Top 5 Mindfulness Categories

Our Top 5 Mindfulness Categories are areas within the life of our parish that we as a parish community and as parish leadership should always be keeping an eye on, checking the pulse of. Asking ourselves how we are doing in each of these categories, and looking for ways to improve, or try out new ideas for living into these 5 Mindfulness Categories.

(1) Mission & Purpose (to include Social Media/Technology)

Everyone in the parish should know and be able to articulate what our mission and vision is, because all of the ministry we do should be “run” through this criteria filter with the question, how does this new ministry support our mission and vision that we believe God is inviting us into?

Our stated Mission is:

To gather to nurture Christ within, in order to serve Christ in all.

Our stated Vision is:

To be a compassionate multi-generational community whose members:
Worship God with joy and energy in a variety of styles
Grow in knowledge and love of Christ by participating in many small groups, forums, classes, and retreats
Are responsive to the needs of our local, national, and global neighbors
Foster relationships for all through activities involving food, fellowship and fun
Extend our personal financial resources beyond our fellowship
Are so transformed by the Spirit that others are attracted and invited into our walk of faith.
We celebrate and witness to, the Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester, and the LGBT Community which with God’s embracing love, we work for full inclusion in all the sacraments.
We strive to always be a place of safety, healing, inclusion, transformation, justice and compassion.
We work to implement our Mission and Vision through our worship, through our service to others, and by offering a wide variety of ministries that all are welcome to be a part of.

Social Media/Technology uses:

Social Media is the new yellow pages, and often people will check out a parish’s website and Facebook page, and then decide if they want to visit. My vision for using Social Media is to create excitement and awareness around everything we do as a parish, from Sunday Services to Events we’re offering, Events we’re attending, to Repairs we make. It is through the sharing of our vibrant faith community and local community that enables others to be excited and curious about who we are. It offers opportunities for us to invite others to join us in all that we do, and to show that we celebrate and are thankful for all that we do together in response to our love for God and community.

Technology used well enhances our experiences, enables us to share in new ways with one another and others.

(2) Welcome & Invitation (to include Special Events)

We are a warm, welcoming, and friendly parish! And Welcome and Invitation takes each and every one of us! People who are seeking a parish, return to a church they are visiting for a second time if they feel warmly welcomed.

All the little things we do tells us and our guests a story. And we have a fabulous story to share about ourselves as a community and about why our faith matters to us and about the Gospel.

Welcome:

It is so very important that when we have Guests with us that we as a parish all take the time to:

Shake the hand of Guests near us during The Peace and say, “I’m Sally, Peace be with you.”
After the Dismissal:
- Introduce or reintroduce yourself by name; let them know you are glad they are here
- Ask if they would like to come to coffee hour with you
- Make sure our Guest is given a Welcome Bag
- Invite them to sign our Guest Book
- Introduce them to the Pastor
- Invite them to come see us again
At Coffee Hour:
- Introduce or reintroduce yourself by name, ask them a little about themselves, let them know we are glad they are here
- Introduce them to other Parishioners, and to the Pastor
- Share about what the parish is up to, and invite them back

Invitation:

This is a two-fold invitation, one where we invite people we know to church, or events happening at church or off-site, and where we invite each other into the ministries we are a part of.

Most people find their way to a church through a direct invitation or through someone talking about their church. It is okay to ask more than once, just let time pass between your askings. It is okay for people to say no, thank you. This is why having events within church and outside of church are so important; we give ourselves opportunities to invite people into the wonderful mission and fun we have at Epiphany.

It is equally important for us as a parish to be out in the community, so that people we don’t know, people who have never heard of us have a chance to see us out in the community doing really good things, and enjoying being with one another. People want to be part of churches that are doing good things in the world.

When someone becomes part of or maybe has been part of the parish a while, it is important to personally extend an invitation to them into ministry areas. It’s okay if people say no, perhaps they’ll let you know that they can help next time, or invite you to ask them again. People stay at churches they feel connected to.

(3) Liturgy (to include Music)

Liturgy, every time we gather to Worship, is the heart of the ministry of the Liturgy Planning Committee, and the heart of the Music ministry at Epiphany. To live into our strivings we have to create opportunities for our children and youth to participate fully in the sacramental life of the parish. We have to examine how we use music to enhance worship. We have to all find ways of serving within the liturgy.

At its heart liturgy is the work of the people. Liturgy requires the active participation of all of the people gathered together in the celebration. Liturgy connects us with God, the realities of our lives, and sends us out into our communities as agents of change.

When liturgy is done well, we can feel the difference within the sanctuary, within ourselves, we can sense the presence of God all around us. We should always strive to create liturgies that attends to the sacred, that extends the invitation to our Guests that says to them we have much to learn from you, and we hope you will accept our offering today. To extend the type of hospitality and welcome that communicates, we’re excited to create the sacred with you, to create liturgy that is invitational, holy, and done together.

We live in times of a hunger for belonging, a yearning for the sacred, and so we should always be asking of ourselves as a parish, how do we through the liturgy respond to these yearnings in a manner true to who we are and yet true to the co-journeyers arriving for the first time? How do we bring forth the sacred within a traditional liturgical framework, while expanding on the possible?

(4) Children & Youth Leadership Development (to include Service Opportunities)

The children and youth of Epiphany are a blessing and a gift to the older members of the parish community. Our children and youth bring new ideas, new questions, and different needs, but the same desire to connect and be respected members of their faith community.

Our Church School is an inclusive community of children and youth, led by parishioners, both parents and non-parents. Our vision of Church School is of a place where love abounds, where children and youth gain a deeper understanding of God in a space where they are free to question and explore their faith.

The J2A curriculum is based upon the needs and interests of the children and youth, because we believe this fosters curiosity and involvement leading to a deeper understanding of God in their lives and the world, which is revealed through the grace of day-to-day experiences and which enables them to act on their faith to make real God’s vision of a world of peace and justice.

Our youth ministry program provides opportunities for young people to come together in a Christian environment in fellowship with other youth to grow in spiritual formation, explore their questions, and develop leadership within the church.

Ingrained into the J2A curriculum is the space to explore their faith, strengthen their faith, and enter into leadership opportunities within the life of the parish. Some of the opportunities for this are regular pilgrimage trips, community projects, time for fellowship, and leading and designing Sunday Worship Services. We strive to always be a community that empowers our children and youth to put their faith into action, develop their leadership skills, and grow in faith and relationship with God.

(5) Adult Formation

The vision for Adult Formation is to cultivate our minds and spirits to help strengthen us as a Christian community in reflecting Jesus Christ’s love and acceptance of all people. Adult Formation is also meant to help people to put their faith into action, develop their leadership skills, and grow their faith and relationship with God.

Adult Formation is meant to provide opportunities for transformation to be a means to learn, grow and deepen our faith and spirituality as adults.

The Adult Formation Committee is always seeking ways to help people connect with, deepen, and encounter God through expanding our knowledge and of love of Christ. And in this effort strives to offer a variety of formation opportunities throughout the year with the hope and expectation that these offerings will strengthen our faith, help us to articulate our faith, keep us connected with one another, help us be advocates for others, and to grow in love and courage to do the work God is inviting us into.

Joining the Conversation

Inviting people to church or parish events can be scary, but this is vital for us growing as a parish; It is mine and the Vestry’s hope that as we focus on growth, we focus on growing all ages, that we let other people know how awesome and amazing we are for any aged person – and this takes all of us.

So we need all of you to share: share your ideas for parish events, for formation offerings, for liturgy, for what you’re passionate about and want to invite the rest of us to join you in.

We are an amazing and big-hearted can-do parish family! Let’s dream together our present and our future as we seek to serve God every day for the love and care of others and each other.