Faithful People of St. James Church,

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I write to you to announce a major undertaking your parish leadership have decided to pursue. Each fall, as we are planning the parish budget for the following year, we ask for the members of the parish to pledge the amounts they plan to financially contribute toward the work of the church. This year, we are beginning a much more holistic process – a process of discernment that names the present realities of our parish and prayerfully considers where God is calling us. This process will guide more than next year’s budget; it will set the tone and direction of the next few years. This venture is the work of stewardship.

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God has called people to be stewards from the very beginning. In Genesis, we hear God’s call to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to be stewards of their place in that paradise. The opening passages of the holy scriptures remind us that everything comes from God. Throughout the scriptures, we are reminded that we, all of God’s people, have been granted the responsibility of caring for a portion of God’s bounty. Stewardship is the practice of naming what God has placed in our care and faithfully using the resources God has given.

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St. James has seen a lot of change over the last few years. In less than five years, we have weathered a pandemic, undergone a rector transition and brought on a second priest, dealt with numerous capital concerns, added new services, and revamped our ministries to children and youth. We’ve had beloved families move away and we’ve buried 14 dear members of our community. We’ve baptized 18 souls into God’s household, had 11 be confirmed or received into this church, married five couples, welcomed 31 members from other churches into our own, and met many new neighbors along the way. Our parish, as well as our wider community and world, are not the same as they were only a few years ago, so it is important that we engage in this discerning work together and commit to one another in this process of intentional stewardship. 

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This process isn’t likely to be done in only a few weeks. We will move ahead at the pace of prayer as we discern together who God is calling us to be and what God is calling us to do. As we begin, I ask you to prayerfully complete the Pledge & Planning form, and to join us in the stewardship events and surveys announced as we continue in this planning process together. Ultimately, I believe we will see our parish’s work and witness renewed as we listen for and respond to God’s call for us as stewards of this time in the life of St. James Church.

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In Christ,

The Rev. Isaac Petty Pierjok, Rector