St. Luke & St. Simon Cyrene
Episcopal Church

Vision Statement

The Church of St. Luke & St. Simon Cyrene

January 2006

As members of the Church of St. Luke & St. Simon Cyrene we celebrate our history, especially the coming together of two parishes to form one in 1988. We fervently believe that it is now time, eighteen years later, for us to declare the period of merger to be at an end. We are one parish now, and we are ready to grow, building on the strengths God has given us and embracing God’s call to us to proclaim the Gospel and thrive in this place.

Three biblical images guide us into our future…

• The gift of the transformative power of the Resurrection in our lives.
• The call of God to build a community of faith from every tribe and language and people and nation.
• The vision of the Holy City where justice and peace reign among all people.

And so, given these things, particularly the gift, the call, and the vision of God, we cast this vision for our parish…

1. We envision our parish as a healing place for souls that continues to draw members from throughout the Rochester metropolitan region, but also has a clear sense of mission in the heart of the city.
2. We envision that, as a congregation, we will reach out unconditionally to all and be a caring and nurturing church community, growing our parish in numbers and in spiritual depth, including doubling Sunday attendance by the year 2015.
3. We envision a comprehensive, challenging and flexible on-going program of formation that includes all learners at the various stages of their faith journeys.
4. We envision a place where gifts will be discerned among us on an on-going basis and offered in a spectrum of ministries both of our own and of the community.
5. We envision our parish as a center for urban mission and ministry for the Diocese of Rochester, with special concern for families, parents and children in the city and as advocates for change in our political and economic policies and systems.
6. We envision our parish as an ecumenical and interfaith place of public prayer for our city, a true “house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7).

A Welcome Table...A Healing Place for Souls...A School for Justice

Other Vision Documents

Vision Progress Report 2006 & 2007 Draft Next Steps