The board of Eco-Congregation Scotland and representatives of local networks held a workshop on 7th December to draw up new values, vision statements for the organisation. This was run as a facilitated discussion using an external facilitator. The drafts are now available and have been broadly agreed by the board. However, they are keen to get feedback from members and registered congregations before these are finalised. A group of three board members will go through the responses to the consultation and prepare the final version which will be put to our AGM on 29th March.
These are the draft statements which were agreed by the meeting.
Our Values
- We are a faith based organisation
- We focus on local faith communities
- We encourage, support and resource one another
- We have a passion and vision for God’s creation
- We work cooperatively, internally and externally
Vision
A Scotland that cares for God’s creation now and in the future.
Mission
In prayer, worship and dialogue we discover and learn what it means to care for God’s creation.
We put that into action individually, locally and globally to transform ourselves and society to live justly in our vulnerable world.
Notes
“We focus on local faith communities” was an attempt to describe local churches without using language like congregation or local church – which can mean different things to people from different denominations.
Consultation
There are three ways you can comment on this:
- By sending an email to manager@ecocongregationscotland.org
- By sending a letter to Eco-Congregation Scotland, 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN
- By leaving a comment on our online discussion forum here.
Please state in your response if you are a member, registered congregation or an interested individual. All comments will be passed to the group from the board who are drawing up the final version for presentation to the AGM.
Before commenting we would like you to read the following background information which explains why we are doing this and what values, vision and mission are.
Background
This is an excerpt from Strategic planning and exit strategy paper presented to the board by Gordon Hudson in October 2013. It was decided by the board that where this document mentions “board” this should include representatives of local networks too so they were invited to take part.
Strategic planning process
In order to develop the organisation we need a clear vision for the future of the charity and what it will do between 1st April 2015 and 31st March 2018. This means developing a new business plan and a detailed strategy, but before we can do this we need to identify our vision, mission and values.
Member engagement
Doing this will require the board to engage with the membership to identify our values and vision plus determine what our priorities should be for the three years 2015-2017. Methods for an exercise like this might include holding facilitated discussions with member congregations in different geographical areas or undertaking postal surveys. At the very least we will need to include this on the agenda of our 2014 AGM.
Values
Values are beliefs that are shared amongst our principal stakeholders (members, registered congregations and board members). Values are what drive Eco-Congregation Scotland’s culture and priorities and provide a framework in which decisions are made.
As an example, this is the values statement of A Rocha USA:
A Rocha {uh RAW sha} is a Christian conservation organization working in 19 countries on 5 continents to mobilize a response to the ecological crises we face today. Across the globe, people are starving, forests are dwindling and species are going extinct–in part because we have ignored and at times distorted the call to steward the earth. On top of that, an unbelieving world is watching to see what, if anything, Christians will do to care for the planet and the people we claim God created. We have often failed to live out what we say we believe.
In response to these crises and to the biblical mandate to care for that which God created, A Rocha helps restore and protect forests and fields, streams and lakes and the people who live near them and so often depend upon them for their very lives. A Rocha, means “the rock” in Portugal where we began in 1983.
Vision
The outcome of discussions with members and within the board will be a vision statement encapsulating our key values and describes the way in which we want the world to be that we operate in. This is an idealized view but it provides a way of anchoring our business planning processes in our values.
This is the vision statement of A Rocha USA:
Vision: Transformational Engagement
Our vision is the transformation of people and places into healthy communities where all of God’s creation can flourish. In the USA, that vision includes a nationwide network of community-based projects caring for creation.
Mission
A mission statement differs from a vision statement in that it is not idealised or generalised. It defines our fundamental purpose and the specific work we are involved in.
This is the mission statement of A Rocha USA:
Mission: Environmental Stewardship
In response to the biblical call to steward the earth, A Rocha engages in scientific research, community-based conservation projects and environmental education.