Strategic Plan
2022 – 2025

I very much welcome this second rendering of the Diocesan Strategic Plan. Many thanks to the Archdeacon Emeritus Dr Steve West and the team of persons who undertook the sacrifice of this crucially important work. We must at the same time appreciate and recognize the foundation laid by The Leadership Firm led by Mrs. Hazel Manning, through whose team we have the recently expired plan. Going back a little further, we have been building on the PriceWaterhouse Cooper’s report, “On Track to Change of 2010.” At that time, the former Diocesan, Bishop Bess, responding to the lament of synod for capacity building, invited Price-Waterhouse to conduct assessment and offer recommendations for going forward. They did that in the aforementioned report, “On track to Change”.

I am happy that the vision of The New Wine Vineyard is maintained. This vision followed the Price-Waterhouse Review of which I was Chairman and was prompted by the request of the elective assembly to candidates, for a vision. I continue to support the vision of a ‘New Wine Vineyard – Revealing Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.’ This latter version of the vision being the result of the work undertaken by The Leadership Firm and the various stakeholders.

The current plan for the new period utilized an in-house approach and rolled over many positives of the last framework. For one thing the strategic priorities were retained, and new ones added. Similarly, the Core Values were retained and both retentions were the consequence of learnings from the last effort. We did not do as well as we anticipated in our last effort, but I wish to urge everyone to embrace this new plan and change our approach to suit the conditions. In our West Indian understanding, the conditions are very important and may only be ignored to the team’s peril. We know this from agriculture and from cricket. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus taught that the conditions on which the seed fall will determine the type of yield that would be received. We must pay attention to and respond to the context in which we serve!

We have utilized the calendar of events approach over many years. While we do not advocate that that tool be discarded, we strongly encourage an approach that would give our work greater intentionality and reach. The Anglican Consultative Council asked the Anglican Communion to engage in Intentional Discipleship and Disciple Making, thereby giving us a big hint about the manner of our mission and ministry work going forward. We believe the strategic plan is an adequate tool for turning things around and producing greater returns on our effort expended. Jesus in his teaching referenced thirtyfold, sixtyfold and a hundred-fold as measures of yield and productive returns.

With the passage of time and the passing of many of our experienced and mature members, the strategic priorities would take on new urgency and utility. We must prepare the current membership and the upcoming membership to do this important work to the highest standard possible. The society is trending more and more toward a secular and plural orientation and consequently, there would be a diminishment of the church’s influence. If the church does not inform and strengthen its institution, it will hardly be able to guide and hold its own, much more to make a difference in the ethical and moral framework that accompanies decent and upstanding society. If we are going to be the salt of the earth, our discipleship has to be organized and supported and the Plan can help us to focus on the imperatives of the mission before us.

I hereby encourage every Parish to embrace earnestly this version of the strategic plan. Our task is much more than conducting services, which is one factor in the cure of souls which is our mandate. In the last round, there was leniency and forbearance, but we have seen that such an approach has not enabled our movement. I am hopeful that at the very least, it has facilitated a dry run, which would embolden the collective response this time around. I am reminded of the sterling work done by the Monitoring and Evaluation Committee, convened by Mrs. Margaret Weston. I wish to thank them most sincerely for keeping the strategic plan agenda firmly on the table and calling us all to account for the work to be done. It is my hope that this time around a greater and more infectious enthusiasm would ensue and would occasion a quantum leap in our discipleship indices across the diocese.

In the year when we mark our sesquicentennial as a diocese, while being on the verge of marking the 200th anniversary of the Dedication of the Holy Trinity Church, the context is ripe for reflection and resolution. I pray that that spirit has made its way substantially into the fabric of the current strategic effort, as well as into the psyche of the members of our church for an engaging and productive process. The nation needs our input in respect of our utilization of scripture, tradition, and reason as a method for discourse, planning and implementation. We must redouble our efforts and we believe the strategic plan would allow for the appropriate positioning for continuing our work.

The strategic plan is an action and a process in motion. It marks a change, but it has to be made into a change. In the terms of one expert, it is not a project; it is a movement, it is a journey. Join the movement and leave your footprint in creating strong and renewed commitment and raised standards to the greater glory of God. We are striving ‘to translate vision into reality.’ (Warren Bennis) Moreover, there is a great benefit to ‘unlocking people’s potential to become better.’ (Bill Bradley). What a difference we find in ministry when people are excited by being a part of creating the reality that was the vision; or, when people discover the tremendous talent that resides within them and the transformative effect of that talent.

The strategic plan can facilitate this kind of experience, of self-discovery and achievement. It resembles the method of Jesus (Mk 6:7f) and you are invited once again to give it your best shot, not for your personal gain but for the fulfilment of the Commission Jesus laid on our hearts, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I commanded you.” (Matt. 28:19+20a). The strategic plan is a tool that will help us to do this work satisfactorily. I warmly commend its adoption and implementation.

+Claude
Trinidad and Tobago

“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” — Sir Winston Churchill

There are many valuable lessons which emanate from the Church’s implementation of the first Strategic Plan which this second Plan must not ignore. These lessons include the following:

• The training of those charged with the implementation of the Plan on a day-to-day basis was insufficient and, in some case, non-existent. Up to the mid-point in the Strategic Planning implementation period some key members of parishes had not heard of the Diocesan Strategic Plan.
• In many instances there was a disconnect between the ongoing parish activities and the Strategic Plans. In many parishes, the Strategic Plan was treated like another activity unrelated to on-going activities and somewhat of an imposition by the Diocese.
• The activities of the Strategic Plan were, in many instances, not reflected in the budgets of the parishes and thus Plan activities were inadequately funded or not at all.
• In significant instances the Plan was not communicated to stakeholders including Vestries and parish groups and did not form part of the ongoing agenda of parishes.
• Documentation of the planning, implementation and evaluation of the initiatives, programmes and projects was weak or non-existent.

Membership

Methodology

At its first meeting on March 1st, 2021, the Strategic Planning Team agreed that it would use the strategic pillars identified in the Strategic Plan 2016–2020 with the addition of two pillars, namely, Technology in Ministry and Clergy Development. It was envisaged that although technology would have an impact on all the pillars it should be a separate pillar due to its importance in the COVID-19 and Post COVID 19 periods.

Thereafter, members identified strategic pillars in which they had an interest and were invited to work together in groups to develop the pillars using the 2016–2021 strategic plan as their base. The Groups were:

Members who were not present at the meeting were asked to select at least two areas in which they would wish to contribute. The Groups were invited to meet virtually or face to face and complete their submissions by April 7th for a meeting of the Committee on April 12th.

There is a prayer (see Appendix A) for use by the Strategic Planning Committee which groups were asked to use at all meetings.

Regional Coordinators were asked to solicit suggestions from the parishes and submit these suggestions either to the coordinators or directly to the Team.

We offer our special thanks to all those parishes and regional coordinators for their suggestions which were incorporated into the new plan.

The Strategic Plan 2016–2020 was developed to take the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad & Tobago to a new era of Anglicanism. The Church was to be guided by its vision of the future: “The new wine vineyard – revealing Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit.” The Plan was to stimulate the Church to engage in a future in new and innovative ways of doing things in the vineyard of the Diocese of Trinidad & Tobago.

The Church also articulated a biblically based mission statement: “To give honour and glory to God by making disciples of Jesus Christ, empowering them to live according to the principles of God’s kingdom through the ministry and mission of the Church.”

Recognizing the importance of the organizational culture which develops from its values, the Church also identified eight core values: Love, Faithfulness, Communication, Integrity, Reconciliation, Worship, Service and Accountability. A communication plan was to be developed to operationalize the core values in our daily life.

Having identified gaps in the Anglican Church’s ability to achieve its vision, the Strategic Plan 2016–2020 identified seven (7) strategic priority areas that would be the focus for the five-year period. These were: (1) Leadership Development (2) Church Development (3) Christian Education (4) Youth Empowerment (5) Management of Finances (6) Process of Reconciliation (7) Utilization of Physical and Human Resources.

Objectives and deliverables were developed for each strategic priority as well as goals with corresponding timeframes and persons or groups who would be responsible for taking the necessary action within the given deadlines.

Training sessions were held to assist parishes in implementing the plan and guidelines were provided for the Parish visitation that was to mark the implementation of the plan. A Diocesan Monitoring and Evaluation Committee was established and engaged in Parish visits, providing guidance on various ways Parishes were implementing the Plan and reported to the Annual Synod on overall Plan implementation.

After over four years of activity, it was decided that while the Plan filled the gaps in the implementation of the mission as a Diocese there was not sufficient participation by the Parishes. It was decided that the plan was excellent and that the Diocese should continue to pursue its mission through the implementation of a Strategic Plan. However, there were gaps yet to be filled. Therefore, a committee was established to examine the 2016–2020 plan and make the necessary additions and/or modifications.

After careful examination of the 2016–2020, the Committee added an Implementation Plan and two new Strategic Priorities – Clergy Development and Technology in Ministry – and recommendations for greater engagement and participation by parishes.

The Diocesan Monitoring and Evaluation Team played a critical role in assessment of the progress made on the 2016–2020 Strategic Plan. This second plan attempts to capture some of the critical lessons learned by the team, particularly with respect to the institutional capacity for communication, sustained implementation and reporting at the parish level.

This Strategic Plan sets out the vision, mission and initiatives, including programmes and projects which need to be undertaken to move our Diocese forward during the period under consideration. However, it must be clearly understood that the Church operates within a particular cultural context which directs “how” we do what we do. Organizational culture is not addressed as part of this Strategic Plan but will be a critical success factor in the implementation and therefore achievements of the intended outcomes of the Plan.

Our Vision, Mission and Core values remain immutable, grounded in the tenets of our faith and are retained to guide our journey over the next five (5) years.

Our Core Values

The Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago will focus on nine strategic priorities over the period 2022 to 2025 to bridge the gap between its current reality in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the future. A description of each priority articulates the goal for each and further identifies the objectives essential to achieving the vision.

The success of this strategic intervention relies on the identification and execution of deliverables relative to each objective under the relevant priority area or pillar. The matrix of priorities, goals, objectives and deliverables detailed in Appendix B paints a clear picture of the direction that the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago will take in operationalizing the Strategic Plan.

The deliverables have been identified and each Parish will in turn develop Action Plans stemming from these deliverables. Each Parish may have unique circumstances and require action specific to that Parish in relation to a deliverable. On the other hand, a Parish may not require any action under a deliverable, since the circumstance may not be relevant to that Parish’s situation. In such case, the Parish may undertake actions unique to them or not at all, but all must lead towards the attainment of first the objectives and subsequently the goals.

The Appendix details the matrix of (a) the strategic priority defined with the goal, (b) the objectives, and (c) the deliverables. In addition, the deliverables are time bound, identifying the responsible persons for the tasks.

A twelve (12) stage Implementation Plan is proposed.

In the rollout of this second Strategic Plan, emphasis must be placed on assisting parishes to understand and benefit from what is in the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the parish and its constituent parts. At several forums, assessments of the first Strategic Plan indicated that some groups felt that it was a Diocesan imposition. In many parishes the implementation of the Strategic Plan was seen as something separate and apart and in competition for resources, with the parish’s existing and ongoing programme of activities. In this second Plan, it is envisioned that all participants will see the achievement of the Strategic Priorities and deliverables as the Church’s activity at every level.

A Strategic Plan Implementation Team will be established to assist Parishes in the first stages (Stages 2 to 5) of the Implementation process.

Monitoring and Evaluation of the implementation of the Strategic Plan resides within the Office of the Bishop and will be a formative and summative process. A Monitoring and Evaluation Team (members to be determined) will assist the Bishop in the monitoring and evaluation process.

The Team will use the reports submitted to the Bishop by the Cathedral Chapter Strategic Plan Implementation Committee which is charged to monitor and evaluate the activities of the Parishes.

A Mid-term Strategic Review will be undertaken to inform any adjustments needed to ensure achievement of the vision.

The operational matrix below sets out, for each strategic priority, the goal, objectives, deliverables, timeframe and responsibility.