I firmly believe that parishes should review mission and vision plans on a regular basis.  It had been my hope to do this within the first year of my tenure but did not feel comfortable doing so until we had exited from the COVID restrictions.

As I have conducted the review and worked with the Vestry there are a couple of principles that were followed.

1. Vision and Mission statements should be subject to an annual review by the Vestry and Rector. Mission statements should be updated as needed, but Vision statements should have a significant degree of permanence.
2. There is a difference between Vision and Mission statements.
3. Vision Statements define what the organization, in this case Parish, looks like when the vision is met. The Vision is aspirational.
4. Mission Statements outline the steps to be taken toward the vision in a 3-5 year window. It might be helpful to think of the Mission Statement as containing signposts for those who are designing programs and strategies on the path toward the Vision. These signposts, then, become the guardrails used to determine whether those programs and strategies should be implemented.
5. Both Vision and Mission statements should be driven by the values of the parish and the diocese.
6. The Mission statement, ideally, should be attainable and measurable, i.e., we will do x,y, and z to sell 10% more burgers. This is more difficult in a parish setting, but a Mission statement needs to answer the question of how we get to the Vision and are we doing those things we think are necessary to reach that goal.
7. Ultimately, Vision and Mission statements form a more fulsome visioning document. As the Vision is presented, the salient portions of this document will be available on this blog.

So, without further rambling from me, I give you the Vision Statement for St. James’ Church:

“Saint James Church is to be a vibrant and growing multi-generational parish experiencing and proclaiming, in word and deed, the saving love and power of Jesus Christ, locally and globally.”—Rector and Vestry 2022