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I am delighted that so many of you were able to join us for our Teaching Eucharist and Annual Meeting. I love being a part of a congregation that is willing to try new things, such as a Teaching Eucharist. If you were not able to join us, our Sunday service contained the usual Eucharist, readings, and prayers, but it also included illuminations (commentary) about why we do what we do. Why are the candles lit before service? Why do we exchange the peace, and what does it mean? If you missed this service, or would like to see it again, you may watch it on our church website (here) or on our Facebook page (here).
Then, after the service, we gathered in Sacquety Hall for a potluck and our annual meeting. Our Senior Warden, Nancy Davies, who just completed her last year on the Vestry and her third as Senior Warden, highlighted various ministries and people who are integral to the success of our parish. Nancy also presented an overview, with pictures, of the wonderful and meaningful events and services that were held over the past year, and highlighted our Outreach activities.
Debbi Campana, our Junior Warden and Chair of the Preschool Board, reminded us that the Preschool is our largest Outreach ministry. Debbi informed us of the Preschool’s financial success during the past year, and highlighted many of the events and gatherings which took place in 2025.
Luke Spak, our Treasurer for the past three years, presented the 2026 budget and emphasized our solid financial performance. Because of your amazing generosity, we were able to shrink our 2025 deficit to less than $9,000 (the actual deficit was $8,433). I am so thankful for all of your gifts this past year (time, talent, and treasure). Our investments performed well, and we also were able to raise additional funds for our Pipe Organ Restoration Project during 2025. We also announced a change in the SCRIP program. We are moving to online only, and gift cards can easily be purchased from the RaiseRight app or website (link) with our code (399F46E634598). See links below for our financial reports and the other presentations.
In my presentation, I highlighted whom we, as a parish, are called to serve (the community, occasional attendees, regular attendees, visitors, ministries, the Vestry and clergy). I also discussed how we serve (gathering, embracing, and sending), throughout our liturgical year. Everything we do is supported by our Vestry and our mission statement: "St. Wilfrid's is a Christian community seeking to know and unconditionally share God's unfailing love."
I thanked our Executive Team, (Nancy Davies, Senior Warden, Debbi Campana, Junior Warden, Luke Spak, Treasurer, and Carol Cherpes, Vestry Clerk) and all of the other Vestry members for their amazing hard work and faithfulness this past year. I also thanked Linda Mendelssohn for blessing our parish with three years of fantastic hospitality, and Steven Nadolny for his several years of faithfully and enthusiastically chairing the Stewardship Committee. I then announced that the new Senior Warden would be Robert Morgan; Leith George is the new Chair of Stewardship; and Stewart Lumb is the new chair of Legacy Circle (which encourages parishioners to consider remembering the parish in their estate planning). I also made an appeal to the parish for a volunteer to lead the Hospitality Committee. If you feel God moving your heart to serve as Hospitality Chair, please reach out to me or our Senior Warden, Robert Morgan (macbethsparks@yahoo.com).
We also celebrated God's answer to our parish prayer, Pray Until Something Happens. Starting in September of last year, we asked for God to bring us five new members to join the congregation. Thankfully, God had already brought us several new folks before September, for which we are also very thankful. It is marvelous to see God bringing so many people to experience God's love, touch, and healing in our community. Our prayers for more than five new members have been answered, and I join you in rejoicing and thanking God for God's goodness and faithfulness.
My presentation also included some encouraging numbers about average Sunday attendance and other service metrics. I feel truly blessed to see God work so mightily in our parish. Once again, all of the slides can be found in the links below in this email.
During the annual meeting, several questions were asked, including these two:
How many baptisms were performed in 2025? We baptized 8 people in 2025 and 7 in 2024.
What is our expense ratio on our investment accounts? Our expense ratio is 1%.
Upcoming Events
Not only do we have many other great events happening in the near future (like Godly Play for Everyone on 2/8, St. Wilfrid's Shares on 2/9, Bunco on 2/11,) but on February 15th we are having a Bake Sale and Ministry Fair! More information for all of these events is below. There is also information about Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, which are just a mere three weeks away!
Lenten Book Study
Speaking of Lent, I am delighted to announce our latest Lenten book study. We will be studying
Why Did Jesus Have to Die? The Meaning of the Crucifixion by Adam Hamilton, on Wednesday evenings beginning February 25, at 6:00pm. More details to come, but the books should be arriving next week.
Many Blessings,
Fr. Nathan Biornstad+
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