“Constellations” is the diocese’s new term for partnerships that involve clergy sharing and mission collaboration. Clergy sharing is nothing new, but a Constellation differs from a merger and from the “yoked parishes” of previous decades because congregations in Constellations do not have to share vestries or governance. Rather, they focus on opportunities to renew and redevelop the ways in which they follow Jesus.
While congregations in a Constellation share clergy, they also rely on collaboration among lay leaders and members and are supported by training, coaching, and support from the diocese.
Constellations may also include priests within a peer group each serving individual parishes; some may need and want full-time work, while others may be bi-vocational priests, partially retired priests or vocational deacons serving alongside a priest.
If your parish is discerning its future and considering a constellation, use this Manual for Congregations in Discernment to help guide your process. Diocesan Congregational Discernment Team will assist you in the critical and challenging moments as you embark upon this work. (See Appendix A for more information about these teams.)
Download the Manual
For more information about the Discernment Process and Manual, contact the Rev. Canon Susan Ohlidal, canon to the ordinary for missional vitality, by email at sohlidal@diovermont.org or by phone at 802.391.7127.
