Objective
To strengthen and grow Saint Ambrose of Woodbury, and position the community well for the next 20 years
We will do this by:
- Articulating and living the mission, vision and purpose of our community in a consistent and meaningful way
- Aligning the look, feel and messaging of the Church, School, ECEC, and Faith Formation better unifying the totality of our community
- Identifying opportunities to increase relevance for future parishioners, while remaining familiar and welcoming to the current Parish family
Letter from Father Peter Williams
September 27, 2020
In 2019, some faithful parishioners approached me with the proposal of walking Saint Ambrose through a branding process that would allow for greater unity among all the members and ministries of our parish community, yield greater clarity of and confidence in our God-given identity, and enkindle aspirations for what we are called to be as a community of missionary disciples, I was initially both impressed and pensive.
On the one hand, I was impressed by the sheer generosity of the offer. That people would step forward to volunteer their time and talents, especially where their life experience intersected with the present need of the church in such a direct and providential way, was inspiring. I was also impressed by the proven and tested plan that they described and laid out for me in detail. And I came away struck that there was no hidden agenda save the good of Saint Ambrose into the future, allowing us to communicate clearly who we are, what we are called to, and where we are going. Indeed, the brand refresh has been guided from beginning to end by the objective of strengthening and growing Saint Ambrose by articulating and living the mission in a consistent and meaningful way, and by aligning the look, feel and messaging of the Church, School, Early Childhood, and Faith Formation.
On the other hand, I was pensive about the need for such a process and whether it could culminate in such a unified and inspiring vision. Some of my initial questions were both theoretical and practical. Does a Catholic parish really need to be concerned about branding? How can such a process be inclusive and transparent? Do we have the resources both personnel and financial to execute? Is it the right timing for our parish? One after another, these questions were answered in different ways and I was given to appreciate the importance of this initiative and the real possibility of it helping us to both solidify what has been and to move forward in faith and without fear.
Twenty years into living the mission as a Catholic community of faith, hope and charity, whereby so much good and generous energy has gone into building (and buildings), it has proved timely to reflect, listen, and recommit. As I prayerfully discerned, in consultation with parish leadership, this seemed like a wonderful and timely opportunity.
I have been so edified and grateful by the “people process” entailed, the quality of engagement and listening, and way in which the Holy Spirit’s creative inspiration has been so clearly at work. People care deeply about this parish! Despite the imperfections and weaknesses that we all have, people have found in Saint Ambrose through the last two decades a spiritual home – a feeling of belonging, a steadying place to be welcomed to again and again, and a community within which one is challenged to grow. We have now arrived at the end of the process, which in turn initiates a new beginning and calls forth a greater responsibility for each of us.
Obviously, in the past six months the world has been shaken by a pandemic and our own nation has experienced very real tensions, and our Saint Ambrose Community is no exception to feeling the effects. Is now the time to really launch forward with enthusiasm and faith? Would it not be more appropriate to circle the wagons and survive the best we can? While I can admit that there was genuine hesitation in my own heart and among the leadership of this initiative, there was nonetheless the peaceful conviction that now more than ever we need hope.
Hope that is received anew as a gift, named as a light for our path, and which focuses our communal life and missionary efforts – this is what we are offered here and now by Jesus Christ. In Jesus we continue to walk in adversity with a sense of our dignity as a people, with the inspiration and strength to serve others with compassion, and with trust that never fails.
In October 2019 we hosted live Facebook event during which we shared the outcome of this tremendous journey. Through brief comments and a short video, we hope everyone experienced this newly articulated vision of Saint Ambrose, bringing to life our values as a community and revealing our new identity through a new logo, visual style and color palette. Together in Jesus, we work to elevate our mission through the lens of our renewed brand.
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Peter Williams
To deep dive into our refreshed Brand Strategy and a high level overview of our visual and verbal identity, please click on the video above. It is about 40 minutes, so if you’d like to jump to specific sections, please forward to:
- Values: 10:20
- Personality traits: 13:45
- Brand Story, Mission, Vision: 17:54
- Visual Identity/Logo: 28:00
- Verbal Identity: 35:10
“We fielded large parish surveys and held workshops with different groups and organizations across the parish and school, collecting input from parishioners, parents and staff. All this information was then analyzed and synthesized to develop the final outputs of this brand refresh project in the authentic language and voice of the Saint Ambrose Community.”
Tara Malley
Our new logo is inspired by our faith and elements unique to our Saint Ambrose environment.
