Padre’s Ponderings for November 2025

I am thrilled for St. John’s Episcopal Church as we have discerned our mission of actively “practicing inclusivity, justice, and faith in Christ!” Our beautiful parish has an inspiring history with incredible lay and clergy leaders over generations. St. John’s is known for her history as an incubator for innovative outreach and justice-centered ministries.

When I arrived over a year ago, I needed to get to know St. John’s as thoroughly as possible, and we are well on our way to knowing one another. The Vestry and I have worked faithfully and diligently. There are magnificent hearts gathered around the Vestry tables as we seek to do God’s will in our Vestry meetings. I see a Vestry that is engaged with doing the good work of leading St. John’s. Since our February 2025 Vestry Retreat, we’ve been intentional in discerning our values and a new mission as we embark on a new day as St. John’s Episcopal Church.

I pray all of us now know that St. John’s core values are Social Justice, Inclusion, Belonging, and Faithful. Our mission statement is born out of these four core values; our mission is our reason for being—our purpose, if you will. Mission is crucial for me because we can wander all over the place as a faith community, but we need a sense of purpose to unite us. I believe that “Practicing inclusivity, justice, and faith in Christ!” is a solid, stellar, unifying reason for being for St. John’s.

The word “practicing” expresses our desire to live our mission daily. Musicians, athletes, writers, and more don’t practice once and be done with something. No, quality musicians practice their skills daily. Writers sit down every morning with pen and paper or a computer and say “do not disturb.” Furthermore, Vestry believes “practicing” expresses the reality that we aren’t seeking perfection. Our mission statement is unifying and empowering, but we are not, nor will we ever be, perfect. On occasion, we’ll miss the mark. And that is okay. We will make amends as best as possible, learn from our mistakes, and move forward in faith. We will not dwell on past errors, nor will we live in fear of future potholes. We will ground ourselves in the here-and-now presence of Christ in all creation as we commit to practicing with one another.

You’ll hear more from me about the rest of our mission in the months to come. For now, though, I ask you to consider what practicing looks like to you. When have you experienced practice in a healthy, life-giving way? What led to that experience? What sorts of things in life do you practice? Why is it important for you to continue practicing those things?

St. John’s, I’ll see you in the pews and on the streets!

In God’s Grace,

Eric L. Miller+
Rector and Dean