All Saints Episcopal Church

All Saints Episcopal Church is a welcoming, inclusive church empowered by the Holy Spirit to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The vision of All Saints is to care for the spiritual wellness of each parishioner, to welcome diversity while fostering mutual respect, and to serve all God's people, through worship, Christian education, outreach, and stewardship. Quite often parish mission and vision statements gather dust in remote corners of the narthex and are, more times than not, tucked away in the far recesses of members' collective memories. Mission and vision statements are not the types of documents we examine with any great interest very often. Do you remember the last time you took a look at our mission statement at All Saints? As it turns out, we try to publish these words of intent any time we get a chance. The two statements can be found on all our publications, even on our letterhead. In effect, mission and vision statements announce who we are and what it is we endeavor to accomplish as Christians in this particular part of the world, given our collective talents and understanding of what God is calling us to do and be in response to the Good News of the Gospel. Mission and vision statements, ours included, give us definition, purpose, and a compass to guide us along the way. Our mission and vision statements are a reflection of who we are and what we believe and what we are doing about it! As it turns out, they continue to be vital statements as we move into uncharted territory in Anglican and Episcopal Church affairs. I believe we know and have known for some time who we are and what we are about regardless of the impending turbulence ahead within and beyond the Episcopal Church in the United States. That is reassuring for me even though, at this time, I have very few answers or even a crystal ball that will divine any outcome well into the future about our parish, our diocese, or our national church. What I plan to do, and what I hope members of the parish will do as well, is to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ here where we have been planted and that we adhere to our mission and vision statements. By this I mean really paying attention to such important and revealing words and phrases as "welcoming, inclusive, empowered ...God's people." There are ongoing events and meetings and conversations that are beyond our control, within and beyond this diocese and well beyond the borders of the Episcopal Church. Let us shape things that are well within our control as we are led by the gift of the Holy Spirit here in our own neighborhood and sphere of influence. I am confident we know ourselves and our role in God's kingdom so that we can go about our worship and ministry trusting in the mercy and power of God in Christ in our lives and in the future of this parish and that of our diocese and national church. I refuse to live in fear. Rather, I live in hope, that in all things we are God's heirs and Christ's fellow-heirs ...separate us from the love of Christ, especially any suffering or pain of this present time. We are a member parish in the Diocese of South Carolina, which in turn is a Diocese within the historic Episcopal Church, USA, which in turn is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the third largest Church in the world. To that I give thanks to God! to top of page ...