The following reflection is offered by the Rev. David Sibley, Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Walla Walla, Washington.

The best decision any person can make in this life is to be a disciple of Jesus Christ: to commit to the work of daily spiritual growth so that we may be formed, day by day, more into Jesus’ image and likeness by the grace of the Holy Spirit. The same is true for congregations– the best thing we can do is choose to commit to becoming communities that are visibly dedicated to the daily practices of following Jesus. 

When I was called to Saint Paul’s Church in Walla Walla, Washington, the congregation’s profile expressed a hunger for spiritual growth, and a willingness to commit to that project. Just before the pandemic broke in 2020, we committed to RenewalWorks to craft a plan to move forward. Just after finishing the spiritual life inventory, the pandemic put a kibosh on group workshops, but we worked to use the data we gathered to try and shape a path forward focused on discipleship. We found that, much like many Episcopal congregations, we had room to grow – the opportunity to embed the Bible into our congregation’s life; to change the attitude of leadership away from execution of tasks to the prioritization of individual and congregational spiritual growth. 

Emerging from COVID-19 offered a unique opportunity for congregational reinvention – and Saint Paul’s embraced what we learned with gusto. A new emphasis on participation in small groups for prayer, study, and fellowship became a key charism of the parish’s life. Parish-wide and small-group study of the Bible using The Path and the Book of Common Prayer accompanied by Walk in Love was integrated through our Sunday worship, children’s formation, and small groups. Those groups were then invited to extend their curiosity to the places the Spirit drove them – everything from studying Women in the Bible, to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, to some studies by Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton. After six years of work, by the time my sabbatical came around in late 2025, it was naturally time to take stock of our work – where have we come? How have we grown? What might God be calling us to do next? 

I chose to raise the stakes even further – what if St. Paul’s revisited RenewalWorks again, but do so while I was on sabbatical? What if we surveyed the congregation without the 500-lb gorilla that is my presence as a parish priest, and trusted the Spirit and our community to Strategic Discernment that was truly and completely by the hand of the disciples within the congregation? The Vestry agreed to take on this momentous task during my time in rest. I returned to results that astounded me in all the best ways. 

In our intervening years between the two cycles of RenewalWorks, the parish has markedly improved at integrating the Bible into all aspects of our life. We’ve grown our appreciation for the unconditional love and grace of God for us and for all people by leaps and bounds over several years ago. People longed to serve, not sympathetically through a few select ministries – but as a building block of parish life. 

Perhaps best of all, it has been our lay leaders that are now hard at work turning RenewalWorks’ Strategic Discernment for Spiritual Growth into near immediate action – in large part because the vision for the next phase of the parish’s life is bigger than the priest, bigger than the Vestry, bigger than the Workshop Team – it belongs to the whole parish. New service projects have been organized by lay leaders in our Spiritual Growth and Outreach Guild to craft us into being “the church who serves” in ways that are accessible to the whole congregation, not merely those who have abundant free time. A new emphasis on connecting people and getting them moving on pathways to spiritual growth has become a key task for our Hospitality and Welcome Guild. Our Stewardship and Finance Guild has turned dedicated attention to promoting an understanding of stewardship as a discipline of the spiritual life – a perpetual act of thanksgiving for God’s grace and goodness. 

What will come next? It’s hard to say, as the Spirit always has surprises for us – and we know that what RenewalWorks has given us isn’t a Strategic Plan, but rather Strategic Discernment – a way of being led not by our ego, but by the Holy Spirit. I may not know what’s next, but I’m encouraged – for we know that where two or three are gathered, Jesus Christ will be present – and will show us the way. 

- The Rev. David Sibley, Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Walla Walla, WA