Mission Action Plan
Core Gospel Values
As people who believe in God, and seek to live
Christ-like lives empowered by the Holy Spirit, we commit ourselves to:
1. Inspiring worship. [Ephesians 5:18-20; Matthew 4:10; John
6.41-59]
Worship is at the centre of our love of God - we strive to make worship
open and meaningful to all, and to live our lives eucharistically
(thankfully, empowered by God's active presence).
2. Reconciling community. [Luke 15.11-32; 2 Corinthians 5.16-21]
God gives us a ministry of reconciliation - we commit to restoring that
which is broken, through welcoming and acceptance of all people,
addressing social injustice, and being a healing community marked by
forgiveness.
3. Growing faith-life. [Hebrews 5.11-6.12; Ephesians 4.11-16]
God calls us to a mature spirituality - we embrace this spiritual
journey through transformative preaching and bible teaching, prayerfully
deepening our awareness and dependence on God.
4. Loving service. [Luke 6.27-36; Mark 12.28-33]
Love is the essence of our relationship with God and neighbour - we
commit to acts of care and compassion, serving Christ and community.
5. Generous stewardship. [Luke 4.16-30; 1 Corinthians 13; 2
Corinthians 9.6-7]
All that we have belongs to God, the source of life – while caring for
God’s creation, we strive generously to offer our time and resources,
including talents and money, that the world may experience life in all
its fullness.
6. Active faith-sharing. [Matthew 28.16-20; Mark 6.6-13; Acts
9.10-18]
We are called to witness to God's love - we commit to sharing with
others our experience of God's active presence.
Reflecting on our Core
Gospel Values
We are in the process of discerning God’s purpose for St Columba’s. To
this end the Discernment Group has embarked on a process to prayerfully
shape a Mission Action Plan for our Parish.
Central to this is working out what we stand for and what Gospel
principles guide our life together. Core Gospel Values articulate what
we are committed to and inform and shape our vision and purpose. The
values remain constant over time, although the way they are expressed
may change.
Holy Week is a time when we get back to the roots of our Christian
faith, where we journey with Jesus and his disciples through the last
week of Jesus’ earthly life. The bitter-sweet events of this week of
weeks helped the disciples deeply question their identity, and in time
discover who and whose they were –followers of The Way who believed in
the risen Christ.
You are invited this Holy Week to meditate on the Core Gospel Values
being adopted by our Parish. You might like to meditate on one per day.
Here is a suggested way to meditate:
Read, Reflect, Respond, Record.
Read the Core Gospel Value slowly. You may read it several times, and
read the supporting scripture passages.
Reflect
What word or phrase stands out for you?
What feelings does it evoke in you?
What experiences does it help you recall?
Respond
Are you able to say “yes” to the call to commit to that value?
How will you respond? What do you need to do now?
Record your reflections in a journal, or share them with a trusted
friend.
April 2007
