Dear Friends
A
Renewed Vision
I am pleased to announce that the vacuum is not total: there is some
air! I have had two wonderful and thoughtful responses since last writing to
you. Two members of Parish Council – re-elected for 2013 – have responded in
the midst of their busy lives, affirming the input from our August workshop and
highlighting aspects that we need to consider in formulating a new set of vision
and mission statements that will both drive us and pull us as we seek to be Renewed
and empowered by Baptism to be “Servants of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God” (1 Corinthians 4:1).
The challenge of good vision and mission statements is for them to
be succinct, easy to remember, implementable, and challenging. And yet they
also need to say everything that needs to be said! We need to use words that
point us to a reality beyond themselves and remind us of the volume of ideas we
wish to capture. As a way forward I wish to suggest the following for
consideration:
Vision:
We
are disciples of Christ – committed, disciplined, willing, qualified – living
out our Faith in daily life.
Mission:
We
are role-models and risk-takers for Christ where we live, work and worship.
Priorities:
·
Inclusive participation in our
shared vision and mission
·
Family and Youth development
·
Active in Social Media
·
Outreach to less advantaged
communities
·
Faithful stewards of our
resources
·
Plant a new Anglican community
in South East
Scripture:
“You're
here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world.”
(Matthew 5:14a;
The Message)
Please reflect on the above and give comment. You may wish to refer
back to the insights from the August workshop, and you can find this at http://bit.ly/Rqg0aY
or if you need a hard copy, then my article in the September Parish Magazine.
This will be discussed and further revised at our Parish Council meeting on 14
November 2012. A final version will be presented to our Annual Vestry meeting
in January 2013, and if accepted, will become the instrument that helps us
review our core practices and direct our ministry as a Parish.
Holiday
I will be taking three weeks leave from 19 November through to 10
December 2012. Dawn and I need to catch up with ourselves and with each other.
In today’s world one tends to take a few days here and there, rarely enough to
fully disengage and truly recreate. We are hoping to spend some time at a
friend’s home on the Eastern Cape coast, ending in Cape Town for Dawn’s
year-end function.
Fr Danny’s sermon this last Sunday made me realize that the noise of
my “street” has dimmed my awareness of God, and that I need to find the space
to reflect on how I desire to answer Jesus when I hear that profound question, “What
do you want me to do for you?” Bartimaeus’ reply, “… let me see again” (Mark
10:51; NRSV) struck a chord for me. The last eighteen months have been energy-sapping
on a number of levels. It is good to be busy, but easy to allow the noise of
busyness to drown out the gentle whispering of God’s Spirit, and so I look
forward to giving God the space to talk quietly to my heart.
Blessings
Mark
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