Vision: The Background

In developing a vision statement for the Diocese of New Jersey, the Visioning Committee spent months of preparation, interviewing, listening, thinking, meeting, and planning with people all across the diocese in 2006 and 2009. We conducted 350 interviews and asked questions of lay and clergy.

Question 1
Tell a story about a time when you had a sense of Christian community. How were you touched by the presence of Jesus?

Question 2
Tell about a time that you experienced being formed and supported by the church in living out your Christian identity in daily life.

Question 3
Reflect on a time when you were involved in a church activity that included someone very different from you. What did you value about that experience?

Question 4
Name what you offer to the Church to enable it to be at its best.

Question 5
List what you need from our diocese to enable you to offer your best.

Question 6
Name what you hold of most value about our Church that would help lead us forward.

Question 7
If God gave you three wishes for our church, what would they be?

Question 8
What is the single thing that we need to do in the next five years that would make for the most exciting, creative, and inspiring time ever within the Diocese of New Jersey?

You can read the responses to each question from the laity and the clergy. (Individuals are not identified, so no one's privacy is compromised by making public the full response. )