From the Rector
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last week, I wrote of stories and how to ask ourselves which are ours and true and which are, perhaps, less ours.
Not long ago, I read one of the many stories that comes out about the decline of the Church. Periodically there is some story or another that warns of the death of Christianity or, at least, its terminal decline. We’ve all seen nearly empty churches and cathedrals before. Perhaps we’ve visited churches that seem to have hardly any children at all—churches that seem like monuments to the past.
I’m happy to say that is not our story.
Last summer, our first full summer after COVID, we had an average attendance of 150 on summer Sundays. Of course, even that felt like a huge step forward from the year before when churches were still reeling from the pandemic.
This summer, our average has been hovering just shy of 300. That’s not quite to our pre-COVID summer attendance, but it’s getting there. As our national church offices predict a wave of parish closures across the Church, accelerated by COVID, we are rebounding.
Perhaps you’ve heard the sound of that rebound on Sunday mornings as kids play and pray during services. Last year, we had about 70 kids in our children’s program and this year we’re nearing 100. Our parents’ group has doubled in size in a little over a year. We have new acolytes and choir members and more.
It’s not just in our CYFM programs where we’ve seen growth but new retirees are here too, jumping in to be involved. An example is the Stephen Ministry which has 18 newly trained spiritual companions each of whom has someone with whom they are meeting and growing in faith.
New outreach ministries are in the works, new formation opportunities, and more are underway. We’ll see the Blessing of the Animals and Animal Faire happen on Saturday, October 7, with over 20 vendors and additional community partners like the Humane Society. Volunteers will welcome new folks to the campus and demonstrate our commitment to caring for God’s creation.
Compline resumes tonight, as well, taking worship to new places out in our community. As we prepare to welcome people here, we’re also going out to share that welcome with our neighbors. We have mission trips, choir residencies, pilgrimages, and more on deck, too.
Our commissions are becoming lively hubs of activity and ministry and we’re seeing new lay leaders emerge in each—building upon the incredible legacy we inherit and shepherd here. We’re planning for an incredible year of worship, service, community, and outreach. It all sits on the foundation passed on to us by those who have come before, sustained by those who are here now, and prepared for those not here yet.
Gathered. Transformed. Sent. That’s our story. Like the Church throughout the ages we are gathered by God’s love and with love for our neighbors; transformed by the encounter with Christ in Bread, and Word, and one another; and we are sent to share the Good News of Christ with a joyful heart.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t also mention that, when we had a need earlier this summer, so many of you responded so quickly and generously to help close the budget gap. I can’t say how important that was in ensuring that the growth and progress we’re seeing isn’t undercut. Money is a lagging indicator of parish vitality and I expect that we’ll see that indicator begin to show the same abundance we’re seeing in so many other ways as people settle in and make Saint Philip’s their church home.
As you have for decades, you continue to make this new life possible in so many ways. I can’t thank you all enough for each and every generous act of loving service, faithful giving, and dedicated prayer that is building our future, piece by beautiful piece—story by beautiful story—from generation to generation.
There are few churches where so much is happening and so many signs of life are present. It’s a gift and joy to be here where our story feels fresh and new. It’s a gift to be in a place that feels not like a monument to the past but like a place where living stones are still being formed.
Gathered. Transformed. Sent. That’s our story. Thanks be to God.
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Robert