Proposed
Vision Statement
Suquamish UCC
The proposed vision statement reads as follows:
We envision a world dedicated to peace and justice
through:
...Continuous inner transformation and
overcoming of personal limits,
...Meaningful action and practical work in the
world, and
...A mutually enhancing relationship with the
earth and all forms of life.
The
proposed statement of purpose that accompanied it was:
Our purpose is to foster and support integral
spiritual awakening in the service of truth,
justice, and compassion through the Christian story.
The goals of these statements are to provide orientation
for our community and to articulate -- for ourselves and
others -- what we are about.
In various
individual conversations it was suggested that this
statement was still too complex to carry the clarity and
punch we want to deliver.
One of the
virtues of a vision statement is that it aspires to such
high ideals that it is impossible to achieve and good
things happen. (A good example from the business world
is the vision of Federal Express: “On time every
time.”)
The simpler
it is, the better -- not only so that we can remember
it, but also to open conversations with others.
A revision
that emerged from these conversations is:
We envision a world
dedicated to continuous inner transformation,
meaningful action, and a mutually enhancing
relationship with all forms of life.
And the
revised statement of purpose:
Our purpose is to foster and support integral
spiritual awakening through the Christian story.
Some Personal Reflections:
I
especially like the statement of purpose.
While the
vision statement says a great deal about who we are, it
is so general that few progressives could disagree with
it. So, even though it may offer an accurate statement
of our overarching vision, it does little to
differentiate us from other churches.
The
statement of purpose, on the other hand, is both
specific and slightly controversial. It invites
questions both for our church community and for those
interested in our church. What is “integral
spiritual awakening”? What does it have to do with the
Christian story? How does integral spiritual awakening
foster inner transformation? …meaningful action?
…mutually enhancing relationships with life?
These are
the kinds of questions that invigorate a community. As
one author puts it, a community remains vibrant when it
finds the right balance between
wonder and
doubt. We seem
to have a good sense of that balance. Vision and
purpose statements like these help us to become clearer
about what we are doing and how we can serve our
communities.
Your
feedback is needed so we can begin to more clearly offer
our gifts to our others.
With Love and Blessings… Tom
