Vision:
The Community of Hope is a community of faith committed in the Way of Jesus to the struggle for justice, compassion, and life-giving spirituality for all people. Our mission is to witness, in and through our life together, to the good news that the way of God is in our midst.
A More In-depth Look:
As a faith community that interprets the Jewish-Christian scriptures and traditions through the lens of our experience, we seek through our worship, mission and fellowship:
*To respond faithfully to God's unconditional love by living as an intentionally multicultural, inclusive community that seeks, welcomes and values ALL people;
*To act as the living body of Christ in imitation of Jesus by seeking justice, compassion and liberation with and for those whom our society has marginalized;
*To use our resources physically and financially for social change, both locally and globally, in concrete, specific ways through love and justice;
*To practice hospitality by strengthening our connections and commitments to one another as a community of care and support where failures are shared and forgiven, and truth telling liberates us all from the shame of 'secrets'.
*To work towards reconciling gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people with themselves, the church and God.
*To base our life together on prayer, scripture, study, play and work, toward encouraging a deeper affirmation of our human goodness and a greater awareness of our connections to God and to our neighbors through our worship; through telling our stories; through critical study of scripture and faith; through personal and group prayer, and meditation; through discussions of personal integrity and growth; through the unrestrained joy of play; and through the sweat of hard work.
As a non-hierarchical body that values equality and each person's contributions, we commit:
*To provide a vehicle for community participation in decision making;
*To intentionally seek out the gifts and talents of each person, where diversity is affirmed, honored and celebrated.
*To share the responsibilities of community life through our time, our talents and our personal resources.
To honor and support all those who are striving toward 'right relationship' and who choose to live out their partnering in committed and life-giving ways. We choose to conduct 'holy unions' until all are free to legally marry.
As a Community of, and in HOPE, we commit:
*To create an environment for transforming charity into justice;
*To labor in mission where the witness of the Gospel is visible in the midst of our broken humanity;
*To support the understanding that peace and healing come not in the end goal, but in journeying with integrity and mutuality;
*To invest in a hope** grounded in what is just, rather than in how well something is likely to turn out.
**Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense regardless of how it turns out." (V. Havel)
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Living Our Mission and Visioning:
As a more specific Call to Action, we are committed at this time to live out whom we believe God is calling us to be:
1. Through nurturing mutuality and team-oriented relationships within COH:
*following up better with visitors.
*having visitation teams (like homeless meals team) for people in hospital/sick, safe houses, etc.
*having support groups which invite people not necessarily attending COH.
*continuing group activities of all kinds -those focused on both growth and play.
*exploring the possibility of small "family" groups to help support each other.
*being more proactive (less reactive) with each other, listening for who needs a visit, word/note of encouragement /not waiting to be asked.
2. Through continued spiritual growth:
*continuing the variety of worship activities; prayer and meditation; small groups; etc., and continuing to call upon all individuals within the community to share their talents.
*continuing personal study, individually and collectively, especially on the bible and God.
*continuing to share our joys and concerns, and praying for one another.
3. Through outreach and networking with others:
*making ourselves more available to neighbors, elderly people, etc.
*continuing to develop relationships with PFLAG, TMM, etc.
*continuing to make the building available to other groups.
*staying involved in justice and peace issues, being a consistent presence for diversity and justice within Tulsa.
*developing deeper relationships with other faith communities, i.e. Shiloh Baptist, UCC Fellowship, St. Aidens, St. Jerome, etc.
*continuing to work in mission and ministry to others, including for every dollar we spend on ourselves, we spend a dollar on others.
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