What is Our Vision?

Trying to answer this foundational question, we need to borrow from our Reformed and Presbyterian siblings.  The English and Scottish Reformed and Presbyterian Churches adhere to the Westminster Confession of Faith as well as the Shorter and Larger Catechisms.  The catechists are taught to articulate their Christian faith by learning those texts.  The very first question, which for all intents and purposes serves as the foundation of their understanding of the Christian faith, is this, “What is the chief end of man?”  And the answer is, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever”.  We all understand the importance of giving God glory.  For example, we pray for God’s glory at the end of every service.  Our church building as well as every church in the world was erected for God’s glory and dedicated for His glory.  Jesus taught us to pray, “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory”.

The scriptures teach us that God is jealous for His glory and does not share His glory with other gods and wants us to glorify only Him.  Jesus tells us that our motivation for doing good must be God’s glory.  In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?  It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.  You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven”.  We believe the call, the vocation, and the vision for our life as well as the church is to glorify God.

Now having established this, we want to talk about the “How”.  Someone once said that, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.  We as a church must seek Holy contentment”.  We will teach and emphasize this point.  We need to learn to be fully satisfied with God and strive to glorify Him in everything we do as individuals and as a church, strive to glorify God.  Once our motivation becomes God’s glory, God will move with power to bless and prosper us.  Therefore, instead of doing things merely because they are good deeds or the right things to do, we begin to intentionally and conscientiously work to make the name our God great and important.  The Hebrew word for glory is KAVED which means heavy.  To glorify God is literally making God’s name “heavy”.  If we seek to glorify God our Father, then people will see, will notice our good deeds and glorify our Father.  Church growth and balanced books will all happen as the natural byproduct of us seeking to exult the Lord.

We need to adopt “Glorifying God in Cochrane” as the mission and vision statement for All Saints.  As we continue our work and activities, we prayerfully, conscientiously and deliberately look to God for direction and we are open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.  We need to be active in our prayers and look to God to teach us how we can give glory to His name.  If we seek Him, He will show up and give blessing to our church.

1. Excerpted from a letter to All Saints Parish Council from Rev. Fariborz Khandani, November 26, 2024