Creating and Sustaining an Environment
St. Andrew’s mission statement is one sentence: “St. Andrew’s Mission is to create and sustain an environment where followers of Jesus Christ are nurtured and challenged to grow in faith in order to carry out God’s reconciling work in the world.”
The mission statement conveys one simple concept…we act in order to cause an effect. But each of the bolded phrases above carry a lot of meaning. So, in order to communicate the specifics effectively, each of the phrases are broken down in more detail. In the next two articles I am going to talk about the ways in which we create and sustain an environment.
There are several bullet points under “create and maintain an environment,” each of which points to a different environment. Taking them one at a time, the particular environment and its importance to our mission as a whole becomes clear. Here are the first three of the six topics under “create and sustain an environment.”
We create physical environments where members and visitors find spiritual reflection.
For many people the church campus is a place where they reconnect with what is sacred in their lives so that when they return to their life outside of church they bring a renewed sense of God’s love and hope with them. The sense of the divine is conveyed in a variety of ways—through color and symmetry, through connection with nature, through light and space—even scents and images can invoke a feeling of peace. The physical environment has a powerful influence on our state of mind. Therefore, it is a ministry to simply care for the campus itself.
We engage in acts of worship where people encounter the living God
It isn’t as if something magical happens in the hour between the call to worship and the benediction. Nevertheless, it is a time when the whole community comes together to communicate with God and to listen to God. We can do that as individuals anytime, but we have a shared agreement that during certain hours (mostly on Sunday morning) we gather for the purpose of encountering the Word and the sacraments in the belief that such encounters shape us into the Body of Christ. This encounter is an environment that people are called into and that, in turn, pours out into the world.
We relate to each other in ways that promote well being (shalom), treating all people with dignity, respect and honesty.
The word “shalom” is roughly translated as wholeness, unity, and peace. Shalom is peace with ourselves, peace with others and peace with God. A fundamental function of a faith community is to practice and promote this kind of well being in the world. It doesn’t just happen because we are nice people; it is very intentional work. The well being of the community comes as a result of recognizing all people as children of God—whether we like them or not. If a church community practices this regularly, it becomes a relational environment where people learn how to interact with love and compassion.
Next week I will address the last three environments that we are to create and sustain, one that involves money and trust, welcoming strangers, and accountability and support for our leadership. Until then…
Blessings,
Pastor Jen
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