor and am incredibly thankful to be able to bend his ear for an hour about some of the plans I have for Messiah. He gives some suggestions and ideas. At the end of our time he says a lovely prayer over me. We both walk away feeling inspired to redouble our efforts.
11.00am
The Administrative Assistant and I tackle and work through some problems around things like office supplies, throwing away files we no longer need to make space, and ordering light bulbs (all of which are far more complicated than you can imagine if you have never worked for either the government, church, or an educational institution). We are both pleased to be able to clean out space in the storage room.
12pm
My next meeting starts--this time with a possible co-conspirator in the whole New Media Evangelism/Messiah Media projects. we get to know where we are each coming from. He suggests ways in which he can be involved. We problem solve some issues the Diocese would like addressed (such as bettering communications between parishes and helping parishes adopt new communications methods). I appreciate that he has taken a two-hour lunch break from work to drive to meet with me.
1.30pm
I bike down to a pub on Church Street near Bloor to meet with my two-facilitators for the Fresh Start programme. Fresh Start is a two-year training project for clergy in transition into a new parish. They attend a monthly session which has a didactic component (a presentation, basically, about the subject like dealing with conflict in a congregation, negotiating role clarity, understanding parish finances, etc.) and a case-study component (where the group listens to a real-live issue happening to someone in the group and then discuss it. This is a year-end debrief. The three of us agree that Fresh Start is running really well right now and we love our group. We eventually move on to talk about Diocesan Politics, Toronto Politics, vacation plans, and so forth. A good working lunch.
2.30pm
I rush back (on the bike) to Messiah and do a one-hour counseling session with a parishioner. It goes well (obviously I can't say much more than that).
4pm
I rush home, get my sail bag assembled, kiss the wife, and then dash out of the door to my bike. I rode down to the waterfront and hopped onto a Tender (Ferry) to the QCYC Sailing Club for the weekly race. This evening it was just two of us. When I race with Stephen we have pretty much the same level of boating competence, so we "co-skipper." But Charles, who was the only member of the team available, is still learning so I ended up being the honest-to-God-and-only Skipper for my first race. It was really great. We even managed to beat a few boats (only one in our division... but I'll take it!). Even better was the fact that by the end of the race I had dialed in and was catching up to the rest of the fleet. During one particular leg I just focused very carefully on proper sail trim and helmsmanship and found that we were beating the two closest boats, which proves that this boat can be a winner if we sail her well. I can't wait to try again!
9.30pm
After "putting the boat to bed" I hopped on the next Tender back to the city-side and biked back up the hill to home. It's a 30 minute bike ride up a gentle incline. It's nice to notice that my "summer legs" are getting back into shape. Bike riding in the summer in Toronto is really one of the best ways to get around the city.
10pm
For supper I had some leftover duck and some grilled veggies that Betsy had made for Henry. Betsy and I had a brief chat, watched the end of an episode of Veep, and then headed off to bed. I came downstairs to my corner and wrote this!
A good, full day. I feel like I made yet more incremental progress in the grande project of turning around The Church of The Messiah. Both "Messiah Commons" and "Messiah Media" are really important to the future of the parish (particularly the former), and it's good to be able to sit with people more experienced than I talk through my plans and hear their feedback. The other meetings were important and good in their own ways, as well. But ending the day on the lake is always magical and deeply satisfying! Now it's off to bed!
6.00am
Henry (3.5yo) came upstairs and Betsy pulled him into the bed between us. We all went back to sleep for a little longer. Betsy got up and went downstairs to work around 6.30. Henry and I kept sleeping.
7.15am
I woke up and took a shower. By the time I finished he was awake and asking to go downstairs. I took him off the bed (he doesn't like to slide off on his own) and he trotted down to Betsy's office in the basement.
7.45am
Henry was already mesmerized by Lego: Star Wars. Betsy was making him breakfast. I made myself a quick shake of milk, frozen mango, frozen strawberries, and honey. Not bad, but next time I'll put in a tad less honey.
8.00am
Biked to church (about 10 minutes away) and set up for the 8.30 Contemplative Eucharist. Put the chairs and some cushions in a circle.
8.30am
The Contemplative Eucharist begins. Seven people--which is a little higher than normal thanks to a guest. I felt that my Eucharistic Prayers, which I ad lib for this liturgy, were particularly poetic this time. I chalk it up to a good night's sleep the day before.
9.15am
Discussed the "Messiah Media" project with a co-conspirator. He and hash through several new scenarios for what shape the project might take. New plans are made. Ambitious, very cool plans that aren't ready to see the light of day just yet...
9.30am
A guest is ready to talk to me--I make coffee for us and then spend five minutes with the Parish Administrative Assistant before sitting down with him. We talk about the "Messiah Commons" project and some other things I'm working on at some length. He's a semi-retired minister with a lot of experience in church planting, missions, etc. I look to him as something of a mentor and am incredibly thankful to be able to bend his ear for an hour about some of the plans I have for Messiah. He gives some suggestions and ideas. At the end of our time he says a lovely prayer over me. We both walk away feeling inspired to redouble our efforts.
11.00am
The Administrative Assistant and I tackle and work through some problems around things like office supplies, throwing away files we no longer need to make space, and ordering light bulbs (all of which are far more complicated than you can imagine if you have never worked for either the government, church, or an educational institution). We are both pleased to be able to clean out space in the storage room.
12pm
My next meeting starts--this time with a possible co-conspirator in the whole New Media Evangelism/Messiah Media projects. we get to know where we are each coming from. He suggests ways in which he can be involved. We problem solve some issues the Diocese would like addressed (such as bettering communications between parishes and helping parishes adopt new communications methods). I appreciate that he has taken a two-hour lunch break from work to drive to meet with me.
1.30pm
I bike down to a pub on Church Street near Bloor to meet with my two-facilitators for the Fresh Start programme. Fresh Start is a two-year training project for clergy in transition into a new parish. They attend a monthly session which has a didactic component (a presentation, basically, about the subject like dealing with conflict in a congregation, negotiating role clarity, understanding parish finances, etc.) and a case-study component (where the group listens to a real-live issue happening to someone in the group and then discuss it. This is a year-end debrief. The three of us agree that Fresh Start is running really well right now and we love our group. We eventually move on to talk about Diocesan Politics, Toronto Politics, vacation plans, and so forth. A good working lunch.
2.30pm
I rush back (on the bike) to Messiah and do a one-hour counseling session with a parishioner. It goes well (obviously I can't say much more than that).
4pm
I rush home, get my sail bag assembled, kiss the wife, and then dash out of the door to my bike. I rode down to the waterfront and hopped onto a Tender (Ferry) to the QCYC Sailing Club for the weekly race. This evening it was just two of us. When I race with Stephen we have pretty much the same level of boating competence, so we "co-skipper." But Charles, who was the only member of the team available, is still learning so I ended up being the honest-to-God-and-only Skipper for my first race. It was really great. We even managed to beat a few boats (only one in our division... but I'll take it!). Even better was the fact that by the end of the race I had dialed in and was catching up to the rest of the fleet. During one particular leg I just focused very carefully on proper sail trim and helmsmanship and found that we were beating the two closest boats, which proves that this boat can be a winner if we sail her well. I can't wait to try again!
9.30pm
After "putting the boat to bed" I hopped on the next Tender back to the city-side and biked back up the hill to home. It's a 30 minute bike ride up a gentle incline. It's nice to notice that my "summer legs" are getting back into shape. Bike riding in the summer in Toronto is really one of the best ways to get around the city.
10pm
For supper I had some leftover duck and some grilled veggies that Betsy had made for Henry. Betsy and I had a brief chat, watched the end of an episode of Veep, and then headed off to bed. I came downstairs to my corner and wrote this!
A good, full day. I feel like I made yet more incremental progress in the grande project of turning around The Church of The Messiah. Both "Messiah Commons" and "Messiah Media" are really important to the future of the parish (particularly the former), and it's good to be able to sit with people more experienced than I talk through my plans and hear their feedback. The other meetings were important and good in their own ways, as well. But ending the day on the lake is always magical and deeply satisfying! Now it's off to bed!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Messiah Media Proposal
For the past several weeks (months?) I've been hinting about a secret proposal I've been developing for the Our Faith-Our Hope Campaign. This was a big Diocesan-wide capital campaign that raised about $50 Million for these purposes:
The actual application is only about twelve pages long, but it also has a 30-minute companion video that features further explanations, me diagramming it out on a white board, and testimonials from a bunch of priests in the Diocese talking about how this would impact their ministries. That might not seem like a lot of material, but I know from being involved in similar scale projects in the past through FEWG/PEMG (the Committee that shepherds new church plants) that this is enough for now. Indeed, any more content than that would be mostly speculative since many details will only be worked out once a Board of Trustees is established and we get underway.
I have to say that it is the finest grant proposal I've ever written (and certainly the largest that I have taken the leading role to create). I give the credit for that to my excellent team of people giving advice and feedback. I don't want to name them now, but they know who they are. They really pushed me to develop certain key aspects of the proposal that I never would have thought of on my own. The fact that I was able to get so many people to help me with the proposal is evidence of how needed this is. I wish I could share both right now, but I'm afraid there is some information in there that needs to be embargoed until mid-June or so. However, if you ask nicely and I know you I'll probably send it to you! It exists in that weird gray zone between public and private.
The plan currently calls for hiring two full time staff members--one primarily to produce content and the other primarily to teach others how to use the new media technologies in various ways. The board will have the task of hammering out the job descriptions and actually recruiting the talent. We've got benchmarks sketched out for how many live events to stream, videos to produce, and education events to run. There are also plans sketched out for the long-term sustainability of the project.
My role? I expect that as "Father Founder" I will probably be the first Chair of the Board, but I would disappointed if I were the last. I imagine being involved for a few years to get this going, but I sincerely hope that we get enough people involved and passionate about leadership that there are plenty of people happy to take over once the training wheels are removed.
Part of me actually feels that $517k isn't enough for everything we want to do. But then I remind myself that this is just a start. This becomes a platform from which we can launch various side projects that could apply for funding on their own. For example, if someone wanted to produce a feature length documentary about homelessness in Toronto, I can imagine them using Messiah Media equipment and contacts and then applying for a grant to pay for the stuff that costs money. This gives us a foot in the door of media production, and that's critical.
The training events will cover virtually any and all new media and social media related topics. They will be driven by whatever people want to learn about.
So... exciting times ahead for Messiah!
-t
- 1. Strengthening Local Parishes $17,000,000
- 2. Building the Church for Tomorrow $14,000,000
- 3. Revitalizing Our Inheritance $14,000,000
- 4. Giving to Others $5,000,000
- A) Leadership Development $6,000,000
- B) Pioneering Ministry $4,000,000
- C) Communicating in a Wireless World $4,000,000
The actual application is only about twelve pages long, but it also has a 30-minute companion video that features further explanations, me diagramming it out on a white board, and testimonials from a bunch of priests in the Diocese talking about how this would impact their ministries. That might not seem like a lot of material, but I know from being involved in similar scale projects in the past through FEWG/PEMG (the Committee that shepherds new church plants) that this is enough for now. Indeed, any more content than that would be mostly speculative since many details will only be worked out once a Board of Trustees is established and we get underway.
I have to say that it is the finest grant proposal I've ever written (and certainly the largest that I have taken the leading role to create). I give the credit for that to my excellent team of people giving advice and feedback. I don't want to name them now, but they know who they are. They really pushed me to develop certain key aspects of the proposal that I never would have thought of on my own. The fact that I was able to get so many people to help me with the proposal is evidence of how needed this is. I wish I could share both right now, but I'm afraid there is some information in there that needs to be embargoed until mid-June or so. However, if you ask nicely and I know you I'll probably send it to you! It exists in that weird gray zone between public and private.
The plan currently calls for hiring two full time staff members--one primarily to produce content and the other primarily to teach others how to use the new media technologies in various ways. The board will have the task of hammering out the job descriptions and actually recruiting the talent. We've got benchmarks sketched out for how many live events to stream, videos to produce, and education events to run. There are also plans sketched out for the long-term sustainability of the project.
My role? I expect that as "Father Founder" I will probably be the first Chair of the Board, but I would disappointed if I were the last. I imagine being involved for a few years to get this going, but I sincerely hope that we get enough people involved and passionate about leadership that there are plenty of people happy to take over once the training wheels are removed.
Part of me actually feels that $517k isn't enough for everything we want to do. But then I remind myself that this is just a start. This becomes a platform from which we can launch various side projects that could apply for funding on their own. For example, if someone wanted to produce a feature length documentary about homelessness in Toronto, I can imagine them using Messiah Media equipment and contacts and then applying for a grant to pay for the stuff that costs money. This gives us a foot in the door of media production, and that's critical.
The training events will cover virtually any and all new media and social media related topics. They will be driven by whatever people want to learn about.
So... exciting times ahead for Messiah!
-t
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