A Vision for Holy Trinity Episcopal Church South River

  1. Focus on spiritual growth as the priority for the parish
      • Communicate a vision for creating a culture of helping all people to grow spiritually
      • Educate about spiritual growth and invite people to reflect on their spiritual journeys
      • Resource Christian formation for all ages
  1. Include scripture in all church gatherings, including social and business meetings
      • Vestry models integration of scripture into meeting agendas
      • Offer guidance
      • Provide Bibles and other resources
  1. Support spiritual growth through participation in small groups
      • Learn from successes such as Burger Church and The Good Book Club: small groups are more likely to succeed when they are organic, spacious, engage life issues and encourage authenticity.
      • Encourage groups to gather both in and outside the church: homes, cafes, anywhere
      • Partner with other churches to expand and sustain opportunities
  1. Invest in relationships
      • Pray with and for one another
      • Mentor, coach, train and encourage people in their ministries
      • Invitation: create a culture of personal invitation to encourage participation in programs and events. Focus on personally inviting newcomers and people not actively engaged in ministries.
      • Gratitude: give thanks to God and thank people for their gifts of time, talent and treasure
      • Care for people around their challenges, disappointments, failures, grief around changes and losses in the church, and hurts suffered in interactions with other members of the parish: Listen, acknowledge, seek healing and work for reconciliation.
  1. Set apart time for the Leader’s Heart
      • Attend spiritual retreats such as the annual women’s retreat
      • Adopt a Rule of Life for personal spiritual growth
      • Covenant for support and accountability

Endorsed by the Vestry May 2018.