Summary of Transitional Planning Work To Date
This page contains information about the transitional planning that Albany Presbytery is engaged in and what has been worked on thus far in 2015. The most recent content starts at the top of this page.
Presbytery-wide Convocation
New Personnel Structure Discussion
October 10, 2018
7:00 pm
Malta Presbyterian Church, Malta, NY
Click here to read the October 2018 Convocation Summary & Personnel Committee Report for November 2018 Presbytery Meeting
Reflections from the September 15 Presbytery Meeting at Brunswick Church
Rev. Ted Wright, HR – SPAT Moderator
SPAT Presentation and Staffing Discussion
“The Staffing Process Advisory Team presented its final report, covering 15 months of activity. Bottom line: Presbytery has made sufficient progress to warrant proceeding toward decisions on staffing models. Since disagreements and disappointments remain in some quarters, SPAT recommended – and Presbytery endorsed – the formation of an annual Koinonia Team (sort of like a Moderator’s cabinet) to continue bringing people together for conversation, connection, discernment, and spiritual growth. SPAT is now discharged. Meanwhile, the Personnel Committee has proposed a staffing model for debate and vote in November. Please note: Future staff will be working remotely. Presbytery’s lease on the office in Troy terminates Dec. 31.”
Presbytery-wide Convocation
New Personnel Structure Discussion
October 10, 2018
7:00 pm
Malta Presbyterian Church, Malta, NY
Click here to read the October 2018 Convocation Summary & Personnel Committee Report for November 2018 Presbytery Meeting
Click here to view:
Video Summary of Albany Presbytery Summer Convocations
June 5th Staffing Process Advisory Team (SPAT Report)
Highlights from July 2017 – June 2018
PREVIOUSLY HELD CONVOCATIONS
Special Albany Presbytery-wide Convocation
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Stillwater United Church
6:30PM-8:30PM
Relationships: How can we better support one another?
Click here to read the September 2018 Convocation Summary
Special Albany Presbytery-wide Convocation
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Stillwater United Church
6:30PM-8:30PM
Finance: Our optimal investment in staff…(And is this level sustainable?)
Click here to read the August 2018 Convocation Summary
Special Albany Presbytery-wide Convocation
Tuesday, July 10, 2018
Staff: What roles do we see as most important?
(Duties? Part-time? Full-time? Strong executive? More collegial models?)
Click here to read the July 2018 Convocation Summary
Special Albany Presbytery-wide Convocation
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
What would a stronger presbytery look like?
(Relate this to worship, mission, communication, children & youth, etc.)
Click here to read the June 2018 Convocation Summary
Special Albany Presbytery-wide Convocation
May 8, 2018
Collaborating for a Better Future
Click here to read the May 2018 Convocation Summary
June 18 – 19, 2018 – June Retreat
“GIVEN” – a retreat about the holy Whole, and the sum of its parts
February 10, 2018 Albany Presbytery Meeting: Response to the SARC Meeting
Constructive Workshop
From the Albany Presbytery Winter Retreat
Albany Presbytery Constructive Workshop Announced by Ted Wright
Presbyters Respond to the SARC Report by Ted Wright
Results from Nov 1 Special Presbytery Meeting – Survey Results
- What 35 of You Reported about Well-Being (Google Forum)
* Instructional video and link provided above to engage with the Google Forum
Outcomes from the SARC Report Presentation at the Nov 15 Presbytery Meeting
SARC Report Reflections
Summary from the November 1, 2017 Special Presbytery Meeting
Summary from the September 12, 2017 Special Presbytery Meeting
- Reflections on the Sept. 12 Special Meeting of Presbytery by Ted Wright
- Document with the Results from September 12 Presbytery Meeting at Ballston Spa
September 12, 2017 – Special Presbytery Meeting
Presbytery voted to hold a Special Meeting on the evening of September 12 purely to focus on the most appropriate staffing pattern to support Albany Presbytery’s mission.
That meeting is not expected to produce a staffing model — only to advance and improve the discernment process. Briefly, we propose that people who attend will first hear updates from staff and committee chairs regarding their situations since July 1 (when the full-time executive position became vacant), and then together all present will identify questions which Presbytery should address in order to move forward. There may well be other various types of gatherings in order to expand participation.
The Staffing Process Advisory Team has been detailing their work on the blog site. You can read the previous posted here:
- Albany Presbytery Staffing Process Advisory Team
- Staffing Process Advisory Team July 21 Meeting Update by Ted Wright
The Official Call and Meeting Documents can be found on the Presbytery Meetings Page:
Click here for meeting details
On June 6, 2017 the Presbytery charged the Coordination Committee to develop a well-designed process and timeline for arriving at a final staffing plan. The Coordinating Committee therefore assembled an Advisory Team. Read more about this Team and the process here: Albany Presbytery Staffing Process Advisory Team
At the Saturday, February 4, 2017 Presbytery Meeting, the new structure for the Albany Presbytery was adopted. Staffing report was given.
The Congregational Renewal-Pastoral Leadership Recommendations Dec 2016 was reviewed.
December 12, 2016
Conference Call for Feedback & Conversation • 2 Sessions
**SESSION I RECORDING AVAILABLE HERE**
**SESSION II RECORDING AVAILABLE HERE**
Staffing Needs & Options
Members of the Staffing Transition Team are seeking comments on part I of their report, on options for staffing patterns, that was presented to the Presbytery in November. They also hope to gather suggestions of functions and tasks for staff that a plan should include. A list of staffing needs identified so far will be sent to those who register for the conversation.
Supporting documents for this conversation:
- Report: Part I – Options for Staffing Patterns
- Report: Part II – Staffing and Contracting Needs for the Future
Congregational Revitalization & Pastoral Leadership Plan
Tim Coombs will assume familiarity with the Renewal Plan as it was first presented. He will be sharing and explaining the modifications that are being proposed by the team, which meets on Thursday, Dec. 8.
Supporting documents for this conversation:
- Updated after the call – Most current doc: Congregational Renewal Pastoral Leadership Recommendations 12_12_16
The Structure Team has produced a proposed new Presbytery structure:
- Proposed Structure
- Blog from the Officers describing the Proposed New Structure: A New Day, A New Structure
- 8/31 @ 10:00 am – Webinar Information about the Proposed Structure (Webinar Complete. View Recording.)
- Complete Video of the Webinar
- Webinar: Proposed New Structure for Albany Presbytery Attendee List and Post-Webinar Feedback
- Online Form to Provide Feedback about the Proposed Structure (Deadline Aug 31, 2016. This feedback form is now closed.)
Summer 2016
The Congregational Revitalization and Pastoral Leadership Teams have produced a report. It is in the following parts:
- Congregational Renewal Pastoral Leadership Recommendations
- Blog from the Team: An Invitation from the Congregational Revitalization and Renewal Team
- 9/6 @ 10:00 am – Webinar Information about the Proposed Ministry Plan (Webinar Complete. View Recording.)
- Complete Video of the Webinar
- Webinar: Proposed A New Ministry Plan for Albany Presbytery Attendee List and Post-Webinar Feedback
- Online Form to Provide Feedback about the Proposed Ministry Plan (Deadline Aug 31, 2016. This feedback form is now closed.)
Resources from the Silver Bay Retreat:
We continued our transitional work at the 2016 Presbytery Retreat in June at the Silver Bay YMCA.
- Transitional Presbyter Report (slides with narrated audio)
- Structure Slides (information about various ideas around Presbytery structure)
- Trustees Report with Financial Projections and Policy Recommendations
- 2015-2016 Congregations in Action (slides with music)
- Updated Vision/Context Statement (with notes from the retreat)
- Ingredients for Success (from Tim Coombs)
April/May Webinars
During April and May of 2016 we are inviting feedback and presenting information through three webinars. All members of Presbytery are invited to join us and the webinars will be recorded and can be viewed after as well. If you have any needs around accessing the webinars, please contact our Communications Manager, Kim Deal at the Presbytery Office.
Webinar #1: Vision and Mission, April 26 from Noon to 1PM
- Webinar Participant List and Feedback during the Webinar
- Feedback received after the Webinar
- Complete Video of the Webinar
Webinar #2, Staffing and Structure, May 3 from Noon-1PM
- Webinar Participant List and Feedback during the Webinar
- Feedback received after the Webinar
- Complete Video of the Webinar
Webinar #3, Ministry for the Future, May 9 from Noon-1PM
- Webinar Participant List and Feedback during the Webinar
- Feedback received after the Webinar
- Complete Video of the Webinar
At the April 2016 Presbytery Meeting we broke into small groups to consider a draft mission statement for the Presbytery and hear feedback. We also invited feedback on local, synod and denominational missions that the Presbytery supports. The results of the small groups can be found here and the document that guided those conversations can be found here.
In November and December of 2015 we engaged the Landscape Survey with HolyCow! Consulting. In January of 2016 we held feedback/interpretation sessions led by Dr. Keli Rugenstein of Samaritan Counseling Center about our Landscape results. Over 70 members of Presbytery joined us for these three-hour interpretation sessions held in Albany, Broadalbin and Glens Falls. An executive summary of our results can be found at Landscape Summary.
At the November 2015 Presbytery Meeting we broke into small groups to hear about the mission and ministries of our congregations and to reflect up on them.
At the September 2015 Presbytery Meeting we heard a report from SMI and the Trustees about financial ideas for our future and a report from the Vision Team about the ministry landscape in which we find ourselves. We also launched the new Presbytery website in September of 2015!
At the June 2015 Silver Bay Presbytery Retreat we were challenged with the “big picture” ways of considering change for the Presbytery as we learned from the Rev. Jan Edmiston of Chicago Presbytery about 21st Century Church and the Rev. Dr. J Herbert Nelson of the Office of Public Witness about the prophetic challenges before us as the Church of Jesus Christ.
At the April 2015 Council Meeting Council members were asked to work on a grid for a month before we met to describe what they felt our top three transitional tasks are, what their theological/biblical rationale for these tasks are, and what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to these tasks now and into the future. After creating the grid the Council engaged in a two-hour conversation on biblical/theological rationale, made a grid on the wall our of our response and created this document of our feedback. A small group of Council has created a work plan for the next 18 months for the Presbytery out of all of the above planning and is bringing that to the May Council meeting for conversation.
March 2015 Stated Presbytery Meeting we broke into small groups and asked two questions:
What is God’s preferred future that we see in the biblical narrative? Document from Feedback at Meeting
What is God’s preferred future for Albany Presbytery? Document from Feedback at Meeting
January 2015 Stated Presbytery Meeting: At our January meeting we broke into small groups and asked about the three goals of the Presbytery: Missional Living, Congregational Vitality and Healthy Relationships. We asked for Feedback related to these goals.
In January 2015 the Presbytery Council adopted the following document to guide our Transitional Process: Council Doc on Transitional Process
Vision Team–A Vision Team of the Presbytery has been appointed by the Council to provide a “balcony view” of the transitional work that we are a engaged in, invite feedback, ask questions and come alongside the whole Presbytery in their work. The members of this team are: Ruling Elder Kaitlyn TeBordo Wood (Cohoes), Teaching Elder Linda Martin (Broadalbin), Teaching Elder Michael Plank (Hudson Falls, Unity CrossFit NWC) and Teaching Elder Jim Reisner (Westminster/Albany)
Albany Presbytery Online Google Forum
In an attempt to offer collaboration beyond face-to-face meetings, in Fall 2017 we opened this online forum to facilitate additional conversation. This was not widely used although it is still available for review.
An Invitation: Next Steps Forward for Albany Presbytery – Will You Join Our Conversation?
*Please Note: You must have a Google Account to participate in the Staffing & Conversation Google Forum. This could be a “Gmail” or an account through an organization that uses Google for their mail and other app services.
Do you prefer to participate offline using paper?
Click here to download a paper version of the Conversational Forum about Goals, Priorities and Staffing form. Send all completed forms to the Albany Presbytery Office and this written input will be added to the online forum.
