Strategic Visioning Update: February 3

Ten members from around the diocese came together (virtually) for the first time Saturday, Jan. 30 to begin the strategic visioning process for our diocese. Their first step is to consider who we are, what we do, and what we hope to achieve as a faith community.

The group began by looking at the diocesan mission and vision statements, which were crafted in 1994.

A mission statement is a one-sentence statement describing the reason an organization or program exists and is used to help guide decisions about priorities, actions, and responsibilities (TopNonProfits.com).

The Diocese of Missouri
Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Diocese of Missouri is the mission of all baptized Christians: to reach and to spread the Gospel and its knowledge of salvation to all people; and to make the love of Christ known in the world through our own actions as individuals, as congregations, and as the Diocese, by feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, housing the homeless, caring for the sick, visiting the prisoner, and comforting those in times of trouble.

A vision statement is a one-sentence statement describing the clear and inspirational long-term desired change resulting from an organization or program’s work (TopNonProfits.com).

The Diocese of Missouri
Vision Statement:

Making Disciples
Building Congregations
For the Life of the World

The first task of the Strategic Visioning committee is to examine those 17-year old statements and consider how to update our mission and vision to better reflect who the diocese is today and where we want to go in the future.

Your opinion is important in this process! Over the next two weeks, committee members will be calling randomly selected members in all corners of the diocese to get their impressions of the strengths and challenges of our faith community. If you receive a call, please take the time to chat and share your thoughts. This is just one of the ways you can participate in our visioning process.

The group is also collecting information about innovative resources and ministries happening in our area and throughout the Church that could be used to help our diocese define our own vision as we move forward.

The Strategic Visioning Committee is led by Katie Ong, a strategic planning consultant hired by Bishop Deon Johnson. The chairs of the committee are the Rev. Annette Joseph, Regional Missioner for Christ Episcopal Church in Cape Girardeau and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Sikeston, and Dick Entenmann, a member of Grace Church in Kirkwood.

The strategic visioning committee will be meeting each Saturday afternoon for the next several months.