|
Grace and peace,
Pressures, both internal and external, often lead us to evaluate if we are on the right course, or to make a course correction. From the simple question, are our ministries serving an important need?; to the larger question of what does it mean to be church in 2026? Unlike the disciples in a storm-tossed boat who longed to hear Jesus proclaim “Quiet! Be still!” and calmed the waters, we can instead look at challenges as an opportunity for re-evaluation.
As we emerged from the pandemic, St. John’s joined with other parishes in the diocesan program Tending Our Soil. This was a deep look at who we are, who are our neighbors, and what ministries exist to fill the needs of our church and our community.
We continue this work and continue to listen to our community to identify needs. We continue to explore who we are as church. We ask what does it mean to be church in 2026?
At the Annual Meeting last year, we asked you to evaluate St. John’s on six traits of a VITAL Congregation. This helpful feedback guided the Vestry in a retreat and then a series of 90-day action plans. The first area of focus that the Vestry chose to address involves the communications of the parish. At the Annual Meeting this Sunday you will hear about this work, and the next steps that we have identified.
As church in 2026 it is important that we wrestle with difficult topics, and that we stay informed through many avenues. The work we do to improve the communications of the parish are important, and the congregation will again be asked to provide input into prioritizing this work.
At the Annual Meeting we will share some of the findings concerning our parish involvement in slavery and racism, and we will discuss some of the next steps that we are considering.
Ultimately, church in 2026 is about next steps and action. We see this in many of our ministries, and we see this in our parish budget. The budget is a moral document, it supports our priorities in ministry. The Annual Meeting is one of the prime opportunities to discuss the budget and to affirm our support for our ministry priorities. It is a time to say – this is important to us, and God willing, we will make it happen.
The Annual Meeting is also a time to celebrate the people, and the ministries of our parish. Church in 2026 is about the people who make the ministries happen, and the people we serve. We are called by Christ in love, to live in truth and action. That is church in 2026, on Sunday at 9am we will celebrate this and all those who make it possible; join us.
Peace
Fr. Henry+
| 
