Dear Parish,
Earlier this month, your Vestry had a fruitful overnight retreat at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center. We want to share some of this rich time with you and ask for your help. Please give this note a careful reading. Thanks!
We started our new year welcoming new members and digging into two main questions:
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What gifts do we personally bring to St. Alban's and how can we best use them?
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Does God delight in what St. Alban's is doing? By that we mean: (What are St. Alban's core values? What is St. Alban's purpose/vision?)
You'll find below some of your vestry's answers to these good questions.
And... WE INVITE YOU EACH
to take a moment to:
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Think and Pray about your gifts; what is life-giving for you?
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Then...think and pray about what you feel is St. Alban's core purpose. What is life-giving about St. Alban's?
We need your input on these vital questions--this is your church community! Please email us at
[email protected]
In our thinking and praying, we realized anew that
worship
is central to all we do, and our three distinct St. Alban's services offer a broad welcome to all who seek God and Jesus' Way. The work the vestry continues to do is founded in much of what we learned from many of you who participated in the Enriching Our Worship workshop last spring and input from you since then. We realize that it all begins in our gatherings for prayer, thanksgiving and the sacraments.
We're happy to share below some of your vestry's thoughts on the
core identity and purpose of St. Alban's.
After much discussion about core values we experience at
St. Alban's we came to the following summary statement on the identity of St. Alban's:
St. Alban's is a gathering place for all people
where God's love is at work - joyful, thankful, useful, hopeful.
If that's our core identity, what is St. Alban's central purpose?
Here are some thoughts from your vestry.
Our purpose is:
Thank you for being a part of this amazing community. We are so very grateful for St. Alban's and all that you each bring to it with your unique gifts. Thank you for letting us serve you, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Please take this letter to heart and share your thoughts with us. Don't worry if they are not polished or refined. The vestry welcomes all of our unvarnished, sincere input. That's how God works in this good place...each one offering what they have to give and share.
Sara Merrill and Chris Pezzullo
