Dear People of St. James’,
2025 has been a challenging year in so many ways, but it has also been a time that has reaffirmed our need to be together as a people in Christ, walking in hope and perseverance. There are not a lot of multicultural church communities out there with the resilient courage and faithful and inclusive vision for ministry, grounded in a unique history as a Black Episcopal church.
As a congregation, St. James’ has responded to the challenges of this moment over the course of the last year. As a community of faith that seeks to be faithful to the most vulnerable, St. James’ has carried out work together alongside our beloved siblings from the Spanish-speaking community to provide spaces of care and spiritual nurture, and to do the practical things and the advocacy demanded by the times. New work with Huston-Tillotson University students is well underway, and young adult ministries are thriving. We have continued to support Welcome Table’s expansion over this year, and when households in Texas faced greater food scarcity because of economic instability and the SNAP gap, we sought to get as much food as possible into the hands of those in need.
As this year comes to a close, we are more behind than usual in pledge fulfillment and also behind expectations on unpledged income. In managing discretionary fund assistance and just by keeping in touch, we know that unexpected things have happened for a number of our households (storm damage, illness, moving), and that this is a strange economic moment. Over the last quarter, we have pulled back on expenditures so that we might also deal with some unexpected expenses related to storm damage. If you can help St. James’ by paying off your pledge by December 31, 2025, and considering an additional end-of-year gift, you will put us in a stronger position to meet the challenges of 2026.
We go into 2026 rejoicing because God is doing something new and wonderful through the people of St. James’: building a bastion of hope, a space of safety and comfort, and a place where we can write a new story of the people of God. Thank you for being a part of God’s story in this place!
Rev. Eileen
