Tag: Heritage

Three Primary Ways Christians Share Their Treasure
When I was called to be your Interim Rector, I was asked to assist the Endowment Committee of St. John’s Church in developing a program to increase the assets of the endowment. I have an interest in seeing parishes ensure the future sustainability of their missions and I also have some experience in developing church endowments. Our committee, with the assistance of the Vestry and Staff, has been putting several elements in place that are necessary for development of this type of giving: an annual professional audit, a gift acceptance policy, concise descriptions of endowment funds, a legacy society, and a list of ways to give to the endowment.

Next week, members of St. John’s will receive an invitation to consider including the endowment in their estate planning. Some may think this comes too soon on the heels of our annual stewardship campaign or have concerns that the church asks for money too often. Those are understandable concerns but there is more to this invitation than that.

The Endowment Committee believes that the momentum for the endowment that has been building should continue during the transition period while I am able to be of assistance. Even more importantly, there is no reason for an appeal on behalf of the endowment to be seen as competing with our ordinary sustaining stewardship because it is a different type of giving. Permit me to explain.

When thinking about giving to Christ and his Church, there are three fairly distinct purses from which Christians share their treasure:
- Stewardship of Current Income – The ordinary day-to-day ministry of the church is sustained by gifts from our current income.
- Stewardship of Accumulated Treasure – Special projects, capital campaigns, emergency appeals, and extraordinary projects are mainly furthered by gifts from treasure that has accumulated over time (savings).
- Stewardship of Residual Treasure – We extend our giving beyond our lifetime through legacy stewardship of retirement savings in the form of bequests from funds, properties, and insurance we will no longer need after we are gone.
The Endowment Committee is inviting us to participate in the endowment by looking to the future and including St. John’s – beyond our lifetime, just as we might include members of our family, our alma mater, or some other cause that is dear to our hearts.

The central message is that we are privileged to be stewards of all of it! Whether spent, saved, or given away, every penny is a sacred trust from God. How can God’s mission at St. John’s be strengthened by the treasure we leave when we no longer need it?

It is exciting to think what can be accomplished by St. John’s if the ongoing mission of the parish is sustained by members giving generously from their current income so that extra sources of income, such as the endowment, can be used for extraordinary purposes. I hope that when the letter from these members of your church family arrives in your mailbox you will read it with an open mind and give the invitation prayerful consideration.

I’ll see you in Church!
November 12, 2015
Together in the Journey of Transition

Gay and I are grateful for the extraordinary ways in which we are being enfolded in the embrace of St. John’s! The generous welcome and hospitality you have extended is helping us to get acquainted with the parish and get started in the work of transition. Permit me to mention several things that will be central to the fruitfulness of this season of transition.

Momentum in Mission ~ As I meet with key leaders and ministry groups, I am finding a healthy and vibrant momentum in your pursuit of Christ's mission. We will look for ways to encourage that forward movement. In some cases, that will mean doing exactly what you are already doing. In other cases, we will be looking at next steps, which will involve expansion or refocus. In still other instances, we will be looking at new initiatives.

Search Process ~ The process of searching for and calling a rector is a process of mutual discernment. In the past few years, this process has changed in positive and important ways throughout The Episcopal Church. Each Diocesan Bishop, with the support of the Office of Transition Ministries, directs a process tailored to the diocese and congregation. Our parish leadership will work closely with the diocesan transition officer, Canon Tristan English, as the process unfolds. In the early stages of the process, members of the parish will be asked to provide information that will allow development of a contemporary and accurate profile of the parish. At each stage of the process, the parish will be provided with as much information as possible.

Focus Areas of Transition ~ You will hear frequent references to “Focus Areas of Transition.” They are:

Heritage: Understanding and celebrating the history of this congregation and its relationship to previous clergy, the community, and the diocese.

Mission: Discovering the congregation’s unique identity, what it is called by God to be and to do, in accordance with and apart from previous clergy leadership.

Leadership: Encouraging and facilitating naturally evolving shifts in leadership roles which occur in times of transition and allowing new leaders to come to the forefront in creative and constructive ways.

Connections: Assisting the congregation in discovering how they can bless one another, the larger community, and their present and future clergy. Continuing relationships with the diocese, so that each may support the mission and work of the church.

Future: Building commitment to the leadership of the new Rector in order to move into the future with openness to new possibilities. These five tasks are the work of the congregation and are ongoing, not sequential, in nature. They represent the key ways in which the parish takes an honest look at itself. As we make decisions, we will ask lots of questions and have lots of conversations.

My Priorities ~ In addition to the usual duties of a rector, I will facilitate the five focus areas. I will also devote particular energies to several areas of parish life that the Vestry and I will identify together as opportunities for special attention of the parish and focus of my vocational experience and gifts.

Congregational Health ~ St. John’s is already a very healthy congregation! So, as we journey together during this transition, we will be mindful of the overall health of the congregation and its missionary activity. Four of the most important elements of congregational health are good communication, trust, mutual accountability, and healthy interpersonal behaviors.

In all things, we want to prepare every aspect of the life and ministry of the parish to receive your new rector and ensure that your ministry with your new rector is positive and fruitful in every possible way.

I'll see you in church!

The Rev’d Ron Pogue Interim Rector

February 19, 2015
Sermon at Christ Church Cranbrook ~ September 8, 2013

The Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Listen to the Sermon for September 8, 2013

Read the Sermon for September 8, 2013

September 8, 2013
Today

Those of us who are old enough to remember the 1960’s will recall how important a genre of music called “folk music” was in that era. One of the early folk music groups was The New Christy Minstrels, founded by songwriter/guitarist Randy Sparks in 1961. One of Sparks’ hit songs, recorded by this group in 1964, is entitled simply Today. Some of the words of this song came to mind as I reflected on the relationship between the past, present, and future.

Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine
I’ll taste your strawberries, I’ll drink your sweet wine
A million tomorrows shall all pass away
‘Ere I forget all the joy that is mine, Today

I can’t be contented with yesterday’s glory
I can’t live on promises winter to spring
Today is my moment, now is my story
I’ll laugh and I’ll cry and I’ll sing

In this bit of poetry set to a lovely tune, Randy Sparks and The New Christy Minstrels reminded us to appreciate the present moment and cherish the joy of now. I once heard a preacher put it in a less poetic but equally effective way: “Yesterday’s gone. Tomorrow hasn’t come yet. Today is all we have. Use it!”

During a time of transition between rectors, our church is engaged in a process of reflecting upon the past and discerning the future into which God is calling us. As we do this, we want to remember that if heritage and hope do not inform the way we live today, we are destined to be prisoners of our past or disciples of our daydreams. Either way, we are disconnected from the present, which is the scene of the greatest reality.

A visitor to the Vatican was approached by a sidewalk peddler outside the walls. He was offering a hen, a very special hen, for sale. “This hen is a direct descendant of the cock that crowed when Peter denied the Lord,” said the peddler. “Yes,” responded the visitor, “but does it lay eggs?” Whatever the hen’s past or future, the visitor wanted to know if she was doing what hens do today.

Jesus joined the past and the future together in a new way. He is the intersection of the horizontal dimension of time and the vertical dimension of spiritual reality. He warned the religious leaders that their genealogy did not relieve them of responsibility for their present actions. Likewise, he warned the rich young man that good intentions, no matter how worthy, could not give him the eternal life he was seeking at the present moment. Addressing the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times…but I say unto you.” He said to the woman at the well, “The time is coming and now is.” Each step away from the past and into the future is dependent upon the spiritual dimension we refer to as “The Kingdom of God.”

Let us enter faithfully into this process of discovery and discernment so that this community of faith may be fruitful and vibrant in the here and now. And may we cherish the opportunity and the joy that are ours today!

February 17, 2011