Our Mission
The mission of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is to live out the love of God
as seen in Jesus Christ.
We will with God’s help:
Discover God’s presence in Word and Sacrament,
Share God’s word,
Nurture God’s people,
Encourage congregational and personal growth on our shared journey,
and Act justly and peaceably.
Since we emerged from Covid, the Vestry has been working to lead and support renewal within the Parish. We have prioritized being more visible and accessible to all members of the community, finding more ways to communicate regularly with the parish, enhancing programs that help us learn where God is leading us, supporting activities and projects that bring us together, and finding ways to welcome and incorporate new members. We have done this in many ways, including meeting with and listening to members across the congregation, expanding information in the weekly newsletter, serving as Lay Listeners and introducing Vestry members at all services, bringing parishioners into discussions of our corporate worship and supporting expanded educational opportunities for adults, supporting the activities of the Women of St. Paul’s, re-introducing a choir and music program, and organizing regular activities to greet and inform newcomers and welcome and support new members.
In June the Vestry began a review of the finances of St. Paul’s. We focused our review on four areas – overall financial review 2018-2023, a review of assets and revenues, a review of programs to educate parishioners about Legacy planning, and development of a Capital Improvement Plan for St. Paul’s. Our goals in this work were to learn more about general financial trends, opportunities to use our assets to support our community and perhaps bring in additional revenue, to learn about opportunities to educate all of us about legacy planning, and to establish an ongoing Capital Improvement plan to be good stewards of our buildings and property.
These reviews came from a vigorous discussion about how we sustain St. Paul’s as a Faith Community. In September we met to discuss what we have learned thus far from our reviews and more importantly to discuss our Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture at St. Paul’s and how we can continue on our path of spiritual renewal at St. Paul’s to a sustainable faith community in Lakewood, Colorado. Everyone from the Vestry has been an active participant in these discussions and we were pleased to have Karen Davis, David Parkhurst, Kristin Sesko, Don Davenport, and Tim Cake work closely with us on various aspects. As you see them, please thank all of these folks for the work done on behalf of all of us.
What does this data suggest about our planning for the next 3 – 5 years? What opportunities do we have to continue to be a Sustainable Faith Community? What is your vision for St. Paul’s?
The Assets and Revenues subcommittee identified our assets as Our People and the Space we have to offer. They identified a wide variety of ideas for ways to raise additional money for the church including grant applications, fund raising for special events or projects, holding special musical events with paid admission, promotion of our available resources through our website, and using space in the church complex and on the property for additional outside groups and programs.
The Legacy Planning subcommittee based their work on direction from the Book of Common Prayer that directs church leadership to periodically instruct congregants to “make prudent provision for the well-being of their families,” and to arrange for the disposal of “temporal goods, not neglecting, if they are able, to leave bequests for religious and charitable uses.”
The subcommittee has approached this as Gifts of Gratitude/A Legacy of Faith. The Vestry intends to offer educational programs for all parishioners in 2024 to learn more about estate planning and end of life planning (Will, Medical Power of Attorney, or General Power of Attorney). We hope it will provide an opportunity for each of us to consider how we want to best care for ourselves and to support St. Paul’s now and into the future.
The subcommittee for the Capital Improvement Plan has worked closely with Don Davenport and Tim Cake to identify and assess our capital needs. As a property that is over 50 years old, we have many needs. The subcommittee is continuing to work on defining projects and getting estimates for costs. It is clear that we will not be able to do these projects from annual budgets and operating funds. The subcommittee will be considering what other options are available including outside funds and a possible Capital Campaign within the parish to raise funds. We will be providing updates as we gather more specific information and have recommendations for the Vestry.
Indeed, all of the subcommittees will be continuing their work over the next year and beyond. The Vestry will be setting a calendar of quarterly parish conversations through 2024 to provide updates and to hear your input as we discern how to move forward to follow God’s path for St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lakewood, Colorado.
At our Vestry workday in September we worked hard to identify our understanding of our Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture and how these impact our overall goal of building and maintaining a Sustainable Faith Community. Karen Davis was a great help in suggesting the diagram below to help us capture our thoughts, feelings, and ideas in one chart that has helped us to summarize our many contributions.
At this point in the meeting, we want to hear from you. We will ask some questions for discussion at your tables and have forms for you to give us your written comments and ideas. Questions will focus on experiences you have had at St. Paul’s over the last year. What are the experiences you appreciate, and which brought you closer to God? We’ll ask you to share how you think we can help be a Sustainable Faith Community.
Please come and join us on Sunday.
WE NEED AND WANT YOUR THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, and IDEAS.