This is the vision of the Diocese of Niagara for this diocese and for
St. George’s in the area of a Continuous Culture of Innovation:

To faithfully follow the God of innovation in His mission to the world by making disciples, taking risks, and creating new expressions of church in our diocese.

At St. George’s this element of the vision has highlighted some of the work and ministry that we have already be working on and also in 2011, some new ministries.

2012: Nurturing Inovation

2012 was a year in which we nurtured and grew innovations that we had begun in 2011. In particular our Kid’s Camp PD Days, Baby Talk, and our use of web and social media tools. Like Messy Church, The Spirited Study, and our summer VBS programs, all these innovative ministries are part of our outward looking direction as we seek to reach out into our growing community and proclaim the Good News of Christ.

Kid’s Camp PD Days

Begun in 2011 as a compliment to our successful summer VBS program, we have been able to successfully offer a day program offered on PD or PA days of our local public school board. These days are providing parents with a full day program for their children to attend and an opportunity for St. George’s to reach out and proclaim the gospel message to the children in our community.

Baby Talk

Also begun in 2011, Baby Talk ministry was started by two lay members of St. George’s as an outreach to new mom’s in Georgetown. Baby Talk is connected with the Halton Baby Friendly Initiative. Read more about this ministry here.

An Increased Web and Social Media Presence

St. George’s has been continuously growing and changing it’s online presence for ten years. Our web site is constantly changing to take advantage of the tools and opportunities that the internet offers to help us tell people about our church community and our mission to proclaim Christ. In 2011, we added Facebook pages for Messy Church and the Church, a church Twitter account. We have also continued to improve and expande our use of email to inform and promote our activities to our members.

Ongoing at St. George’s

Messy Church

Messy Church is based on a ministry developed in the UK as part of the “FreshExpressions” movement. We began offering Messy Church, under the direction of The Rev’d Nancy Rowe, in 2008. Messy Church is a way of gathering to worship that encourages people, young in years as well as young in heart, to explore your spiritual journey in an open and interactive way. Read more about Messy Church here.

An Increased Use of Multimedia In Worship

In September 2007, St. George’s began a contemporary style worship at 11:15 am on Sunday and with it the use of projector for our liturgy. In 2009, we upgraded our temporary setup to a permanent installation. This has allowed us to grow and extend the use of this projector system to enhance all our services. Announcements and Sermons now can include images and video to improve our communication and to inspire thought about our gospel teachings.

MORE EVENTS HELD IN THE COMMUNITY

Although it is also mentioned in the PROPHETIC SOCIAL JUSTICE MAKING page, St. George’s has been finding innovative ways to be more present in our community. We are doing this intentionally to be seen being and living a full Christian life in our community. An important part of this has been by having more informal-feeling gatherings in public places, like at a pub on the main street (Spirited Study). We have also staffed a booth at the summer Farmer’s Market to promote St. George’s and our activities.

Return to the Vision homepage

Check out our Diocesan “Continuous Culture of Innovation” website here.

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