building

Vestry Report for November

Just as Advent is a season of hopeful expectation, so we in the Vestry eagerly watch and wait for the completion of the many projects currently happening at St. Mary’s. In the midst of the growing darkness and the freezing nights, we find light and warmth in the promise of our eventual re-gathering together in our improved building space. In addition to the completion of the ventilation system upgrade and new lighting in the sanctuary, we are looking forward to the removal and relocation of bats that have been living within certain areas of our walls for many years. Their presence has mostly been peaceful, but the work on the ventilation system has revealed the extent to which they have made themselves a little too comfortable inside our walls. They will be gently but sternly pushed to take up residence elsewhere, and there will be some new alternative dwellings nearby so they won’t be forced to travel far to find shelter.

Read the full Vestry report for November by clicking “Read More.”

Update on Ventilation for the Church

We are thrilled to announce that construction for our new HVAC system for the church has begun! We are so close to having a safer and more comfortable worship space. Of course, as is often the case with construction, there will be some inconveniences as we move through this phase. As they demolish the old system and put in the new, the church and chapel might feel a little chilly this month.

To read the entire update, click “Read More.”

Vestry Report for Fall 2021

Our reflection from Thomas Merton that began our August meeting focused on uncertainty. Merton states bluntly: “I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.” His words feel uncannily appropriate to our current moment as we transition from the end of summer to the beginning of fall. We have no idea what is going to happen with the pandemic. We are fatigued and frustrated, and we cannot see the road ahead. Merton continues, writing that he wants to follow God’s will even as he doubts his ability to discern what that is. He concludes by saying that he believes the desire to please God does in fact please God, and so he strives to cultivate that desire. This is the glimmer of hope that Merton offers us—even when we can’t see the way forward, we must still seek to find and follow God’s will. It is the desire that matters. We don’t know what God will ask of us in this coming season, but if we continue to desire to desire to follow him, he will lead us in the right direction, as he has always done. We can cling to that confidence as we forge ahead.

The Vestry is St. Mary’s elected governing body. They meet monthly throughout the year. Please click “Read More” to read their entire update that was included in the Fall 2021 Bellringer.

Vestry Report for June 2021

It finally feels like summer has arrived! The school year is done and the solstice has passed, so bring on the long days and vaccinated in-person gatherings that were once only the stuff of dreams. At our June Vestry meeting on the threshold of this summer season, we tempered our excitement with a reflection on “rest” from Thomas Merton. The passage we read was from a work aptly titled “No Man is an Island,” which certainly strikes a chord after this pandemic year.

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