Parish Meeting

Dear Friends in Christ,

A couple of weeks ago I was having lunch with a group of people from different churches in the area. One of the attendees commented on the number of “storefront” churches that were opening up – congregational churches that meet in rented space originally intended for commercial purposes. They remarked that if these small churches got together and combined their resources, they could afford to build themselves a proper church. There may be many reasons why these congregations don’t want to and won’t combine their resources, but setting those aside, I wondered aloud why this individual thought they needed a church building. Surely rented meeting space was sufficient for their needs, and not having a building freed up resources that could be spent on mission and ministry. But, this person responded, Church is the building!

I am sure you all know me well enough by now to know that I don’t agree with that statement. The Church is the people. The building is the place where the people, the Body of Christ, gather to worship and meet. Jesus didn’t tell us to build buildings and hide inside them, he told us to follow him. Jesus came, as one of my seminary classmates once preached, not to start a church but to start a movement. A movement that sent disciples out into the world to heal and reconcile. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

Despite my disagreement with this person’s statement, it did start me wondering about our attachment to our building, and what Saint Anna’s might look like without it. Would it in fact free up precious resources of time, talent, and money for mission and ministry? Or would it leave us adrift and rudderless, with no sense of community, wondering where we belong and what we are doing?

Shortly after I started at Saint Anna’s, the Bishop’s Committee took advantage of a free resource offered by the Episcopal Church that assessed a congregation’s vitality and sustainability based on the answers to certain questions. The report we received didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know in terms of what our strengths and vulnerabilities were, but it did ask questions and offer considerations to help us survive. One of those questions was, do you need your facilities? After some reflection and discussion, the BC agreed that our facilities were a stabilizing factor in our neighborhood and as such defined our mission and ministry.

Over and over, our members have reinforced the idea that it means something that God has placed us on the corner of Marie and E. 13th streets in Antioch. Over and over, our members have confirmed a desire to connect with the community around our church. Over and over, our members have expressed a wish to see our facilities carrying out God’s work every day and not just Sundays. The Vital + Thriving team recently refined our missional challenge to address the question of how we use our facilities to share the Good News of God’s Kingdom. Last Sunday, almost fifty members of our congregation gathered in our parish hall for a mid-year parish meeting for an update of where we are regarding our finances, our facilities, and the Vital and Thriving program. As well as answering your questions and soliciting your feedback, we asked you to prayerfully consider how you can support the mission and ministry of Saint Anna’s, and how help use our building to share the Good News of God in Jesus the Christ. We are still

assimilating and reflecting on the formation you have us. Stay tuned for updates in the coming weeks.

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Jane+