VISION AND VALUES
Vision Statement for Gladwin Heights United Church 2010-2015
Knowing God cares for all creation, following in the footsteps of Jesus, and in the constant presence of the Spirit: we focus our ministry, worship, service and programs on caring for the Earth and all its inhabitants. We understand there to be three avenues of caring within this point of focus – care for the environment, care for people, and care for justice. Therefore …. Striving to live with respect in creation, we will focus on limiting our environmental footprint as a congregation and as individuals. Knowing the impact of environmental issues on the well-being of all God's creatures, we will advocate for the environment in the public forum. Seeking to love and serve others, we will continue to address the practical needs of people, including those who are marginalized. We choose to address these issues in circles expanding and moving from our community to the region and outward to the world. This work of our congregation will continue and extend throughout the 5 year time period of our vision. Endeavouring to seek justice and resist evil, we will educate ourselves as to the causes of marginalization as experienced in poverty, racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression. In years 4 and 5 of our vision period, we will increase our focus through education and action to incorporate addressing systemic injustices. Adopted June 20, 2010
LINKS Seeking Justice for All Creation Messages
We use justice in the context of distributive (economic) justice, and restorative justice.
Recognizing the limited resources of the earth, means equitable sharing of resources in a long-term sustainable manner for all of creation (human, animal, planet and the planet itself). See Micah 6:8; Amos 5:24; Matthew 25:35-36.
Restorative justice implies that where conditions have diminished the means of existence, we will work to restore conditions to a balanced state so all may co-exist.
