From the Rector

My dear friends in Christ,

In my last newsletter message, I presented a vision for our parish, a vision of who we are as a worshipping community, of who and what we could be, of where the Vestry has discerned, and I myself believe, that God is calling us to go and what God is calling us to become.

At the time, I asked for everyone to get in touch either with the church office or with me directly to share your thoughts, concerns, questions, hopes, and/or fears about the proposed direction for the development and growth of All Saints coming out of (what is hopefully) the worst of the pandemic.

We are now at the point of action: it’s time to begin implementing the vision that the Vestry and I have been discerning.

If you have any significant concerns about, or objections to, our moving forward with this vision, please call (920-266-9262), text, or email me as soon as you can.

Our proposed vision, once again, is that All Saints ought to strive to be theologically orthodox, unapologetically Anglican/Episcopal, and unequivocally inclusive/affirming of all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic status, or cultural background.

Here is a breakdown of what we mean by each of those three points:

• Theologically orthodox. We should be a church community that boldly proclaims Jesus Christ and the Salvation he brings through his life, death, and resurrection. We should be a people of faith who can say the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds without having to cross our fingers behind our backs. We need not be in uniform agreement about every little detail of the Christian faith—as Anglicans (see below), we should always welcome a range of doctrinal perspectives and interpretations; the basic, foundational tenets of the Christian faith and the Apostolic Tradition, however, we should not be ashamed to proclaim.
  
• Unapologetically Anglican/Episcopal. We should be a worshipping community that celebrates the liturgies, traditions, and practices of the Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion, being informed and formed by the Book of Common Prayer, with the Sacraments at the heart of our corporate worship. Sacramental worship and Common Prayer have always been the hallmarks of Anglican Christianity, and we should enthusiastically embrace that identity. That does not mean, of course, that we all must be “high church ritualists,” or that we have to have incense at every service (I mean Easter & Christmas would be nice, but …). It simply means that we should lift up our liturgical styles of worship as very positive aspects of who we are, offering an alternative to other styles and formats of worship out there in the larger community.
  
• Unequivocally welcoming, inclusive, and affirming. We should be a parish community that really means it when we say, "The Episcopal Church welcomes you," whoever “you” are. That means being not only a truly safe, but also a truly inviting, place for everyone, regardless of politics, race, economic and/or social status, etc. And it especially and particularly means being openly inclusive and affirming of LGBTQA+ folks (and making that official by following the diocesan procedure for doing so, and then including our identity as an affirming church in our parish communications, our website, our “branding”).

These three points will, if faithfully embraced, become the defining characteristics of who we are as a worshipping community of Jesus followers and aspiring disciples as we seek to be the Body of Christ in our particular corner of God’s Creation. I believe all three are Scripturally mandated, theologically imperative, and thoroughly rooted in our Baptismal Covenant.

But again, if you have concerns, questions, and/or possible objections to any or all of these goals for our parish, please contact me as soon as you can ~ I absolutely want to hear from you. Of course, you’re welcome to call or write to voice your support, as well. Either way, I truly want and hope to hear from y’all about all this. Hit me up and let’s talk about it!

Peace & blessings,
Christopher+

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