Writing a rector’s report to the Annual Vestry can be rather challenging. In it, your priest is to present the year that was: the services, the attendance, the accomplishments, the comings and goings and milestones of our life as a parish. It is also the place where the vision for our future year as a parish is laid out. And when it is delivered in the context of the Eucharist (as is our practice at St. Andrew’s) it would somehow be nice to incorporate the lections of the day. All together it is no small feat (and the challenge is not so much including all of that, but that it is delivered in a reasonable amount of time).
And so – after I compiled the statistics on membership and worship, and summarized the year that was, I looked to today’s readings. And the very first passage was from the Book of Jonah – the book where God has decreed that Ninevah, is to be destroyed, and appoints Jonah to go and preach to them.
And all I could do was laugh.
During this past year, St. Andrew’s felt a lot like Ninevah. Your wardens and I were certain we were on the path to destruction. Not because we were wicked and corrupt (like Ninevah), but because of our circumstances. Like many churches these days, our membership is aging, our income declining, and the building … oh our building … it seemed that every month our Council was looking at another property crisis (from a broken furnace to electrical issues, to a leaking roof, to accessibility, to plumbing, to another leaking roof, to another broken furnace … and the list is even longer than that). And the only vision that we could muster was an orderly walk toward closing the doors.
The Statistics support this:
• Our regular givings are down by seven percent
• We have 117 families and individuals on our roster (very few young families)
• Our average Sunday attendance hovers around 12 at the 8:00 service and 50 at the 10:00 service
• And the fact that once you get inside you have to face a number of stairs (which certainly doesn’t help our attendance)
Last year, following a full consultation with the parish, we entered into discussion with the leadership of St. Stephen Lutheran Church. Our hope was to enter into some sort of partnership with them for ministry and worship and presence in this area. Given that our two denominations have been in full communion since 2001, and our two parishes have been in relationship for over 25 years, this seemed like a natural step to take. A small team from St. Andrew’s (Mary Hutchings, George Pepall, Colleen Rose, and myself) met with a similar group from St. Stephen. We had some good discussions and shared a great deal of information and ideas. Unfortunately – the folks at St. Stephen are not prepared to move forward. A door closed, and we returned to thoughts of “how much longer do we have?”..
We entertained the idea of looking at some sort of shared ministry with another Anglican Church in Kitchener, and were seriously considering entering into discussions with other churches in the area, when the bishop visited us in December. After our service, the bishop met privately with the wardens to discuss our future. And while I do not have first-hand knowledge of that meeting … let me say this: Your wardens walked out of that room with more energy and hope, than I have seen from them in quite some time. When we gather for the business of vestry, they will share the content of that meeting with you … but suffice to say, from that moment on our focus changed .. from closing the doors, to the reality that we will be keeping the Doors Open.
And so – your wardens and I declare the theme of this coming year to be … DOORS OPEN. And in doing so, make our mission and ministry about opening our doors to the community, as well as doing all that we can to make sure that our mission and ministry in this place continues, and is funded. We hope you will fully support this as well.
DOORS OPEN – a realistic endeavour, because our statistics support this too
• Our membership is virtually unchanged from last year
• the lower attendance is easily explained (several members have died, many are no longer able to join us because of physical restrictions, and some have moved)
• And in looking at our lower givings, we learn:
• our members have picked up their support of Outreach and other projects (admirable, and very needed in this area)
• lower attendance unfortunately means Offertory envelopes don’t make it to church either (which bolsters our continued appeal to register for automatic withdrawal of your church offering)
The theme DOORS OPEN is multi-leveled:
• It speaks to our belief that the church is open to everyone who wants to be in relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.
• It speaks to how we use this building as a tool of outreach, support, and gathering (not just for church-groups but for those in need)
• It speaks to how we look at the world around us, and our response to the need and issues of the people we encounter.
• And yes, on that very basic level, it speaks to the reality that we are a parish that is indeed “open for business”, ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
We have commissioned a logo – which will appear in slightly different forms through the coming year. One logo, but altered a bit to suit the place it is being used (bulletin, advertising, website, etc). A logo which clearly proclaims that at St. Andrew’s …. our doors are open.
And if you look at the Doors Open logo, you will see what it is each of us must do to make Doors Open a success. Two letters, one word ……. DO . In this coming year, let us direct our energy and attention on three specific areas as we begin to move forward:
Evangelism
That word is often whispered and treated as a bad word … but it is what we are about. It is what St. Andrew himself was about … inviting others into the circle. Last week we heard Father Jesse preach about how he and his family came to St. Andrew’s, because of an invitation.
• That is the first step in evangelism, and something each of us can easily do – invite someone to come to church. You don’t have to know your bible forwards and backwards, or preach a sermon (we have groups and people who do that already) … all you have to do is extend an invitation (to a friend, a neighbour, a family member — anyone)
• If the day you suggest isn’t convenient, ask again. Invite them to a service, or a social event … just invite them. Because I believe that when they come they will soon see what Jesse and most of us have discovered is the greatest resource St. Andrew’s has … one another. For years we have been known as the most welcoming church in the deanery …. lately we have forgotten that. Joan and Brian Noble used to embrace this as their personal ministry: making sure that everyone who walked through our doors felt welcomed here. We need to resurrect that, and then invite others in to experience it.
Stewardship
One definition says that Stewardship is all that we do after we say “I believe”. Unfortunately we only seem to connect the financial side of things to stewardship, so let’s start there:
• The envelope secretary will deliver her report, and she has very neatly listed them in groups (based on what you give on average per week). Each of us has our own way to determine our givings … some on a percentage, others on a number they have come to on their own. Whatever it is, perhaps you could consider stepping up one level. For example – if you are in the “I give $4-$6 per week”, maybe you could make it your goal to reach the “I give $6-$8 per week” level.
• Your wardens will be offering another special stewardship practice, as a way to bolster our Doors Open campaign.
• But even larger than the Stewardship of our Finances, is the stewardship of our time. Two weeks ago we had “My Ministry” Day, where members showed us what they do with their time outside of this place … and in their offerings we found a tremendous amount of outreach and ministry and mission Let us celebrate the many ways in which our members reach into the community and offer their leadership. How can we support them in those ministries?
• And let us not forget our stewardship of time and self here at the church: Supporting the ongoing work and ministry and mission we provide with both our attendance and our efforts, as well as our invitations to others to join us.
Fund Raising
The key to successful fund-raising is this: Other people’s money. When a church enters into any fund-raising venture it is not trying to get more money from its members (we do that through our own personal stewardship and offerings)
• Last week we began a Wine Club – and are currently making our first order of three scheduled for this year. Our hope is that we will realize over $2,000 through this venture. Initial returns are positive, and we still have some product to sell (and it is looking like a great deal of it will be going to our friends and co-workers who are not members of St. Andrew’s … success!!)
• In response to our Rheo-Thompson Chocolate sales, a number of people (again – folks not connected with our church on a regular basis), have asked if we can sell chocolates at other times in the year. And so today – we begin the Valentines Day campaign.
• There are already plans underway for an Easter-Bake Sale – and you will hear more about that from your wardens, and in the coming weeks.
• The possibilities are endless
The bishop’s visit left us with hope and joy and a vision (although not quite crystal clear, and there are many details to tend to — still we are in a better place than we were last year (even than we were two months ago). I feel much more confident about our future .
As we came away from our vestry meeting last year, many were uncertain about where the conversations with the Lutherans would take us … many expressed a desire not to move, but reluctantly admitted that it just didn’t seem possible.
Today, I can say that it is possible …
it will take a lot of hard work …
and will require that we all take part in this …
We can walk out of this place today, knowing that doors of St. Andrew’s will continue to be open. And that is good, because we are needed here. The folks who continue to come to our door looking for help, need us here. A city that is growing and expanding and is looking at this very area as part of their development, needs us here. And the energy and gifts and wisdom that God has give the members of this parish, can be reach their fulfillment here and now … for the benefit of this community … and for the Glory of God.
Respectfully Submitted
The Reverend Canon Rob Towler
Rector