Thank you to all those of you who attended Parish Council / Special Vestry last Saturday. It was good to hear about how you would communicate who we are at St. James’ to someone who landed on our website for the first time, and feel the energy in the room regarding growing our church and making it a place of welcome (something for which we already have a good reputation).
Why were we looking at this? Well last year we applied for a Parish Development Grant to improve our communications. What we say about ourselves and how we present it, in signage, online, and in our community. A Communications Committee was formed and we were awarded the grant to make our improvements in 2018.
What is the goal of this committee? We summed it up in the title of our proposal: “Communicate for Community.” We are working on making it easier for people seeking God to find us through our various communications.
As carriers of the good news of Jesus Christ, we are all called to spread His universal message of love and hope, collectively and in our lives outside our walls. “I am not talking about getting bums on seats” on a Sunday, I am talking about sharing the gospel with people who are searching, and giving them a safe place and community to journey with: us!
If we give people the means to find us, and when they find us, they find an open community who are welcoming of all people and journeying together in this life of faith, not having all the answers, but seeking God faithfully, we can trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest. After all, that’s how the early church got started!
Acts 2:43-47 — Life among the believers
“Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”
See you soon,
Mother Lucy