Executive Summary | Introduction | Vision & Mission | Our Beliefs | Our Mission Context | Our Vision | Our Mission | Three-Year Initiatives | Implementation Mechanisms | Proposed Schedule
Adopted by Session, November 18, 2000
Adopted by the Congregation, December 3, 2000
The purpose of the ReVisioning exercise is to help Ormewood Park Presbyterian Church (OPPC) get a clear vision of where we believe God is leading us and a clear understanding of what God is calling us to do. Using the Congregational Survey, 1990 U.S. Census information and more recent demographic data about the geographical community within a 1.5 mile radius of the church, the ReVisioning Task Force and Reflection groups embarked on a journey of discerning how OPPC might better address the spiritual and social needs of the geographical community and the congregation. At the same time, OPPC affirms that our emphasis on embracing those persons exiled by the Church continues to be of paramount importance.
Through the spiritual gifts of our community of faith, we believe OPPC can minister to members of our congregation, geographical community, and those marginalized by society through continuing existing programs and implementing new activities. We seek the realization of wholeness in all people on their journey of faith and full participation in society. In order to begin to realize the mission with which we are charged in Christ, we propose to embark on a three-year plan which focuses primarily on spiritual development, greater interaction with the geographical community, and, improvement of the physical space at OPPC.
The results of the ReVisioning process, as described below, began with collection of data for the geographic community and the congregation, followed by a series of Reflection Groups meeting for eight weeks. Each group was charged with the following tasks: (1) Reflect upon our collective vision for the work of our church — using key biblical passages which set forth important principles for ministry; (2) Provide reflections on the findings of the Context Report (see Attachment #1) and our priorities for our life together in mission; (3) Reflect on the current mission of the our church; and, (4) Celebrate areas where we see God’s faithful work among us. The ultimate purpose of the Reflection Groups was to discern the means by which our church can bridge the gap between ‘what is’ and ‘what ought to be’ in the community where we worship. Attachment #2 provides a summary of recommendations of Reflection Groups.
Reflection Groups reported to the Task Force a clear need and desire for programs or activities in the following areas: Spiritual Development, Hospitality and Compassion in the Community, Youth Programs, Adult Education and Community Development, Stewardship of the Physical Property, Elderly and Shut-In Programs, and Expansion of Music Programs. All groups also explicitly emphasized a continued emphasis on OPPC’s stand for the wholeness of all people marginalized by the Church and society. This stand is not limited to embracing such persons as members of our faith community but includes, emphatically, the position that no persons should be restrained from answering God’s call to service or leadership in the church when that call is confirmed by the congregation.
Following the Reflection Group series, the Task Force and Reflection Group leaders met to consolidate program recommendations and define the focus of OPPC efforts in the next three years. At a retreat held in October 2000, 18 members of the OPPC congregation and Session met to draft the ReVision Plan. The final result defines our vision and mission, and describes proposed activities for the next three years.
THE VISION AND MISSION OF ORMEWOOD PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
(Adopted by the Session, 1938; Reaffirmed by the Session, 1996)
Under God's providence this Church is located in the geographical center of the community that it serves. It is, therefore, the desire of the membership and pastor to preach Christ through word and deed so that our whole community may find it easier to know God by the Christ-like works of this Church. Jesus' aim becomes our aim as He says: "I am among you as one who serves."
Though our field is the world, our first responsibility is the life of our community; and we wish to serve by ministering to the whole life of those who live in it. Our program must, therefore, embrace every sphere of life: physical, mental, social and spiritual. Through a four-fold program of worship, instruction, recreation and service we attempt to accomplish this purpose in every life we touch.
From infancy to old age we desire no higher goal than to show, in all sincerity, that Ormewood Park Church "is among you as one that serves." Our pastor and our people stand ready to serve their neighbors by day and by night, and they count it a privilege and a great honor to be allowed to do so. Amen.
The Ormewood Park Presbyterian Church (OPPC) congregation is made up of persons living in the immediate area, members who have moved from the geographic community, and others who come from far away specifically because we embrace those explicitly and implicitly exiled by the Church. The demographics of our congregation vary greatly from that of the community as defined in ReVision Context 2000. The OPPC congregation is made up of predominantly middle income, highly educated "boomer " and "survivor " generation Caucasians. The geographical community, as defined in the Context Report, consists of predominantly low income, low level of education, "millennial to survivor aged African-Americans. The geographical community of the church evidences a high level of risk for stress in the areas of community problems and basic life necessities. The styles of our existing congregational programs may create a barrier between the community at large and us. We must understand that some change in the styles of our programs may be necessary in order to bridge the gap between the church and the community.
Among members of our congregation, relationships, spiritual bonds, and faith in Christ are extremely strong. There is a general level of satisfaction in most existing church activities and styles and a strong sense of social consciousness among the congregation. We seek realization of these strengths by embracing those exiled by society. We want to move this vision into the community at large, a community facing educational, employment, and lifestyle stressors that marginalize persons through explicit and implicit prejudices.
The congregation and community indicate an interest in the following church programs:
Geographical Community
Congregation
Recreation Programs
Spiritual Development
Spiritual Development
Recreation Programs
Community and Social Services
Community and Social Services
Personal Development
Personal Development
The following program areas are identified by both the congregation and community as being desired but either not currently offered or only partially realized at our church:
Programs currently offered at our church generally meet needs previously identified by the congregation and community. However, existing programs should be evaluated for effectiveness and appropriate style.
Our geographical community is grappling with basic concerns of human existence such as food, housing and access to health care. The failure of our society to uphold the social contract of providing adequate education and training necessary for full participation in the economy places stress on the community. Although our church is small in terms of numbers, we are large in desire for realizing the fullness of God’s Grace among all people and for bringing everyone to wholeness in God’s kingdom.
We envision our church as a focal point in the community where those exiled by the church and marginalized by society can reach their fullest potential in spirit, mind, and body. In order to realize our vision, we must broaden our awareness and open our hearts and minds to healing injustice. This means ministering to our brothers and sisters wherever they may be on their journey to wholeness. We are charged to make a full presentation of ourselves as servants of Christ to the community.
Our vision and mission are the foundation upon which our church ministry demonstrates the love of Christ. These directly point to the experience of being disciples of Christ in the world and provide direction for manifesting the fullness of Christ’s love in our community.
In order to close the gap between the reality of what is and our vision of what ought to be, we believe God has called us together for the following purposes:
Our mission and vision statements, as developed from the Revisioning process, sound remarkably like the Great Ends of the Church as stated in the Book of Order, chapter I, section 2; G-1.0200. The Book of Order states:
The great ends of the church are:
We, the congregation of OPPC, in consideration of our mission context and our vision, set before ourselves specific mission goals. While these initiatives do not encompass our church’s entire ministry, they do focus our attention on the key development areas for the next three years.
We believe that our church must focus on these THREE KEY INITIATIVES:
CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
The ReVision Context Report revealed that our community and congregation expressed spiritual development as a significant need. The expression of this need was well above the U. S. average for the geographical community and our congregation. There is an intense spiritual hunger and we want to feed that hunger. As a congregation endowed with many spiritual gifts, we can provide the resources and opportunities for persons to develop spiritually. We propose the following CALL TO ACTION activities in order to address needs for spiritual development:
INCREASE INTERACTION WITH COMMUNITY
Interaction in the community will increase our visibility as a vital congregation and our witness for God. Community interaction will deepen our experience with God as a congregation. In the process of sharing ourselves and the Gospel, our lives will be mutually enriched.
Our purpose is to create the means for the larger community to know who we are through communication, involvement and connection. By interacting with the community, we will become more aware and more knowledgeable about the community, and thereby better equipped to serve its needs.
CALL TO ACTION items:
MAINTAIN AND IMPROVE PHYSICAL SPACE IN PREPARATION FOR USE
We have been blessed with abundant space and prime location. Our community needs meeting space. Our space and location are easily accessible and we are willing to be a gathering place. As a result, we can become a hub of the community. Allowing our facilities to be used as a meeting place will support our initiative to increase our interaction with the community. This is a way of witnessing God’s love in the community.
CALL TO ACTION items:
ATTACHMENT #3
MECHANISMS FOR IMPLEMENTING CALLS TO ACTION
The ReVisioning retreat members developed the proposed mechanisms and accountability measures for implementing the above initiatives:
Formation of three INITIATIVE TEAMS for SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT, INTERACTION WITH COMMUNITY, and IMROVEMENT OF PHYSICAL SPACE.
Each team will be composed of members of the congregation (and outside persons as appropriate — e.g. — active non-members) and SESSION members. All proposed activities will be subject to approval by the SESSION and progress reports on the identified call to action items will be provided to the SESSION at regular intervals.
All three Initiative Teams will be charged with the following general procedures to follow:
PROPOSED SCHEDULE OF REVISION PLAN APPROVAL AND IMPLEMENTATION
Additional activities related to evaluating progress on CALL TO ACTION items and implementation of new programs will occur at regular intervals to be determined at the January 20th 2001 congregational workshop.