We’ve officially launched our work of preparing to remodel our Sanctuary! Right now we are in a time of congregational input - between now and the end of June. This is the time when we want to hear from as many members and participants at St. Peter’s as possible so that the sanctuary that we end up with is one that will equip this congregation for ministry well into the future!
Last Sunday we had our first Congregational Forum and we talked about Core Values. Core Values are the ideas that guide our behavior and decisions over time. Ideally we would be able to name 2-3 core values at St. Peter’s that we would be able to pass on to an architect and say, “Here’s what we care most about! Make sure that the sanctuary reflects these things!”
To get at our church’s value we played a little game. We pretended that we were being tasked with replicating St. Peter’s by the Sea on Mars and were asked to choose up to five people that we would want to send who would bring the St. Peter’s DNA to the new Martian congregation.
Here are some of the words that were used to describe the heart, soul and DNA of St. Peter’s:
St. Peter’s values WELCOME but as we sat with this word we realized that it’s not just WELCOME that we get here but CONNECTION and EMBRACE. The welcome that we receive here is not just a door kicked open in our general direction but people who remember our names when we come the second time, folks who take us by the hand to meet new people, folks who show up when we need each other the most, who wrap themselves around us with the LOVE of God.
St. Peter’s values SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP. We value being centered on the WORD, but not some old, dry, worn out word, but the LIVING WORD that comes to us enlivened and enlightened in preaching, worship, MUSIC and study.
St. Peter’s values ORGANIZATION and the length and vibrancy of our HISTORY. My hunch is that we don’t actually value organization and history for their own sake but because when we come to St. Peter’s we experience a place that is WELL-TENDED - a place that is not erratic but that we can TRUST, that has become a REFUGE and CALM in the midst of the storm. St. Peter’s has proven to be a place that instills FAITH in us.
Other words that arose in our conversation were SERVICE, DEDICATION, HOSPITALITY, WORKER BEES, OUTREACH, AND “ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND GET IT DONE” ATTITUDE.
If you have more to say or more stories to tell that help us to uncover the heart of our values as a congregation, please email me, call me or find a time to come and talk with me or any member of the Building Steering Team (Scott Walls, Darlene Truver, Colleen Doering, Jim Grutkowski, and Richard Nielsen). The Steering Team and Council will take the feedback we received and work them into 2-3 well-stated Core Values that we can use moving forward in all of our decisions regarding how to best remodel our space of the Glory of God and in service to God’s church and our community for generations to come.
Join us for our next Congregational Forum on April 13th to talk about WORSHIP!
Peace,
Pastor Bekki