|
|
|
Click here to view the Futuring
Team's Phase 2 Presentation which was given at our Lunch
and Learn
on Sunday, May 11.
On Sunday, May 25, 2008 the members of
St John's United Church voted unanimously to accept the Phase 2 Report
as follows:
~That the Mission and Vision of the Church remain on its present course
~That St John's proceed to redevelop the total church site, which
would mean demolition of the existing church buildings
~That the new Implementation Team hire a consultant to advise on the
best case scenario for redevelopment of the entire site.
Futuring Team ~ March 2008.
I delight in recalling (and using) Yogi
Berra’s expressions. Yogi was a great New York Yankees baseball
player in the 50s & 60s and notorious for his off-the-cuff expressions.
One I think about from time to time is… “If you don’t
know where you are going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”
The Futuring Team is well on the road to sorting out our church’s
future plans. We have taken the direction provided by you
in the spring of 2007 at the congregational meeting and gone forward
with that. We have also taken the data you provided us at the Lunch
and Learn in mid November of 2007 and we are now zeroing in on where
our emphases should be. We have confirmed that our Mission/Vision
of Outreach & Social Justice; Faith Formation; and Music & Worship
are on line for the future. We know that St. John’s wants to be church
that maintains a “flexible” approach to these theological values.
We will assist the church to remain open and not be strictly aligned
to 2 or 3 “values.”
On the “Bricks and Mortar” side, we have examined the 3 R’s
of Relocate; Retrofit and Redevelop.
-Relocating is difficult, given our mandate to remain
in our current geographical area. We have also explored other buildings
and other churches that might have been available, but are not available
at this time or are in a state of repair and upkeep similar to our
own. There is the option of sharing space, and the team will pursue
that avenue.
-Retrofitting is an option but one that may not prove
to be good stewardship in the long run. We have developed a prioritized
list of retrofitting options that would take years and $$$ to complete.
-Redeveloping in some form makes the best sense.
The Futuring subcommittee that is looking at this option is exploring
a number of alternatives. It is too early to tell which way this will
go, however, we know that parts of our current facility do not lend
themselves to adding-in multi use, shared or rental accommodation.
The solution is yet to be determined.
It is our plan to have a proposal before the congregation
in May 2008. By that time, it is planned to have a Phase
2 Report ready for distribution, discussion and to vote as a congregation
on the recommendations for our future direction. As we have said several
times in the past, this year will be the BIG year for decision making.
As a congregation we will be asked to consider what we need to do
now to ensure we have a St. John’s Church in 25 years.
We need to have a church for the 21st century. As
Yogi once said… “when you come to a fork in the road... take it.”
Brian Jay, Team Leader
|
|
Home
Back to the Top
St. John's United Church 6225 Willow Street Halifax Nova Scotia Canada B3L 1P1
Phone 902 423 8498 Email Us at stjohnsunited@hfx.eastlink.ca
~ A Faith Community Since 1793 ~
You can travel to St John's using Metro Transit Routes #2, 4, 18 and 52.
Click here for the complete bus schedule.
Please contact the webminister with any questions or comments you have about this site.
Staff and Site Credits © St John's United Church 2008
|
|