November 29,
2017
Dear St.
Stephen’s friends,
As we all know, there has
been so many truly wonderful things happening at St. Stephen’s over the last
few years, and definitely over this past year of 2017.
+ We have seen yet more truly
wonderful people join us.
+ We had the largest group of
people confirmed since 1961.
+ We had two wonderful visits
from Bishop Carol Gallagher.
+ We blessed and dedicated
more stained glass windows, including our Integrity Window, all of which speak
loudly of the great ministries we have done here.
+ There have been many new
improvements to our church building.
+ We had a wildly successful
Capital Campaign.
+ There are many new and
wonderful ministries that are joining our tried and true ministries.
+ People are stepping up the
plate and doing the ministry they have been called to do here.
+ And, most importantly, St.
Stephen’s has continued to be a voice and presence of Christ in the community
and the world as a place of radical inclusiveness and acceptance. We have also
been place for people who are speaking out and standing up against injustice
and inequality in our world.
And our future is looking
great too. We are now in the process of supporting John Anderson as trains to
serve St. Stephen’s in the ordination process that will lead (God willing) to
his ordination as a Deacon. There are new opportunities for ministry and
outreach in the coming year. And there are opportunities coming both in our
diocese, in the larger church and in the community for St. Stephen’s to stand
up and be the voice it has been.
The future is
beautiful and bright for us at St. Stephen’s. So, with all these wonderful
things happening at St. Stephen’s, how do we respond? How do we respond in a
way that will make sure that this incredible momentum continues?
First, reflect
We should take
a few moments and reflect before God about our place at St. Stephen’s. In a
congregation that continues to grow, that continues to be a place that
practices radical hospitality and acceptance, a place that continues to stand
up and speak out and be a voice for justice and inclusion, there are many ways
we can help and participate.
Second, pledge.
All Episcopalians are asked to make a financial pledge based upon a percent of their income.
This kind of giving is, of course, based on the Scriptural and Episcopal Church
standard of what is called the tithe (or ten percent of one’s income). In the
Hebrew Scriptures, the practice of tithing was simply a way of returning to God
ten percent of all that had been received from God. The early Jews believed
that by giving a portion of something away, the remaining part was made holy. This
kind of sacrifice was, and is, a very practical way of dedicating all of life
to God.
(An
Aside: Priest-in-Charge vs. Rector
Your
pledge also helps in making sure your priest (me) keeps working. I do not share
this information very often, and, to be honest, I am uncomfortable doing so
now, but I share this only because many people at St. Stephen’s do not know
this: b but, as your Priest-in-Charge
I am not paid for full-time work (A Rector is a paid full-time priest in charge
of a congregation). I want to stress: I do not share this information to
instill guilt or undue pressure.
I
share this information because we are, as a congregation, close to being to pay
for a full-time Rector at St. Stephen's.
But
I think it is important for the members of St. Stephen’s to know the difference
between a full-time and a part-time priest has much more to do than with just
the priest themselves.
A
part-time priest has the title of Priest-in-Charge.
They are essentially a vicar—a vicarious presence of the Bishop in a
congregation. The Bishop has the power to appoint (in consultation with the
Vestry) a priest to a congregation that has a priest-in-charge; the Bishop also
has the power to reassign or “pull” a priest-in-charge from a congregation (in consultation with the
Vestry).
A Rector however is a full-time priest
who serves at the behest of the congregation. It is the congregation that calls
a Rector (in consultation with the Bishop).
St.
Stephen’s had Rectors serving their congregation until about twenty years ago.
It is very rare for a congregation that once had a Rector and now has a
Priest-in-Charge, to go back to having a Rector. It is quite an accomplishment
on the part of he congregation!
The
fact is: the demands of St. Stephen’s are, at this point, for a full-time
Rector. The day-to-day pastoral needs of a congregation this size are for a
Rector. This is something about which we should rejoice!
Your
pledge helps get us closer to St. Stephen’s having a Rector and for the
congregation to have the ability and opportunity to call a Rector to serve when
one day (hopefully in the far future) I move on.
Third, our
talents.
Each of
us has been blessed by God with various talents. These talents are what make us
unique. Some of us have a gift for music, others for the physical upkeep of
buildings, others for their artistic vision, others for their gift to make
things beautiful, others for teaching. Each of us has something special that we
can share with others here at St. Stephen’s.
Fourth, we are good
stewards by being faithful ministers. Each of us as baptized Christians is
called by God to serve—to serve God and to serve others in love. Ministry here
at St. Stephen’s takes many forms—liturgically (in the worship service),
musically, in outreach and in sharing God’s goodness and love with others in
whatever small ways. Wry should continue to stand up and speak out as we are
called to do. We should continue to be prophets
Finally, our
gratitude
We should give
thanks to God and to each other regularly for the graces we have been granted
to us as a congregation. God has been
good to us at St. Stephen’s. God is here, present in the work we do.
Christ is present in us as we do the
work we have been called to do.
In all these
ways, we show our gratitude for the abundance that God has granted to us here
at St. Stephen’s. In addition, we also share in the on-going and vital ministry
of our congregation.
This Sunday, December 3, we will be
gathering in our pledge cards and our Time-and Talent sheets. Stewardship
Season is the time in which we celebrate the exciting ministries at St.
Stephen’s and consider how we may show our gratitude for the abundance we have
been given.
This
Sunday, please plan on attending the 11:00 celebration of Holy Eucharist, and
please plan to place your pledge card and your Time-and-Talent Sheet in the
offering plate.
As
we head into a new year of ministry, please consider tithing from your monetary
income. But just as seriously consider the ways in which you serve God and
God’s People through the ministry each of us has been called to do here.
Finally,
THANK YOU. Thank you to those
who have already turned in their pledge cards. Thank you to all of you who have
worked so hard and so patiently to make St. Stephen’s what it is.
I
am personally so grateful for each and every one of you as I pray for you by
name through the course of the week in my daily prayers. I sometimes almost
cannot believe that God has been so good to call me to a place where I can
serve alongside a community of people who are committed to God’s love, justice
and service to others. Thank you again and again!
