Our Parish Vision
St. Paul's is a Gospel inspired community seeking to know, love and follow Jesus in serving God's mission.
Gospel
The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God. In the first century Jesus of Nazareth went about preaching and teaching this good news, that the kingdom of God had come (Mark 1:15).
Rooted in the Old Testament prophets, the kingdom of God is the long awaited victory of the God of Israel over evil and the rescue of his people. It means the full and final reign of God over all of his creation, and the peace of his people (see Isaiah 40; 61; Revelation 21:1-4). However, the gospel isn’t just the message of Jesus, it’s also the message about Jesus.
Jesus takes the words of the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1-2) and says that in him these words are fulfilled (Luke 4:16-18). Jesus is God’s anointed one (i.e. Messiah, Christ) in and through whom the “year of the Lord’s favour” has been ushered in for the poor, the prisoners, the blind, the oppressed, and the sinner.
God is with us in the flesh of Jesus Christ. Thus, in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, a sick world is healed, sinners are forgiven, and the poor are vindicated. Christ has promised that he will return at which point the world will be set right (i.e. judged) and the reign of God will be made known fully and finally.
Community
For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’ (Matthew 18, 20)
Christian community is the place of our continuing conversion and sharing a common life in Christ and in the "each other" language of the New Testament: Love one another, forgive each other, regard each other more highly than yourselves. Teach and correct each other, encourage each other, pray for each other, and bear each other’s burdens. Be friends with one another, kind, compassionate, and generous in hospitality. Serve one another and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The community helps us grow, too, as it becomes a workshop for prayer and worship. The New Testament teaches us to pray and to pray for one another (Eph. 6:18, Jas. 5:16). The small community is precisely the place where we can experiment and learn the life of prayer.
A Christian community not only demonstrate God’s love, but carries "the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18) to those around them, bringing God’s compassion and healing power into a broken world.
Mission
The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God. In the first century Jesus of Nazareth went about preaching and teaching this good news, that the kingdom of God had come (Mark 1:15).
As people called by God,
We gather to praise God, listen to him, and respond.
We nurture each other in faith and obedience to Christ.
We love and care for one another as God's people.
We commit ourselves to serve and to tell others about Jesus.
We pursue God's justice and peace in every area of life.