Our Mission Statement serves as a guidepost for Christ Church, both collectively as a parish and individually for all our members, as we plan and implement our ministries and carry out the work of our parish.
The Mission of Christ Church
“We believe the Holy Spirit is real and
inspires us to be the light of Christ in our community
as a reflection of God’s love.”
The Vestry spent many hours of discussion, reflection and discernment in late 2006 to bring together this one sentence that defines the foundation for what we are and what we are being called to do. The realization process that was undertaken by the Vestry is described by Sharon Anderson, who was a member of Vestry at that time:
It was during the discernment process that I and the others came to realize the “special feeling” that we all experience at Christ Church is much more than the inspirational sermons and being surrounded by sincere Christians. We came to realize that the “special feeling” is the presence of the Holy Spirit. It is The Presence that fills us with God's love and inspires us to go out and reflect HIS love in the way we live our lives.
Bruce Richards remembers very clearly his reaction when the new Mission Statement was first introduced to the congregation at the annual meeting in February 2007:
The first time I heard the new Mission Statement read aloud at our annual meeting I was in awe. My heart was pounding and leaping for joy all at once. I wanted to stand up and shout, “It’s true! It’s true!” Ever since Judy and I moved to Easton, which was providential in itself, being aware of the Holy Spirit actively involved in my life has been a reality. Shortly after arriving here, I answered a very clear call (more like a hit in the head with a brick) to sign up for the Talbot Hospice volunteer training program. Following my training and just prior to joining Christ Church, I reconnected with an Ohio friend who is a Stephen Minister. After being awakened in the night (I truly believe by the Holy Spirit) I was excited to share my interest in this ministry with someone. The next day I went to the Church office to share my news. Just that morning Carol, our Deacon, had vowed to review a folder of information on the Stephen Ministry given to her by Fr. Bill. I sensed that the Holy Spirit was not only alive there in her office, a very REAL presence to us both, but also was busy getting our attention. The rest is history – two years later Christ Church’s lay caring ministry is as real in our parish as the Holy Spirit is in my life – and that’s for REAL!