Dear friends in Christ,
At our Forum on September 20, I shared what I heard over the past year of Gatherings and closed with an invitation. The full text of my remarks is linked here, but I want every member of Saint Paul’s to hear the heart of it.
Between now and December, I am inviting all of us into an intentional period of discussion and discernment about our Sunday worship schedule, specifically about the possibility of combining our 9 and 11:15 a.m. liturgies into one principal Sunday service.
Why now? Our nave is large. Spread across two services, we fill well under half of it at each one. It can feel cavernous, and on our livestream, it can look like a dying congregation. That simply isn’t true.
The morning of the Forum we celebrated five baptisms, and the Sunday before, 261 people worshiped across the two services. We are better when we are together, and at our current size we can comfortably gather as one. I am urging us to consider consolidating in order to grow—in numbers and in every other way.
Below are initial dates for prayer and conversation. Kirsten and I will meet with young families, and Kevin, Kelsey, and I will meet with choir members and choir parents—these meetings will be scheduled directly with those involved. If you would simply like to sit down with me, we will find a time. The staff will keep exploring possible models, and the Vestry will be deeply engaged throughout.
This is genuine discernment, and the outcome is not predetermined. The Vestry and I will send you an update in December. Change can be hard, but we have the chance to change from a position of strength. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “Come further up, come further in.” I am grateful to be on this journey with you.
Further Up, Further In Gatherings (All meetings will be held at the church):
- Wednesday, October 14 | 7 p.m.
- Wednesday, October 21 | 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, October 27 | 10 a.m.
- Thursday, November 5 | 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 11 | 6:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, November 18 | 4 p.m.
- Monday, November 23 | 6 p.m.
Every blessing,
The Reverend T.J. Freeman SMMS
Seventeenth Rector
Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church
