OCTOBER
In This Issue
mission & ministry 3 ecw 4 kidurgy 5 vestry 6 parish life 8 endowment policy update 11
From the Rector Sometimes we lose track of people in our congregation. I am always embarrassed and ashamed when that happens, and yet, at the same time I try to remind myself that I do the best I can. Most of us take it personally if we feel forgotten, and that is understandable. Those of us who try to manage pastoral relationships don’t intend affront, and yet it happens anyway. I’m truly sorry if it’s happened to you. I grew up in a large parish in Pennsylvania – larger than Christ Church. My parents and grandparents were very active, serving in leadership from the warden level on down at one point or another. My grandfather once said to me that parish ministry isn’t all that hard. People in the church only want one thing. The problem, he would go on to add, is that all the hundreds of people in the parish each want and need a different ‘one thing’! Having worked with clergy over many decades of church leadership, he had come to realize that parish clergy are pulled in many different directions at the same time, and are only able to address a certain number of needs at one time and only the ones they know about. Before I go any further, let me state the most important thing I hope all of us will take away from this article: When you want or need a visit from your clergy, call us. One of us will come. There are hundreds of ‘active’ people at Christ Church; more than