In the first part of the year this year, the vestry hosted several Zoom calls to listen to what is important to those of us who claim and are claimed by Epiphany. Over the course of six weeks, the vestry invited members of the parish to participate in small group conversations that covered a number of topics - from what is important to us in worship to how we gather for fellowship to how we go out into the world to make God’s love known in the wider community. In those six weeks, we had over 120 people participate in the conversations as the vestry listened for things that would surface in the values of the parish. While we would have loved doing those listening sessions in person, the Zoom calls still created a way for us to come together as a community to share what we value about our parish, and the vestry listened in a way that has helped the vestry to craft a new vision statement for our parish. 

When the pandemic first arrived on our doorsteps, the initial question in front of the parish was how to keep our parish community together - albeit imperfectly - to weather the storm for some undetermined length of time. The first step was to respond to the crisis unfolding - not only from a parish perspective but also out in the community. It was a time of trying to find creative ways to continue inviting relationship through the use of video conferencing technology, phone calls, letters, and drive-by birthdays. As the pandemic unfolded, we slowly began getting our feet underneath us with better methods for offering a streamed worship service, and eventually, we began gathering again for in-person worship. 

By the time winter and spring of 2021 arrived, it was clear that we needed to take some time to begin creating plans for the parish as we moved forward. We were outside of the crisis point for the parish, and we could invest time and talent in creating a new vision for how we would move forward in ministry. The listening sessions last spring were a very important part of that work! From those conversations, a smaller group of the vestry began looking at what you shared in those conversations and began to pull together the strings of a new vision statement for the parish as we continue in the mission of the church: to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ. 

Perhaps the major question in front of us as a parish is how to go about sharing the good news of Jesus Christ as we move out into a world that was volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous before the pandemic started and is now even more so. The short answer to the question is a reflection of how to do Gospel-based ministry. We share the Gospel of Jesus Christ by inviting relationship, connecting in hope, growing in faith, and serving in love. 

The ways that we will live into this vision statement is now being distilled by the parish councils in the plans they are making for their ministries. Instead of making long ranging plans that are certain to remain unfulfilled, the councils are creating 18-month ministry plans for the parish. Each council has the opportunity (and ability!) to create a meaningful way forward for its ministries as we seek to live into the vision we hold for our parish community. As we move deeper into this work with slow, deliberate planning and discernment, we will find some things that we will need to let go of as part of our parish ministry. We will also discover new ministries that we are being called to take on for this time and this place. We will find that the Holy Spirit moves effortlessly through our shared ministries when we give ourselves permission to follow where the Spirit is leading us - even when we are nervous or uncertain about where our plans will take us. 

A vision statement is a wonderful thing to have, but it is only wonderful if we commit ourselves to living into that vision within the ministries we have inside and outside the parish. It is up to us, as members of the councils of the parish, to help shape ministry at Epiphany. While the vision statement provides us with direction, we still have work to do to create the plans for embodying that vision in our parish. As we begin living with the new vision statement, I am certain that new and exciting things will happen in our parish. (New and exciting things are already happening in our parish!) And I am certain that the Spirit, who intercedes with sighs too deep for words, will show us the way to invite, connect, grow, and serve according to the way of Jesus Christ. 

In Christ,

Hunter+