June 9 – Visioning Sunday
After every service, we’ll have conversations about all of those index cards you filled out at the beginning of the year. We’ll start consolidating our individual answers into a collective identity.

June 12 – Visioning Wednesday
We’ll have conversations about all of those index cards you filled out at the beginning of the year. We’ll start consolidating our individual answers into a collective identity.

July 28 – Visioning Sunday
After every service, we’ll gather to answer the next question in our visioning series. We’ll move one step closer to clarity about God’s call to us as a parish.

July 31 – Visioning Wednesday
We’ll gather to answer the next question in our visioning series. We’ll move one step closer to clarity about God’s call to us as a parish.

August 28 – Visioning Extravaganza
Join us for this intergenerational evening of dinner, conversation, laughter and discernment as we talk about where we are in the visioning process and where we want to go.

Fall Visioning Retreats
Here’s your opportunity to dive a bit deeper into the visioning journey, with time for conversation, prayer, and work towards moving from our individual calls to our corporate call. Each session will be 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Trees:

• Saturdays – Oct. 19, Oct. 26, Nov. 9
• Wednesday – Oct. 30

December 8 – Visioning Sunday
Be the first to see drafts of our vision statements – and give input, reactions, and responses.

December 11 – Visioning Wednesday
See drafts of our vision statements, and give input, reactions, and responses.

February 2, 2025 – Annual Meeting (we’re done!)
Be ready to celebrate our vision statement!

What are we doing? 
We’re undertaking the final phase of St. Philip’s strategic visioning process. As a parish gifted with many resources, there’s so much St. Philip’s could do. Visioning will help us discern what we’re called to do. We’ll answer questions like: Why are we a church together? Who are we? What do we value?

When’s the visioning happening?
We started a bit last year: Our Head • Heart • Hands community visioning dinner explored our passions; we had conversations about our partnership with Urban Ministries of Durham; and then the lightning round of visioning at February’s annual meeting explored how we saw God’s presence at St. Philip’s.

Now it’s time to continue in earnest, so we have a final vision statement by our next annual meeting in early 2025. During the summer and fall of 2024, we’ll have lots of visioning events and opportunities for everyone to lend their voice to the process. We started on June 9 with a Visioning Sunday, followed by Visioning Wednesday on June 12.

Why are we visioning now?
We’re visioning because we want to know who we are now and where we’re going in the future. What do we value? What’s our “why”? Once we get clear together about who we are now, we’ll be able to make decisions from a place of unity and faith. With a unified “why,” we’ll be able to think about the “what” and “how” of the big decisions coming up (like our discernment about The Trees, our UMD partnership, and our interior renovations) – all while being good stewards of our resources.

It feels like we’ve been visioning for a while. Why are we still talking about visioning?
You’re right! We started visioning last year. Remember our Head • Heart • Hands community visioning dinner last year, where we talked all about things we’re engaging with in our community? Then we had Sunday adult forum sessions on “Rich and Poor,” “Wealth, Poverty, Race,” and “Conversations that Count.” Not to mention our lightning visioning session at the annual meeting! 

These things are all still connected to our visioning process. And we haven’t lost any of that information – anything you said at those earlier conversations is being incorporated into our visioning process moving forward. What we’re doing now is gathering up all of those pieces into one cohesive vision for our church.

How long will we be visioning?
We’ll wrap up the visioning process at the end of 2024. And we’ll have a St. Philip’s vision statement by our annual meeting in early 2025.

What will the visioning process look like?
The visioning process will be carefully thought out and structured, with room for flexibility. Starting this summer we’ll have a series of Visioning Sundays and Visioning Wednesdays. During that time we’ll have the opportunity to think about, discuss, and write down answers to questions. We’ll ask more questions, we’ll discuss what we hear, and we’ll take some quiet time for pondering. (If you want to know the whole process, reach out to Senior Warden Rebecca Hix.)

Why is this visioning process going to take so long?
We’re having a lot of conversations in this visioning process, and those take time. Everyone’s voice matters, and we want to be diligent about hearing from everyone. Whether you have been at St. Philip’s since God was a small child, or just got here today – we want to hear what you think we’re called to do. 

We’re taking our time to have these conversations, trusting that our values and beliefs will bubble up to the surface. Visioning is collaborative. Collaboration takes more time, but it leads to better outcomes. Because we’re stronger in community than we ever could be individually.

How does the labyrinth relate to visioning?
Just like a labyrinth, our visioning process will take some twists and turns. It may feel like it’s taking a while… and at some points, we might feel like we can’t see where we’re going! But just like a labyrinth, we can’t get lost. Our process is intentionally structured to build in flexibility and room for everyone’s voice as we discern together who we’re called to be.

What if our values and beliefs don’t coalesce into one unified vision statement? What if we disagree?
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul reminds us that there are many parts to the body. Each of us brings a different part to the whole. It takes all of us – with our many gifts, skills, passions, and calls – to be faithful to the Holy Spirit. We might not all answer the various questions the same, but together we make up the body of Christ – many parts, one body. We’re trusting that this visioning process will show us the ways we all come together. 

How can I participate?
Please join us in person for our Visioning Sundays, Visioning Wednesdays and Visioning Retreats. (Can’t make it in person? We’ll have opportunities for you to weigh in online. Stay tuned.)

Do you really need to hear my voice? 
We sure do! At every single baptism, we not only welcome the newly baptized but also recommit ourselves to being members of the Church. Over a lifetime, each of us pledges, “we will, with God’s help.” We will continue with God in the prayers, in the repenting, in the serving and in respecting dignity. We need everyone’s voice for us to be faithful as a congregation!

Where do I go with questions and concerns? 
If you have questions or concerns at any time, please reach out to Senior Warden Rebecca Hix, Senior Warden, or approach her at church. 

If the visioning process brings up spiritual questions or concerns, you’re not alone. Don’t hesitate to reach out to Maryann or Gabe.