Click here to read the Full 2020 Annual Parish Meeting Booklet
Rector’s Report
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
God is faithful and we are blessed! I think that that about sums up the year 2019 here at Church of the Messiah. Having said that, I’d like to take a few minutes to reflect on these two
statements and to point out how they are true for us.
God is faithful. In the Scriptures, God has made us – those who have been baptized into His Name, His faithful Body the Church – a promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that He will be the One to bear fruit in and through us by the working of His Holy Spirit, and so He has done. As I look back over the past year, I see numerous places where Jesus, in all His faithfulness, is at work in this parish through His Holy Spirit giving life; bringing healing, comfort, and peace to weary consciences; bearing fruit; and working faith in all of you. From the conversations that I have with you to the attendance I regularly see at our services and Bible studies to the way that I see us praying for one another and loving one another, all of it is a sign of Jesus’s faithfulness to us to be present among us and bear fruit through us. We cannot take credit for this, and this, of course, is in no way something we deserve, but we have a gracious King and Lord who has called and chosen us and loves us, and, consequently, His faithfulness to us remains unshakeable. For that we owe Him much thanks and praise! And I have no doubt that He will continue to keep and uphold us as a church family in the coming year.
We are blessed. Over the past year, we have seen many blessings here at Church of the Messiah. One of the biggest, of course, was the ending of our debt of $68,000, which the Vestry and I put forward as a goal for us two Annual Meetings ago in 2018. In a matter of roughly 18 months, through your generous giving, creative ideas, and hard work, we managed to eliminate our debt, thereby making us a debt-free church, something that sadly not many churches can claim. But of course, this is just the first step in a larger plan to make ourselves a financially healthy church through generous giving and good stewardship. That’s the goal that we now have before us and it’s what our Vestry will be working on in the coming year.
Beyond this, we have also seen the blessing of new members. Over the course of the past year, we have had several new individuals and families regularly join us for worship on Sunday mornings. About 15 of those people have now asked to officially join Church of the Messiah and I am currently in the process of doing transfers and preparing Catechism classes for those who will join through Reception or Confirmation. It is such a blessing to have all of you new folks join us in worshiping our Lord!
There are, of course, many other blessings that I could name, and I am sure that there are a number you can think of as well, but for interest of space and time I’m going to mention just a few areas where I see blessings abounding in our church. First, we have a thriving Missions and Outreach program that has been very committed to engaging more with our local community and its needs. Second, we have a great group of individuals committed to loving and serving the Riverbend High School students snacks and drinks each Tuesday. I know many students have been blessed by this ministry. Third, we have a very dedicated Vestry who has worked hard this past year to keep us financially solvent, to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us, and to work to bring better overall organization to our common life as a church. I can say that we have had two wardens, Frank Landymore and Al Creel, who have given very graciously of their time and energy to the upkeep and maintenance of our physical plant and the management of our finances. As I said before, we have been very blessed by God this past year, and for that we owe Him all thanks and praise!
Now, this is not to say that we don’t have our challenges to face in the coming year. Much like every other church, we do. The two big ones, of course, are finances and younger members. Being a totally self-sufficient church – we receive no financial support from the Diocese or the Episcopal Church; all our finances come from your giving – we are always reliant on your generosity and faithfulness to keep this church operational, so that we can continue to share the Good News and to love and serve our neighbors. That said, I would encourage all of you to keep up your financial commitments to the church in the coming year. Together, you have pledged more this year than last, which is wonderful news (thank you for that!), and your continued giving should ensure that we are able to keep moving ahead with our calling as a parish. As for younger members, it is important to recognize that we live in a post-Christian culture today. What this means is that fewer young people are interested in church. Many have never grown up in church and have no sense of what church is about, except that they have some vague ideas that tell them it’s just a place of rules and regulations. Of course, that is not the case. The Church is about proclaiming the love and forgiveness of God in Jesus Christ and His Kingdom of grace and mercy. That said, the answer to this difficulty is not to get gimmickier as a church. No, the answer lies in finding ways to get outside our walls and engage with people. As we engage with people and get to know and love other people, then we’ll have genuine opportunities to share the hope that is in us and to invite them to join us at church. Then, when we do invite these new friends to church, it won’t be for “Christianized” versions of what passes for entertainment in the world around us, but for a Gospel message filled with joy and hope, and for a worship service that has deep roots, substance, and history in the liturgical and Christ-centered worship of the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
So, all of this is to say that for 2020, I’d like us, as a church, to think of creative ways to get
outside our walls and engage with our neighbors. What are some different ways that we can love and serve them in Jesus’s name? What are some ways that we can connect with those who are sick, struggling, and hurting? What are some ways that we can share the love of Jesus with our neighbors? I would ask you to please pray about this and think about this through the coming year.
Well, the longer I sit here and write, the more I realize that there are many other things that I
would like to say to you, but let me conclude by thanking you for your love and support for me and for my family, and for your patience and understanding as I serve both you as your pastor and the Fredericksburg Region of our Diocese as its Dean. Even though I have a lot on my plate week-in and week-out, it is always my great joy and privilege to proclaim the Gospel to you and to see God at work in and through you. For that, I give Him all thanks and praise! Amen.