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For the next few weeks, we will use this blog as an extension of our Values Clarification work being done in Parish Forum at 10 a.m. and over lunch after our 11:15 a.m. service. You are welcome to come to the blog and see where the work is taking us each week. This will also serve as a way for people who were unable to attend one session to "catch up" and feel welcome at subsequent sessions. This week's discussion was on Aspirational Values. Next week we will move on to Accidental Values, and then finish out on the 23rd with Core Values.
ASPIRATIONAL VALUESFrom the Two Sunday Forum Sessions on March 9 and the Vestry Retreat of March 8
Below you will find summaries of the “Aspirational Values” discussion from the weekend of March 8 and 9. Below is a condensation of the responses from the general gatherings of members based on vote totals. This is followed by the summary results of the Vestry discussion and then raw results from the Forum gatherings arranged according to the tables where people sat. We are posting these results to stimulate discussion and reflection between our gatherings so we enter each forum prepared for a deep and enriching discussion.
“Aspirational
Values” are values we hope to more fully embody in our community in the future.
Aspirational Values – Sunday Forum Summary with Vote totals
•
Community
Engagement/Social Justice 50
•
Unconditional Welcome
and inclusion 46
•
Including & encouraging the gifts & calling of
all members 26
•
Diversity/Anti-Racism 19
•
Growth in
Faith/Spirituality 11
•
Vision for our Youth
Program 11
Aspirational
Values – Vestry Version
- Anti-Racist* Community where all types of privilege (race, class, gender) are dismantled so all are welcomed and equally heard and served. Are we ready for EVERYBODY?
- A Community that calls forth the gifts of its people. A community of Lay-Leaders where leadership is cultivated and supported. Where leadership development is a well-defined institutional function.
- A community that serves as a portal for seekers of Jesus, where we develop our ability to do ‘spiritual outreach’ and tell about the benefits we derive from our relationship with God.
Aspirational
Values – Raw Data from tables
·
Social Justice [7] – people suffering at the
hands of others
o Preferential
options for the poor i.e. north Philadelphia
o People
in the penal system unjustly placed there
§
Those born into poverty
o Advocacy
for Social Justice
·
Unconditional Welcome [5]
o Acceptance
vs tolerance
§
Women
§
Diverse ethnic groups
·
Growth in our faith [11] – spirituality
o Building
on those set in place for us
o Strengthen
the church and community in our faith in God
O O O
·
Tithing [2] – in pledging and diocesan
contributions also to wider-world causes, involving labor, talent, time
·
Radical Hospitality [9] – (or is it a
Core Value)
·
Beauty in Worship [5] – place, music,
liturgy
o (Or
accidental? Over-emphasized? Too costly and distracting?)
·
Being aware of engaging people to use their
special [+4]– builds a sense of community
·
Pro-Diversity – richness of talents
celebrated, encouraged
·
Growing sense of responsibility [6] – for
engaging in our wider community – as in POWER or other groups.
O O O
·
Drawn back after first visit– open, engaged [1]
·
Sense of purpose in community [2]
·
Active Welcome [1]
·
Attracted to announced activities
·
Radical Welcome [1]
·
Genuine, not imposed [1]
·
Friendly [1]
·
Feel known as a person here
·
There is space for everybody in activities [1]
O O O
·
Open, inclusive, not our table but God’s table
[2]
o We
give back, care about the vulnerable [2]
·
Vitality attractive to youth
·
Intellectual rigor and vigor, though provoking
[3]
·
Life of Christ at center more than death of
cross [1]
·
Energizing, making faith real [2]
·
Relational [1]
O O O
·
Making change
happen [2]
·
Being open—to people, to ideas [2]
·
Valuing youth [1]
·
Outreach [4]—Could we be more involved
with the community?
·
To be inclusive, e.g. eccentric [1]
·
Welcoming [4]
·
Deep spiritual longing, development,
formation [2]
·
Integrate old and new – ideas, members
[1]
·
Integrate newcomers [2]
·
More caregiving – in the sense of more spread
out among more people [9]
O O O
Anti-racist/all inclusive congregation
·
Respect for individual
·
LANGUAGE! [1]
·
Where is Jesus in all this?
O O O
·
Nurture a spirit of engagement + volunteerism
[9]
o Diverse
menu of opportunities
·
Awareness of our individual gifts and ministries
[3]
·
Create a more inviting
atmosphere/exterior/campus [3]
·
Increase diversity [4]
o Race
[1]
o Age
o Ethnicity
o Sexuality
O O O
·
Value all members of congregation [4]
·
Welcoming within church and greater community
[5]
·
Advocacy [like POWER] + Action [11]
·
To be rather than seem to be [4]
·
Diversity of gender, race, faith [5]
·
Listening to our call [6]
o Finding
new challenges and taking them on [1] (ex. Barbara Dundon – Africa)
·
Financial Generosity [4]
·
Tapping People resources
·
Community Engagement [9]
o Does
church already have a mission statement?
·
St. Martin’s NOW a Welcoming Place? [11]
o “You
are not part of apostolic core!”
·
Greeting your neighbor-reaching out
·
Communion practice explained – Communication
·
Everyone is welcomed to the table [2]
·
All responsibility of inclusion cannot be
on the Rector. [1]
o “Should
be broader.”
·
Wellspring– participating organizational component
[2]
o “Deepens
Word of God”
·
Evangelism? [1]
o (Awkward)
o If
they’re core values
o “It’s
that we are never going to ask you what you believe.”
·
Core Value [7]—Hospitality and “Power of
Attraction”
·
We do well for very young children – but that
changes when children grow beyond early years [2]
·
Clarity and Communication [3]
·
Use of dots is now a core value
·
Welcome new visitors but continue this welcome
beyond the first few visits—engagement into the future; more inclusion [6]
·
Make community engagement beyond the financial,
in areas of poverty and inequality [9]
·
Vision for our youth program [11]
o More
active – service
o Intentional
hiring of minister for this mission
