From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

As many of you know, I begin sabbatical time next week. We have discovered, living in Tucson, that it tends to be a pretty quiet time generally—almost a three month siesta! Fr Ferguson, the founding rector, would head to San Diego to spend each summer so I suppose it’s something of a tradition.

I head out for this time with a grateful heart for each of you. I’ve been so encouraged by the well wishes and encouragement for this time. It’s been a truly special year, in many ways, as we continue to come out of the pandemic. Whether it was services for All Saints and All Souls that were moving and powerful, Christmas Eve services full of joy and warmth, a deeply poignant Holy Week, a glorious Easter, or the premiere of the gorgeous and long-awaited Esenvalds mass setting—this has been a year where we’ve seen the best of Saint Philip’s in our worship life.

We saw the return of long traditions like the Sunday breakfasts now offered on First Sundays and the awarding of Saint Philip’s medals on Saint Philip’s Day. We saw new initiatives like the Sunday morning Living Word groups, new small groups, and a revamped Animal Faire and Blessing of the Animals.

We have worked diligently on an updated strategic plan that reflects both long-standing needs, as well as the changed environment the pandemic brought. Our Music Commission and Children, Youth, and Family Commission are both now running at full steam. Our Outreach Commission is coming online and beginning to chart a course for the coming year and beyond. Our campus master plan work continues to move ahead and a feasibility study is in the works for the fall and winter. We will have a chance to do the RenewalWorks spirituality inventory again this fall, a process we last did five or so years ago, and it will give us a snapshot of our spiritual vitality and opportunities for growth.

And yes, a photo directory is in the works, too! This is all just a small fraction of what has happened this year and what is on deck for next.

We spent much of the last two weeks planning out the program and formation calendar for the coming year. Its focus is rooted in Fr Ferguson’s dream that this would be a place where we “worship in the holiness of beauty.” Those with a keen eye for the psalms may recognize that this is a bit of a twist on Psalm 96 and its call to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

We’ve always done a bit of both at Saint Philip’s—worshiping amidst much beauty and creating it together in art and music while also seeking the even more beautiful healing, feeding, and care that have been at the heart of our ministry since the beginning.

I want to share a revised mission statement that came out of the strategic planning work this year. Our vision statement, “Gathered in Love, Transformed by Grace, Sent to Serve” is a wonderfully succinct call. The mission statement is designed to flesh that out a bit and give a sense of how we try to do that in a distinctive way at Saint Philip’s in the Hills.

The mission statement is preceded by a short description of our history. It reads:

“From generation to generation, Saint Philip’s has been rooted both in our Anglican tradition and in the Tucson community, giving generously of the resources and gifts we’ve been given, being present in times of need, and helping to found and support churches, schools, hospitals, and more.”

The mission statement reads:

“The mission of Saint Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with creativity and joy across generations by welcoming and serving the wider community.”

All that we do is centered in this basic mission. We serve, sing, pray, worship, grow, and more for the sake of Christ and serve the community with joy in his name and for his love’s sake. That has been central to our history and will be at the heart of our future too. You can read more about the mission, vision, and values that emerged in the strategic planning process at stphilipstucson.org/visionandmission.

All of this is to say that there is much I’m proud of from this year past and even more that I’m excited about in the year to come. Our work has reflected both the best of our history and our hope for the future, too. That’s the beauty of life at Saint Philip’s—it is a dialogue between our history and our future, between us and the Holy Spirit, and between those who are here and those yet to come. That dialogue is a lively, living thing reflected in our history, vision, and mission.

I’ll be praying for you all daily and I hope you’ll do so for us this summer, as well. I look forward to returning ready to follow wherever the Lord is leading us next and ready to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and in the holiness of beauty together again.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Robert