August 29, 2024

This coming Tuesday, September 3, the Vestries of St. Matthew’s and Resurrection will be meeting jointly to begin the work of discerning how a partnership between our two parishes might work. Our initial idea is to explore how our parishes might be able to share the expense of a single priest, me. As we progress, both parishes will need to be flexible and open to experimentation with many different models of how the arrangement might work. Our initial though is that, since St. Matthew’s is currently without a rector, we might arrange Sunday or Saturday service schedules to allow me to serve for a time as St. Matthew’s supply priest. This would give the congregation of St. Matthews and me an opportunity to get to know one another and to decide if I am the right priest to serve their congregation. Deciding to share a priest and deciding which priest to share are two separate decisions. If this is the path we decide to follow, we will likely need to make some major adjustments. It may be that we will switch to a single service, timed to allow me to be in both parishes each Sunday, or it may be that I will be at Resurrection on some Sundays and St. Matthews on others. Our plan is to try an arrangement for a predetermined time, likely several months, before gathering feedback and then changing the arrangement as needed and repeating the process. 
During the time ahead, your Vestry needs several things from you. First, over the next few days we need your thoughts about any potential changes to our Sunday schedule. Would you rather change the Sunday service time or have Antecommunion or Morning Prayer some Sundays? If we do switch to a single service, would you prefer it be later or earlier? Would you consider our primary service moving to Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon? There are many possibilities, and we need to hear from you. 
The second thing we need from you is related – ongoing open communication. Your vestry is:  Sr. Warden David Fredette, Jr. Warden Chuck Atwater, Treasurer Frank Koch, Tina Heidrick, Sandi Orbell, Stevie Piccolo, Dave Reesor, and Bruce Sedgwick. Please share your thoughts and concerns with us throughout the time ahead as we experiment with new and different things. 
Finally, we need you to hold on the spirit of adventure that our founding members had 60 years ago as they left St. Mary’s to do a new thing. The months ahead will bring lots of decisions, changes, and experiments, and none of them will please everyone. Please keep your eyes on the goal of sustainability and ongoing life and ministry for not one but two congregations. Please be ready to endure some things you might not choose and be ready to be surprised by blessings you might not expect. We are doing a fearful and wonderful thing as we put ourselves into the hands of the Holy Spirit. Be ready to take the adventure that she brings us.