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The
Wardens and Vestry of Grace Church are approaching the change in clergy at
our church as an opportunity to invigorate the congregation.
We have been through a lot this past year.
There was the disruption caused by our building and renovation
project, now successfully concluded. The retirement of our beloved pastor
after 18 years of faithful service has posed psychological and spiritual
changes, as well as changes in the roles of the laity.
Change is never easy, but we recognize that it is one of the
“constants” in life.
We
have been very fortunate to be led by a superb interim rector who has
helped in many ways, including the reorganization of our administration,
but at the same time has kept us focused on our real mission–to serve
the Lord. We will miss her
but we have known all along her time here is temporary.
The
new rector will have many challenges in addition to the central task of
getting to know a whole new set of communicants, a new geography, and
possibly a new culture. Grace
Church counts some 150 members in good standing, has an average total
Sunday attendance of 120 at one said and one sung service, and 95 pledging
units.
The church staff includes an office manager and a director of
Christian Education/Campus Ministry who are full-time, a sexton who lives
in an apartment in the former rectory, and choir director and organist who
are part-time. Several staff
are relatively new and a search is underway to fill the Christian
Education/Campus Ministry position which is currently vacant.
The daunting task of keeping our parish together is made easier by
all the strong, active involvement of so many parishioners.
We are eager to move on, so there will be a strong support
mechanism in place.
-Senior Warden-
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