Dear People of St. James’,
This year, St. James’ celebrates its 80th year of being a people planted in east Austin to serve, to love, to build bridges, and to grow. This is an amazing thing! So many congregations of various faiths and denominations reach the sunset of their existence before they reach 80 years, and yet, here we are – a community of faith continuing to joyfully follow Jesus together.
Over the course of this season of stewardship, we will remember those who planted us: the Founders and all of those early members of St. James’ who desired that there might be a Black Episcopal Church in east Austin. We will remember those leaders who boldly and sacrificially planted the seeds of radical inclusion and hospitality because they believed in the gospel of Love. We will honor those from our Spanish-speaking community who planted the seeds of community engagement with immigrants and refugees because they believed in the gospel of Love. We will rejoice that, in spite of the pandemic, we have continued to be one people, a strange and unexpected people miraculously brought together through what can only be the power of the Holy Spirit to share God’s love with one another and our neighbors.
In addition to all of the remembering and rejoicing, we will take a look forward together to consider where we are seeing growth that God’s love calls us to nurture. As we look forward, I hope that you will take some time during the 12-1 pm hour to sit down at table with us.
October 2 is the What it takes to be St. James’ Conversation. This is a forum when we talk in pragmatic and concrete terms about the time, talent, and treasure it takes to not only keep doing what we do, but also to plant new seeds for growth. The leadership team has developed an exciting proposal to invest in staffing in ways that honor equitability, that plant the seeds of sustainable growth for our Spanish-speaking community, and that continue to build upon on ongoing commitment to Christian formation for all ages. We have also started to develop a roadmap for sharing our histories, cultures, and identities through art, music, and savvy and beautiful use of our physical space.
October 9 is our Fiestas Patrias Celebration. As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close, the 1 pm community of St. James’ will share some of their stories and cultural gifts with us in Founders Hall.
October 16 and October 23 are St. James’ Round Table Conversations. Come and get to know people with whom you worship! We will have two fun times of sharing and communal conversation, remembering those who planting us and looking forward together to identify the seeds of new creation springing up in our St. James’ community that we desire to nurture.
October 30 is the Chili Cook-off and the day we are hoping you will have turned in your pledge for 2023. Sign up to compete in the Chili Cook-off here. This is not a deeply theological event, but it is profoundly yummy and big fun.
Please think through your calendar and plan to sit down at table with the community at some point during this season of stewardship. Do it for the joy of it, and do it because your voice matters in these important conversations.
If your financial situation has changed over the last year for the worse, you are not alone, and I would appeal to you to pledge what you can, but please pledge. If you are able to help us stretch this year so that we can widen the embrace of St. James’ to those who are seeking us out and finding us, that would be a great gift. The math-oriented among us sat down to think about what a good stretch could mean, and we came up with the number 12%. Break out your calculator and try it out based on your current pledge. Could you make it work? Never pledged before? Give it some thought as we share more about what it means to the St. James’ community.
Are you ready to pledge? You can pledge online HERE.
Rev. Eileen
