Stewardship 2024: Our Place

PLEDGE NOW

Dear Parish Family,

I’ve been asked to write the “Places” component of the Stewardship appeal this year.

I have been thinking about the place that is St. James. I have thought of all the meals I have eaten prepared in the Great Hall and Perry Hall kitchens. I have thought of years of Wednesday afternoons in the choir room, Sundays in the choir loft and time spent on the playground with the members of the choir. I think of times I have spent at the copier or stuffing envelopes in the Bacon House. I think of Sundays I spent in various Sunday School rooms with children learning, laughing and playing. I’ve spent nights in the church with youth groups from St. James and others on mission trips. I can feel the cold of those mornings worshipping at Mt. Lebanon Chapel during Covid times as well as the heat of worshipping there in the summer while watching and listening to the ospreys and little children chattering during church. I have thought of all of the Sundays watching the light come through the stained glass windows, sitting in years-old pews, walking on age-old floors and listening to the sound of our Parish worshipping on Sunday morning. There are so many places that matter at St. James. Where are yours?

St. James is like a really comfortable old home to me. But as we all know, old homes require a lot of work and upkeep. Heating units wear out, stairs get unsafe, kitchen walls start to crack and peel, and roofs always seem to leak. None of us would want or allow a very dear old home in our family to fall into disrepair or dispute the need for more maintenance. Our physical plant is no exception. We will always need to be taking care of this place, this old home to so many.

We all know home repair is not cheap. There are some specific repairs that need to be done on our campus that demand extra funds to make possible (the Market Street stairs to name one). There is routine maintenance that has been neglected at times. Our Strategic Plan encourages us to make better and wider use of our property. To meet this objective, we will need to keep our property safe and clean. Money again. In discussions at our Vestry meetings, we have committed to making repairs that are lasting - not Band-aids. We need to work on our old home and make it shine a little brighter. This will take more money.

So I am asking you today to consider this place that is St. James. This place we call our “home.” onsider giving generously to help us continue to have a place we are proud of and one we want to share with others. A place that says welcome to all. A place that says welcome to you.

Thank you.

Barbara Whitesides

St. James Vestry