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Such Great Heights Final Report

Such Great Heights - Building a Stronger Parish Community

"Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Jesus' love;
The fellowship of Christian minds Is like to that above . . .
Our fears our hopes our aims are one; Our comforts and our cares.
We share our mutual woes, Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows The sympathizing tear."

- Hymn 495, The Hymnal (1940)

In a recent letter to the Diocese in the Virginia Episcopalian, Bishop Johnston wrote about "A Theology of Community." Bishop Johnston's message fits well with what we have heard during the Such Great Heights movement:

Much of my theology is founded on the premise that Christianity is a faith that is inherently and necessarily communal. . . . The meaning of the word that first described the church was "gathering." Virtually every aspect of our worship acts out the communal nature of Christian faith and life. As our Lord Christ gathers us together to be His earthly body through baptism, we find ourselves to be people who are interrelated by our faith.

Just as was true for those original disciples, faith in Jesus is anchored in a group, a community committed to one another. In our tradition, to be wholly faithful each one of us must be committed to living our faith communally.

Bishop Johnston's message, like the words of the old hymn above, echo the feelings expressed throughout the Such Great Heights forums and meetings - that St. Paul's should put its energy and resources towards building a stronger parish community. A place where people feel connected to the parish and to one another, and where they feel empowered in their ministry. In answer to the question "Who is God calling us to be?" the parish has responded that we are to be a community of Christian believers that is:

• Inviting seekers into community
• Renewing the energy of our parishioners
• Engaging parishioners to go deeper into faith and into ministry together

How will we do this? Following this introduction are summaries of the reports of each of the six Such Great Heights teams with proposals for moving forward. Our areas of focus are:

• Welcoming and Incorporation - not only of newcomers but also improving how we invite current parishioners to become more connected and involved.
• Enhancing small group opportunities for fellowship, service and Christian formation.
• Worship that is enriching for current members and friendly to the newcomer and that provides a sense of community and freshness
• Christian Formation focused on Biblical education, what it means to be an Episcopalian and the intersection of the Bible and current events.

Most importantly, this is a working document. This process began with the Vestry retreat at Skylark, where Wallace identified the six areas of focus for Such Great Heights. It was followed by our six-month effort to gather input and feedback from every aspect of the parish through public meetings, the plogs and forums throughout the Fall. Over the next two months, the Such Great Heights Committee will integrate the six separate reports that follow into a final report with specific recommendations to present to the new Vestry elected in January, 2010. We want your reaction to this report. Tell us what you like and don't like, tell us what we've left out and let us know what priorities we should set as we move forward.

Faithfully,

The Such Great Heights Committee

Mary Kay Huss and Sarah McDermott (Christian Formation)
Karl Cureton and Phillip Brooks (Faith in Action)
Heather Brugh, Anne Rusbuldt and John Davis (Generosity)
Michelle Whitehurst-Cook and Steve Micas (Shaping Public Discourse)
Martha Anne Ellis and David Wofford (Welcoming)
Susan Dowling and Adrian Luxmoore (Worship)
Helen Ilnicky, Edie Patterson, Dabney Carr and Scott Sirles (At Large)

 

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