...Here for You

Dear Marble Family,

As I look back on this year, I am amazed how much change we have experienced personally and as a church. Unfortunately, we do not deal with change well, and yet it is often the very thing we need. It forces us out of the routine of our lives to discover something new. In fact, change stands at the heart of faith. In scripture it says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God — what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Faith asks us to be open to being transformed and becoming something new.

This is just as true for a community of faith as it is for us personally. Our shared faith is calling us to open ourselves to change, and we should be so thankful this is possible. In our history, if Marble had not been open to the transforming presence of God, we would still only have male pastors and would not accept LGBTQ+ persons! Can you imagine?! We would not be the wonderfully diverse and inclusive community Marble has become today unless we had opened ourselves to change and transformation.

God is still calling us to be open to change, but this does not mean we jettison our past. As one congregant put it so poignantly: “We need to look back in order to look forward. We need to take the best of Marble’s history and figure out how that needs to be transformed for this moment.” This is the beauty of the transforming work of God in Christ. It takes all of who we are and uses it to shape us into something new.

As we look back on 2022 and beyond, let us do so with a sense of what has anchored us but also how God is reshaping us and transforming us to reach new generations with a message of hope. And each step of the way, we need to remember God is with and leading us through it all. I cherish the words in Jeremiah, which were written to people who were undergoing tremendous turmoil and upheaval: “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope” (29:11). May we hold onto this hope as we are being transformed.

In Christ,

Dr. Michael Bos Senior Minister

When I wrote to you in early 2022 reflecting on 2021, I thought it was the most extraordinary of years – still in the middle of a global pandemic, slowly creeping back into in-person Worship and programming. But as we would soon discover, 2022 would present significant new challenges for Marble, mostly because of the removal of the financial support from the Collegiate Church Corporation. Marble, and each of the four Collegiate Ministries, have received substantial support from Collegiate for centuries. Now that is gone and we are going to have to fend for ourselves and become self-supporting, a reality shared by most congregations but not historically experienced by Marble.

We put out the call and openly shared our financial reality, the FY21 results and the FY22 budget. And you, the people of Marble, stepped up and responded with support, love and generosity. We have worked to be much more transparent and forthcoming about the financial reality of our church and have set forth a challenge that we can rise to, together. Words cannot express our gratitude for the ways in which you have helped us navigate through this time.

Our congregation is a body – the body of Christ. We have many members and each person who is part of this ministry is valued and important. Healthy congregations are never focused on any one person, or a handful of “power holders.” Healthy congregations recognize the strength that comes from banding together and valuing each member of the body. The power of community is the body of Christ at its best. We have that at Marble, and you are part of this significant reality. Our new tagline is Marble Church …Here for You, and we mean that.

In this report you will see the results of another extraordinary year. Please know of our commitment to keep pressing forward with hope and optimism… positive thinking(!) even amidst the challenges we face. We remain undaunted and hopeful about the future for Marble. I am so glad you are part of it.

Rev. J. Elise Brown, Ph.D., Executive Minister

See, I am doing a new thing! - Isaiah 43:19

We have all done something new in 2022; something more than we have done before. In late October of 2022, Greg Lozier stepped down as Chair of Marble’s Board to focus on his health and I was invited to succeed him. I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve this congregation and this church. I am also firmly aware that I enter this role at a time in which we, the Marble Congregation, are continuing to experience a time of significant transition and transformation; a time in which we continue to process strong emotions over the uncertainties and challenges which change can create.

Change is seldom easy. What makes it better is the act of walking joyfully with one another, in fellowship and in service. In 2022, we walked together into the new thing God has in store for our community. This Annual Report tells that story. It describes a year in which Marble launched its congregant-driven strategic plan and further positioned itself to address our new financial reality responsibly and thoughtfully.

I am joyful because I enter this role of service to you alongside a board of intelligent, dedicated individuals who care passionately for this church and our congregation, and who give generously of their time, talent, and treasure.

I am joyful because I enter this role at a time in which Marble’s ministers and staff are deeply engaged and working to adapt to change with generosity, creativity, positivity, and overall aplomb.

I am joyful most of all because of Marble’s congregation. In 2022 we rose together to meet the needs, opportunities, and challenges of our community and of the world outside our doors.

Thank you, sincerely, for continuing to invest in Marble’s future, and in one another. As Wendell Berry once noted: “There is much good work to be done by every one of us, and we must begin to do it.”

Let the privilege of that work continue.

Matthew Morse, Elder & Board Chair