Loving, Welcoming,
Growing, Serving
So, we started dreaming and praying about God’s vision for us. We asked the
powerful question of ourselves: “why do we do what we do at MRUMC?” What an
exciting experience that retreat was for all who gathered! But, we weren’t able to
finish our conversations that day and so, on Sunday, February 18, we had another
all-church retreat and this time, about seventy people showed up. People of all
ages. Some new to the church; some who have been around for decades.
By Rev. Ashley Crowder Stanley
Dear Friends,
“Take a piece of paper,” the retreat leader
said, “and fold it once, length wise.” We
folded. “Now,” he said, “write on one side
all the words you can that describe ‘church’
to you.” So, each of the participants wrote
things like: music, worship, buildings,
people, Scouts, youth group…on and on.
The lists were amazing and helped all of us
realize that everyone shared some
common impressions of church and most
had unique experiences, too.
We picked up where we left off. Our afternoon together was blessed by the
musical leadership of Kayln and Grady
Wiley, by prayer, discussion, yummy treats
baked by Gail Beckley and engaged
participation by attendees.
We remembered that the mission statement
of the United Methodist Church is to “make
disciples of Jesus Christ for the
transformation of the world.”
This is the “why” of what we are all about as
United Methodists. But, now, we needed to
focus on the “how”. How will we live the
mission out in our church, our lives,
community and world?
Then the retreat leader told us to open up
our papers and he posed a question. “What
if you had to leave everything behind and
go into the wilderness like the Israelites did
for a long time, what would you absolutely
need to survive as a church community?
What about your church would you have to
have to stay alive?
In a powerful experience of collaboration,
participants worked on crafting a vision
statement for our church that would reflect
who we are now and who we want to be in
the future. We wanted this vision statement
to reflect our deep commitment to our faith
in God and to our calling as disciples of
Christ.
The lists got much smaller as we all
realized that really, what we needed more
than buildings or hymnals or programs or
buses were things like: God, love, one
another, music, worship, water, food, unity,
purpose, vision and friendship. We agreed
that having material things was really nice
but that the bonds that hold us together are often spiritual and emotional. They are
sustained by the Spirit. People of Mills River United Methodist Church. Here’s what we will be about in the
years to come! Our new vision statement (drum roll, please):
What I have just described was the opening segment of the Onward! all-church
retreat held in January that brought over eighty people together on a cold day. We
sang, worshipped, talked, laughed and began to speak deeply about our longings
for our church as we move into the future. Loving God
Welcoming All
Growing Disciples
Serving the Community
The retreat leaders asked us to complete this statement: “I Dream a Church…”
and the answers were beautiful. Here are a few. I Dream a Church that…
Is a place we call home
Gives joyfully
Where people are real
Where the pews are full
That has no financial concerns
That puts Christ first
That is welcoming
Where we travel more, taking Christ out into the world
That nurtures the young It is my hope and prayer that we will reflect on how we can love, welcome, grow
and serve, together!
A new vision statement was born and it is a
great one! It’s one that reflects the prayers,
voices and hearts of our congregation. You
will see a lot of it! It will even fit on a t-shirt!
In ministry together,
Ashley
PS: Thanks to everyone who offered their help, ideas and time in this process!
*Watercolor and photo by Ben Montgomery