Our central values inform everything from guiding children, supporting catechists to creating materials and caregiver resources. We begin with a theological framework recognizing what aspects of God’s values we are asked to embody. We move on from there to ask our selves how we model these values and how do we consistently do this.
Oh – and we are a little over analytical. But that’s one of our strengths.
Hospitality
Latin: hospitalitem (friendliness to guests) from the Proto-Indo-European: ghost-pot (guest-master)
Definition: An environment that is pleasant and favorable for life to thrive, or friendly and welcoming to strangers or guests.
Theologically: in Hebrew hach’na’shat or’chim is core to being a person of God. The invitation in the Passover liturgy says, ” let all who are hungry come and eat.” This invitation is wide and extends to the “other.”
We strive to be truly hospitable to all people. Hospitality is about realizing who’s not in the room and finding ways to help them become welcome. We do this by observing, listening, and asking questions. We recognize that the gospel is larger than our historic comforts, broader than our cultural lens, and more expansive than time itself. We strive to create space where those who are missing from our community can recognize that the Good Shepherd is safe and can find rest for the weary, freedom for the crushed, and the good news to the poor proclaimed.
We want to share what we’ve discovered and learn from those around us how to know better and do better.
Kergymatic
Greek: kērygma (to herald, to proclaim, to preach) from the Proto-Indo-European: kar (to praise)
Theologically: The kerygma is the joyful announcement that Jesus Christ is a living Person to be encountered, who through his Resurrection has defeated sin and death.” Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium
God is always telling the world the story of the love found in God and of God’s deep longing to have the whole world united to the Eternal. An amazing gift is that we are asked to join in God’s unveiling of the Kingdom. We, in thought, word, and deed, herald the emancipation of the world through the gift of Redemption and call humanity to “come see…”
Our Response: This means we must be willing to understand the needs and tendencies of folks around us. How do we take our observations and wonderings and assist children across cultures, disabilities, and socio-economic boundaries to fall in love with the Good Shepherd and seek to “remain in me”? How do we best herald the gospel to children?
Communal
Latin: communis (shared by many) from the Proto-Indo-European: ko-moin-i (general, public)
Definition: The whole group shares something together.
Theologically: In Hebrew kehilla is an integral part of being formed in faith and practice. There is a sense of a group of people experiencing the Everlasting One and being changed by the encounter. Community has three qualities – a way managing conflict that is just, a way to support education, health, and innovation, and place to gather in prayer and the study of God.
Our lives are bound up in each other. Jesus reminds us of that with the continual use of “our” in the Lord’s Prayer. How do we live as children of the Light and as proclaimers of the Kingdom of God. God tells us that the Kingdom is present when God is all in all – that we humans aren’t the only members of community.
The nourishment brought by the Holy Spirit allows for each branch of the vast True Vine to grow and bear much fruit. Shared prayers, solidarity with others, communal worship, sacrament, repentance, and the sharing of meals are all ways to keep our soul’s nourished. These sanctification points require others. Inside community we can imagine beyond our own experiences (anavah), strive for justice among all people (tzedek), share other’s joys and sorrows (rehem), and celebrate God’s Plan for the whole world’.