Pillars of Mosaic Niagara


Quite some time ago, someone asked me the question, “What would you say are the pillars of Mosaic Niagara going to be?”  And to be honest, I didn’t have an answer for this.  But it is something that I have been giving some thought to off and on.  Today, if I were asked a similar question, I think my answer would be something like this.  Mosaic Niagara will be Jesus-centred, welcoming and inclusive, intentionally intercultural, and outward focussed.  I’ll unpack those things a little bit now.

Jesus-centred.  Jesus-centred means that we will keep Jesus at the centre of everything.  Jesus at the centre means that Jesus is not just some figurehead of the church or the Christian life. .    Jesus at the centre means that Jesus is to be followed actively and daily. It means that we understand the world, each other, and the Bible through the lens of Jesus.  When we follow Jesus, it changes our lives.  Jesus is not only our Saviour who saves us and makes it possible for us to have life after we die but Jesus is also the Lord of our lives right now.  He is our leader.  We don’t ignore him because it is hard or inconvenient.  Jesus at the centre means that we are to model our lives after Jesus.  We are to value what Jesus values and love how Jesus loves.

Welcoming & Inclusive.  Welcoming and inclusive means just that.  Everyone is welcome to be part of the faith community as we journey together and that no one is excluded for any reason.  Acceptance and inclusion isn’t based on us agreeing on everything.  It is about unity not uniformity.  You and I might disagree on some issues - maybe strongly disagree - on any number of issues from theology, to lifestyle, to politics but we can still love and respect each other and follow God together.  Everyone is welcome and everyone is included.

Intentionally Intercultural.  We all come from unique cultural contexts and there are wonderful things we can learn from each other.  That is also true when it comes to our spiritual lives.  That is part of the rationale behind the name Mosaic.  As we come together from our unique ethnic backgrounds, faith backgrounds, languages and cultures, it can deepen our understanding of spiritual things.  For example, my background is that much of my family comes from Scotland and there are things from Celtic spirituality that are deeply meaningful.  The city of Welland where we live has a strong francophone Catholic population and there are beautiful things we can learn from that tradition.  Your background might be different than these examples but it is important and valuable and welcome.

Outward focussed.  By outward focussed, I mean that the things that we do and the things we strive to be about as Mosaic Niagara aren’t just about us.  We will always be looking outside of ourselves to the people and the communities around us.  Sometimes the problem with churches or faith communities is that they can become inward focussed.  Sure the doors are open to others showing up to our stuff and joining us for our worship and programs. But if that happens, it is largely accidental.  Mosaic Niagara will be intentionally outward focussed on the physical needs, the spiritual needs, the relational needs etc. of the people around us in our community.  This doesn’t mean that we will only be outward focussed.  We will strive to maintain a balance also between being outward focussed, upward focussed (in our relationship with God) and inward focussed (in our relationships with each other).   

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