Sunday 30th November 2014
Advent Sunday
Annual Meeting Day
‘God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord’
St Paul to the Corinthians – from our second reading for today
‘God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord’
the world may change around us
the church may change around us
people will come and go
priests will come and go
but this will not change
‘God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord’
Today is – in more ways than one for us here at St John’s Toorak – a new day and a new beginning
We begin today the season of Advent – this being Advent Sunday
Advent Sunday marks –
Not just the commencement of the period of preparation leading up to Christmas
But a new church year
The cycle of readings moves from Matthew’s Gospel to Mark’s
Hence our Gospel reading today came from St Mark’s Gospel – as many other readings will throughout the course of the year stretching before us
Today is also the day of the Annual Meeting of our parish –
There will be some new office bearers
And a new parish council
Amongst other matters of business
One of our tasks at the meeting today will be to adopt a Mission Action Plan to guide us in the new five year period
It involves a new vision statement
And some new initiatives
That I’d like to outline in this address today on this Advent Sunday
And in advance of our Annual Meeting
You will have received – on the way into church today
A lovely booklet that looks like this
With seasonal front showing detail of the nativity scene from the magnificent eats window here at St John’s
This document is the Mission Action Plan for the next five year period of time
That has been workshopped through the parish council during the course of this year
With some of its content also sent out for response via the recent parish survey
The results of which are included in your annual meeting papers
A Mission Action Plan – or MAP - is a shared vision
It will not have any resonance
And no lasting impact
If it is not – in some way – the shared vision of all in the parish
It cannot be imposed by the vicar
Or the churchwardens
Or the parish council
It needs to be owned and shared by you – the parishioners
For that reason – there are only a limited number of these documents available today
More will be produced
Pending nay changes introduced at the Annual Meeting
And any suggestions and feedback received at that time
Or afterwards
This is a living document
Intended to guide us in our shared journey together
For the foreseeable future
As any MAP would
The metaphor is good one
When you set out on a journey somewhere
Especially to somewhere you haven’t perhaps been before
Or a destination that is unfamiliar
You would consult a map
Or perhaps a GPS device these days
The map will show you where you are now
And where you want to be – your destination
And importantly
How to get there
These days – Google maps – online – is brilliant
It not only shows you where you start from
And where you are going
And tells you how to get there
But estimates the time it will take for you to reach that destination
And suggests a road by road route
Our MAP is a bit like that
This document sets out some of the things we desire to achieve in the next five years
Some of our aims and goals
And – importantly - how we intend to get there
But note
And this is important also
It recognizes we won't achieve everything straight away
It is spaced out over five years for a reason
And – further - the aims are limited
There are only four areas of vision
Recognising that we could try to do everything but would probably achieve only a lot of activity of varied quality and little impact
The intention is to play to our strengths so to speak
Use our resources wisely
To do a small number of things
But to do them well
With the maximum prospects for achieving them
For that reasons you may read this and note some areas and aspects of parish life that might be understated or missing altogether
The intention is to do a small number of things
And do them well
So what’s in this MAP?
How will it effect me?
Let me conclude by drawing attention to some of the key aspects of the vision contained within this document
But let me also say that I will not be going through it in detail today
This is in your hands for a reason
We want you to take this and read it
To think about it
Pray about it
And – ultimately – to own it
Some things to highlight then
There is a new vision statement
It gathers up some key aspects of parish life and mission
This vision statement proclaims
We aspire to be a community in which all are welcomed
That is – an open and inclusive community
Welcoming people of all background
And all ages
but not for any purpose
but so that
faith may be formed and formed
a Christian community exists to make and form disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ
and that will always be our primary task and calling
How will we achieve this mission
Through our corporate gathering for worship in the Anglican tradition
Recognising that the Sunday gatherings of the community are our shop front so to speak
Our main window into the world
And point of connection between our community and the wider community out there
There are – then – some suggested changes to the way we provide services that are attractive to families and children in particular
These have been outlined in the pew slip
And of course also in this MAP document
These our outlined under the heading of ‘gather’
Picking up on the theme of making and forming disciples
We are looking at growth groups
For both long time people of faith
And the many others who come across the paths of our parish
For baptism, marriage, and in other ways
These are outlined under the heading of ‘grow’
We also aspire to be
As all Christian communities should and must
A community that aspires to make the good news about Jesus Christ known to others
These aims are captured under the heading of ‘go’
Finally – we aspire to be a generous community
This included under the heading of ‘give’
This is the MAP
It sets out some places of arrival
In five years time
That there be – for instance – an average of 200 attendees on a Sunday
That there be small groups established for both those wishing to be further formed in the Christian faith and for seekers encountering it for the first time
Some changes to services and ministries to families and children
To the pew slip
And to rostered duties
These goals and aspirations set out where we want to be
The place of arrival
And this MAP tells us a bit about how we might get there
We only do it together
But whatever happens
I remind you of this promise of St Paul
That we heard in our readings this morning
‘God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord’
the word around us may – will – change
our church community will change
but that will never change
The Lord be with you