From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

A parishioner wrote to ask me about a few projects that we’ve raised money for this past year.

The first was about the Medical Debt Relief. As many of you know we raised enough money to help around 1,800 families and purchased $4.1 million in outstanding medical debt which we were able to forgive. We can continue to accept donations for another future round but can only submit those funds when we’ve reached a minimum of $10,000.0, which is the smallest “bucket” of debt available for purchase. If folks are interested in doing so we can receive donations you’d like to make and hold them until we reach the threshold amount. This is one of those ways of making a difference that means a huge amount to each family even though we all know the problems with health care and debt are huge. So, this is something of a band-aid for the system even as it is a lifeline for individual families.

The second was about the technology fund. We have raised $12,305.00 so far. You will have noticed the increased sound quality of music and sermons on Sunday mornings and, perhaps, that we now are able to livestream services each day directly to the website. Using funds provided we’ve obtained high quality microphones for choir members to use at home, new computers and software to handle the huge load of a/v processing, and high-quality cameras that enable good recording quality. We also upgraded the Wi-Fi in the church so that live streaming is much more reliable and large files can be quickly shared and uploaded across the campus. 

Our All Souls’ service was live-streamed using the new equipment and let us test a number of things regarding audio quality, low-light video, and more. Our next work, after putting together Christmas Eve services, is to work to adjust the visual settings so that we can record or livestream from the nave of the church. The huge amount of light that comes in from the picture window makes that a tricky space from which to live-stream or record without a lot of blurring and image distortion. There’s always more to be done but this has been a good start. Our initial estimates had been that it would take around $30,000.00 to do the upgrades. Thanks to cost-saving work by Jonathan Sprinkle, Bob Couch, Herb Burton, and Sunny Bal, we have gotten that number down to under $20,000.00. The primary remaining expense is for additional hardware and a second camera so we can cover both the altar area and the choir of the church. If you would like to donate, you can still help offset those costs. Our intent is to continue to stream services even after we resume in-person worship.

The third project is the organ console rebuilding. The original due date for the organ console rebuild was for installation and completion in time for the First Sunday of Advent, however, the virus got in the way. There were components and parts whose completion date was pushed back, and there were times when the organ shop was closed due to business restrictions in MO. The present timeline is for installation in the early part of January. Jeffrey has been using a large digital organ in Oro Valley, as well as a much smaller instrument at his house, on loan to him from a local church. There should be photos coming soon.

I hope these updates give you a sense of the progress being made as the pandemic continues. We are also doing work on maintenance, irrigation, and more right now so that we take advantage of this time. As always there’s a lot going on and if you have questions don’t hesitate to ask! Finally, thank you to the many people who have made all of these projects possible--your generosity, as always, makes a difference to so many in our community and beyond!

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert