Our Mission Statement - four years later

“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”  (2 Corinthians 5:1)

As I skimmed the selected readings for the 9 June Lectionary, that verse from 2 Corinthians grabbed my attention and reminded me of a time only 4 short years ago when St. Andrew’s debuted its current Mission Statement (“Building God’s Kingdom through Worship, Outreach, and Fellowship”).  As I think back on it now, I remember how appropriate and fitting I found the use of the word “building” -- calling to mind both a continuous action and a concrete image.  Now, four years later, and with a new opportunity to reflect on our “building,” I take comfort in the realization that what we are actually building -- through worship, outreach, and fellowship -- will outlive all of us and our physical structure at 45 Main Street.  In a modern world where so much of what we know is instant, fleeting, ephemeral, and short-lived, what a blessing and privilege to be part of something eternal, lasting, permanent, and long-lived. 

As we take another look at our Mission Statement and what we’re building together, I find it more than appropriate to close with a prayer that forms part of the text typically used in a service that dedicates and consecrates a church.  Lord Jesus Christ, make this a temple of your presence and a house of prayer. Be always near us when we seek you in this place. Draw us to you, when we come alone and when we come with others, to find comfort and wisdom, to be supported and strengthened, to rejoice and give thanks. May it be here, Lord Christ, that we are made one with you and with one another, so that our lives are sustained and sanctified for your service.

— Lindsey Nicolai