Hello Friends,
I’m full of mixed emotions as I write this update. My desk has piles of materials scattered about as I pull ideas together, and I can’t see the St. Paul’s letterhead without being reminded of the friends and faces I am missing. Zoom meetings and Livestreams have filled some empty spaces, but seeing our logo brings out “all the feels.”
I offered to write this update to the parish as Senior Warden, not just to give the rector a much-needed break, but to offer some insight from the vestry. As you have seen and heard, the business of caring for the community around us has not been stopped by the virus. We are fortunate to have the talents and resources to navigate through the various obstacles that popped up weekly, daily, even hourly in the past month.
You may have seen the moving liturgies of Holy Week, produced by hours of collaboration behind the scenes. Committees and ministries have responded to the challenges facing our fantastic St. Paul’s staff, and the weight has been carried by many shoulders. No one KNOWS it all, and no one DOES it all in our church home; collaboration is how we came to be, and it is clearly how we will move forward.
There is Good News to share! In keeping with Rev. George Adamik’s Easter message of not going back to the old normal but leaning forward to new possibilities, the vestry voted last weekend to move ahead with the renovation plans for our Welcoming in Christ campaign. Consultations with the designer and the builder made it clear that we have a unique opportunity to make the most of this time away from our buildings, returning later in 2020 to fresh spaces with new options for gathering. With so much already invested in the design process, the vestry felt it was not a time to retreat in fear, but to step forward, trusting in the commitment of our faith community to see this project through.
The vestry appreciates that we are once again undertaking a building project in an era of financial insecurity. We have been here as a community before, having the audacity to build a new building right after September 11th in the midst of the resulting Iraq War. Don’t forget this was also during the controversy around electing an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal church. Yet, here we are.
Here we are, Lord.
We’re not going to retreat in fear; we’re going to step onto the path ahead of us and be known for our caring ways. We’re going to pull together like we do, the community of St. Paul’s in Cary. We’re going to act together, with the courage to think that we have the talent and the collective resources to be MORE than we were before this virus. We do good work together; this is no time to stop.
We need everyone to join us on this path, as we all share uncertainty about the future. The one place we can turn to in the midst of confusion is our church family, and the collective generosity that has made a difference in lives for six decades. More than ever, this is a time to give together.
Please continue making your pledge payments. If you want to learn more about giving to this renovation project, please contact the church at stpauls@stpaulscary.org; or call 919-467-1477. As always, we remain grateful for every contribution to our church’s financial well-being. We appreciate the sacrifices you make to further our mission and ministries.
From my heart (and my messy desk),
Mary Kintz
View copy of email: Weekly Update April 16, 2020