vision_statement

Vision Statement

As found periodically in Sunday worship bulletins, the Vision states how we at St. Paul see ourselves. This is who we are as a church:

Inspired by the Word of God

And led by the Holy Spirit,

We are servants of Christ and

Disciples of the teachings of Jesus.

We are stewards of God’s will through

Presence, compassion, service and love.

We are proud that St. Paul is a place where God’s love is abundant and alive in the hearts of the people and this community of faith. We welcome anyone who wishes to learn about the word of God, no matter where they are in their faith journey. Like the community around us, we are diverse in our makeup, our theological understanding and our approach to worship. We see ourselves as being open-minded, and willing to explore different theological areas, yet well founded in traditional Presbyterian tenets.

Our Theology

At St. Paul one experiences love and transformation. The love reminds us of the Biblical injunctions from the lips of Jesus according to Gospel of John: “Love one another as I have loved you.” We are reminded as well of the famous words from the first letter of John, “God is love and those who love abide in God and God abides in them.” In worship and fellowship at St. Paul the words and focus on love, respect, and honoring one another can be witnessed. By sharing each other’s concerns and burdens, both formally and informally, God’s love becomes tangible to the members of this body and the members know joy.

God is experienced here as Spirit, close and intimately involved in our lives without judgment or condemnation. The Spirit opens us to each other’s concerns and empowers members to share their burdens for the benefit of peace. Our congregation extends this open acceptance to all that enter our community.

Transformation is another activity of the Spirit at work among our members. “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Growth in faith is appreciated at St. Paul, which means that our congregation opens itself to diverse perspectives and encourages the questioning of beliefs and values. God’s Spirit is trusted. There is willingness to follow the lead of God’s Spirit in the quest for understanding. Therefore, there is not only tolerance expressed of challenging ideas, but a willingness to listen and to grow in the process of considering diverse views and perspectives.

“In life, and in death, we belong to God.” Love, transformation, and humility are marks of St. Paul Presbyterian Church (USA), which reflect our understanding of God and ourselves as God’s people.

Caring

We believe that we are known for our genuine caring within the congregation and loving outreach to the community. Family oriented and friendly, guests are always welcome. They feel the warmth and love of our members. When compared to other churches around us, we think we are more open and accepting of people from different walks of life. Our varied and inviting programs include persons of all ages, gender, culture and education. The church does not have cliques or infighting in which certain members seek to personally influence programs or activities. Lay leadership is strong and supportive of staff and other laity. An outstanding youth ministry gives middle school and high school youth leadership opportunities and encourages children of non-members to worship and study with us.

Activities and Members

Our physical location is not the only attraction for new members. We have developed strong Christian education and member care programs that involve all ages and have tried very hard to meet the needs of the youth, married couples, singles, middle-aged persons and senior citizens. To that end, visitors can almost immediately find a small group activity to nurture them and acquaint them with St. Paul. A strong and varied music program is open to members and children of all ages and skill level. Music is an essential part of St. Paul, with three handbell choirs, and talented adult and youth vocal choirs. As we reach out to visitors, we try to attract people who seek the warmth and accepting nature of this congregation, whatever their religious background. We have no ideal member, except one who seeks deeper understanding of the Word of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Our current membership includes life long Presbyterians and people for whom St. Paul is their first church experience. We have members who were raised or worshiped in non-Presbyterian protestant churches. Some of our members grew up as Catholics, while others still had a varied or intermittent church experience.

St. Paul offers our congregation several outstanding programs of which we are particularly proud. We have three programs for youth between 3^rd and 12^th grades that are in addition to our Sunday morning Christian education programs. Our Christian education programs, especially the Nurturing Faith Program for 3-year-olds through 2^nd grade, are wonderful ways to learn about God, Jesus, and our faith in general. We have a very active middle-school group and a senior high group that is dynamic and enthusiastic in supporting mission and fellowship activities. The middle and senior high youth assist in worship and participate actively in music programs. A Youth Elder and Youth Deacon are elected each year and regularly attend both Boards. The recent congregational survey indicated that the membership wants to continue to support the youth programs in place while at the same time giving the youth a chance to bring new ideas forward.

Potential

We believe that our potential sets us apart from other Presbyterian churches. Our committed and dedicated laity do not hesitate to take on new challenges or try new programs to strengthen our congregation. The spiritual growth that we have seen over the last five years, has enabled lay leadership to flourish and has resulted in a high percentage of worship attendance and participation in all programs. We are a church family, not just people filling a building on Sunday mornings. We understand our needs and do not hesitate to implement the actions necessary to resolve any issue. The Board of Deacons is highly skilled and excels in member care programs. The Session is active, supportive of the Interim Pastor and staff, and in touch with the congregation.

A Time For Growth

When first established, the Presbytery of Denver envisioned St. Paul to become a regional church of 700-1,000 members. That has not happened, as growth in this part of the metro area has resulted in other new Presbyterian churches being established. We have been at the current level of membership for more than seven years. In part, this has been due to lack of physical space. Yet, we have been somewhat reluctant to rush into building expansion. We have been frugal in our finances and have worked hard to pay off the current loan. With little more than a year’s debt left, it is again time to expand. In late 2001, the Session approved formation of a Building Expansion Committee to evaluate and plan the next phase of physical growth.

The specific challenges St. Paul faces as we grow will be in the areas of facilities, namely building expansion, and growing the “big picture” of our church. We must find a way to meet the needs of the expanding congregation, while maintaining the needs and comforts of the current members. With expansion, however, some members fear that we will outgrow our caring and loving closeness. Already, we see two churches, in a sense, with first service and second service members regularly attending their service of preference, with little crossover between the two. This is not a big problem with 260 members, but could become more so with more space and added programs in other parts of a larger building. A recent survey indicated the congregation was fully aware of the stress created by a need to grow. They want to support programs, increase staffing and expand the building while trying to maintain the friendly, warm atmosphere of a smaller church. To serve as a solo pastor of a congregation as dynamic as ours is a challenge. We certainly believe we will need to increase our staffing to give the Called Pastor the resources and support necessary to minister to us. It is our hope to add a Director of Christian Education and a Youth or Associate Pastor in the not-to-distant future to assist in handling these growth challenges. But the staffing changes will be, in part, dictated by financial growth.

The transient nature of the metropolitan Denver area, including Aurora, has provided an ever-changing population. Corporate reorganizations, transfers, downsizing and job loss have resulted in historic turnover rates as high as 25% annually. Although this has slowed over the last year or two, we still lose families as workplace dynamics affect our congregation. With completion of the E-470 toll road and development of the adjacent commercial and residential corridor, we envision further growth in this part of Aurora as well as in our church, over the next 5 years or so. The recent economic recession and competition from other churches in the neighborhood will certainly shape the future of St. Paul during this time. Several of the metropolitan area‘s fastest growing cities are Parker, Centennial, Englewood and Aurora, which are home to most of our members. Of particular note, Aurora is one of the most culturally diverse cities in Colorado. The area’s growth and diversity offer exciting opportunities to St. Paul

Staff and Leadership

Presently, we are blessed with a supportive staff that has integrated well with our Interim Pastor. We are also blessed with many volunteers who willingly take on the roles as leaders and coordinators. We would, however, welcome the involvement of members who have yet to step forward to teach, serve on committees or participate in worship and youth activities. Our Session is active and determined in guiding our success. Our Deacons are a caring and compassionate group who make themselves available at a moment’s notice. Each of these volunteers is willing to take on other responsibilities, as needed, to make new projects or programs successful. The previous pastor helped train persons to step forward without urging to ensure tasks are completed.

Acceptance and Controversy

One strength at St. Paul is our willingness to acknowledge and accept diversity of opinion on issues of faith. We have had a pulpit supply minister openly speak of his/her sexual orientation from the pulpit, which caused members to consider their own comfort level with the subject and which prompted strong discussions between some members of the congregation. We have had a few members leave over the issue of gays and lesbians in the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. We, however continue to invite this minister to serve as pulpit supply. We, therefore, seek a pastor who teaches and preaches from the pulpit in a way to help us understand and deal with different ideas, no matter what the subject.

In Conclusion

We are warm, caring and friendly, and have grown into a strong, supportive family. We attract families who want their youth in activities and are supportive of the variety of Christian education programs we offer. Yet, while we are kid-friendly, we do not forget our older members and offer them many differing opportunities for education, too.

Our blend of progressive and traditional worship experiences is diverse in that we enjoy interpretive dance, drama, youth leadership and humor as part of our worship. In the summer we may move to the lawn or go to a local reservoir park for “Preach at the Beach.” The Celebration Center permits us to rearrange the seating and at times we worship in the round and at other times in an auditorium style arrangement.

We engage in a diversity of studies to address faith issues and to provide our theological instruction. We highly value spiritual development. We work to expand our horizons to see God in new ways through study and meditation. We also explore the very real needs of our members and address death and dying, family issues, men’s and women’s issues, and the issues that arise around us. We recognize the value of and offer Bible studies as well as studies of other religions and how other beliefs engage and challenge our own.

Most of all, we welcome people of all faiths and perspectives, to become part of this church in growth and love.

Again we welcome you and hope that you’ll join us next Sunday for our worship and fellowship.