Our renewed mission strategy, adopted in November 2021, is summarized below.
Find the full mission strategy document, complete with goals and actions, here.
The people we long to be
In tumultuous times, the center can be hard to find. We continue to be shaken by a global pandemic, a climate emergency and a new reckoning with racial and economic inequalities. These challenges add to the experiences many of us already have of disruption and decline in our church communities. As people of hope, we come together to find a way forward. Renewing our diocesan mission strategy at this crucial moment is one small part of a larger movement of individual Christians and congregations to reclaim our identities and our purpose.
From our own hearts to our shared altars and outward into our diocesan community, we are called to place God’s love at the center of our lives. Because Jesus first loves us, we are able to love ourselves, our neighbors and all of creation.
Through this transforming grace, we are becoming the people God created us to be:
Disciples of Jesus
We gather to break bread in Jesus’ name, praying to become the Body of Christ in the world. We come together across all ages—children, youth, adults, and elders—to teach one another about Jesus’ redemptive way. We invite our neighbors to know Jesus, proclaiming the Good News by what we say and how we live.
Seekers of justice
We recognize the dignity and inherent worth of every person, and we work to build communities where all people find fairness, compassion and the freedom to live fully. We persevere in resisting evil, not just our own sins but the deep, structural sins of racism and oppression perpetuated in our name. We turn to the Lord for the grace to create honest dialogue, lasting transformation and true reconciliation.
Protectors of creation
We cherish the wondrous works of God and strive to protect the beauty and integrity of all living beings. We recognize that our greed and thoughtless consumption has placed us at odds with the needs of our created world. We respond to the crisis of our climate, using resources rightly and advocating for the restoration of a healthy planet.
When we follow Jesus intentionally, creating justice in our communities and living wisely on our earth, then we find joy and meaning in our lives. Our churches grow strong, with deep and mutual relationships among our members and our neighbors near and far. Our shared mission comes alive, as a bold witness to God’s love for this broken and beautiful world.
Our mission
Our yearnings to be disciples of Jesus, seekers of justice and protectors of creation provide the foundation for us to do our shared work together. We will only reach these goals by becoming more completely the people Jesus calls us to be through the power of the Spirit.
First, last and always, we pray. We ask for God’s abiding presence with us and we allow the love of Jesus to transform us. From this place of unconditional grace, mercy, and love, we can trust in God’s abundance, knowing we will have everything we need. We receive the courage to be agents of reconciliation and justice.
Devotion to the way of love demands vigilance, as the evil powers working to destroy the creatures of God remain unyielding in their attempts to distract us from our relationship to the Almighty. We must address the history and persistent reality of injustice in our church with honesty and humility. We must pray, learn, act and advocate for the world we want to create.
We must be bold. We must be hopeful. We are committed to the tasks being given us by the Spirit. We trust that God is with us in the joys and challenges of this moment. We dedicate ourselves once again as the Body of Christ in this place and time to work for the glorious reign of Jesus.