Home | History | Clergy | Windows
After months of discussion in small groups and on the church council, St. Edward's now has a new Mission Statement. Adopted by the Parochial Church Council on 6th September 2004, it goes like this:
We aim to follow Jesus always and everwhere by:
An easy way of remember it is:
"Always and Everywhere www.se"
People come to church for many different reasons, sometimes articulated, sometimes dimly sensed, sometimes simply because church has always been part of life. What this statement attempts to do is to state, as clearly as possible, what our church community thinks we are about.
Hopefully, everyone connected to St. Edward's will come to know it by heart. When that happens, it will begin to shape us, not just in what we do, but in who we are!
Jesus is at heart of our faith, and his call to his early disciples, and to us, is "follow me". This means getting to know him through the Bible, through listening to his teachings and, where possible, following his example.
Being a Christian is not just about coming to a particular building for a religious ceremony for the odd hour. It is a way of life. Our God is with us every moment.....wherever.....whenever.... whatever we are doing.
www.se - "world wide web St. Edward's" stands for
Worshipping, praying and learning together are key parts of Christian life. Our faith can't stand still. It either grows and deepens or fades away. Carving out time and space to worship and focus on God is life giving.
Whether someone comes once, for a few weeks, once every blue moon or every single week, each person is special to God and deserves to be made welcome. Over the years, this church seems to have had a special ministry as a refuge to people who need time and space to find themselves after a difficult time. For however long we stay, may St. Edward's feel like home.
When the world is exactly how God intended it to be, we can put our feet up. Until then, part of our role is to try and change the world for the better.... and that starts with changing ourselves.
The dot is for what we've overlooked - for the parts of our mission which God will bring to our attention in the coming months and years.
Caring for one another, being a centre of community in Dringhouses, looking for ways to build relationships between people, and lots more.
- in people of all ages. Recognising that the way different people of different generations will express their faith may be, well, different; trying to make room in our church for as many people as possible.