outreach

Vestry Report for February 2022

Our last Vestry report, which was posted on the St. Mary’s website in January, reflected back on the Christmas and Advent seasons, along with the rise of the Omicron variant back in November. We were—admittedly—a little disheartened by the extreme weather disasters and pivots back to remote activities that ushered in the new year. The joke about 2022 as 2020 too felt more cruel than funny, and we wondered how we would endure yet another “unprecedented” stage of the pandemic. So far throughout the months of 2022, our Vestry meetings have continued to be illuminating moments of community, shared hope, and excitement for this year. We remember that it is a rare and wonderful privilege to be a part of such a caring and gracious group.

To read the entire report for February 2022, click “Read More.”

Fundraiser Recipient is Chosen: Community Supported Shelters

The Outreach Ministry Council has been asked by the Vestry to allocate funds raised in 2021 through the Blue Bag Bottles and Cans Recycling Fundraiser to an agency or program that addresses housing for our unhoused neighbors. The Outreach Ministry Council requested input from parishioners and then met on Zoom to discuss the potential organizations to support. We have decided that the money we raise from returning redeemable bottles and cans will go to Community Supported Shelters (CSS).

Click “Read More” to read the full article.

Vestry Report for September/October Bellringer

By the time you receive this report, St. Mary’s will have had two-plus weeks of in-person outdoor services in addition to our “bring-your-own-everything” Annual Picnic. These mark the gradual steps we’re taking to see each other in person again, as we near the end of summer and the start of fall. We hope that the summer has been a peaceful time for you, as it has for many of us, and we have been grateful for the small things, like the growing of our gardens and house plants, the warm weather and sun-filled days, the hikes and time spent in Oregon’s outdoor bounty. These past two months have been an opportunity to assess our response to the pandemic during the spring and to reevaluate as we look to the coming year and to more sustainable solutions. We’ve been shifting from a reactionary, temporary mindset into familiarity, routine, and real acceptance that this is how we live now.