Over the last year and a half I’ve been listening to the Story and stories of St. James’. It’s been a continuation of the work that began in conversations as you were calling me to be your next Rector. Part of the work of that time of transition was to discern the identity of the parish so you could communicate it to those who might join you in ministry. I’ve reflected to you often that what I heard was a community that had worked so hard to build a new home, and who were now ready to put that energy into going deeper in spiritual formation and service beyond the walls of that new building. We’ve been doing that in various ways, but it has become clear to me in recent months that to really dig deep in this work, we need to circle back first and be clear about who we are and where we want to go.
Our current Vision and Mission statements date from around 2006. They are a time stamp of a community in the midst of a huge and hopeful work. If you’re not sure what they are, take a look at the back of a Sunday bulletin, they’re there every week. At our Vestry retreat in February we spent some time reflecting on these statements and reached consensus that it’s time, a decade later, to distil and articulate our core values, and cast a new vision.
Over the next couple of months I will be sharing more about this visioning process: what our goal is, what the process will look like and it’s timeline, and how you can participate. At the end of the summer we hope to raise up 2-3 people to join a team who will lead us in the work, and by Pentecost 2018 we hope to have a new Vision statement in place. I ask that you hold this holy work in your prayers in the coming year!
Yours in God’s peace,
Kristin+