For those of you that participated in the Vision Summit on March 1 – thank you. Your hard work helped the LoL Vision Implementation Team get started on the right foot. This article is to provide you with an exciting update about what the Team has been up to since then.
As a reminder, the Team considered all the input the congregation provided at the summit and condensed it into a new LoL Mission Statement, four Core Values that were determined to be the most important in the near term, and a set of four revolving goals, the first of which are to be completed in the 2027 timeframe. All of these are included in the single-page handout that is available in the Narthex. If you haven’t done so, please read it, so that you can stay current and informed about this exciting and important work. In the near term, look for a ‘deep dive’ discussion of each of these in a series of articles in the March and April LoL Wednesday Emails. The discussion of the Mission Statement was published on March 20. The March 27 edition talked about Acceptance as one of our core values.
The Team has met several times with Sean Williams of Ministry Architects who helped it prioritize the first five strategic actions it is needing to take toward implementation of LoL’s vision. The adjacent image is taken from the new Implementation Team bulletin board in the Narthex. Check it out when you’re at the church; updates will appear periodically. The Team will methodically work through all 28 priorities it identified. The congregation will be involved in working together with the Team on some of these priorities as well.
The Team is aware of the activities LoL already has underway for many of the priorities identified by the Team. The key will be to carefully integrate those on-going activities into the Team’s implementation strategy in a way that makes maximum use of what’s already been done or is being done. An important example is the hard work already done by the CYF Renovation Team (Children, Youth, and Family = CYF). The Team wants to ensure their work influences the implementation strategy. Similarly, it must take into account in its strategies the wonderful gifts our staff bring to Lord of Life.
The Implementation Team recognizes the urgency for putting into place sustainable practices that consider the changes that will result from the well-deserved retirement of our beloved Deacon Heidi! It drives a lot of what they are doing.
If you have an interest in participating in one of the Team’s initiatives, or simply have questions about what’s going on, we encourage you to ask one of the Team members. The Team works very closely together on our respective tasks and know about what each is up to. Team members include, Bob Bryce, Lindy Anderson, Anne Crotty, Marlies Wuttig, Jerry Ethridge, and Pastor Kirsten.
Finally, please include the Implementation Team in your prayers. Their work will help us together realize the future God has in store for Lord of Life.
