Sisters and Brothers in Christ

Mention the word "stewardship" around Christians and they think of pledge cards, giving, tithing, or "it's that time of year again?" Stewardship is much more robust than the act of giving money to the church. A steward, according to Webster, is "a person intrusted with the management of the household or estate of another." As the Community of Faith gathered at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin we have been made stewards of one of the estates of God. How shall we manage it?

This past spring we empowered a Long Range Planning Committee to explore various topics of concern at St. Mary's. Among those topics were meeting the needs of our members, the upkeep of our facilities, Christian Education, parish programming, renovation of the Church, and the repair of the organ. After several meetings a preliminary report was issued to the Vestry. It was suggested that three committees be formed: 1. Design Committee, 2. Survey Committee, and 3. Development Committee.

This fall the Vestry, along with other volunteers, are going to make a concerted effort to contact every family associated with The Church of St. Mary the Virgin. This every member canvass is for the purpose of getting in touch with the way you feel this part of God's estate is called to be managed. The Long Range Planning Committee along with the Vestry feel that it is vitally important that we touch the pulse and glimpse the vision from the heart of this parish as we move forward into the 21st century.

The Design Committee will work on ways to renovate the inside of the Church. They will also decide and present to the Vestry a plan for the replacement and restoration of the organ. Part of their work will be to see if there is a way to squeeze more seating out of our Nave.

The Development Committee will begin to explore options for raising the funds needed to complete the plans that the Parish (that's you!) approves at the Annual Meeting in 2001.

If you feel called to be a steward in any of these areas please let me know. As a parish we have some challenging tasks ahead. As good stewards of this estate that God has entrusted to us I have no doubt that this parish family will respond faithfully and energetically to the ministry ahead.

Joel t