A vision for St John’s Elora
St. John’s Elora is a Christian community within the Anglican tradition with a strong history of liturgical worship and choral music.
In a spirit of service, self-giving, and thanksgiving, we offer to the glory of God, ourselves, our souls and bodies, endeavouring to foster a faith in Jesus Christ and facilitate human flourishing. We strive to be a thriving, spiritually nourishing, healthy, welcoming and missional community. Reaching out and reaching in, community engagement, and partnerships are all critical as we build on our past and present strengths. Our ministry together depends on factors such as spiritual authenticity, intellectual integrity, respectful behaviour, the ability to listen attentively, and community hospitality. We move towards the 2030s in a spirit of love with thanksgiving for what we have been given.
The Visioning Process
In January 2021, the Rector launched a Visioning Process to help us discern where we need to invest our time and resources as we think about ministry into the 2030’s. People met in small groups over Zoom to engage in guided conversation to help identify what was important to us through a choice cascade tool.
At a Special Vestry on June 15, 2021, the parish approved the following four areas of ministry to be priorities:
Proclaim the love of Christ: We are being called to foster faith and human flourishing in others by authentically celebrating who we are and what we have done through God’s grace and not to imitate others programming.
Engage and Involve: We are being called to partner with the community and engage broadly through a hybrid of in-person and expanded online programming.
Musical Outreach: We are being called to invest in our music programming to foster faith for people from all geographies, age groups, and those thirsty for spiritual engagement and fulfillment.
Open Doors: We are being called to create a new accessible and welcoming space for all.
“We are being called to proclaim the love of Christ, engage and be involved in our community, use music to foster spiritual engagement and create an accessible welcoming space for all ”
— St John’s Elora Parish