From the Rector

Dear Friends in Christ,

Following on my note last week regarding stewardship, a couple of folks have asked me how the parish is doing compared to last year at this time. Here is our latest update.

Last year, after four weeks of the campaign, which we mark as beginning after the stewardship mailer hits homes and two weeks before the Ingathering Sunday on All Saints Sunday (November 5 this year), we had $424,982.00 pledged from 108 pledges. This year, at week four, we have $496,252 pledged from 120 pledges.

I’m grateful to those who have had a chance to pledge already and to those who will yet do so. This past Sunday, I had a chance to talk with our parents’ group which has grown substantially in the last year or so. The main focus of the conversation was stewardship and membership.

Members of the parents’ group have diverse backgrounds. There are a couple of life-long Episcopalians but many more who are coming from other traditions and making their faith home here. People come to the Episcopal Church for a number of reasons and stay for many more. Central to their arrival, whether from another tradition or just from another parish, is a sense of welcome and connection.

That welcome and connection is not always easy in a large place and I’m delighted that it is a reason people are staying.

I had a moment Sunday morning that was deeply moving. I’ve written before about the challenges we faced with our younger son and the school system. It was made clear that he was not welcome because of behavioral difficulties. He would come home from school and run to our backyard, hide under a bench, and cry asking why his teachers didn’t like him.

COVID showed us that he needs a different model for learning than the traditional “memorize and repeat” model that dominates our schooling. His super-active need for movement and stimulation makes sitting still at a desk a form of real torture.

And yet he’s come to love acolyting on Sunday at 7:45am. There are fewer people which makes things a little easier, and since there is no music there is less distraction for him. Every week he asks to acolyte and is upset if there’s any reason he can’t. He takes it seriously and, even though a little squirmy sometimes, sits and follows along with the service even when I can’t sit next to him the whole time.

This past Sunday, as we got to the Lord’s Prayer, I could hear his voice, off to the side of the Altar as he said, “Our Father, who art in Heaven” and asked that God “give us this day our daily bread.”

This is a place where a boy who was broken-hearted because his school didn’t want him is learning to confidently serve and belong. He’s memorizing these prayers that countless generations have said. He’s taking seriously his role as an active participant in worship because he’s taken seriously. He’s finding a place and a way to be still. He’s finding his faith here because he’s found a service—a space—where he belongs.

He’s asked about singing in the choir (like his brother loves to). He loves coming to mid-week services, too.

As I told the parents’ group, this is why Karrie and I pledge here. Because it’s making a life-changing difference in one boy’s life. That’s enough.

Yours in Christ,

—Fr Robert