For our last Elders Meeting, I asked Bob Schneider and Steve Wilhite to join us and share their perspectives both as former Elders and also former Moderators. We have a number of new members on the Elders, and I myself have only been an Elder and a Moderator for a short while. (Our current Elders serving are: Jonathan A., Beth D., Greta S., Kathy S., and Jackie W. and myself.) Bob and Steve did not disappoint!
Bob gave us a fascinating history of the evolution of the Elders structure, and they both shared some from-the-heart perspective on serving Old First as an Elder and the responsibility the Elders have in making sure Old First’s activities are consistent with its by-laws.
In the course of the discussion, Bob and Steve also reflected on the work that had been done back in 2008 on crafting Old First’s Mission & Vision Statement. I came away from that Elders meeting thinking a good deal about that Mission & Vision Statement, and how it fits with our Capital Campaign initiative.
At our most recent Elders Meeting, earlier this week, I passed out copies of Old First’s Mission & Vision statement, and we read it aloud. For those of you haven’t read it or haven’t read it in a little while, I invite you to do so. (Do you know where to find it? That was part of a discussion! Here’s some help!)
It’s a powerful statement of who we are as a faith community and where we want to go as a church.
In the coming weeks, you’ll see more of our Mission & Vision statement. The Elders and I think it would be a great idea for us to more openly incorporate its tenets in our day-to-day church lives.
As that happens, I encourage you to consider how our Mission & Vision statement may dovetail with our Capital Campaign them, “Extending Our Welcome; Strengthening Our Service : The Campaign for Old First”.
Does the Mission & Vision Statement that we carefully crafted in 2008 still work for us?
Does it still describe who we are and where we want to go?
We hope to discover that together in the road ahead! If you have any questions or strong thoughts about all this, please feel free to contact me…
Yours in faith,
Larry W., Moderator
