Vitality Practices for
Building Beloved Community
What are Vitality Practices?
The Beloved Community, like the Kingdom of God Jesus references in the gospels, is something we catch glimpses of here and now. As the Episcopal Church in the Bay Area of California, we seek to become the Beloved Community through our five Beloved Community principles: Embodied Justice, Church Vitality, Rooted Spirituality, Transparent and Accountable Leadership, and Inclusive Community. Along with these visioning principles, we have our five VITALITY PRACTICES essential to becoming Beloved Community:
Community Embeddedness/ Collaboration /Diversity/Invitation/Sustainability
See the Vitality Practices below, and click on the links for resources in each area of practice.
Community Embeddedness
Just as Jesus became human and lived among us, we are called to leave our church buildings and work to build a better world locally. Congregations can better engage their local communities by learning the needs of the community and how to better meet those needs — in collaboration with their neighbors.
Collaboration
Collaboration to build the Beloved Community is sharing resources among congregations and working with external agencies that provide services we do not or cannot. Collaboration is embracing God’s generosity in all things and no longer fearing scarcity.
Diversity
The apostle Paul reminds the church in Corinth that our bodies are made up of different parts and that we need each part to function. He compares that to the body of the church and emphasizes that different people have different gifts, and that the church needs them all to function. The church is strengthened when varieties of perspectives are shared and each person’s place in the body of Christ is celebrated.
Invitation
Invitation is not showing hospitality to guests as we receive them, it is sharing with those already in our lives the ways we have seen and known the resurrected Christ, sharing that Good News with them, and saying, “I invite you. . .”
Sustainability
Sustainability takes the long view of how our actions and choices impact not just us, but all those coming after us. We are stewards of the precious gift of creation in and among our own communities.
Meditations on Vitality Practices
These short meditations on the Vitality Practices are perfect for opening meetings of vestries and bishop’s committees, annual meetings, mission and outreach groups, and many more. Each practice contains information to read, questions to explore, and a closing prayer.