Serving Faithfully

Dear Friends,

Whenever I meet someone outside of church, one of the first things he or she will ask is: “What do you do?” After I answer that I am a priest, and the rector of St. Alban’s, the next question is always: “How big is your church?” To be honest, I don’t like this question, because it seems to arise from a secular standard for judging “success” or even validity by numbers alone. My response is that we are growing in faith and in members, and that we’d like to invite them to join us.

October is the month when we focus on stewardship at St. Alban’s. It’s the time when we ask our members to make a realistic and generous pledge to support our parish in the coming year. Yes, stewardship involves money – but it’s really about what it means to belong to this community of faith. It challenges us to take a deeper look at what it means to be an active participant in the life of the church.

The Episcopal Church defines “membership” in different ways. Strictly speaking, a “member” of the parish is someone who was baptized at our church, or who has transferred his/her membership to St. Alban’s. By this standard, we have many members… but I believe that numbers alone do not really reflect the true life of a congregation. God calls us to a deeper level of commitment. The canons (laws) of the Episcopal Church define an “active” member in this way:

“A Communicant Member in Good Standing” is a member “who worships regularly, unless for good cause prevented, and has been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God.” (Canon I.17 Section 3)

Our Lord calls us to live by faith and trust in Him, and to worship and serve within the context of a local church. There is no such thing as an “unaffiliated Christian” or an “inactive member” in the New Testament. God calls every one of us to be a vital part of the Body of Christ in this place. We are very blessed to have many people who give so generously of their time, talent, and treasure to support our common life at St. Alban’s, and I am truly grateful for every one of you.

In this season of stewardship, would you please consider the ways that God has blessed you at our church, and of the ways we can serve Him faithfully in the coming year.

Rev. John Peters, rector