Honoring the Beauty and Wisdom
of Every Person.
Mission & Vision
“Called to life together in Christ; practicing the Way.”
The Book of Common Prayer says that the mission of the church is “to restore all people to unity with God and with each other in Christ.”
Following from this statement are some key understandings that are significant for us at St. John’s:
We are oriented toward wholeness: our basic problem is not that we are sinful, selfish, or disobedient. It is that we are separate and incomplete.
The healing restoration we seek is not individual but communal and universal.
Union with God is not a special privilege of extraordinarily-gifted people: it is our destiny no matter who we are.
The spiritual energy of love that brings this within reach has been revealed and entrusted to us in Jesus Christ.
Following Jesus, we practice this Way of love in the place where we are, as the people we are, with the others God has called to life with us.
Because its goal is wholeness, this mission is not confined to a specialized sphere called “religion.” It is incarnated in human life in all its dimensions.
The institutional structures and assets of the church are for the service of the mission, and not the other way around.
Our Tradition
“Hope happens here.”
We envision St. John’s as a place where hope happens. In contrast to escapist, other-worldly versions, we look for realistic hope for the healing and flourishing of human life and the world. We aim to embody in our worship, prayer, social action, and other communal practices, an emergent Christ-centered faith, whose theological freedom, contemplative wisdom, critical discipline, and relational commitment are a creative response to divine love. We are finding this Way in dialogue and companionship: with each other, with the ancestors who continue to shape our tradition, with our interfaith and ecumenical partners, with other hopeful and humane institutions in the community, and our wide and growing circle of allies and friends. This inspires us to collective and personal action to resist the forces of dehumanization and destruction of the Earth, and raise up the prospect of a livable future for all.
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
St. John’s Episcopal Church is a part of a family of congregations in Northern California following Jesus Christ in the Anglican way as part of The Episcopal Church; we are partners with God in God’s mission here and throughout the world. The Mission of The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California is to make disciples, raise up saints and transform communities for Christ in Northern California.
The Russian River Deanery
The Russian River Deanery is a regional association of Episcopal congregations in Lake, Mendocino, and Sonoma Counties collaborating in mission and ministry.