Our Courageous Witness

Dear faith family,

For the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing parts of Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe’s new strategic plan called "Our Courageous Witness." I’m sharing this now because our parish and All Saints, South Burlington are in the process of envisioning our future relationship through a Mutual Ministry Review. The national church’s strategy may help us to discern our own path. 

The first part of the national strategic plan is witness. "We must embody a Christianity that is authentic, expansive, beautiful, and unafraid—rooted in the sacraments and our tradition." The national church will "conduct a church-wide evangelism and visibility campaign," like Bp. Curry’s Becoming Beloved Community/Jesus Movement, and will "elevate the voice of The Episcopal Church in the public square." 

At the parish level, evangelism can be as simple as inviting our neighbors and friends to coffee hour, a social event, or a potluck. We might invite a friend looking for a new church to a Sunday service. We can explore more ways to love our neighbors on the margins by donating money, supplies, and most importantly, our time.

If you’d like to make your voice heard, but don’t know where to start, the Episcopal Church has an easy way to sign letters to elected officials, which amplifies our voices. You may sign up for action alerts on the national church’s Office of Government Relations’ home page. 

Be thinking about how we can make our church more welcoming and inclusive, how we can make ourselves more visible and our borders more porous. Share any ideas with a vestry member (Jeff Mangini, Rebecca Chauvin, Susan Klaiber, or Bob Laidman remotely). Let's be ready to transform our words to deeds. 

With thanks for your dedication,

Anne+