This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well. I look forward to seeing many of you tomorrow at our next Lenten fish fry. It's going to be fun, and I promise the food will be good. A group of us, Caitlyn, Clayton, and Jim from the office, and Pete Stewart from St. Martin’s Vestry, have been in Charlotte this week for a conference called EPN. Episcopal Parish Network (EPN) has grown over the last five years into the largest gathering of Episcopal leaders outside of the General Convention. It has been a fruitful event. Yesterday, the rectors and deans of churches spent three hours with our Presiding Bishop, Sean Rowe. It was a good and honest conversation about the state of the church, our future, and our hopes for tomorrow. After that gathering, I was lucky to spend some private time with folks from the national church as we dreamed about ways diocesan structures could better serve local communities.

Caitlyn spent some time learning about intergenerational leadership, how different generations see the world, volunteering in the church, and how we transfer leadership among ourselves. Jim spent time learning best practices around church stewardship. He was encouraged by how many of these practices we already have in place. Clayton and Pete were on different tracks, but they both circled back to the same topic: church properties and their stewardship. I look forward to hearing their reports. 

Ever since I was ordained, there has been a narrative that the church is dying. 25 years ago, when I first started thinking about seminary, people wondered whether I was sure or even if there would be a job for me in the future. I continue to hear that narrative today. It echoes through popular culture. I am glad to say that I believe that echo is both wrong and unbiblical. It is unbiblical because scripture promises us that as long as there are followers of Jesus, the Church will be alive. It may change, but it will live. On top of that, at conferences like this, St. Martin's stands as a witness that there are places that welcome all and have grown beyond pre-COVID numbers. St. Martin's gets to share that radical welcome, and that gives me great pride in our parish.

Peace,

Mitch