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Wow!
What a day we had on Sunday.
First of all, there were saints EVERYWHERE! And those were just the ones we could see! For the faithful members of Old Donation literally stretch across centuries, and the cloud of witnesses for this church is ongoing and amazing.
Next up, the women of the Daughters of the King were front and center, rededicating themselves to their mission of daily prayer, service, and evangelism. And how fortunate we are to have such a large and devoted group in our midst! For they faithfully cover us in prayer each and every day, providing us with an ongoing witness to the power of Jesus Christ.
Then, it was time for the offertory, and pledges (along with that day’s financial offerings) were accepted and blessed. Thank you all for your spiritual discipline of giving to the support of Old Donation—we are grateful for the generosity of spirit that is alive and well among our parishioners. Following the offertory, we began the Eucharistic Prayer with the names of the faithful departed from this past year, as well as those newest saints who had been baptized. And since Eucharist means “thanksgiving,” it was a special way to give thanks for these saints in our lives.
And finally, after the 10:30 service, approximately 120 of us took part in the forum in the Great Hall. An easy lunch was served, the children were cared for, and everyone present was welcomed and fed. BJ Taylor, our consultant, presented information and recommendations she drew from her one-on-one conversations with vestry, staff, and search committee members—she has been amazingly dedicated to these meetings and we thank her for her steadfast work and support. I walked us through some background, and then worked through two congregational development models, and I’m open to any questions you might have about those. And if you were unable to attend, you can click HERE for the email sent on Monday. Overall, the meeting felt positive and worthwhile, and we will continue to do the necessary work to bring Old Donation back to the point of health and wholeness.
And what comes next? THE OYSTER ROAST! We need all hands on deck; please consider signing up to help in some way! This will be my first one, and Tom and I are looking forward to it! In the meantime, my thanks to all the saints of Old Donation for your ongoing thoughtfulness and support: it means a lot. This isn’t quite how I envisioned my retirement(!), but I am confident that God will continue to bless us and guide us as we do this work together.
Faithfully,
Mimi+
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