Church Growth
The Rev. Lisa G. Fischbeck, Orange County Missioner

Episcopalians of Orange County have embarked on an exciting adventure this year – the birthing of a new church.

The three existing Episcopal congregations in Orange County have discerned that the time has come to launch a new congregation in our region. It’s not the first time. The Church of England established St. Matthew’s parish 250 years ago. St. Matthew’s ‘begat’ the Chapel of the Cross 100 years later. The Chapel of the Cross ‘begat’ the Church of the Holy Family 100 years after that. The only difference this time is that we are not waiting 100 years, (only 50!), and all three parishes are ‘begetting’ together.

All three existing Episcopal parishes in Orange County are faithful, growing, and strong. Each has its own liturgical style and ambience, but all are faithfully engaged in the life of the Diocese and the greater Episcopal Church; and all have good leadership, committed to reaching out beyond itself. However, all three parishes are also limited in their continued growth – limited by land or building or city ordinances

Add to the mix the fact that this region of the country, and this region of North Carolina, is growing rapidly. It is growing in numbers and it is growing in diversity.

As I said in my sermon at the Chapel of the Cross on September 29, we live in a missionary paradise!

As Christians we are all called to respond. In our baptismal covenant we say that we will “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.” And our Lord himself directs us, at the conclusion of Matthew’s Gospel, to “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 have commanded you.”

The time is right to launch a fourth Episcopal Church in Orange County.

And it will be the work of all of us. Already each of the three congregations has given and pledged financial support. Already, the new mission is in the prayers of each parish. Soon, I hope, we will all include the new mission in our conversations with one another and with those who have no church home.

Where will the new church be? What will it be called? The answer to these questions, and many others, will be revealed in the year ahead as those with a heart and a call to actually be a part of the new congregation begin to come together, seeking, praying, and discerning.

I firmly believe that as those of us who are part of the three existing congregations engage in the process of starting a fourth—whether by our prayers, our financial support, our time, or our energy—our own faith and faithfulness will be strengthened. The Church and the churches in Orange County will grow as we continue to do what God has called us to do in this region for 250 years.