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Our Community and Beliefs

OUR MISSION
The mission of St. John’s Episcopal Church is to be a vibrant Christian community where lives are transformed by a personal relationship with God and where all adults and children experience the dignity and grace of God’s unconditional love. We share the good news of God’s love to all who worship with us, through fellowship with our neighbors, and through our service in partnership with the greater community.

OUR VISION
We seek to always grow in our understanding of God’s plan for us as individuals, families, and Christian community. Together we will deepen our capacity to serve, to respond to God’s call, and to grow our collective ability to be stewards of God’s gifts.

OUR COMMUNITY
We Welcome and build community. We seek to strengthen communication so that we are empowered to be a caring community. We strive to establish a parish culture where all are truly welcomed and all are truly welcoming. We encourage all to engage and share their gifts and wisdom. We work to develop social activities so parishioners can experience joy, companionship, and fun as a community.

We invite everyone to join us where ever you are on your spiritual journey.  Our worship is beautiful and based in tradition.  We incorporate contemporary elements.  We are a small and welcoming community. Please come as you are.

Expect to be noticed. Expect people to say something like, “Hi, we haven’t met before, is this your first time?”. Expect for people to reach out to you in love.

We use the Book of Common Prayer as the basis of our worship.  We offer Holy Eucharist Rite I at 8:00AM (spoken word service) and Holy Eucharist Rite II at 10:00 AM (with music).  We offer a variety of traditional and contemporary worship music from the 1982 Hymnal, Lift Every Voice and Sing, Wonder Love and Praise and other resources. 

OUR CORE VALUES

WE WORSHIP
We come together weekly to experience God’s love, to hear the Gospel message, to give thanks through our prayers and songs, and to be renewed through the Holy Eucharist. We nurture our children and youth in the worship of the Church. We invite you to join us for coffee hour after the 8:00AM (in the Memorial Room) or 10:00AM (in the Parish Hall) services.

WE WELCOME & BUILD COMMUNITY
We welcome all who are on a spiritual journey in Christ, no matter where that journey began. We foster strong relationships and communication so all feel at home at St. John’s.

WE PARTNER & GIVE SERVICE
We seek to promote social justice and to partner with other faith-based and community organizations to achieve common goals. We seek to follow Jesus’s call to make a better world through the collective power of faith communities.

WE ARE STEWARDS
We are stewards of this Parish and God’s creation, giving our time and talent to be caretakers of our world and the environment, the congregation, and securing the soundness of the church properties and finances.

WE LEARN & GROW
We are committed to growing spiritually, individually and corporately, to celebrate God’s love, to discern what God has called us to do in the world, and to be a community where we celebrate and learn from our differences and diversity.

 I Am An Episcopalian (from the Episcopal Church Website)

  • As Episcopalians, we are followers of Jesus Christ, our Lord, and we believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

  • The Episcopal Church has members in the United States and the territory of Puerto Rico; and also in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Venezuela, Curacao, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Haiti, Honduras, Micronesia, Taiwan, and the Virgin Islands.

  • We strive to love our neighbors as ourselves and respect the dignity of every person.

  • The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and traces its heritage to the beginnings of Christianity.

  • Our liturgy retains ancient structure and traditions and is celebrated in many languages.

  • Both men and women, including those who are married, are eligible for ordination as deacons, priests and bishops.

  • We believe in amendment of life, the forgiveness of sin, and life everlasting.

  • Lay people exercise a vital role in the governance and ministry of our church.

  • Holy Communion may be all, not just members of the Episcopal Church.

  • We uphold the Bible and worship with the Book of Common Prayer.

  • We affirm that committed relationships are lifelong and monogamous. Episcopalians also recognize that there is grace after divorce and do not deny the sacraments to those who have been divorced.

  • We affirm that issues such as birth control are matters of personal informed conscience.

  • We celebrate our unity in Christ while honoring our differences, always putting the work of love before uniformity of opinion.

  • All are welcome to find a spiritual home in the Episcopal Church.