Goals (2020-2025) and Core Values

Goals: 2020-2025

In 2020-2025, Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster is drawn to more intentionally grow together as a congregation in our love of God, neighbor, self and community.

1. By offering individuals, families, small groups, and the gathered community fresh ways to nurture Christian spiritual formation and to consider the Bible from an Anabaptist perspective and integrate it into our daily lives

2. By grappling with inequities in our own communities, seeking real life examples of Jesus’ alternative worldview, and finding partners with whom we can work towards that reality

3. By providing a fun nurturing environment where diverse people can connect around a shared vision and deepen healthy, caring, and mutual intergenerational relationships

Click here for more background information on the 2020-2025 CMCL goals.

We are KNOWN AND LOVED BY GOD – This is the center of our common faith. We speak this reality to each other and we strive to model this love in our world.

We are CALLED TO FOLLOW JESUS – The stories of Jesus orient our worship. Turning toward Jesus “God-with-us” at our center is more important than defining the outer edges. Our participation in the wider Mennonite church and stream of Anabaptist theology informs this call. We respect and learn from people of religious traditions beyond Christianity.

We are NOURISHED THROUGH WORSHIP – We celebrate music and the arts as vital parts of our spiritual practice. We value worship that honors our wrestling, our broken places and our raw edges. Our worship brings wholeness and centeredness to fragmented lives.

We are NOURISHED THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS – We are present to each other in mutual care, not for fixing or problem-solving, but for helping one another remember or discover the wholeness and holiness that God intends for us.

We are NOURISHED THROUGH THE BIBLICAL STORY – We are drawn to stories of Jesus reaching out to the marginal, listening and healing as he moves among them. We strive to understand together what the Bible means for our lives in this time and place.

We are OPEN TO NEW VOICES – We strive to speak and listen across differences in and beyond our congregation. We value cross-cultural experiences and global perspective. We welcome and embrace diversity of sexual orientation at all levels of congregational participation. We recognize challenges of building a racially and economically diverse faith community and strive for reconciliation.

We are OPEN TO NEW DREAMS – We encourage all in our midst to grow and use their gifts, regardless of age, gender or length of time in the congregation.

We are RESPONSIVE TO HUMAN NEED – We want our lives to be more than solely for ourselves. We serve and celebrate our neighborhoods, especially our urban Lancaster context.

We strive to RESPOND WITH JUSTICE, PEACEMAKING AND COMPASSION – We take seriously the church’s call to address issues of social, economic and ecological justice and to challenge oppressive systems in our culture. We proclaim the building of shalom peace and right relationships as the heart of the biblical message.

We are BEING DRAWN INTO A NEW CREATION – We believe that transformation of ourselves and our world is ultimately the work of God’s spirit.