Dear People of Christ Church, Mel and I are finally getting settled in our own home in Keyport. We are very grateful to Christ Church for giving us the time to get things in order. This beginning of new ministry, coming as it does during the summer months when things are usually laid back, was supposed to be a quiet time of adjustment. Well, God had other ideas, and a great deal of excitement was generated by the request of the owner of Spice Tree School to rent space in our building to open a child care center and preschool. The Vestry and I have been gathering information so that we would be able to determine how Christ Church would be impacted by the deal. July 30 the Vestry met in a special session to pool the information we had uncovered, and to talk about the comments we have heard thus far from parishion- ers. The goal of this meeting was to create a report for all the parish to see, so that everyone will know what we have learned, and allowing parishioners to contact me and members of the Vestry with additional questions and opinions based on the facts. A short time after that report is published, the Vestry and I will hold an open meeting so that every parishioner will get the chance to talk this over before any vote is taken. There are a great many concerns that impact this decision. Of course we know that the improvements that Spice Tree will make to our building will take some of the burden off the church to do work that has long been overlooked. The rental fee will give some additional resources to the Vestry to use for projects and programs that otherwise could never be considered. On the other hand, we are worried that an agreement to have Spice Tree in our building would push out some of the ministries and activities that are important to Christ Church. At this time, the greatest con- cerns are for Family Promise and the Calico Fair. I have witnessed one rotation of Family Promise. That operation was marred by a power outage that occurred the first night. In attempting to bring relief during the heat spell, the air conditioners caused a large fuse to blow. That forces us to face the fact that this building was put up at a time when the requirements for electrical service were much less than today. Christ Church has a deep commitment to Family Promise. (I discovered that this church piloted the now nationwide movement.) Yet I hear that it is increasingly difficult to find parishion- ers who are willing to work Family Promise. I have only heard about the Calico Fair and the recognition that it brings to Christ Church. Again, I am concerned that the same people will be called upon to bring it to fruition. I don’t know if new leadership and workers will come forth for the next Calico Fair. One concern that I have as Rector of Christ Church is how the families of this community respond to the call to help this church do what we are called to do as followers of Jesus. Since I am new here, I can only ask questions. Are families of Christ Church seriously thinking about how they support this church with their donations? Will a new income source lead people to think that they have less financial responsibility to the mission of this church? Will members step up not only with their checkbook, but also with some of their precious time to support Christ Church in our mission as part of the Kingdom of God? Spice Tree’s request forces us to take a hard look at who we are and what we want to do. Father Don+
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 16:55:13 +0000
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