Hi First Presbyterian Church,

It’s time for our Mid-Week Meet-Up! There was quite a lead-up to the Vision Retreat that happened this past weekend. We spent 20 days praying that God would give wisdom and discernment to the Vision Team. I want to give you a brief update about the result of the retreat.

The Vision Team reviewed the findings from the Discovery Report, which summarized the results from the Transforming Church Insights survey and the conversations our consultant had with the focus groups in June. The Team also looked at a demographic study of the community surrounding our church to try to better understand the people whom God has placed around us. All of this work helped us to answer the questions: What are our strengths and weaknesses right now? Which ministries of the church are going well and which aren’t going so well? And how sustainable is our current ministry structure? Our goal is to leverage our greatest assets and strengths as we embark into our future. 

However, before we can decide where we’re going and how we plan to get there, we have to understand who we are. This is a matter of identity. Let me illustrate what this means. I spend time with the Lord every day in prayer and reading the scriptures, because I am a follower of Jesus Christ. That is what a follower of Christ does. Identity precedes behavior. This is one of the reasons pastors often remind Christians of their baptismal identity: “You are a beloved and pleasing child of God” (Matthew 3:17). If you remember that your identity is as a beloved child of God, you are more likely to do what a beloved child of God might do. Well-known pastor and author Craig Groeschel says, “You do what you do, because of what you think of you.” Identity precedes behavior. 

Our consultant Kevin Ford helped us to begin talking about what our identity at First Presbyterian Church of Pittsford might be. He had us talking about our own most meaningful memories in the church. He had us recounting stories of the “unsung heroes” of the church. He had us talking about what makes FPC different from other churches in positive ways. Our answers to those questions began to generate themes of deeply-felt and inspiring ways that we live as a church. Those themes are beginning to take shape in what might be our “core values” or “essence” - in other words, our identity. 

No decisions were made at the retreat. We will reconvene for a second retreat on October 21 and 22 to continue the work. In the meantime, whenever you’re in a committee meeting, gathering for choir practice, or chatting after worship, I encourage you to share your most meaningful memory at FPC with a member of the Vision Team. In case you need to be reminded who they are, here are their names:

Oliver Ash, Lew Becker, Dianne Brown, Jared Chase, Janis Croop, Dan Harrison, Anne Ferris, Anne Francis, Elizabeth Gianakakis, Paul Irving, Erin Jacobson, Craig Kunkle, Jen Lake, Stacy Leyland, Dawn Magnuson, Luis Martinez, Bob Mecredy, Aaron Neff, Len Parker, Mark Pedersen, Rob Rhodes, Bill Rieth, Paige Thompson, Judith Van Dorn, Andrea Wright

Let’s continue to trust in God to give us grace and wisdom for our present and our future.

Peace to you,                                                    
Pastor Aaron