by Michael Stetzler, Council President
Last spring Prince of Peace was invited to participate in a new Synod-led initiative called “Liberating Structures.” Along with six other congregation, we are looking at how we govern ourselves and organize our ministries. Could we be more efficient and vital if we freed ourselves from old ways of doing things? Do our constitution, bylaws and continuing resolutions provide needed structure or create obstacles to fulfilling our mission?
A core group of council members began this project by rethinking our mission. We agreed that our existing mission and vision statements still apply, but that we needed to articulate the values that guide our congregation. We identified “relationship”, “generosity”, “caring”, “faith” and “learning” as five values that best describe us. In the new year we will be engaging our congregation in further discussion of these values. We have also begun to work on our structures by proposing a change to our bylaws that is a first step toward getting the most out of the time and talents we apply to our ministries.
