Western Area
The Rev. Dr. Peter Wells
Associate Conference Minister in the Western Area
2005 Report

If you’ve visited the Conference website, you’ve seen it.

If you’ve recently gotten a piece of mail from this office, you’ve seen it.

If I’ve given you my calling card, you’ve seen it.

If you’ve gotten a flyer for a Conference program or a reminder about an important event, you’ve seen it.

No, I’m not talking about a comma, although you may have seen a few of those as well!

What I’m talking about is the vision that the Board has developed for our Conference: “Nurturing local church vitality and the covenant among our churches.” For those of us on staff, this new vision is guiding our deliberations, planning, and activity.

One of the things I appreciate most about this vision is that it reaffirms that our churches are already vital – a fact certainly true in the Western Area! As I read annual reports, visit congregations, talk with pastors and read newsletters, I am amazed at the wonderful vitality of our churches. But I’m not sure that you’re always aware of what I see from the outside.

When I preach, I usually begin with a litany of activities drawn from the church’s annual reports and newsletters. Often after worship someone will come up to me and say, “Wow! I didn’t know we did all that!” As members of our respective congregations, it’s often easy to miss all of the good things that are being done, especially if we are so focused on everything that needs to be done. Because of this, I would encourage each of you during the course of this year to occasionally take a moment to look around and give thanks both for the vitality of your individual congregation as well as that of all the congregations with whom you share a covenantal partnership.

Nurturing Vitality
The Conference’s vision statement is also an excellent description of the job I have been called to carry out. One of my main responsibilities is to nurture the vitality of each of your congregations and the covenant that you all share. Over the last year, this work has taken various forms and different levels of intensity. Some of it was done solo, but most has been accomplished with the help of many of you and other members of the staff. Working by myself or with others I have:

• Worked to assist congregations in times of transition, including consulting with church leadership and search committees;
• Led workshops and presentations on church growth;
• Preached at various churches and met with church members for general discussions about their lives and the life of the Conference;
• Met with pastors to reflect together on the future of their ministries as well as the ministries of their churches;
• Responded in a timely manner to phone and email requests for information;
• Worked with the four Church and Ministry committees on a wide variety of projects and tasks;
• Held a series of listening sessions around the Area;
• Participated at ordinations, installations and memorial services;
• Helped in restarting the Hampshire clergy group and worked with the clergy groups of other Western Area Associations;
• Participated in the creation of the Western Area Leadership Academy;
• Assisted in the birth of an area-wide Justice and Witness Task Force;
• Met and advised the four Executive Committees as they continue to redefine their roles;
• Staffed and assisted ministerial oversight procedures;
• Consulted with congregations facing particularly difficult transitions;
• Participated in the Vital Congregations group convened by Paul Nickerson;
• Encouraged and facilitated the development of an Area Boundary Training Program; and,
• Participated in the development of a new program designed to focus Conference resources on congregations committed to growth.

There is more that could easily be added to this list; however, I believe this gives a good snapshot of the work I’ve been engaged in with the Western Area over the past year. As I review this list, it is apparent to me that most of my effort has been focused more on nurturing the vitality of individual congregations and less on strengthening the covenant that binds us. I would hope that in the year ahead I might carve out more time to focus on the latter. There are many things that we can do best “by ourselves,” but there is much that we can do better together.

Gratitude
I would end with a word of thanks for your faithful commitment to the church. The heart and soul of this denomination is the local congregation. I give thanks for the vital congregations of this area and look forward to working together with you to continue building up God’s beloved community!

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