Dear Parish Community,
Below is a letter of introduction to our new program Building the Beloved Community. In addition you will find web links to both the adult survey and the teen survey. The children's survey is attached. We ask that you return the children's survey to the parish office.

Thank you for taking the time to have each member of your family complete a survey. It will help us greatly to establish a sense of where we are as a parish and be able to compare that to where we will be at the end of the year.

On behalf of the Steering Committee, I want to say that we are blessed to have you in our parish.

Peace,

Chad

Dear friends,

Many of you have asked what this coming year of discernment is all about. It is essentially about us slowing down, listening, and being clearer in our lives about how we express Christ’s love in the world. It is about being more intentional. It is also about sharing our stories and learning from each other’s experience.

This coming year of discernment is part of a two year process: the first year: listening and sharing; and the second year: discerning and creating a 5 year vision for ministry in our parish.

Our visual model for these two years is a labyrinth, a meditative maze used for prayer, contemplation, and discernment. The model of the labyrinth is helpful in that one enters the labyrinth journeying and letting go in order to be open to what one may find at the center. The spiritual pilgrim spends time in the center receiving all that God may reveal (year one for our parish). The return journey back through the maze is a process of integrating all that is received from God and how one may live that out (year two).

Jesus Christ showed us through his ministry, his death and resurrection that at the heart of life is eternal love we know as God. That love is something that unifies us as human beings and as part of creation. Martin Luther King, Jr. understood that we share that love through peaceful non-violence and confronting the inequities of our culture. Dr. King showed that eternal love can be expressed in our world in a life changing way. Dr. King used the term “beloved community” to describe Christians intentionally making Christ’s love tangible for others. The next year will be a time for us to do discernment both individually and collectively. Spiritual discernment is calling on the Holy Spirit to lead or give direction on a matter. It is how the Spirit shows the church or its people what God wants them to do and be. Our discernment work will include time to talk, share, dream, listen, study, and reflect upon how we can express that eternal love. We will be seeking ways for us to be more intentional about how we individually and collectively do this.

This survey marks the beginning of “Building the Beloved Community: the Year of Listening.” It is a way for the Steering Committee to get a cross-section of our community as we begin this year. A second survey will follow in October with questions from our Ministry Boards as they seek to listen to your experience and creativity during this year Why are we doing this? Well, it has been 11 years since we have taken a step back and listened to who we are as a congregation. Since we are taking and doing discernment work as a community, it seems advantageous to do discernment work on a personal level as well. Discernment can be exciting and challenging. We learn much about ourselves in the process of self-evaluation, listening to God’s voice, and learning from others. Yet discernment is always best when it is supported in community. Have we ever heard of another parish taking a year to do community discernment? Yes. The outcome was a community that was more engaged in intentional ministry that was life-giving for everyone involved. What will happen through our discernment? Only God knows. We can tell you that we are looking forward to taking the journey with you.

Peace, the Beloved Community Steering Committee (Betty Strombom,Virginia Fox, Tori Lewis, Melanie Donahoe, and Chad Smith) on behalf of the Vestry.

Teen survey link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=LqNrE_2fmv1Ou9MdE5f7KPaA_3d_3d

Adult survey link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Cer5jY_2fEmk_2ferKyjXjsOSw_3d_3d