Annual Meeting

The Rev. Dr. Bill Murray, Rector

We will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Innocents this Sunday, January 26, and have our annual meeting. There is good news and better news to share with our church. Our attendance is up, our baptisms are up, our confirmations are up, our pledges have increased in number and totals, our endowment is up, and our community is growing with young families. The only thing that has been decreasing is the balance on our mortgage. We have had a strong year financially all around with a projected surplus. Perhaps the most surprising and challenging fact is that our online views/attendance double from 2023 to 2024. We had almost 67,000 folks watch all or part of our different service offerings online. That is almost four times as many people as we saw in person last year, 17,595. What does all of this mean?

That is always the challenge of looking back on a year. What does it mean that we see increases in so many areas? What does it mean that we have so many more people watching online? What does it all mean in a world that divides and separates? What does is mean to be a community named after the first martyrs of the faith?

That is the real challenge for all of us. We should celebrate and rejoice at an exceptional year and some incredible results. We should laugh and enjoy the fruits of the labor of so many. And we should be thinking about what it all means. Yes, I think we can say that people are reasonably happy and excited about where we are and where we are going. I think we can say that folks want to grow together and find ways to be a people of prayer and love and peace. I also think that we need to start finding ways to engage this large and growing online community that is unable to be with us physically. The challenge when any church grows is always the same: How do we connect and get to know the new folks with those who have been here longer? How do we build community? How do we grow together, especially when a large percentage may only occasionally cross our threshold? 

I don't have answers to all of those questions. In part because we are finding new ways to be church. And in part because this is the work of the whole community - all of us together. How do we move out of our comfort zones and learn more about each other and ourselves? So many questions we get to explore together! This is what excites me as we gather to celebrate our feast day and review the year past. We do not have all the answers but we are having fun and growing as we ask the questions.

I pray that these results show a church united in love and prayer. I pray that these numbers demonstrate that a message of the love of God is more attractive and beautiful than division and scapegoating. I pray that our church can find ways to be a gospel witness to a world that needs it desperately. I hope to see you all this Sunday as we celebrate Holy Innocents.

Quick Notes

Sunday Formation Hour: Join Us for Learning, Fellowship, and Coffee!

Start your Sunday mornings with coffee, doughnuts, and great conversations in Inglett Hall during our Formation Hour! The next four Sundays offer exciting opportunities to connect, learn, and grow together. Here's what's coming up:

January 26

It’s our Annual Meeting! Come cast your vote for four new Vestry members, hear a positive finance update, and enjoy a presentation from the architects chosen by our Master Plan committee and Vestry.

February 2

Join the conversation about our future! Our architects will host a Master Plan feedback session, gathering input on how our worship and gathering spaces can better serve our ministry needs.



February 9

Embark on an exciting journey through the Book of Acts! Bill will guide us as we delve into the story of the early church, exploring its lessons and inspirations for our faith today. There’s something for everyone—come be part of the conversation and community!

A Snowy Perspective

Renee Stephens, Director of Membership and Children's Ministries

When I was a kid, we lived in Colorado and when it snowed, my parents would shovel the driveway and when I walked outside, the wall of snow that lined the walkway was taller than I was. I vividly remember the fear and trepidation that gripped my every step. It seemed so unsafe to walk out into this, but my parents had bundled me up and were encouraging me to “come out and play.” Now, as I think back to this, I see how perspective makes all the difference. What looked like a snow tunnel of doom to a small child looked entirely different to two grown adults with a lifetime of experience of the magic of playing in the snow.   

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately with the rare snowy weather here these past couple of weeks and I’ve wondered how many other things in my life have I needed a greater perspective on. I have two elementary aged kids and they are full of questions and musings and I love to hear it all. I really do. But it never ends. They always have another question and another thought and another idea and moments of peace and quiet are hard to come by. My mom came to visit one day and she said, “Renee, you’re lucky, you always have someone to talk to you” and it hit me. One day all the incessant questions will end. One day it will be much quieter and what I’ll have left is what I’ve cultivated in my heart and soul. This is the great work that we do every day in addition to all the other tasks of work and school and life. 

Every day, there are things that seem so impending that we boldly step out to face the task, but what if we learned to see things from God’s perspective? That tunnel of snow doom might begin to look like a magical place to play for a few minutes. But this kind of learning doesn’t just happen in an instant. This is why we confess every Sunday that we have fallen short “in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.” The work of loving God and loving our neighbor is never done but we are so lucky in that we have such a great community of people dedicated to the task and dedicated to lifting each other up. This Sunday in worship we will welcome an entire group of new members who have found their home here. Join us as we celebrate our shared belonging in Christ!

DID YOU KNOW...?

Dr. Sean Vogt Director of Music

...that we have an incomplete Mass setting in our hymnal? You may have recognized that the Gloria we sang on Sunday seemed new and, at the same, familiar. That's because it's from "A Community Mass" by Richard Proulx. The Sanctus and Agnus Dei/Fraction Anthem from this Mass setting is in our hymnal; the Gloria, however, is not. I have no idea why the hymnal committee chose to leave it out and make a Mass setting incomplete. 

For the sake of continuity, compositional ideas/fragments, and a similar style, we included the Gloria. Our music licenses give us permission to obtain some music that isn't in our hymnal. So...that's likely why you sort of knew it while at the same time likely wondered, "Have I ever sung this before?" You have and haven't. In Lent, we will sing the "Deutsche Mass" by Franz Schubert. This Mass setting does exist in our hymnal, and we've sung all of it for many years. In the fall, we sang a Mass setting by a Welsh composer. Do you know who it is? Answer in next week's "Did you know?" Hint: our friend, Dr. Paul Mealor, composer to the royal family, studied with this composer who is also from Wales.

Join us for a cherished Holy Innocents tradition—a weekend retreat filled with fellowship, games, singing, and meaningful connection for all ages.

This year’s theme, “Encourage One Another and Build Each Other Up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11), invites us to envision our church’s future as a welcoming, supportive, and faith-filled community. Enjoy deep conversations, shared meals, laughter, and even a local service project.



Our retreat leader, The Rev. Daniel P. Strandlund, brings expertise, humor, and a love for storytelling. Currently rector at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in NC, he combines academic theology with a passion for community building.

Click here to watch last Sunday's service!

Pastoral Notes 

If someone is in the hospital, has died, or has some other pastoral emergency, we hope you will contact our clergy directly. Please call the church office at 410-255-4023 and follow the prompts. This will connect you directly with the clergyperson on call for the week. 

If you have joys to share, new births, grandbabies, graduations, or job announcements, we will gladly share them in our weekly Hi-Lights email if you send a note to communications@holyinnocents.org

Warning about email scammers

When you receive an email from a Holy Innocents staff member, please check if the sender's email address ends with 'holyinnocents.org'. If it does not, it is likely not from us. Unfortunately, some individuals are attempting to scam various church members, posing as clergy and requesting gift cards. We never ask for money in this way. If someone claiming to be Bill, Stewart, Ruth, or another staff member contacts you, please let us know immediately. Report the email, block the sender, and delete the message. If you have any doubts, please give us a call.