St. Mark’s is…
Restoring Hope.
Empowering Community.
Growing in Grace.
Rooted in Christ’s Love.
Throughout 2023, St. Mark’s underwent a visioning process where we took the opportunity to reexamine our purpose and prayerfully discern to where and what God is calling St. Mark’s over the next few years. Drawing from congregant survey responses, feedback from preschool families, St. Mark’s history, and several Vision meetings, St. Mark’s established a new vision and purpose for the years ahead.
Our Vision
Our vision is that St. Mark’s will live into its purpose in the next three years by prioritizing and investing in the following initiatives:
Accessibility, Inclusivity, & Advocacy
We will ensure that our programs, events, and offerings make space for and celebrate people of differing identities, abilities, and needs. We will speak honestly and listen with intent to grow in our congregational awareness of different experiences and grow in our voiced and embodied advocacy for marginalized persons and communities.
Clear pathways to participate in the life of the church
We will assess and amend our current communications and organizational structures to identify and rectify complication, redundancies, and hindrances that obstruct engagement and involvement in leadership, service, or learning opportunities. We will create new opportunities where needed to serve as entry-points for deeper engagement and integration both in the congregation and in service to the community.
Serve and support youth, families, and young people
We will continue to build on our commitment to invest in younger generations’ faith formation by: creating intentional spaces for families to worship, learn, and serve together, facilitating small-group opportunities for those in similar life-stages or with similar needs, and providing resources and support by means that are accessible outside of scheduled gatherings (online via our website, a podcast, or social media, etc).
Accountability in Leadership
We will develop and train members of our congregation in systems of accountability to ensure our leaders, especially, are strengthened in behaving and speaking in ways that model Jesus’ example of servant leadership. We will establish transparent expectations in covenant together, as leaders and members of this faith community, to ensure our shared witness if born of our commitment to Jesus’ teachings and Gospel values of human dignity, truth, and love.
Our Purpose
As a church, rooted in Christ’s love (Christ’s love is our foundation) St. Mark’s purpose is to:
Restore Hope
The gospel witness assures us of God’s constant, loving presence and gives hope for new and abundant life. As a church, we can share this message with those who are struggling and despairing through how we welcome, connect, serve, & love.
Empower Community
God has created us for one another as companions and partners to journey through life in community, and called us to serve together in expanding the work of compassion, justice, and peace in the world. As a church, we can celebrate and encourage individuals to use their gifts for God’s purpose, grow in our cooperative efforts as a faith community serving together for a unified vision, and advocate for all persons to be empowered as they are freed from oppression, violence, and poverty.
Grow in Grace
Jesus modeled for his disciples a life grounded in unyielding grace. Our Methodist tradition, also, anchors us in the belief that God is ever inviting, justifying, and sanctifying us through God’s unconditional, generous grace. As a church, we can nurture one another in faith—in our love of God and neighbor—by growing in our understanding, acceptance, and sharing of God’s grace.