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Vision for our Parish |
by: Harvey Hill, October 17, 2019
What follows are my sabbatical reflections about who we are and who we are called to be. As it suggests, I believe we are a community of faithful people committed to living out our faith in the world. I see no serious problems. But always our hope is to do better, to continue to grow in the knowledge and love of God and our neighbor.
Our Baptismal Covenant
Our baptismal covenant identifies our ultimate goal as Christians: to grow, and to help each other grow, “into the full stature of Christ.” That means to live in perfect, loving union with God. Ultimately our union with God depends on the grace we receive in and through Jesus Christ. But we also need to do what we can to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), not to mention hope and joy!
Our Mission
Our Mission Statement expresses in a little more detail what we do to help us in our efforts to grow into the full stature of Christ: “As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to love God & community, committing ourselves to lives of joyful worship, prayer, and the teaching of Scripture.” Our mission statement identifies three main activities: prayer and worship; ongoing Christian formation and study, especially of Scripture; and loving service to our community.
Prayer and Worship
Our worship services are already lively and welcoming. We draw our liturgies from various approved sources, which both keeps us faithful to the Episcopal form of worship and allows for variety. But important as it is, worship together is not enough. We all need to cultivate personal prayer lives as well.
Christian Formation and Study
In addition to an excellent children’s program, we offer several opportunities for adult Bible Study:
Service to the Community
We do a lot, both within our Church family and in our larger community. One of the really wonderful things about serving as priest at Saint David’s is how confidently I can rely on people to do what needs to be done.
We have several well-established ministries. I think, for example, of:
We are just beginning a free monthly meal for veterans.
We will begin a Bible Study in the Chicopee women’s prison early next year
People also serve the Saint David’s community.
Final Thoughts
The world around us is changing at an ever-accelerating pace. Life is good at Saint David’s right now, but we need to remain open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. New needs, challenges, and opportunities are sure to emerge. Our greatest danger is complacency.
Our task in this visioning process is to listen for God’s call. But hearing God is often difficult, particularly given how busy and distracted contemporary people tend to be. That means we need to make a real commitment to the spiritual disciplines, especially prayer and Bible study.
We also need to be conscious of the natural ebb and flow of life. Even wonderful ministries eventually become a drain. Even the most dedicated members sometimes need a break. Letting go is itself a spiritual practice.
As we continue the work of discerning together what God is calling us to be and do, my hope is that our conversations can be open, inclusive, honest, and faithful. I also hope that we can always keep things in perspective.
Our vision needs to support our ultimate goal of becoming more Christ-like, and it therefore needs to emphasize, in one form or another, prayer and worship, ongoing formation and study, and loving service.
What follows are my sabbatical reflections about who we are and who we are called to be. As it suggests, I believe we are a community of faithful people committed to living out our faith in the world. I see no serious problems. But always our hope is to do better, to continue to grow in the knowledge and love of God and our neighbor.
Our Baptismal Covenant
Our baptismal covenant identifies our ultimate goal as Christians: to grow, and to help each other grow, “into the full stature of Christ.” That means to live in perfect, loving union with God. Ultimately our union with God depends on the grace we receive in and through Jesus Christ. But we also need to do what we can to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12), not to mention hope and joy!
Our Mission
Our Mission Statement expresses in a little more detail what we do to help us in our efforts to grow into the full stature of Christ: “As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to love God & community, committing ourselves to lives of joyful worship, prayer, and the teaching of Scripture.” Our mission statement identifies three main activities: prayer and worship; ongoing Christian formation and study, especially of Scripture; and loving service to our community.
Prayer and Worship
Our worship services are already lively and welcoming. We draw our liturgies from various approved sources, which both keeps us faithful to the Episcopal form of worship and allows for variety. But important as it is, worship together is not enough. We all need to cultivate personal prayer lives as well.
Christian Formation and Study
In addition to an excellent children’s program, we offer several opportunities for adult Bible Study:
- a Men’s Bible Study and also
- a Parish Bible Study each week;
- a parish program of regular Bible reading at home, along with a monthly gathering for conversation; and
- additional occasional programs on the Bible and other topics.
Service to the Community
We do a lot, both within our Church family and in our larger community. One of the really wonderful things about serving as priest at Saint David’s is how confidently I can rely on people to do what needs to be done.
We have several well-established ministries. I think, for example, of:
- the work we do through the Parish Cupboard, including our Church without walls program.
- Working with the Town Nurse, we provide gifts for needy children at Christmas and Easter.
- We host programs for area children at Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. And
- we continue to look for new ways to serve. For example:
We are just beginning a free monthly meal for veterans.
We will begin a Bible Study in the Chicopee women’s prison early next year
People also serve the Saint David’s community.
- Nearly fifty different people are involved in making it possible for us to worship each month! And that doesn’t include everyone who maintains our building and grounds, serves on the vestry, or does other necessary things for our common life. This is an active Church!
- Things like cards or meals to people with health problems.
- We do our best to help people find rides as needed, including rides to Church.
- And we aim to offer communion to home-bound parishioners at least twice a month.
Final Thoughts
The world around us is changing at an ever-accelerating pace. Life is good at Saint David’s right now, but we need to remain open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. New needs, challenges, and opportunities are sure to emerge. Our greatest danger is complacency.
Our task in this visioning process is to listen for God’s call. But hearing God is often difficult, particularly given how busy and distracted contemporary people tend to be. That means we need to make a real commitment to the spiritual disciplines, especially prayer and Bible study.
We also need to be conscious of the natural ebb and flow of life. Even wonderful ministries eventually become a drain. Even the most dedicated members sometimes need a break. Letting go is itself a spiritual practice.
As we continue the work of discerning together what God is calling us to be and do, my hope is that our conversations can be open, inclusive, honest, and faithful. I also hope that we can always keep things in perspective.
Our vision needs to support our ultimate goal of becoming more Christ-like, and it therefore needs to emphasize, in one form or another, prayer and worship, ongoing formation and study, and loving service.
