The Mission of Christ Episcopal Church |
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Related LinksAt Christ Church, we believe it is important for us to continually reflect on the Mission of our parish. Discussion is given at each month's Vestry meeting throughout the year to the Mission of the church. When our Vestry gathers for its annual retreat, the Mission Statement is reviewed, discussed and altered as the group finds necessary. |
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Mission Statement word art, from Wordle. |
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Our Mission Statement is this:
Christ Episcopal Church
inspires and equips people to daily
Live in Christ
through our rich and broad Anglican tradition.
This Mission is based on our Key Values, as found in our Baptismal Covenant:
We continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship,
in the breaking of bread,
and in the prayers.
We persevere in resisting evil;
and, whenever we fall into sin,
repent and return to the Lord.
We proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ.
We seek and serve Christ in all persons,
loving our neighbors as ourselves.
We strive for justice and peace among all people,
And respect the dignity of every human being.
Our Mission Statement and Key Values lead us to form a Vision for Christ Church:
By 2013,
Christ Episcopal Church
will be inspiring and equipping
at least 1,500 people in our parish
To daily
Live in Christ
through our rich and broad Anglican tradition.
What does "our rich and broad Anglican tradition" mean?
This is a bold phrase in our Mission and Vision statements -- but what does it really mean? Each of our Vestry members are working to define this in a narrative way, and will be posting to the website with their thoughts as this conversation continues.
Jeff Whitney: December 20, '08
What it means to me to be Anglican is to live in a mindful faith. I've been a member of the Episcopal Church since 1994, before that I was a Methodist.
I embrace the liturgy, we are formal and yet not always. I like bowing to my Holy Father, I feel His touch when I admit I've sinned and ask for forgiveness. I love lifting my voice in song. I am really moved partaking of communion every week, which through the Holy Spirit becomes the body and blood of Our Savior.
Getting to the meat of the matter- believing in the Trinity, one baptism, truly loving and caring for one another, talking and listening to each other, helping (labor, money, prayer or just being there) when needed and trying not to judge or be prejudiced.
Not following one mortal person but the words and ideas exemplified in the Holy Bible, using the Book of Common Prayer as a guideline yet not afraid to try something new; enjoying the fellowship of each other and often a good meal and merging intellect and heart are all reasons I enjoy our Anglican heritage.
Go in peace. Jeff W.
Ellen Bruckner: December 27, '08
To many, mission statements seem to be a waste of time. The value is often in the process of creation, and unless the statement is kept in front of an organization it will probably not have much importance. If decisions are made with the mission in mind, then the statement can become life-giving to the organization.
The Vestry of Christ Church is taking some time to live with and ponder a proposed mission statement. Vestry members have volunteered to share their thoughts about this proposed mission statement with the congregation via the weekly newsletter and these are my thoughts. The proposed mission statement:
Christ Episcopal Church
inspires and equips people to daily
live in Christ
through our rich and broad Anglican tradition.
Naturally it begins with the name of the organization. It means the whole of CEC, not just the Vestry, nor just the Sunday school teachers, nor just the clergy; it is all of Christ Church. It is each of us individually and all of us corporately. It is the decisions we make as individuals in our daily life and it is the decisions we make as a church in the community of Cedar Rapids.
The next line, to me, is an awesome challenge. At the end of the day can I look back over my activities, words and thoughts and find the inspiration and equipping of others. To think of my life as a means to inspire and equip makes the action much more personal and intentional. No longer is the focus on others living in Christ, it is on what I have done to inspire and equip others to live in Christ. The word daily brings this task much closer. I don’t have a week to plan for my actions and words. If I am to inspire and equip others to daily live in Christ, then, to me, this means every day will bring opportunities for inspiration and equipping. Am I able to recognize these opportunities and am I willing to act on them.
On first glance, live in Christ is self explanatory, but I find myself wondering just how I would explain to someone what it means to “live in Christ.” I understand the incarnation –God living in me. Maybe this is more about us living in the fullness of Christ. This is more about living in the kingdom, living in the wholeness that is Christ and realizing that it is my task to inspire and equip others, no matter who, to live in the kingdom with me. Am I really that inclusive?
The last phrase, “through our rich and broad Anglican tradition” has caused some in the congregation to take exception with the mission statement. The Episcopal Church is part of the World Wide Anglican Communion. Its roots are deep in Anglican tradition. That tradition embodies a way of being that is distinctive. It is a way of worshiping and living. It is a way grounded in ancient Christianity yet committed to working with and being relevant to all the cultural developments in a current world. Being Anglican means we value the past and the traditions of Christianity from its inception and are also very willing to deal with the present and future. This is the tension which characterizes the Anglican/Episcopal Church. We live with the struggle to hear God’s word through traditions, through Scripture, and in the constantly changing conditions that face people today. This wonderfully rich Anglican Church uses the wisdom from the centuries, from others who have lived in Christ to help us today to inspire and equip others to live in Christ.
The mission statement is brief. It is a challenge for all of us to work individually and as community to reach out to others and share the Good News of God in Christ. It also provides a foundation from which to do this work – the Anglican tradition.
Mike Becker: January 17, '09
Our Mission boldly states that we inspire and equip people to daily Live in Christ. As a Vestry member, what does this mean to me and how can this be used to expand our membership and meet our Vision?
The fact that we are a Jubilee Ministry answers this question. We are a family that has pulled together to help those less fortunate than ourselves. It is no accident that our Key Values include seeking to serve Christ in all persons and striving for justice and peace among all people and respect and dignity for every human being.
Our role as leaders in the parish is to help our members identify and use their time, talents and treasure in the service of Christ. Some of the current opportunities for helping are flood relief, mentoring, fundraising for Alzheimer’s disease and cancer research and supporting the Millennium Development Goals.
We all have talents that can be used for serving God. Christ is part of all people and works through us. It is through serving others that we truly Live in Christ.
Ian Montgomery: January 24, '09
“No Margin, No Mission” was first introduced to me as an important business paradigm many years ago while working for one of the largest non-profit hospital groups in the Twin Cities. It’s still true, even for churches. It takes money to run a church and more to grow it so that as many people as possible can find spiritual nourishment there. And with churches, revenue comes almost entirely from membership.
Previous columns by vestry members on our Mission Statement have focused on its various aspects. Given the financial emphasis described above, I’ll introduce in this column the need to expand contemplation to our Vision statement:
By 2013,
Christ Episcopal Church
will be inspiring and equipping
at least 1,500 people in our parish
to daily
Live in Christ
through our rich and broad Anglican tradition.
Note that this Vision adds only the measurable elements of when (by 2013) and how many (at least 1,500) to our Mission statement.
How will this challenging Vision be accomplished? I believe a large part of the answer lies in another key “business” development factor: differentiation. What differentiates Christ Episcopal Church from most of the hundreds of other choices people have? (Finally, we get to what I am supposed to writing about!) Our “rich and broad Anglican tradition”, as stated in our Mission.
I therefore believe we must carefully, prayerfully, consistently, and sincerely understand and communicate this differentiating characteristic if we are to attract additional members and thereby develop a firmer financial foundation for Christ Episcopal, plus meet the needs of more who need spiritual and other assistance.
Personally, I experience this “Anglican differentiation” primarily through the Book of Common Prayer, the via media, the emphasis on reason, and the "bells and (too infrequently for me) smells". It’s in the combination of those Anglican elements that I conduct most of my quiet search for the divine.
The action-based faith community is very strong at Christ Church, but thanks to the Anglican tradition there is also room for someone who chooses to Live in Christ in this quieter way. For that I am very grateful.
Cheryl Valenta: February 7, '09
Vestry members continue to share their understanding of our mission. As you read my interpretation, please realize that I have very limited knowledge of Episcopal history and the political aspects of our denomination.
Christ Episcopal Church, born from the blend of two parishes, embodies the welcoming nature of the Episcopal church in which All Are Welcome. My understanding is that Episcopal means “come as you are, bring your differences and similarities, you’re welcome to join us in worship and fellowship, as we are all God’s children.” Taking this one step further and looking at the vision, the goal is to meet people where they are now.
The Holy Eucharist service and receiving God’s love through Jesus’ body and blood, provide the backbone for inspiring and equipping people to daily live in Christ. The multitude and varied educational forums, bible study classes, food gatherings, fellowship activities, musical groups, outreach programs etc. for all ages, are designed to teach the word of God, to provide a true understanding of what it means to daily live in Christ. With participation in these Christ Church opportunities and its parishioners, combined with the Holy Spirit, people will discover how to live in Christ.
In other words, Christ Church provides the basic understanding of what it means to live in Christ, based on scripture, but it’s up to each person to define what this actually means and how it affects his/her life. My personal definition of living in Christ: loving my neighbor as myself, especially helping “the least of the least”. To act as Jesus did, to treat people as he treated them.
The true Anglican tradition was made crystal clear when I visited Swaziland. Our sister diocese serves the poorest in the country’s townships by visiting the sick, providing food, clothing, medication, water and shelter to those in need. In St. Augustine, a school and feeding program was developed by the local priest and his wife to provide the neediest orphaned children a place to get a meal, along with an early educational opportunity.
As a Jubilee Ministry, Christ Church perfectly aligns with the best of the Anglican tradition. I believe the Anglican faith has three important components: developing a personal relationship with God, with your family and with God’s neediest children. It’s essential to listen to God and be his hands, ears, eyes and voice, in order to truly follow the Anglican tradition.
Our mission is a wonderful statement of purpose, based on the Episcopal faith, providing the structure of enhanced Christian experience, while encouraging a sense of individuality and personal interpretation.
Dick Rose: February 14, '09
Dear fellow Christ Church members,
Recently, while sitting in on several of the teams that are now in the process of interviewing potential clergy candidates for Christ Church, a couple of questions asked by two relative strangers gave me pause to think about my and our church relationships.
Before I dive into that, let me assure you that the search committee is doing an excellent job. They are moving with vigor to bring in qualified and quite interesting candidates. We should all be praying for them.
Which leads me to one of the first questions of interest. How do you (we) answer prayers? This was posed by one of the priests being interviewed when asked if there was anything they wanted to know about us.
You know, each week we hear the names of parishioners at home, in hospital, care centers, victims of the flood, and in other situations, which have caused them to be included on the prayer list. At that time, we send our prayers up to God to shield and comfort them.
Upon clearer thinking, I believe that what we are really doing is hearing those prayers, those names, those situations, that misery and taking responsibility to be a part of the answer to those prayers. Just as in the baptismal service, we are doing all we can to lend our support. I believe that in many situations that now affect our members, we are the answer to those prayers.
The second question that came up was Why are you here? ( At Christ Church) As it turned out, many of the responses kind of related back to the first question, because of the family like support that is here for so many members, by so many members. I am not sure if this is the foundation of our mission statement, but it sure is what many of us are about.
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