A “STEWARDSHIP MOMENT” Reece Wrightman, November 17, 2013
People, including people who are not members of the Parish, sometimes ask me why I spend so much time here and have become involved in so many church activities. It’s true, I do, and so do quite a few of you here today. Why do we do it? Let me see if I can explain. I came to St. James’ about seven years ago, looking for something I couldn’t define. I still can’t, but like the old saw about art, I know what I like. I found a spiritual home. However, as we know, this isn’t a place where you just relax and let it all wash over you, like a sort of spiritual spa. This is a challenging place if you, as I like to say, “take your faith seriously”, and it takes work and a good deal of money to make it a reality. So that’s why I stayed, put very briefly, and why I became involved in the life of the parish. Then, I began to become interested in how all of this came to be here when I need it. The answer to that question is that many faithful parishioners in the past took great care to see that St. James’ would carry on and be here for us after they had gone. It is absolutely true to say that if those who came before us had not provided for the future, we literally would not be sitting in this place today. The endowment from those who have gone before provides fully half of our annual funding; our weekly donations provide the rest. This year, we need to raise $225,000 in order to provide for the annual budget. That’s for the year to come, just to carry on and ensure that the liturgy, the pastoral care, the formation sessions, feast day celebrations, Holy Week, Advent and all of the other things we expect St. James’ to provide are here when we need them. What about the future? I regard it as our responsibility to provide the same sort of security for those to come as was provided for us. In addition to funding the annual budget, let’s plan for the future when we think about what we will leave behind in our estates. If we are truly committed to St. James’, and if we believe that it is important to have this church here for those who follow, let’s ensure that we do what we can to make it happen now, and into the future. Reece Wrightman, People’s Warden