The Vestry is asking for your help with a new survey and rewarding you for it! Everyone who responds to the survey will receive 10 free raffle tickets to win the glider at our Pumpkin Patch! Since responses are anonymous, just email [email protected] after completion.
We must take an honest look at our church and focus on a question that can only be answered with the input of our entire congregation: what is the identity of St. Augustine’s?
On its face, the question may seem simple. You may be thinking, I know what our identity is! But, after devoting prayerful reflection and discernment, after examining what St. Augustine’s is now, not what it was 5 years ago, 10 years ago, or 25 years ago, consider how we are called to live the mission of the Church in this time and this place. You might arrive at a different answer, an answer that could serve as the foundation on which to build for the future.
The identity of a church is the image that its members and others have of that church: who we are and what makes us unique. Our identity is comprised of our mission, our vision, our core values, and our culture, all of which go hand-in-hand with the ministry of the Church. The Book of Common Prayer tells us that “the mission of the Church is to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ” (p. 855). This is St. Augustine’s mission and the unchanging reason that we exist. But our vision is unique to our community. It is how we, in our uniqueness, fit into that mission.
And that vision can change as people leave and join our community, as clergy comes and goes, and as time itself marches on. Though our mission never changes, the world around us does and our vision must adapt to the changing world in which we live.
Use the link below to take the survey. Paper copies will also be available in the church. Take your time as you write your responses to this survey. Ask yourself, “What is our vision? Are we living into our mission?” Listen for where the Spirit is calling us to be and who the Spirit is calling us to be. The answers are anonymous, so don’t hold back. Honesty and vulnerability are required to make St. Augustine’s the best that we can be.
Please note that Question No. 5 asks you to rank your answers. If you make a selection then want to change it, the easiest way is to click on “Reset” on the bottom right corner.
The deadline for responses is September 15.
