Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Birth Of A Congregation - What is our mission?


Every church needs a sense of its mission or it will die. There is the biblical statement that without a vision the people will perish. Without a sense of purpose the people will drift or stagnate.

Many mission statements seem contrived, clumsily worded, and while lofty in sentiment, irrelevant to the members, and out of touch with the members more direct experience. A good mission statement should be memorable, meaningful, and relevant. It should be a clear statement of the organization's purpose.

I have been thinking about the mission of the Brockport Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and it seems to me that BUUF should do three things: provide comforting and inspiring worship services, to facilitate the spiritual growth and development of its members and others with whom it comes into contact, and to work towards making the world a better place.

I believe that BUUF can do this because Unitarian Universalists have good values that I whole heartedly believe in. I like associating with kindred spirits, with like minded people. I believe that BUUF and the UUA can make a difference in my life, in the life of my community, and in the world.

So here is my attempt at fashioning a mission statement for BUUF. The mission of the Brockport Unitarian Universalist Fellowship is to provide opportunities to publically acknolwedge and worship the transcendent, to promote the spiritual growth and development of its members and interested friends, and to work for positive social change. This mission statement has the elements in it that are important to me and I can quote it from memory.

What would your mission statement for BUUF and Unitarian Universalism be? Leave a comment or email me at david@davidgmarkham.com

Video lasts 1:52



This is article #9 in a series on Birth Of A Congregation.

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