The next in a series of irregular updates to the parish.
November 18, 2019
First
!
At least 40 people of St. James accepted the invitation to worship at St. Luke’s on Sunday
, and were heartily welcomed, in ways large and small. Whether or not you were part of that experience — whether or not you’re likely to be part of St. James future as a consolidated church — please come to a debriefing conversation: Sunday, November 24. 9:30 a.m. In the Gallery.
Next
! The Consolidation Team (see names below) has developed materials which will shape our consolidation activities over the coming months.
To answer the question, “Why consolidate?”
they say:
To create a path whereby St. James will sustain its mission and create its future — taking to the consolidated parish, not only some of our people, but also some of our ministries, partnerships, traditions, governance and artifacts.
Further, as a basis for discussion about
what consolidation might look like
, the Team has developed descriptions of key areas of life at St. James — including not only what we do now, but also what we’ve done in the past, when our numbers were larger and our parish more vibrant. Topics include: worship, education (children, youth and adults), service, music, finance, governance and property. The Team anticipates a meeting with counterparts from St. Luke’s later this month. What's happening with St. Mary's? Priest & wardens from our church and theirs met recently. St. Mary's vestry will vote at their meeting on 11/26 whether to enter into this discussion with St. James.
Finally
! On Friday, William, Kerry and I
met with ECMN’s Canon Karen Olson
, Missioner for Ministry, whose responsibilities include support for faith communities in transition. Our agenda was two-fold: to (a) bring her up to date on our transition activities and (b) inquire how we can best work with ECMN in the months ahead.
Karen opened the meeting with high praise for St. James’ caring, thoughtful and transparent transition process, saying she often urges others to learn from us. Responding to our questions regarding St. James’ ability to take certain assets into a consolidated arrangement, Karen dismissed the traditional model which would require our petitioning ECMN. Instead, she described her intention to develop a process whereby ECMN Trustees and members of the Standing Committee would work together with St. James and our consolidating partner, with the same spirit of mutuality and transparency as we have practiced internally at St. James. It was a good meeting.
Blessings,
Ruth Anne Olson
Transition Coordinator
