Loving God, we gather today to tend to the business of your parish family at St. Thomas'. We ask that you preside over our hearts and minds as we seek to discover what you have in store for us as your Church in the years ahead. Draw near to us and stay close as we ponder the shape of our life together, the facilities we need to nurture our faith that it may grow, and the ways we are called as a parish to take part in your mission of reconciliation. Bless our new leadership we raise up for the coming year. Continue to awaken the Christ within each of us. And so bind us together by your love, that through us hope may spring to life anew where it is now least known. In the name of the One, Loving, and Triune God. Amen.
For the fifth time I have the honor to stand before you as your priest and rector to offer an annual reporting of the state of the communion that binds us together as a parish.
In our Anglican tradition, the highest form of the practice of ordained ministry has long been that of parish priest, tasked with care of Christ's flock. In the ministry of the Word, it's a parish priest's calling to make certain that the voice of the Good Shepherd is both heard and recognized. In the ministry of Sacrament, it's a parish priest who's charged with presiding over the very presence of God in ordinary bread and wine, offered for ordinary people in ordinary time.
Thank you, once again, for giving me the chance to practice my vocation, to follow my calling as parish priest, and in doing so to be with you in all the moments of your lives where human need and divine grace intertwine. In your midst I reclaim ever anew my Bishop's admonition at my ordination to the priesthood " to love and serve the people among whom you work, caring alike for young and old, strong and weak, rich and poor, ... to strengthen them to glorify God in this life and in the life to come." It's in community that we exist as the Body of Christ, and together offer the gifts of prophetic hospitality to our neighbors inside and outside of the Church. None of us has the right to say to the other, "I have no need of you." To the contrary, it's in each other's faces and lives that we're given the chance to discover Christ; in our life together as a parish, each of us can claim and marvel at how much we need, and depend upon, one another.
The Annual Report of the parish each year reminds us, for example, that every time we gather for worship and hospitality, there are approximately 75 persons behind the scenes who get us here! By the time the bell rings to summon us to worship, the lights and heat are working because bills have been paid. We know what hymns to sing because bulletins have been produced, while phones were ringing and doors were being opened. Tim Hagy and the choir have rehearsed, ushers have been scheduled, and worship teams assembled, linens ironed, fresh bread prepared, and flowers arranged. Sweets have been bought and delivered, and Evelyn has made the coffee even as Esteban has followed right behind you the last time you were here to keep things as clean and orderly as possible. Meanwhile, the vestry already has been meeting, planning for tomorrow and the day after that, trying to decide how to keep the buildings open and the budgets in the black, even as you were trying to decide whether to go to church or move directly to brunch today!
Because all of us are doing our parts, our life together as a parish continues to draw more and more people through our doors; and more of you have stayed and have become supportive of our ministries through your financial support as well as your undisputable talents. Since I began as your Rector just more than four years ago, (1) Membership in the parish has increased by 78% to 378, with the number of those who participate regularly in worship and financial support of the parish increasing by 82% to 252. (2) Average Sunday attendance has increased by 40% to 156. (3) The total parish budget has increased by 17% to $509,973. (4) The total amount of financial pledges by parishioners has increased 36% to $312,600 with the average annual pledge increasing 38%. (5) And during a four-year period that saw the U.S. stock market decline by almost 33%, the parish's endowment from the insurance payments following the 1970 fire has retained almost 91% of its value.
These figures, however, are just the numerical indicators of something far more important - a renewed spirit of hope and deepening practices of faithfulness that are taking root in you. In corporate worship, individual spiritual formation, and mission in service to the world around us, new patterns of spiritual maturity and responsiveness to others are emerging at St. Thomas' Parish. Sunday worship regularly features gifted and inspirational preaching, not only by the clergy of the parish, but by other ordained, as well as lay preachers who are regular worshiping members here, as well as visiting bishops, seminary faculty, and other distinguished guests. Our worship is enriched and deepened through the ministry of our director of music, Tim Hagy, who serves as choir director - as organ, piano and harpsichord accompanist and soloist -- and as composer of liturgical music for the congregation. In addition to the 9 and 11 a.m. Sunday services, a regular Sunday evening Taize worship service with music & lay homilies has been added, drawing 20-40 worshipers to this uniquely meditative time of music, silence and Eucharist. And this year we will observe the traditional Saturday evening Easter Vigil-one of the most exquisite liturgies of the Episcopal Church.
Read true stories of success and triumph from some of the countries where we work. You will receive new and featured stories from our partners in the field as they are published.
Elena is a food vendor in the community of Uros-Chulluni, Peru, where the only mode of transportation is by boat. The expense of renting a boat to sell her food limited both her business growth and mobility. Although Elena dreamed of owning her own boat, she had no collateral to secure one.
Through a micro-finance program supported by Episcopal Relief & Development, the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund and the Anglican Diocese of Peru, Elena and her neighbors formed a community bank. She was then able to obtain a small loan without traditional collateral, enabling her to buy her own boat.
Now Elena’s business has expanded to include not only the sale of food, but also handicrafts and candy. She’s thankful to Episcopal Relief & Development for showing her how to improve her income, continue her children’s education and strengthen her family.
Maria, her husband Juan and their five children knew the harmful effects of dirty, contaminated water in their village of Bijagua, Nicaragua. They used to bring the household water for cooking, bathing, drinking and washing in buckets from a stream 10 minutes away from their home — the same stream where cattle roamed.
The children were constantly sick with diarrhea, and getting the water each day was a real burden. “Our daughter spent so much time carrying water, she was falling behind in her school work. We always worried about her walking alone in the dark of the early mornings and evenings. There are poisonous snakes around here,” said Maria.
Episcopal Relief & Development partnered with El Porvenir, an organization that works in Nicaraguan communities to develop water, sanitation and re-forestation projects. The program also provided Maria and her community with education and training on properly maintaining the water system, water hygiene and protecting children and families from preventable, water-related diseases. Instances of water-borne illnesses were also tracked by local health monitors.
Now Bijagua has safe water and residents can stay healthy. “Our daughter is excelling in school now that she doesn’t have to carry buckets of water. And the children don’t have diarrhea anymore,” Maria stated.
