In the spring of 2014, our church embarked on the Vital Ministries Journey (VMJ) process. VMJ is a deliberate approach, using study and reflection of short Bible passages in a small-group setting, to examine who we are as a congregation and what we aspire to be. More than 40 of us participated in the small groups. We then got together for a celebration gathering after church one Sunday, where we shared the perspectives of our individual groups and reflected on what the VMJ process meant to us. The Board and the Deacons then met in a retreat setting where we further shared our findings.
It has always been our intent to continue with the VMJ process as we move forward in our lives together at the Oakton Church of the Brethren. We named a small working group comprising Leslie Connolly, Rob Powell, and Gretchen Zience who were responsible for strategizing what our next steps might be. To that end, this working group has met and has discussed how we should go forward. We decided that we would like to provide our reflections through several installments that we will share in the bulletin and newsletter.
Therefore, this first installment is meant to recap briefly where we’ve been in this journey, as we’ve summarize above. In the future, we’ll talk about what we heard you say about what is important in our lives together. We’ll also reflect on where we want to go in the future and how we think we’ll get there. In the meantime, please feel free to contact any of us if you have questions or comments.
Leslie Connolly, 571-296-7097
Rob Powell, 703-476-1656
Gretchen Zience, 703-244-7190