| Rector's Annual Report |
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| THE SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 4 December, 2005 The Rev. Robert C. Granfeldt |
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As always, on this occasion, I have to begin with a word of explanation, and, when
and if we happen to have any visitors with us, an apology. Today is the day of our
Annual Parish Meeting, and, just as our Bishop traditionally gives his Annual Report
at the Eucharist opening the Diocesan Convention, so I have always made it my
practice to give my report at the Eucharist preceding our meeting!
Two years ago, I started my report by remarking that it had been a “long year.” That
was 2003. It was long partly because we had become well situated in a downward
slide. In my first few years, here, we had increased our membership, a bit, and our
worship attendance had increased by about 20 percent. Which sounds impressive,
but considering that we’d started out in the fairly low 60’s, 20 percent is only about 13
or so. Nevertheless, it was growth, and it was good.
But by 2003 we were a year-and-a-half into a slide. But mostly it was a long year
because a number of our friends had died that year – much beloved members, whom
we still miss!
Last year I commented that the year seemed both long and short! It was another year
that saw a lot of deaths – more wonderful and members and friends! Tragedies always
make the time pass slowly, and this was the second year of heavy loss! But on the up-
side toward the end of the year we had actually begun to show signs of growing,
again! I said it was too soon to be certain, but it felt good – and it did cause the time
to seem to fly, once more.
This year, it seems to me, has just, plain flown by! A number of us have lost family
members and loved ones, it’s true – Joan Riccardi and her family had two tragic
deaths, coming so soon after Hank’s death, and I lost my brother at only 65! But, as a
parish, we lost only our old friend and Parish Mainstay, Ralph Laxton!
May his soul, the souls of all our loved ones, and the souls of all the departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in Peace! Amen.
I’m happy to report, though, that the trend that was just beginning, last year, has
continued this year! In the past few months, in fact, we have been approaching the
level of attendance we had achieved 3 years, ago, before the slide began! And it
feels so good! And doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun!!? And it HAS been fun!
Today is not only the day of our Annual Parish Meeting, it’s also the second Sunday of
Advent! Advent is such a wonderful season, now that we’ve stopped treating it like a
“little Lent.” It’s a time of expectation, a time of preparation, and a time of waiting! It’s
the time that leads, in St. Paul’s words, to the “fullness of time”, when all creation was
found “groaning in travail” to bring about the birth of the Christ – the Christ event
that was the life, death and resurrection of our Lord!
And it occurs to me so much of life IS waiting, preparing, expecting. And so much of
life is about the “right time.”
We can’t lay claim to anything so momentous as the birth of the Savior in our own life,
together, certainly! But “the right time” is a phrase that resonates in my mind and in
my heart about this Parish!
In the past six years we’ve accomplished a lot, here. We’ve restored and improved
the property – the buildings – tremendously; We’ve slowly-but-surely “tweeked” our
worship, renewing, updating, adapting – even as we struggled through years of a
minimal music program. We’ve nursed our Sunday School – with terrible difficulty and
falling numbers – through years, and now we’ve restored the Schoolroom, itself – as
well as re-establishing a nursery. And our teachers still march on!
We’ve established a new ministry to the community – slow to get started, as these
things always are, but with determination and tons of talent – we’re offering a
wonderful tutorial program to our youngsters – our renamed “F.I.S.H.” program – that
represents giving at its purest!
We’ve added a few new members – some of them, ready and able and eager to get
involved in our continuing efforts!
And with all this going on, we’ve continued to give of our time and treasure to
ministries outside ourselves – giving away, for ministry, a percentage of our income
that places us amongst the biggest and best givers in the Diocese.
And I’m convinced the time is right, for us!
We are poised and ready. We have a “product” to offer: good people, good worship,
an exciting atmosphere – and excited people – and both activities and ministry going
on full speed ahead!
And all we need, now… is people! People coming to the Church for the first time;
people coming to “check us out;” people coming back after a long absence; people
coming out of curiosity; people coming just because they’re shopping!
I’m convinced that if we can get the people to come in; get the people to find us,
tucked away, invisibly, on our little hill, some will stay!
Not everyone will stay. That just doesn’t happen. But some will. And we’ll grow.
We’re ready. The time is right. And now we just need to get people in.
Publicity is a big part of our need – and our Ralph Painter is doing a great job on that
– though he could use help….
But I need to remind you of a very important truth. A lot of study and analysis has
been done, over the years, on Church Growth. Now, we know we’re on the right
track, because we’re doing so many things just right, and because of the sense of
excitement that is palpable in the Congregation. But all the study and analysis over
the years tells us one thing that we need to take with utmost seriousness!
That is, the way parishes grow, the way new people find their way into a parish, is by
personal invitation!
Personal invitation!
One person inviting another!
One person caring enough about his parish; one person believing in her parish; one
person knowing in his heart that his parish is the real deal; one person wishing to
share with her dear friends, the treasure she knows she has in her parish! One
person willing to greet a newcomer on the block with an invitation!
There are lots of things that can and do bring people into a parish – and we are
working on those things, doing those things, and we’re going to continue doing them.
But we have a wonderful parish here, folks. We need to share it! And we share best
by asking, by inviting, by offering. It’s the way Churches grow!
Now I could go on and on about all the wonderful things going on in this parish – and
about our need to share! That’s all wonderful, and I do feel terrifically encouraged
and optimistic about the Parish. But we need, also, to remember that we are an
Episcopal Parish. We’re not Congregationalists or Quakers! We’re Episcopalians –
members of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, the Episcopal Church in the USA, and the
Anglican Communion. And for the first time I feel that my report to the parish needs to
dwell, now, on the larger church – the greater Church of which we are such a small
part!
As for the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church, things are not all that
great – in fact things have probably deteriorated since my report last year. As you
know, things began to go bad at the General Convention two years ago, when my old
friend, Gene Robinson, was confirmed by Convention as the Bishop of New
Hampshire! With that courageous action of ordaining an openly gay priest in a long-
term, committed relationship, to be Bishop of a Diocese, our Church has become a
pariah to much of the Communion!
Now, I’m going to give you my personal opinion, here – acknowledging that your
mileage may vary! But I believe the conflict is really about half-and-half: on the one
hand, a matter of an immature kind of faith – the kind of faith that, for example, could
not at all handle my ongoing series of sermons on the theme of “it ain’t necessarily
so,” because a missionary faith – that characterizes the state of the Church
throughout Africa and most of the developing world – always tends toward the
literalist, if not the fundamentalist side of the spectrum, and can’t deal with nuance
and ambiguity; and on the other hand, a flat out power struggle!
I have heard and met some of those involved in the “revolt”, if you will – some of the
leaders of the opposition in this country, of those who are leaving the Episcopal
Church to align with the Churches in the so-called “Global South,” especially Africa.
And the impression of them that I have come away with was that of people who have
decided if they can’t be “movers and shakers” of the Episcopal Church, they’d rather
be movers and shakers of a new, splinter Church. And the same goes for leaders in
some of the developing Churches. Indeed, the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, DD,
Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of All Nigeria – a central figure in the struggle –
strikes me as someone who would love to be the Chief Primate of a new, re-formed
Anglican Communion, replacing the Archbishop of Canterbury! (Though what an
“Anglican Communion would look like without the Archbishop of Canterbury is
beyond my powers of imagination!)
With General Convention coming up, again, next year, we’ll just have to wait to see
what happens! Next summer will be a fateful time for our Church and for the Anglican
Communion/ Stay tuned – and keep praying!
As for our own Diocese….
As you know, we had a difficult Convention last month. There were three
controversial motions to be dealt with: one was a motion for a canonical change to
make all of the giving by parishes a matter of mandatory assessments. Currently, we
are assessed about 3.5% of our parish expenditures for an emergency fund for
clergy, to cover the medical supplement for retired clergy, and to support the
program of the Episcopate – the last being the largest. The rest of the program
budget is paid for via voluntary pledges by the parishes. The average total giving –
assessment and pledge – of parishes is about 6%, I believe – maybe less. This
proposal would raise the average – for now – to 10%. It was rejected.
The second was the Diocesan Budget for next year – another deficit budget, relying
heavily on the investment funds of the Diocese that we used to call “endowment”,
and heavily weighted toward the “4 C’s” – Campus Ministry, Cathedral,
Congregational Advancement, and Camp Wapiti.
Third was a proposal by the Episcopal Clergy Association of Pennsylvania – of which I
am president – to transform the Finance and Property Committee of the Diocese from
a subcommittee of Diocesan Council, dominated mostly by the Bishop nominees, to a
body elected by the delegates at Convention.
The mandatory Assessment and Budget motions were defeated. The ECAP motion to
elect the Finance and Property Committee members was adopted.
Our delegates to Convention are receiving, this morning, an invitation to attend a
discussion of these issues in our deanery. This will be in preparation – probably – for
a special convention to adopt a budget, in February or March. Stay tuned on this, too!
(But if you have any questions, please feel free to talk to any of the Delegates or to
me!)
I’m sorry to have gone on at such length, but all these things are important parts of
what this day – this meeting, soon to convene – is about. The Diocese, the Episcopal
Church, and the Anglican Communion are not in real great shape.
But our parish – this lovely little body of friends and worshippers – is doing VERY
well! Beset by problems, certainly – not least of which is our advancing age – but with
wonderful spirit growing out of so many wonderful accomplishments. And I look and
pray for another GOOD year!
Another good year working together In Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.
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| Calvary Episcopal Church, Rockdale |