Annual Meeting

Dear Friends in Christ,

Last Sunday many members of our congregation braved the weather to gather in church for worship and for the annual parish meeting, when we undertake the business of the church that shapes our life together. We prayed together, sang praise to God, listened to God’s sacred word, and broke bread together around God’s holy table. In between those things we approved the minutes from last year, adopted our budget for 2024, elected people to the Bishop’s Committee and delegates to convention, and read and listened to reports about the mission and ministry of our church. Afterwards we gathered in the parish hall for a light breakfast and fellowship.

It is the business of the church that keeps our doors open and allows us to live out our faith in community and for the community and it is as sacred as anything else we do on Sunday. If you were unable to attend and would like to know more, please talk to Rev. Jane or any member of the Bishop’s Committee:

·         Continuing members Jeanne Virgilio, Senior warden; Leslie Bemel, junior warden; Jack Kline; Anne Hannigan.

·         Newly elected members, Mike McKenzie and Kathleen Crisp.

This Sunday the new BC will meet and elect a new junior warden. After two years in the position Leslie is stepping down. Under her watch we have:

·         protected our stained-glass windows and replaced the windows in the parish hall;

·         constructed the Dee Lopez room from the two rooms damaged by a flood in 2021;

·         made numerous repairs to the irrigation, including repairing a major leak under the bricks in the courtyard;

·         repaired the gutters and fascia boards and repainted the whole building;

·         replaced the electrical panel in the education building;

·         repaired the HVAC in both the church and the parish hall;

·         made numerous repairs to the plumbing including replacing the toilet in the bathroom between the church and the parish hall;

·         conducted an insurance inspection and generally made sure our premises are safe and up to standard.

·         Kept the trees surrounding our property professionally trimmed and maintained.

And many other things. Every time there was a problem – a leak, a breakage, a failure of function, Leslie was there to either repair it herself or find someone to do it. I wish to give an enormous thank you to Leslie for all her hard work these past two years, and I hope you will add your thanks to mine when you see her and tell her how much you appreciate her. It is only due to her diligence that our facility weathered the recent storms without any apparent leaks or damage and are in as good a shape as they are.

There is still work to do, and Leslie will be around to help whoever the BC elects as junior warden. If you can help and be part of a team to repair and maintain our buildings and grounds, please speak to me or to Jeanne. As Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Luke 10:2

Rev. Jane+