Our Christian faith as expressed in our Vision for St Paul’s is our motivation for all our work. It is to work together to extend Jesus’ model of the Kingdom of God on earth by living out a lifestyle of love, truth, justice, mercy and forgiveness, according to his teaching. We are inspired by the message, life and example of Jesus through which God’s unconditional love for all people is expressed.

Our ethos is given life through our relationships. The way we work together and behave with one another and those we seek to serve demonstrates and authenticates our ethos. It is through these relationships with each other and those whom we seek to serve, that we practise our ethos.

Our ethos or motivation, and therefore our relationships, are rooted in our faith in Jesus Christ and in his love, which compels us to serve others. This faith directs and influences our internal relationships as well as our work with those in the community we seek to serve. Our activities are an outworking of our faith. The link between who we are and what we do cannot be broken.

Integrity

We believe that our mission and purpose – to extend the Kingdom of God on earth – is indissolubly linked with how we operate internally. The values, which we promote for ourselves as an organisation, should be matched by those that we practice when relating to others. The link between who we are and what we do cannot be broken.

Authenticity

This organisation believes that its purpose – to extend the Kingdom of God on earth through our activities – flows out of our desire to work towards the same for ourselves as an organisation. The love and care with which we serve others should be authenticated by the same love and care which we have for each other.

Transparency

We believe that we should be open and transparent about our beliefs and the link between our beliefs and our mission in matters of publicity, fundraising, employment etc.

Accountability

We believe that all we have comes from God and that we should exercise wisdom, integrity and responsibility in using the resources entrusted to us.

United effort

We are committed to maintaining our distinctively Christian ethos by ensuring that Christians are appointed to those positions, which we have agreed, require Christians to fill them.

Diversity

We believe that we have a duty while embracing the values of inclusivity and diversity, to maintain our Christian distinctiveness by recruiting those who are committed to Christ’s teaching about the Kingdom of God.

Servant leadership

We believe in working for the common good, where appropriate through a partnership with other Christian organisations, churches and voluntary and statutory agencies. We seek to encourage, serve and build up other bodies recognising their role within local communities.

Equality

We affirm the God-given value of each person and believe in the equal value of all. We stand for respect and freedom for everyone and tolerance and understanding between people of different opinions.

Discipleship

We believe that as we serve others we learn as much about ourselves and our relationship with God as about the work.

Well-being

We believe that God created people in His image, to be whole human beings and to flourish. We believe that well being should characterise our dealings with staff and volunteers.

Transformation

We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to develop and change, realising their potential and thus making a full contribution to the organisation and society in general. We believe that as we grow and change, not only are we transformed but also the world around us. We believe that everyone is a learner and should be encouraged, supported and challenged to become who s/he can be. Learning who we are in God is as important as learning how to do the job.

Commitment to each other

We believe that a tolerant society is one in which people of different opinions can live together in peace. In working together to deliver the work of the organisation we want to endeavour at all times to trust one another, being patient and forbearing. We should work at paying attention to the way we speak to one another, attempting to listen well, even when it is uncomfortable to do so, being able to confront difficulties carefully and with compassion.

Interdependence

We believe that each person has his or her own part to play and contribution to make to the whole. We believe that every opportunity should be taken to exchange views so that we can improve our understanding of ourselves, of one another and of the work we do.

Community

We believe that a healthy community is one to which people feel that they belong. Within this organisation, we are committed to the same way of life where volunteers and staff experience a sense of belonging to and identify with the organisation. We believe that the successful delivery of our mission happens when people feel they belong and have a role.

All recruitment will be considered on an individual basis and carried out in line with the current legislation.