There is no doubt that St. James’ has evolved over its history of almost 150 years. Whether you’ve been a member of St. James’ for 6 months, a year, 5 years, 10 years, 25 years, 50 years, maybe even more, there’s a good chance that you have noticed and been a part of that change. As rectors come and go, as members come and go, as the cities of Fremont, Newark and Union City have been formed and evolved, so too has this church we call home. We often refer to our Christian lives as a journey – one of exploration and growth – and so it is with the life of St. James’.
In the recent report on “Episcopal Church Growth and Decline”, the authors wrote:
“Much more important to the growth profile of a congregation are the religious character of the congregation and its sense of mission and purpose. Churches that are clear about why they exist and what they should be doing are most likely to be growing congregations. They do not grow because they have been at their location for a century or two nor because they have an attractive building where they worship. They grow because they understand their reason for being and make sure they do the things well that are essential to their lives as communities of faith.
“Without a clear purpose, congregations often resemble inward-looking clubs or clans where fellowship among friends is the primary reason for being. Growth is very unlikely if a church has no definable purpose (other than existing) or if it takes its purpose for granted. The nature of purpose will vary among churches, of course, but the key is to have one.”
In her lead article in this months “The Window”, Lori poses the questions: Who are we? What has God called us to do? Who is our neighbor? These are key questions posed in the book, “Holy Conversations ”, which is widely renowned as the authoritative guide for congregations of all denominations looking at strategic planning as a spiritual practice. What we’re hoping to achieve during this period is to help answer these questions for our present time, for our present congregation and community.
“Who are we?” is the identity question – this is something that obviously changes over time, and something we last looked at while preparing our Parish Profile during our last rector search process in 2009.
“What has God called us to do?” is the purpose question. Based on what we know about ourselves and our situation, what do we believe we are called to do? How are we to develop or mature?
“Who is our neighbour?” is the contextual question. Where does St. James’ fit into the wider community and world in 2015?
At this time, we don’t have a pre-defined notion of what the outcome of this process will be, other than a better understanding of the answers to these questions, and a sense of mission, vision and opportunities for our future.
On Sunday June 14th we will be holding a pair of Town Hall meetings after the two morning services to discuss further why this is an important project and how we see the process unfolding. It’s important that the entire community gets the opportunity to take part in this conversation in the coming months. We hope to see you there!
Mike Scrutton