Two months ago we voted as a church 172-4 on five prescriptions from our joint Healthy Church Initiative process. Two of those prescriptions were scheduled in the first 60-90 days, i.e. by Easter. A number of motivated members have worked with good energy around those prescriptions as we discern intentional steps forward. Here is where we are.
UPDATE:
1. Vision Statement - After a Vision and Values workshop led by our coach, the Rev. Gene Wisdom, a Vision Statement was discerned, discussed and voted unanimously at the March 12 meeting of our church council, the First Leadership Team. It reads,
Connecting God and grace to self and community.
Much more to say about this, including a sermon series; it was the good feeling of our First Leadership Team that this captured the values and goals repeatedly raised by our people over the course of the HCI process. Our Vision Statement will become the baseline for decision-making about what we do and choose not to do as was discussed in the book, Simple Church (may be purchased on Amazon HERE).
2. Hospitality - Beginning on Palm Sunday and continuing through Easter, we will be incorporating suggested changes to help us move from being not only friendly (which we do well) to being more intentionally welcoming and connecting to new faces among us. Trained "meet-ers" will make their debut on these Sundays. Of course this is a gift of love and hospitality that everyone can give someone. Like the crowds welcoming Jesus on Palm Sunday, may we be those who hail the new faces among us, for indeed in their faces we may just discover the face of Christ.
See you at the welcoming place this Sunday,
Matt Gaston
Lead Pastor