I spent tonight with leaders from a pair of congregations in Mackay, St Paul’s and Armitage. The brief for the night was the development of a mission statement, needed for a profile for calling a minister and developing property.
The photo above is St Paul’s taken from two blocks away. As I looked through the fence to take the photo a guy stopped and introduced himself to me as the developer of the property in the foreground, wondering if I was interested in purchasing it.
The first thing we established with the planning group was the reality that having a mission statement:
- would help link property and staff decisions with the churches’ reason for being.
- should not be developed for the sake of following trends.
- would not help if it was not carried out in the lives of members of the church every day.
- needed to be distinct and achievable.
Initial factors
These church communities were tempted to work in a survivalist mode. Their hopes of developing a South side congregation had come to nothing. Building maintenance costs at St Paul’s were rising. It was harder to sustain full time paid ministry. It was possible that they would have their mission determined by their buildings. St Paul’s, close to the hub of the city, was housed in a traditional building that attracted people looking for sacred ambience for symbolic ceremonies. Armitage was in a small, pleasant air-conditioned room at the Blue Care complex. They catered for the needs of mature-age people.
Neighbours
We looked at the neighbours of these congregations. The population of Mackay is over 70,000. The minister is often called on to connect with hospital patients. Through their jumble sale members connected with people with low incomes, bargain hunters, socially isolated. St Paul’s connected with people with heritage connections, coming back because of family ties to celebrate weddings, baptisms and funerals. The hall was let out regularly to a dance studio, keep fit classes, and Tai Chi students. It was noted that two high rise apartments were being built nearby. St Paul’s was developing a relationship with Central State School through Religious Education classes and a breakfast club.
At this point we explored the values of the church communities.
Armitage’s Shared Values
- Warm (humour), caring, generous community that provides a sense of belonging
- Commitment to fundamental Biblical belief
- Servanthood and sharing of resources
- Age range – a focus on mature years, providing a spiritual anchor for Blue Care and connecting with people from retirement villages.
St Paul’s Shared Values
- Scripturally based, Love of Christ, love of people
- All inclusive welcoming multi-age (all ages and stages)
- High participation from congregation, praying community
- Up-to-date traditional heritage
Expressed in strategic values:
- Building centred – custodian role
- Public face of Uniting Church – first contact in office Celebrating milestones for people from the community
- Involvement of members and staff in the community
- Reaching out to children in the community (Central School, growing Sunday School, families
- Open door policy for celebrating milestones for individuals and families, community gatherings, celebrations, concerts.
Get busy living or get busy dying
The line that captured the mood of the night was from Shawshank Redemption, “Get busy living, or get busy dying”. This group of people had come wondering if they could survive in the future. Now they were focused on wondering how they could live out the call to mission given them by Christ. They started by wondering why people weren’t turning up or staying at worship. Now they’re looking at how they support one another in getting to know the neighbours.