Looking Ahead to October 31, 2021 -- Reformation Sunday, 23rd After Pentecost, Proper 26B

 Following worship this Sunday we will be having our Congregational Update. Folks attending in person are asked to remain for this, those joining us on YouTube will be invited to watch for us to go live again shortly after the worship closes (we will end the worship stream right after the Postlude and then start a new stream as the Update begins).

As this Sunday is also All Hallow's Eve, we invite  people to attend worship --in person or online-- in costume.

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• Deuteronomy 6:1-9
• Mark 12:28-34

The Sermon title is What is Our Why?

Early Thoughts: Earlier this year I took an online course looking at what it means to be a hybrid (online and in person) community of faith. In the first session we talked a lot about the importance of knowing our why.Why are we doing what we are doing? I find that in the church we are good at discussing the "what will we do and the "how will we do it" but not always as careful about discussing the "why are we doing this?".

In organizational theory it is suggested that every organization has a base "Why", a base reason for their existence. To be true to that why everything the organization does needs to tie back to the reason for the organization to exist. This is equally true for the church. We have  a base reason to exist, we have a foundation that undergirds (in theory at least) everything that we do. If you are building a structure, to improve stability every part of the structure needs to be connected in some way to the foundation. Same thing for an organization. We are stronger and more stable if everything we do is connected to our foundational reason for existence.

Generally in organizations this foundation is referred to as our mission and vision statements. It is worthwhile asking of all our activities (the ones we have been doing 'forever' and the new ones that get proposed) how they interact with our mission and vision.

Another aspect of being clear about who you are and why you exist is that of stewardship. People support organizations that are clear about why they exist and are visibly true to that vision and mission, whose activities make a difference in the world.

So what is our why as a congregation of the United Church of Canada in Grande Prairie in 2021?

I believe we find hints and guides to our why in a variety of places. The Scripture passages we are reading this week speak to the foundation of what it means to follow The Way of Christ. Love God with your whole heart. Love your neighbour as you love yourself. Put these two things first and foremost and let them guide everything else you do. That is foundational. That is the footing, the rock, the cornerstone.

Another place I look is in the documents of our tradition. Within the United Church tradition (in A New Creed) we find this paragraph that helps gives us our raison d'etre:

We are called to be the Church:
to celebrate God’s presence,
to live with respect in Creation,
to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope.

So that is another layer, some more detail to our why, some more description of what we are all about. This is what we have stated God is calling us to do and be.

Providentially (and honestly I had no idea this was going to happen as a planned this sermon topic a month ago) at a meeting on October 23rd the Annual Recall meeting of the 43rd General Council approved new vision and mission statements for the denomination as a whole. Here is what they have to say:

Vision

Mission

 

 These are not necessarily binding on us a congregation but we are encouraged to hold them in view as we discern how exactly God is calling us to be the church in these days.

 

 What do these words conjure up for you? I am still processing that question for myself.

How might it shape our understanding of being a church to use words like these as lenses as we determine what we will and won't do?

As a congregation we have our own mission and vision statements. The mission statement is in a photo up above. I encourage all of us to keep our "Why" in sight. I encourage us to constantly consider if/how a proposed activity fits in with that Why. And if an activity does not seem to fit what do we do then?

If St. Paul's chooses to become an Affirming Congregation within the United Church of Canada we will need to create new Mission and Vision statements that explicitly name our commitment to inclusion. That process will help us discern our Why. It will help us discover what we set as our foundation.
--Gord