We had a very successful annual vestry meeting last Sunday. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to those who gave presentations, who supported our audiovisual needs, and who hosted coffee for us.
In my remarks at the end of the meeting, I noted that our parish has been growing. Our average attendance for 2023 was 85! For the first full year without Covid restrictions, that’s fantastic!
Last year, I challenged us to dedicate ourselves to welcoming visitors—not just saying hello, but encouraging them to come to coffee hour, and finding an opportunity to introduce them to others. This parish has always been a welcoming place, but you went above and beyond. It has been a beautiful thing, to see people actively incorporating newcomers into conversations in the Trendell Lounge, and working to make sure they meet lots of people. Well done, everyone, and keep up the good work!
This year, though, I want to challenge us to go a step further—in 2024, let’s commit not only to welcoming people when they walk in the door, but to finding ways to invite people to come experience the joy and the friendship we find here. That doesn’t necessarily have to be for a Sunday morning service—there is so much happening at St. John’s that we can invite people to!
We now hold evensong on the second Sunday of every month. (The one on March 10 is going to be extraordinary, as the University Singers will be here to share some truly amazing music with us as we worship. We will also have a light reception afterward.) Our Holy Week services are some of the finest in Vancouver—even people who aren’t 2
regular churchgoers may want to experience the richness of those liturgies. Our Maundy Thursday potluck soup supper is always a great time for community-building, as well, and would be a wonderful time to invite a friend. As spring goes on, we’ll have more formation offerings, a grief support event, and an exciting fundraiser, among other activities.
If you have an idea for another event or activity we could host that might make it easy to invite people in and get to know them, please let us know—we’d love to explore other opportunities for incorporating new people into the parish.
Why am I giving us this challenge for 2024, especially when we’re already growing anyway? Because it isn’t about numbers—it’s about love! Think about the ways your participation in this parish has blessed your life. If we have found something meaningful and inspiring here in this community and in our worship, why wouldn’t we want to share it with other people?
I encourage you to think of two people you might invite to something at church—a concert, a fellowship event, or a worship service. Pray for those two people every day. And when the time is right, invite them to something happening at SJS that you think they would enjoy. We have so much to offer to each other, and to the community. Let’s keep up the good work we’re doing in our worship, in our service to those in need, and in building and deepening relationships with one another. And let’s look for ways to reach out and invite others to find the same joy we’ve found.
Warmly,
Mother Terry+