Purposeful Pot Luck

During the Parish Festival – This is YOUR Church, we had a session called Dream Dreams. We were able to identify four principal outcomes. They are:

1.       Social Justice: It was clear that there was an understanding that we are already doing a lot of things well and we should affirm those things and build on the good ministry that has been accomplished and continues to be accomplished in the Parish. This is particularly true of our social action and outreach efforts. There is recognition that effort and resources should be utilized in address core issues that lead to poverty.

2.       Belonging: The main character evolving for St. Paul’s Parish is that of inclusion. We have worked for some time to create an atmosphere of inclusion. We want to be a community that is truly welcoming. It is one thing to smile at people and offer a warm handshake at the Peace, it is quite another to create a manageable and joyful process of belonging. We want to make it easy for people to join St. Paul’s and we want to longtime members to deepen their sense of belonging.

3.       Children/Youth/Families: There is a clear desire to do more to engage children, youth and their families in the overall life and ministry that is St. Paul’s Church.

4.       Worship: Sunday morning worship is at the core of who we are and we recognize a need to continue to allow the liturgy to evolve and be meaningful to the breadth of people who worship here.

Our ongoing renewal as a faith community is reliant on addressing these four “dreams”. We will hold four Pot Lucks: With a Purpose. The pot lucks will be held on Sundays, after worship. Parishioners interested in a particular subject can attend. We do not necessarily expect the people who will “do” whatever needs doing to attend, because these are planning meeting. We heard at the Paris Festival that we are called, as a people, to “live dangerously,” but not alone. Whatever we plan; whatever we do; we will plan and do together. The first of these pot lucks will be November 17, and the topic of conversation and planning will be Social Justice.