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If you were not In church last Sunday you missed an important moment – the unveiling of St. John’s new Mission Statement.

The beauty of a church mission statement is that it gives direction, energy, and momentum to the parish as it makes decisions about who they are and what their primary task is. A mission statement needs to be short enough to be memorable, visionary enough to excite people, and  specific enough to give clear guidance to the vestry and clergy. It is made for a particular moment in time, and can be replaced by a new one when it no longer sums up the identity or role of the parish.

Mission statements are living words that should help churches discern God’s voice and leading. The vestry adopted our new mission statement at its meeting in July. They created a small group of vestry members to ask deep questions of why God has placed St John’s here and now. 191 years ago God put us in downtown for a purpose. Nearly two centuries later, Montgomery is a very different place, but God still has a call for us to fulfil, and a task for us to perform. So, the vestry and I invite you to get excited, to dream, and to commit to the vision laid before us.

Here it is: St. John’s is a Beacon in the Heart of Montgomery, welcoming all into Christ’s transforming love.

It is short, laser focused, and tells the city and state who we are and why we’re here. It is an outward-looking mission statement. Beacons shine. They can be clearly seen – for many miles. They give comfort and hope. They communicate Good News. They are not like lighthouses, which exist to warn seafarers of dangerous rocks. If you are on a boat, you’re supposed to stay away from lighthouses! If you are on land and you see a beacon you draw close – to warm yourself, to cheer your spirit, to share time with other people, and to celebrate.

When Queen Victoria marked her fiftieth year as monarch, beacons were lit around the UK to express the nation’s joy and unity. More recently when Elizabeth II celebrated her fiftieth, sixtieth, and seventieth years on the throne beacons of celebration were lit on every continent in the world.


Here’s the main point then – we’re here to shine. A light hidden under a bowl is of no use, said Jesus. We exist not for our own sakes but for the sakes of a city and state that need the light and warmth of God’s love. Our task is to shine.


Beacons are biblical. “You”, says Jesus in Matthew 5, “are a light to the nations; a city on a hill cannot be hid.” God has called St John’s and commissioned us with a noble and vital task – to be present in downtown, even as other churches may think about moving to the suburbs, and to shine God’s inclusive, comprehensive, welcoming love to all: to state government workers, business owners and workers, residents, and tourists who come to our great city to learn of its history and celebrate its transformation.


And then, for the many of us who are members of St John’s but live in the suburbs, we take home the light we have received from the beacon - into our neighborhoods, north, south, east, and west. That’s our mission. To shine for Christ in our homes, social circles, and workplaces. This task is never easy and it’s often daunting. We’ll face the inevitable truth that we can’t fulfil our mission perfectly – we’ll always make mistakes, we will often fail, we will sometimes lack the courage to shine. But we’re here for a reason and we will boldly live it out.


Be the Beacon!