St Andrew’s Vestry Retreat January 2014: Seeking & Sharing God's Gifts
/On the weekend of January 24th, the St. Andrew's vestry, along with The Rev. Ken Fields and The Rev. Portia Sweet, met at Camp Allen for their annual retreat. While there they attended discussions led by The Rev. Bill Blackerby of Birmingham, Alabama. Rev. Blackerby put forth a series of questions - questions that each attendee was to answer by the close of their time at Camp Allen. The questions were meant for St. Andrew's as a whole - how we see ourselves and where we feel we ought to be.
Over the course of many hours, ideas, truths, fears, aspirations and all manner of thoughts were expressed aloud, as both the white-board and the large paper tablet were filled beyond capacity. In the end, the notes were refined and turned into statements. They are as follows:
Talent:
The nurturing and nourishing family of St. Andrew’s is a small-town church in a big city.
Weakness:
We have ambitions of being a larger community but we're limited by mental and physical realities, lack of focus, procedures, structure, and a reactive attitude parish and diocesan levels.
Fear:
By changing the way we do things and following Jesus’s call, we’re afraid we’ll lose more than we’ll gain.
Core Desire:
An inviting and vital parish that sustains God’s presence through us in our community with a shared vision of our future.