Last week I shared with you the new vision statement that we developed together using the Discovery Process.
The Vision of St. Dunstan’s Church is:
On earth as in heaven,
all are welcome,
all are fed,
and all are loved.
The Discovery Process gave us the opportunity to share our stories as we interviewed one another about our best experiences, our hopes, and our dreams for St. Dunstan’s Church. As we read through the 60 interviews, three core values emerged:
community
worship
outreach
There is a clear connection between these core values.
- Worship creates community. We value the community that forms in the context of our worship. When we pray together, and for one another, and struggle to live with faith together, the community that naturally forms is shaped by our faith. This is more than a club. The relationships we share are the expression of our life in Christ.
- Worship inspires our outreach. As a community formed in faith, we are inspired to respond to God with gratitude. That is what motivates our outreach ministries. St. Dunstan’s Church has a long history of outreach. Perhaps the best example is the long history of the St. Agnes Guild raising money to support outreach causes. In recent years, we have seen the remarkable growth of our feeding ministries. A normal week has us feeding 440 people now.
This is the background that inspired our new mission statement. A mission statement is the practical purpose of a congregation: Given who we are, what we love, and what we hope for, our mission is how we are called to live. Our mission is the challenge of our faith.
At St. Dunstan’s Church, our mission is:
Inspired by our worship together
we grow in Christ through
welcoming the stranger,
feeding hungry bodies and spirits,
giving of ourselves, and
inviting others to join us in this journey of faith.
This mission is a challenge and a stretch for our congregation. We will be challenged to grow in each area: welcoming the stranger, feeding hungry bodies and spirits, giving of ourselves, and inviting others to join us in this journey of faith. I look forward to responding to these challenges together.
Yours in Christ,
David+