Stewardship Letter from our Senior Warden

Dear Saints of St. James’,

In the recent past, and rightfully, our stewardship letters have focused on St. James’ history of work and worship, and on the need to preserve the church so we may continue both for future generations.

Today, as Jack Edmonds pointed out in his letter of a week ago, “This fall of 2023 seems joyful at St. James’ Church.” And as he rightly adds, we have much to be joyful about.

As the last shackles of COVID fall away, we are free to expand our activities and – even more important – look to the future. With our Priest-in-Charge, Father Richard Morgan, we have already begun to attract new worshippers, which allows us to widen our offerings of education as well as service.

As part of the process of discerning our priorities for the future, we commissioned a survey of members to help us all determine what we want in our parish life, and help us plan to achieve it.

In his presentation to the parish last month, Father Morgan distilled the results of the survey and of the parish gatherings into four priorities:

• Make necessary changes to attract families with children and youth.

• Pay attention to the community of St. James’ and build on our strengths.

• Create social and educational opportunities to do life together.

• Continue to build our worship, outreach, and communications ministries.

What do these four points amount to? A blueprint for our future that enables us to continue the celebration of our past, and to extend it to others.

To my mind, 2024 is the year we lay the foundation for generations of tomorrows. Please continue the generosity you have shown in the past to help build on that foundation.

Thank you,

Dick McConnell,

Senior Warden and Stewardship Committee