ST. JAMES STRATEGIC PLAN ~ CONCLUSION
The Strategic Planning Group has now shared with members of St. James Parish the recommendations we have offered to the Vestry, strategies which call upon us all to fulfill anew the historic mission of our nearly 300-year-old church – arguably one of the great old churches in America.
We have called upon our parish to “seek excellence”; to “seize the moment” of opportunity; and, importantly, “to be true to ourselves,” not a copy of another church.
We believe that these strategies are true to our historic mission:
- energized worship
- enhanced ministries
- fully utilized campus
- increased financial support
- sincere welcome for others to join us.
We believe too that these strategies call for growth, not for change. CS Lewis reminds us of the difference: “Change is not progress unless the core remains unchanged. A small oak grows into a big oak: if it became a beech, that would not be growth, but mere change.” Our “core” is solid, and from it Saint James will grow.
We who worship at a great old church or, say, attend a great old college or university understand that with their history and traditions they are grounded in paradox: We want them to be excellent, real leaders – at the same time that we want them to be exactly the way they have always been.
We understand that. And we believe we can preserve the historic mission and values of St. James and still be ambitious for its future. With God’s will and hard work, we can do both.