The Mission of Christ Episcopal Church

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At 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.

 

Mission Statement word art, from Wordle.

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.

 

 

 

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