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My dear Saint Markans,
Last Sunday a young couple visited the Cathedral for the first time in the hope of finding a church home in which to baptize and raise their daughter. The next day they sent me an email telling me that they had never felt more welcome in a church. I know exactly what they mean. That was also my first Sunday with you, and I had the same experience. That welcome is the heartbeat of this community, and it is also the foundation from which God is calling us into a fuller expression of the life of Christ in the Twin Cities today.
In my reflection last week, I promised you that I don’t arrive with grand visions for life at Saint Mark’s, but instead with a listening heart and an open mind. While that is true, I do see four areas of our common life that invite prayerful attention. I believe we have consensus that these areas need attention, even though we may not yet know the specific changes God is calling us to make. I’ll briefly outline those areas below, and in the coming weeks I’ll give each its own Monday reflection.
1. Prayerful Discernment.
The practice of prayerful listening to the movement of the Holy Spirit is the heart of the spiritual life. We can and should pray for clarity about the fullness of our identity in God, both as individuals and as a community. The formation team and I are developing opportunities for all of us to deepen our practices of prayerful listening, so that we can discern together who God is calling us to be today.
2. Staffing.
We have worked hard over the last few years to live within our means financially. Unfortunately, one of the ways that we have realized a balanced budget is to live beyond our means in our staffing structure. Both our paid and volunteer staff give sacrificially of their time to sustain the life of our community. They give in this way because they love Saint Mark’s. But our staffing structure is untenable. Not only is it unhealthy for our individual staff members to stretch themselves too thinly, but it also gives all of us an unrealistic understanding of our common capacity. We need to prayerfully discern solutions to our staffing structure that allow for a more human way of working while still sufficiently supporting our common life.
3. Finance.
Working toward a more robust financial picture will help to ease the strain on our paid and volunteer staff. Money does not solve every problem, but it can certainly help solve many of them. We know that we need both to raise revenue and to continue to reduce our expenses. To that end your vestry and I are exploring the possibility of a capital campaign. We are also continuing to look for ways to reduce unnecessary expenses without adding to the workload of our staff. I am also excited to begin brainstorming ways that we can live into a more integrated understanding of yearlong stewardship that includes financial giving, volunteering our time, and working for the wellbeing of our neighbors.
4. Cathedral Identity.
Surrounding each of these areas is the ongoing question “What does it mean for us to be a cathedral, and not only a parish community?” Cathedrals have a special place in the life of the Church and offer many opportunities for witness that most parish churches do not. This question is not mine alone. During the search process, the Search Committee and I began to explore the multiple identities inherent in cathedral life. Bishop Loya has also charged us to think and pray more deeply about our role as the Diocesan Cathedral. I believe we are ready for this exploration.
As always, my door is open to you. I look forward to hearing from you about each of these areas of our common life, and to living into the new life the Spirit is calling forth from us.
Your brother in Christ,
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