Of the five values we have identified, this one, learning, is perhaps the most unique identifier for our congregation. The other four – relationship, generosity, caring, and faith – could be the values of any congregation. Understanding this about our community of faith might just help us orient what we go about more effectively.
It would be strange if a church didn’t list its belief in God as a core value. But is this just a performative or aspirational posture? Maybe this is just demonstrative of how much doubt and faith go hand in hand? Regardless, faith is the gift that pours back into us whenever we come together as the assembled Body of Christ.
This church embodies Jesus’ commandment to love as we value caring. This is the posture we take in relationship (another value!) to one another and another way in which belonging to this community is different from the other places we belong. Caring is at the core of God’s vision and the mission of this church to “love the world.”
The next of our identified key values to explore is “generosity.” This is of no surprise to me as our community of faith has demonstrated its commitment to this value time and again in the almost six years that I have served among you. The list of examples demonstrating the generosity of this congregation is long and its witness is a powerful one.
It’s hardly a stretch to imagine a church would hold relationship as a value for how could the church even exist if it weren’t for a desire to be in communion with others? Creating opportunity for God’s people to find each other is undoubtably central to the function of what we do.