After a year of being on the ground listening and learning from our neighbors through the Flourishing Neighborhood Index and embodying the church-wide theme of 2024 of #lovethyneighborhood.
In the year ahead we remain committed to our value community development which moves us beyond the traditional charity model. When we think of community development, we often picture big changes—new buildings, parks, or businesses. Yet community development is also building trusting relationships, sharing life together and creating spaces of belonging.
This is sacred belonging.
Our church-wide theme for 2025 is Sacred Belonging. And to embody sacred belonging means:
Embracing that everyone belongs
Creating space to share stories
Sharing life together and encouraging one another
God does amazing, good work through the voices, gifts, passions and resources among us, bringing flourishing to all.
Aboriginal activist Lilla Watson reminds us:
"If you’ve come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you recognize that your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together."
In 2025, may we live a liberated faith—a faith where we belong fully to God and to one another.
