Stepping Stones
Discerning God's Mission for Sunnyside Presbyterian Church
Guiding Vision Statement
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God. Ephesians 2:19-22
Sunnyside Presbyterian Church was built by God. With Jesus as the cornerstone and the Holy Spirit as our guide, our church is anchored on a solid foundation. Originally established as a mission of Presbyterians in South Bend, Sunnyside was shaped, over the years, by our forebears of faith---members, elders, deacons, and pastors.
Our church was built as a place of worship. With the Holy Trinity central in our gathering, this community of faith roots itself in Biblical scripture and in prayer. We are a loving, caring, vibrant and blessed community. In our life together, we seek God’s wisdom in guiding and designing the framework of our future.
Together we are called to build bridges of faith. We seek to connect people to God’s grace through compassionate, friendly, inclusive, generous, and loving actions. We hear God calling us to deepen relationships among all of God’s people--in our church as well as in our local, national, and global communities. We serve because we want to do God’s work.
We are Christ’s hands and feet and so our vision is to build a reflection of the Kingdom of God here on earth. As disciples of Christ, we listen for God’s call and direction as we seek to welcome, nourish, nurture, and bring hope to all within our church and throughout our community. We are committed to growing our individual and collective faith in order to strengthen our social ministry, thereby empowering those who are in need. Blessed with God’s abounding grace and the love of our congregation, we share peace in the name of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of Sunnyside Presbyterian Church.
CONFERENCE ON THE FUTURE
October 9, 2011 9:30a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Get ready for an energizing, community building, creative walk through our future together! We will focus this morning on Key Result areas for our ministry and common life together. After a meeting of the Elders, Deacons, Stepping Stones Team and the Vision Panel, we have focused our vision on three Key Result Areas that will provide the focus of our work at the Conference on the Future as well as our life together for the next five years:
Building Bridges of Faith (worship, prayer, study of scripture, education, spiritual growth, claiming a Christian identity, meeting children, youth and adult’s
spiritual/educational needs)
Building Bridges Among Us and Beyond Us (being an inclusive and interconnected community, deepening and expanding relationships within our
congregation and into our community, cultivating cultural diversity)
Building Bridges Through Mission and Service (bringing hope to the world in need, giving our own time to serve others, engaging in relevant mission
activities, shining the light of Christ in the world, serving our community)
We will brainstorm ideas for connecting with our vision through the creation of new ministries and the reevaluation of existing programs. We will talk about ways that we can live into this vision statement through our connections with one another and through the deepening faith of our community and the individuals in it.
Out of the meeting of our church leadership came expectations for how we will engage into our future together which should come to color all that we do and all that we are as a Church community. We will live: With grace in all we do… With responsibility, individually and collectively…With willingness, energy and love …
What is Stepping Stones?
We at Sunnyside Presbyterian Church can truly say that God has
blessed and guided our endeavors over the years. We see evidence of
this abundance in our building, programs, children, pastors, and
congregation. But where does a thriving church go from here? How
do we continue to seek God’s call? To answer these questions,
Sunnyside Church, along with nearly 20 other churches in the
Presbytery of Wabash Valley, is undertaking a two-year spiritual
process that will help us discover how to:
* enhance our spiritual growth;
* help determine God’s will for Sunnyside Church;
* set a course for the future;
* better serve our community and world.
The journey requires all of Sunnyside’s many and diverse voices.
It is important to know that this will not be a short, shallow
endeavor - but a thorough, deeply considered one. Among the tools
we will be using to help understand God’s plans for Sunnyside
Church will be:
* congregational Bible studies and conferences;
* sermons and sermon feedback sessions;
* electronic and printed communications
* an interactive Sunnyside Blog;
With passion in our hearts and God as our guide, we hope to step
confidently and graciously toward our collective future. In
community and in faith we can discover how to better light the
way for ourselves and others. We look forward to walking this path
with you.
The Stepping Stones Team:
Co-chairs Leslie McKillip and Ken Bairel
Bill Lamie, Mary Cory, Abbe Golden, Larry Savage,
Amy Gardine, Jamie Miller, Rebecca Kirkpatrick,
David Smook (coach)
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