Dear Friends in Christ—
This coming Sunday will be the best kind of circus in church at the 10:30 service. We have much to celebrate. We’ll be baptizing new members into the body of Christ. Our youth, celebrating the end of the school year, will play key roles in leading our worship. We’ll share in bilingual worship. (There’s no 8:45 service this week.) And we top it all off afterwards with the annual parish picnic.
Grace is growing. Just two years ago, we were still unable to meet indoors for worship. Our budget had contracted, and we thus had a smaller staff. It was unclear when anyone—especially families with unvaccinated children—would feel safe coming back to church.
I want to mark this moment because it shows us not only how much promise our community has, but the particular potential that I see:
- Grace is unusual in the degree of diversity in our congregation—ethnic, linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic, to name a few dimensions. In our society that needs to learn how to live together, we offer not necessarily a model, but a beacon.
- Grace has a commitment to formation at all ages, and especially to welcoming young people—not simply as the church of the future, but as the church of the present. We find a way to express the joy of our life in Christ both in solemn liturgy and in the tender wonder of Godly Play.
- Grace values belonging. Our picnic shows our community at its best. Some of us have bonds that are deep and long-standing. Others are just finding their way into connection. But each person is deeply valued and unconditionally welcomed.
As we celebrate this moment, I hope that this joy will energize us for our future. The vestry is thinking about the road ahead for this parish, and I encourage each of you to do the same. Where do you see new life? And how can you be a part of it?
Yours in Christ,
Anne+