Drawn together by the Holy Spirit Sutton congregation nurtures seeds planted for mission The Rev. Laura Goodwin Holy Spirit, Sutton
W
e think of the gardening experience as a metaphor for the process that brought two parishes together as a single, newly planted church called Holy Spirit. The seed of that new church was planted when the neighboring parishes of St. Andrew’s, North Grafton and St. John’s, Sutton rediscovered one another during the Recasting of Building Assets process which began in 2014. As a result, the two churches prepared the ground for two years by sharing worship, outreach, and vestry leadership. Holy Spirit Episcopal Church began with a vision which emerged from that process. Through vestry discernment, congregant participation, and guidance from the diocese, we came together to create something that would realize our vision of “connecting people to God by sharing The Good News”. On Pentecost 2017, we worshiped as Holy Spirit for the first time with a wonderful celebration at The Community Barn in Grafton. The glorious moment was followed by a great deal of hard work. Difficult conversations and decisions about where we would live and who would provide clerical leadership occupied much of the year that followed. Making those decisions meant saying painful goodbyes to sacred space and beloved clergy. As we grieved those losses, it also became clear
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ABU NDANT TIMES
William Johnston Holy Spirit, Sutton
that we were still two congregations now living in one building. What would bring us together as a single renewed community of faith? Two surprisingly regular church events – a clean-up day and the local Christmas Fair – gave parishioners a chance to work together and begin to break down the us/them barrier. Throughout the ups and downs of the process, Holy Spirit never lost sight of our objectives. In March of 2018, the vestry held a retreat to plan the implementation of our vision statement. We created committees to work specific areas vital to our objectives. We launched a new website, created a logo, purchased new chairs for our sanctuary, and commissioned a new sign to be prominently placed on our front lawn.
In April of 2018, the vestry met with Canon Rich Simpson to explore clergy transition. That fall, we asked Pastor Laura if she would entertain remaining as full-time priest. She accepted our calling and was
installed as the first rector of Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, Sutton, MA. In 2019, recognizing the need to attend to a long overdue project, we completely repaved the church parking lot, including line painting, thus greatly enhancing the “curb appeal” of our church. During the fall, we celebrated the Season of Creation and were very pleasantly surprised to witness a significant increase in regular worship attendance, along with visits from new people. In the midst of tending our vision, the Holy Spirit gave us a gift. New folks started to show up for worship, and many decided to make Holy Spirit Episcopal Church their spiritual home. They brought new energy and perspective to our community. Something new was truly emerging! 2020 started out with great optimism. With a fully engaged congregation and a number of new faces on Sunday mornings, we were looking forward to a vibrant year. Now, we are all looking forward to a better 2021. We imagine a time when we can resume filling our church with folks on Sunday mornings and then enjoy fellowship with our friends over coffee and cookies afterwards. Until then, we will remain committed to serving our congregation and the community in whatever way we can. ♦
