Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so that a runner may read it.
Habakkuk 2:3
Some of you may know that the Feast of Saint Thomas is the anniversary of my ordination to the Priesthood. It is a significant day, and Thomas is a significant figure in my life for a variety of reasons, but for some reason this particular reading stuck out to me. Write the Vision. Make it Plain. So that a Runner may read it.
I fear that perhaps in the cacophony of the last two years, the vision of who we are at Memorial has not been made plain. We have been so busy trying to survive this pandemic, to care for each other and for those around us, and to just keep ourselves going that you might be hard pressed to know what we are about.
As we approach the tail end of stewardship season and begin to prepare for the annual meeting in January, I thought it made sense to put pen to paper (or fingers to key pad) about what exactly the vision is for Memorial and why you will want to be a part of this community in some form or fashion for many years to come.
Community Focused - Outward Looking: In order to stay vital, Churches have to re-orient how they encounter the world around them. If a church community is not seen as a vital resource to the people around it it simply won’t survive. For the last five years we have been opening our doors and expanding the boundaries of what we call our neighborhood. A few years ago residents in Druid Heights or Upton would not have known our name, now we have deep and deepening connections with neighbors and organizations in all four directions.
Jesus Focused - Justice Centered: Taking our cues from the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior we seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus out in the world. We also recognize that the Church has been and continues to be an instrument of injustice in too many places, and that if we are to truly reflect the Gospel today we have to be about justice.
Repairers of the Beach - Restorers of the Streets to live in: Memorial has made a $500,000 - five year commitment to reparations in West Baltimore. But we recognize that this is just a down payment. As a community we are committed to repairing and restoring relationships, neighborhoods and lives in central west Baltimore not because of a political agenda, but because it is what Jesus would have us do.
The Light of Christ: Finally, we do all this to be the light of Christ in the world. Church attendance has never been lower, and peoples hunger for a spiritual connection has never been greater. People have not given up on Jesus! But they have given up on the church - it is our hope that through our ministry, our worship, and our way of life - people will find themselves drawn into deeper relationship with the divine through word and sacrament.
THIS is why we need you to finalize your pledge for 2022.
Because in 2022 we will have our most robust staff in a decade - with a Priest, Deacon, Seminarian, Sexton, Justice Minister, Youth Minister, Parish Administrator, Building Administrator, Music Minister, Treasurer and Bookkeeper.
We will have a staff that more and more reflects the whole body of Christ and the community around us - representing a variety of races, creeds, colors, backgrounds and pronouns.
We will be working closely with many partners in West Baltimore for the spiritual, physical and emotional renewal of the broader community.
We will be making more use of our space than ever to serve Bolton Hill and the Neighborhoods and Institutions around us.
But that only happens if you pledge. So please make your pledge today if you have not already
PLEDGE HERE: https://www.memorialboltonhill.org/stewardship