Who and what are we (St. Paul) being called to be and do now?
Summary Statement (draft)
St. Paul Community Baptist Church (SPCBC) is called to be a prophetic Africentric village that embraces authenticity, facilitates freedom and advocates for justice. SPCBC is called to be a learning village; a ritually-rooted, theologically curious community that unlocks our wholeness through radical connection to our Creator, True Selves, ancestral gifts and visionary possibilities. We are called to embody our witness in the world for wholeness, justice, liberation with institutional integrity. In this village we are called to invite, value and celebrate the contributions of all persons in our village across lines of difference (gender identity, age, (dis)ability, diasporic ethnicity, sexuality, spiritual path, economic status, etc).
What is the best of our legacy that we must carry forward?
Summary Statement (draft)
St. Paul Community Baptist Church (SPCBC) stewards a rich legacy of spiritual, cultural, and community transformation. SPCBC’s legacy of ministry establishes the city as our parish. We show God’s love in action as we advocate and care for the most vulnerable among us. We have accomplished game-changing ministry impact, especially in affordable housing and cultural repair (Maafa). We have curated a spiritual space where people feel fully accepted and welcome, just as they are. With wise stewardship of our capital, financial, cultural, human, and spiritual resources we co-create liberated spaces with and for our people. We follow in the Way of Jesus fully affirming our African cultural and spiritual heritage. This is the basis from which we teach, preach, and practice ministry in community. We are historically committed to being an intergenerational village that honors and integrates leadership from youth and elders alike. We proudly carry forward the best of this legacy.
If we are to be and do what we are called to, what must we let go/leave behind?
Summary Statement (draft)
We are aware that we have often internalized and practiced the very evils that we are called to eradicate. As a faithful and courageous village, we choose to let go and leave behind the limiting ideas, practices and beliefs that keep us from embracing and embodying our God-given calling toward wholeness, authenticity, justice, equity, and liberation. We choose to detox and release Eurocentric and evangelical theologies which reinforce anti-Blackness, individualism, ageism, patriarchy, homophobia, and oppressive hierarchies. In pursuit of our wholeness, we let go of siloed thinking and behavior, recognizing that we are part of a whole village. What happens in one part of the village impacts the whole. As an inclusive village, we reject any fearful theologies or ideologies designed to deny anyone of their full humanity, participation, and leadership in the Beloved Community. Therefore we let go of church systems and structures that create first and second class citizens of this sacred village. We release colonized thinking, practices, structures, and beliefs that no longer serve the future to which our Creator, Ancestors and community have called us.
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