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Today we gather to celebrate.  We celebrate not only the accomplishments and highlights of our year together, but we also celebrate the start of something new.  It is these “new beginnings” that have caught my attention as I’ve prepared for our time together today, and so I’d like to begin my address with the prayer said at the founding of a Church.

 

O Lord God of Israel, the heavens cannot contain you, yet you are pleased to dwell in the midst of your people, and have moved us to set apart a space on which to build a house of prayer:  Accept and bless the work which we have now begun, that it may be brought to completion, to the honor and glory of your holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. (BOS pg. 219)

 

What stands out for me in this prayer is the part where it asks for God’s blessing upon the work begun, that it may be brought to completion.  I wonder, exactly, what the writer of this prayer meant by ‘completion’.  I wonder if, as the founders of St. Paul’s gathered on this patch of one-upon-a-time farmland to begin building a church, I wonder if they prayed for it’s completion, and what they thought that might look like.

 

I wonder if those who gathered among the ashes after the fire in 1976, some of whom are in this room today, I wonder if, once they had decided to rebuild, if they imagined that their work would come to completion.  And, if so, what they imagined completion might look like.

 

Two years ago, St. Paul’s formally embarked on a Capital Appeal.  Meeting upon meeting was held to help discern the priorities for the Appeal.  What it might accomplish, and how it might be done.  I wonder if, as the first Appeal conversations began, if you imagined then that it would, someday, be brought to completion.  And what completion might have looked like for you then.

 

At about the same time, you began the process of searching for your next Rector.  You spent a lot of time asking important questions about who the community of St. Paul’s is,   who you were hoping your next Rector might be, and what you were hoping St. Paul’s might grow into with that new Rector.  Again, I wonder what you imagined completion might look like in your search for your twelfth Rector.

 

And here we are today.  It’s true; today we are celebrating completions, of sorts.  We blessed the renovated building you all made possible with the incredible generosity of the Capital Appeal.  And, well, I’m here.  Evidence that the Search Committee, the Vestry, and all of you finished a certain piece of work.  And for all of that I am incredibly grateful.  And I believe that God is incredibly grateful, too.

 

But I will not say that our work has been brought to completion.  In fact, in lots of ways, the work of the founders of St. Paul’s, the work of those who rebuilt after the fire, the work of the Capital Appeal and the work of finding your next rector, all of that work is far from complete at all.  What all of that incredible work made possible was our ability to begin our work together, yet again.  Today, we don’t celebrate being done or an ending.  Instead, we celebrate our ability and our desire to begin our work in a new way – it is a new beginning.

 

And so I stand before you this morning indebted to everyone who worked to make this moment in our lives together possible;  Everyone who began a piece of work which made the next piece of work possible, which made the next piece of work possible, which made this work possible.

 

It has been an amazing five months.  I have already accumulated cherished memories in our brief time together;  Meeting you at the picnic last May;  My first Sunday, The Yard Sale, The Blessing of the Animals, my installation as your rector, hosting dessert for the Moveable Feast in the remodeled rectory, the Messiah Sing, The Christmas Pageant, and so, so many more.

 

On the table in front of you are index cards.  Please take a blue index card and write down your favorite memory from this past year.  A moment for which you find yourself grateful today.

 

Now take a moment to share those moments with the other people at your table, as you are comfortable.

 

Are there any you’d like to share with the larger group?

 

It has been quite a full year.  And yet, contrary to the laws of nature we are discovering that we are not, as might be expected, completely exhausted and feeling “finished” at all, but quite the opposite.  Folks are fired up, there is a wonderful sense of energy, people are curious about this ministry, and wanting to get that program off the ground.  I feel the same way.  Every day seems to lay the ground work for the day that follows, and each meeting, every conversation makes the next meeting, the next conversation possible.  Like those who gathered to break ground here some one hundred and sixty years ago, people are filled with abundant hope and endless possibility.  And like those who decided to rebuild after the fire in 1976, there is a renewed sense of mission, of the great work that needs to be done in the world, and St. Paul’s sure place in that work.

 

There is lots to be done.  Much of it is work we couldn’t have done before this moment, before all of you got us to this point in our history.  Certainly, we won’t be able to do it all, not this year.  But we can begin something this year that will make something else possible next year.  Here are a couple of areas about which I’ve spending time dreaming and hoping;  Worship, pastoral care, systems and administration, adult formation, our Capital Appeal, and programs for children and youth.

 

Worship:  I love worshipping with you.  I love the space we get to worship in and I love your interest and enthusiasm about how we worship together.  I love working with Andy, and I am humbled by the talents of the choir and members of our community who so freely offer their musical talents.  Many of you know that the Worship Committee has re-convened.  Our hope is that we will continue to meet together throughout the year to talk about how we gather as community, how we make our worship as reflective of who we are as possible, to the greatest Glory of God as is possible.  The Healing Ministers have also met to talk about how we practice our ministry of healing in this place.  This year, I plan to spend time with those of you who are acolytes, readers, intercessors, chalice bearers, ushers and altar guild members.  I want to hear your ideas about these ministries and how we might continue to build on them to make them all of what they can be, all of what you hope they will be.  And I ask those of you who have not yet participated in these ministries to consider trying it.

 

Pastoral Care:  If you can say anything about St. Paul’s it’s that the people know how to take care of one another.  Cooking meals, giving rides, checking in.  It all seems to come so easy to you, and it’s such a gift.  I would like us to build on the rich tradition of pastoral care at St. Paul’s and explore how we share the ministry of visiting the sick, the absent, the homebound and those in nursing homes.

 

Systems and Administration:  Okay, so it’s not the most exciting part of our life together, but it makes our life together possible.  We’ve already started streamlining our business practices.  We have crafted a restructuring of our financial practices, allowing us to be even more fiscally responsible, transparent and efficient.  Lucy has been an incredible addition to the office and, together, we continue to work on improving communication and setting policies and protocols in collaboration with the vestry.  Please let us know how our efforts are going.

Adult Formation:  I am excited that there seems to be a lot of new faces in our midst on Sunday mornings.  But that’s not the whole story of how St. Paul’s might grow.  I pray we might grow bigger, but I also pray we might grow deeper.  I have been enjoying our 9:00 adult education time immensely.  I look forward to continuing that time together, and I hope more of you will join us for lively conversation, plenty of laughter, and an opportunity to grow deeper in our relationships with one another and with God.  I look forward to additional offerings during Lent and next Advent, including  Parish Quiet Days; I plan to re-gather a mid-week morning group.  Please let me know what you’d like to be talking about, what questions you might have, or what you’ve always wondered, but were afraid to ask.  Together, we can grow bigger, and deeper.

 

Capital Appeal:  Today we celebrated a milestone in the Capital Appeal – we blessed the beautiful renovations of the parish house.  I was told that the initial theme of the Appeal was “letting in more light”.  While the plans may have changed, and there may not be any more windows in the parish house than there were before the renovation, I want to assure you that you were successful in your desire for more light.  You need only watch the Food Pantry in operation to see more light.  Or listen to the groups who meet in this room comment on how wonderful it is, to see more light.  There is a lot more light in this place, though it doesn’t all come from outside.  So congratulations.  You managed to find a way to bring more light in to this place, despite a fallen economy and scaled back plans.  We are not, however, done.  2010 marks the third year of our three year Appeal.  While a majority of the work is done, there is some that remains, waiting for funding.  And the more we are able to pay for these capital improvements from the Appeal, the less we need to use the endowment.  A very good thing in this economy.  If you have not yet made a pledge to the Capital Appeal, I ask you to seriously consider it.  This is your place, your buildings, and no matter how long you’ve been here, you have a right to be part of making the work of the future possible in this place.  Please speak to Nancy Madden or Betsy Munzer if you’d like to know more.

 

 

Programs for Children and Youth:  I have to be honest and tell you that my last priority this afternoon is my first priority for the next year.  We have an incredible program for our children and youth.  Our curriculum is written by our team of volunteer teachers and is the envy of many of my colleagues in the Diocese.  It is creative, inspired and filled with spirit-filled connections between the stories in our scriptures, and the lives and questions of our children and youth.  We have an engaging youth group and, as of February 1^st, we will have a nursery staffed with two professional child-care workers.  We owe an incredible debt to the adults who have taken on the ministry of working with our youngest parishioners.  Supporting this program needs to be one of our central priorities as a congregation.  I do not believe that our children and youth are the future of the church.  I believe they are every much a part of the church right now, today, as any of us are. We need to be deeply committed to nurturing them and letting them know that this place called St. Paul’s is their place, too.  Not all of us are called to be teachers.  Not all of us enjoy working with children or feel comfortable doing so.  That’s okay.  But I would like to challenge each of us to consider our response to the following question:  “How am I, as a member of the St. Paul’s community, supporting the nurturing and formation of the children and youth of this parish?”  If you’re not sure, ask someone how you might be.  Maybe you are called to be a teacher, or a helper.  Maybe you are called to lend programmatic support, perhaps you can volunteer once a month to provide snack.  Who knows what your answer will be, but let’s, all of us, try to come up with an answer to this question by the time we gather again next January.

 

Those are my hopes and priorities for this year.  What are yours?  Spend a moment thinking about what you’d like to see happen this year.  Take a yellow index card and jot it down.

 

If one person from each table could collect the index cards on your table, I’d love to be able to read them all, and to share them with the Vestry as we set goals and plan for our work together this year.

 

Of course,  if we are doing our jobs, and if we’re paying attention to how the Spirit is moving in this place, then everything we are doing, everything we will do in this next year together will set the stage for something we might not yet know, or understand, or expect.

 

St. Paul’s Church is your church. No matter how long you’ve been here, there is a place for you here, and we need you.  We want your thoughts, we need your voice, we need your hands and we ask for your prayers.  If you’ve been at St. Paul’s for a while, please don’t think that your work is complete.  Rather, join me in asking God where  it is God is calling you next in our life together.  If you are brand new to this community, please do not think that you haven’t been here long enough to express an opinion, to offer an idea, start a ministry going, or to try something new.  If you see something missing, I wonder if that isn’t God calling you to make it happen.  If there’s something you’re not crazy about, I wonder if that’s God calling you to offer your voice and heart to the conversation.  If there’s something you think is great, I wonder if that is God calling you to be a part of it.

 

What is clear to me from my time with you so far, is that the Spirit is up to something here.  There’s no doubt in my mind.  It’s in the air, it’s in our worship, in our meetings, in our conversations, in our laughter, and on the faces of our children.  Our work is not complete.  Today let us celebrate that it begins, yet again.

 

Thank you for inviting me to begin this work, to celebrate this ‘new beginning’ with you.

 

AMEN.

 

Abundant Blessings,

Jeff+

 

Annual Meeting Agenda

January 24, 2010

 

1. Establishment of a Quorum
2. Call to Order
3. Approval of Minutes of 2008 Annual Meeting
4. Vestry Elections
   1. Warden

1. i.      Thanks to Andrea Brue
2. ii.      Passing of Church Mouse from Andrea to Steve
3. iii.      Nomination of Georgia Smith
4. iv.      Vote
5. i.      Thanks to Arlene Mahoney, Nancy Sampson and Georgia Smith
6. ii.      Nomination of Fred Meuhter, Roger House and Jeff Brown
7. iii.      Vote
8. i.      Leah Rugen and Sarah Thiemann
9. i.      Jean Moses and Molly Lanzarotta
10. i.      Sharlene Wing and Maria O’Meara
11. i.      Bev Estes-Smargiassi and Tim Smith

4. 2. Three Year Vestry Term

4. 3. Thanks to continuing Vestry members Elizabeth Laurencot, Jim Margolis, Stephen Morrissey, Liz DeSelm, Ginny Wilcox and Madeleine Taylor
   4. Delegates to Diocesan Convention

4. 5. Alternates to Diocesan Convention

4. 6. Delegates to Charles River Deanery

4. 7. Delegates to Episcopal City Mission

 

5. Treasurer’s Report – Bev Estes-Smargiassi
6. Capital Appeal Report – Nancy Madden and Betsy Munzer
7. Building Committee Report – Jim Batchelor
8. Rector’s Report
9. Thank Yous/Courtesy Resolutions
10. Blessing
11. Closing Hymn
12. Dismissal
13. Adjournment

 

At the Entrance

Antiphon

Behold, I stand at the door and knock, says the Lord. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come into the house, and eat with you, and you with me.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

Sovereign Lord, you are Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end: Send your servants out from this place on many errands, be their constant companion in the way, and

welcome them upon their return, so that coming and going they may be sustained by your presence, O Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Sunday School Room

Antiphon

Jesus said, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to those like them belongs the kingdom of heaven.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

Holy God, Jesus took young children into his arms and blessed them: Embrace the children who gather in these room with your unfailing love, protect them from all

danger, and bring them in safety to each new day, until they greet with joy the great day of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rector’s Office

Antiphon

Teach us, O Lord, where wisdom is to be found, and show us the place of understanding.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

O God of truth, eternal ground of all that is, beyond space and time yet within them, transcending all things yet pervading them: Show yourself to us, for we go about in ignorance; reveal yourself to us, for it is you that we seek, O Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lichtenberger Room

Antiphon

Do not neglect to show hospitality, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

Loving God, you have taught us to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us: Bless those who from time to time share the hospitality of this home. May your fatherly care

shield them, the love of your dear Son preserve them from all evil, and the guidance of your Holy Spirit keep them in the way that leads to eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Bathrooms

Antiphon

I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be cleansed.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

O holy God, in the incarnation of your Son our Lord you made our flesh the instrument of your self-revelation: Give us a proper respect and reverence for our mortal bodies, keeping them clean and fair, whole and sound; that, glorifying you in them, we may confidently await our being

clothed upon with spiritual bodies, when that which is mortal is transformed by life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Middle Room

Antiphon

The living God gave you from heaven rain and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

Blessed are you, O Lord, King of the universe, for you give us food and drink to sustain our lives: Make us grateful for all your mercies, and mindful of the needs of others; through

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In the Kitchen

Antiphon

You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the Name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you.

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

O Lord our God, you supply every need of ours according to your great riches: Bless the hands that work in this place, and give us grateful hearts for daily bread; through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

The Great Hall

Antiphon

Oh, how good and pleasant it is, when God’s people live together in unity!

 

V. All your works praise you, O God,

R. And your faithful servants bless you.

 

Let us pray. (Silence)

Give your blessing, Lord, to all who share this room, that they may be knit together in fellowship here on earth, and joined with the communion of your saints in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us pray. (Silence)

Visit, O blessed Lord, this home with the gladness of your presence. Bless all who gather here with the gift of your love; and grant that they may manifest your love [to each other and] to all whose lives they touch. May they grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of you; guide, comfort, and strengthen them; and preserve them in peace, O Jesus Christ, now and for ever. Amen.