Disciples, Apostles, and Saints!
Each year, we gather as a congregation for a meeting that includes everyone. We call it simply, the Annual Meeting, which, frankly, is a little on-the-nose if you ask me.
We are obligated by canons of the church and by state and federal law to have a congregational meeting at least once per year. We don’t need to only have one meeting annually, just that we must endeavor to do so no less than annually. In this way, I might suggest we refer to it as the congregational meeting rather than our annual meeting.
At this meeting, we elect vestry members and delegates to convention, get an accounting of the year that was and of the year ahead through ministry reports, presentation of the budget, and a rector’s address. The rest of the year, the work of the congregation is delegated to the vestry and the rector.
We will gather Sunday January 19th for our budget presentation after the 10:00 service. This is our opportunity to dive into the budget for next year with more room for conversation. Then we gather the following Sunday, January 26th at 11:30 am for our congregational meeting.
This will be a pivotal year for St. Stephen’s and we have so much to look forward to: new opportunities for exploring our stories, a summer filled with creativity and projects, and a fall of celebrating. There is much to look forward to and joy to behold in all of it.
With love,
Drew