Warrant of Annual Meeting

Pursuant to the By-Laws of the Episcopal Parish of St. John the Evangelist, the Annual Meeting of the Parish shall be held on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025, in the Church Parish Hall immediately following the 10 a.m. service.

• To receive reports of the Priest & Wardens, the Officers, and Chairs of Committees, and other organizations of the parish;

• To elect members of the Vestry;

• To receive the budget for 2025;

• To receive and act upon resolutions and to transact such other business that may be brought before said Meeting.

With the concurrence of the Rev. Edward Thornley, and Wardens, Jody Jones Turner and Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn.

Budget Q&A meeting

This Sunday, Jan. 12, at 9 a.m. in the Thayer Room, Finance Committee Chair Brad Galko, and Junior Warden Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn, will be offering a “Q&A” session on our 2025 budget, ahead of our Annual Meeting. If you are interested in church finance and/or have questions about our upcoming budget, then please join us! This is a great opportunity to connect with our church leadership on any questions you may have about our financial priorities for 2025.

Final St. John’s Stewardship & Budget Status Update

Good Morning, St. John’s.

Thank you to everyone who has responded to the call to submit your 2025 pledge of support to St. John’s. We are very pleased with the progress we have made during this Stewardship Season.

We are reaching out today to update the Parish on Stewardship efforts.

Our Annual Meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. on January 26, 2025, in Upper Weld Hall, at which time we’ll vote on the 2025 budget.

Ahead of the Annual Meeting, we are hosting an open budget discussion for parishioners to meet with leaders from our Finance Committee and Vestry, to address questions and hear input from parishioners: Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025, at 9 a.m. in Upper Weld Hall (and online). Please attend!

Our Stewardship Season began in October, and during the last ten weeks, we have sought to provide available information to the parish, through three pairs of Stewardship Sermons, four announcements (every three weeks) from our Stewardship Chairs, and weekly email updates. 

We’ve seen such generosity these last few months. It also brings into focus limitations on financial resources.

We want to address a question that many have asked: Will we have enough to fund a second priest in 2025?

Together, we have a chance to answer that question. Throughout the Stewardship Season, we have mentioned that:

• A budget encompassing our current activity level (with a single full-time Priest) is expected to require pledges of approximately $625,000—compared to last year’s total pledges of $540,000.

• A full-year of more “programmatic” activities (with two full-time Priests) is expected to require pledges in the range of $750,000.

We believe we will meet or somewhat exceed the initial $625,000 goal. New pledging families or additional increases from existing pledging families are needed to achieve our Program Level goal of $750,000, and fund a second priest in 2025.

We are so pleased that have received 38 pledges from new families this year, and over 95% of last year’s pledgers have pledged again.

• In total, about 60% of this year’s pledges are from either new pledgers or families who have increased their pledges from last year.

• As we know, life doesn’t always allow us to increase our pledge each year—about 30% of this year’s pledges remained the same as last year and about 12% declined. Our stewardship campaign reflects what is happening in the broader community and in our own financial lives, and we are grateful to have this continued support.

• The important work of Stewardship is supported this year by a corps of three dozen “Ambassadors” who have helped us reach out to families for the last 3 months. And so we do expect some additional pledges in the coming days.

We have reviewed these figures, discussed with many of you, and considered our opportunities. We are energized—as you can see—by Father Ed’s arrival, and there is indeed widespread support for being in a position to have two full-time priests.

But, again absent a substantial additional increase from pledges, we do not see an opportunity to fully fund a second priest in 2025.

• To get to the $750,000 figure (for 1-year of an additional full-time priest), we would need an additional $700 on average from every family that has already pledged, or new pledges.

• Hiring a junior position (a curate) would be a savings of only $20,000 per year.

• If we were to bring on a second priest, even if only later in the year, we would also want to be sure that we can sustain giving at the higher level to support the full-year position, without facing the painful choices that come with over-shooting our financial resources.

Whether we pursue an associate rector (a senior position) or a curate (a junior position), there is a long lead time associated with that. Based on the strength of your support so far, and with expectations for strong financial support into 2026 and beyond, we plan to begin the process now of preparing a search process that would conclude with hiring a second priest in the beginning or middle of 2026.

Thank you to each of you who have made our Stewardship Season a success; we look forward to this opportunity in 2026 that your support makes possible.

Every pledge matters, in any amount. All of our pledgers have helped our Vestry and Finance Committee develop a budget that will support our parish next year—and every single pledge contributes to this process.

Our Parish has done what we set out to do at the beginning of the season: to prayerfully consider what we can share together for a vibrant and active parish in 2025.

It is very important to us that you have access to this information, so that you can consider for yourselves what comes next, and discuss that with members of the Vestry if you would like to explore other opportunities.

There is indeed support for a second priest, in time, and all that we have heard is a commitment to continue to grow and be a part of our Church community in the coming year.

We are grateful for your generosity and participation in this process. Thank you!

Thank you.

Faithfully,

Andy Strehle, Stewardship Chair

Jody Jones Turner, Senior Warden

Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn, Junior Warden

Note from the Wardens—A Special Thank You

Thank you to all who joined us for a beautiful evening Tuesday to celebrate Fr. Ed's Institution as our ninth Rector! On behalf of the Vestry, we wish to share our immense gratitude to our Rector Search Committee and Transition Team.

We thank the incredible Rector Search Committee—Chairs Rob Hess and Elizabeth Moulds and their team Matthew Ginn, Sara Dickison Taylor, Barbie Dwyer, Bill Carter, Dan Fickes, Caitlin Slodden, Jane Carr, Molly Powers, and Cathy Torrey—who after months of prayerful discernment, recommended Fr. Ed as our next Rector. It was wonderful to see them all in attendance on Tuesday evening, enjoying a well-deserved celebration together.

We are also very grateful to Sara Dickison Taylor, Jenn Gay-Smith and Elizabeth Moulds for their dedicated service as Fr. Ed’s Transition Team. For the past several months, they have worked tirelessly to welcome Ed and Devon to St. John’s—arranging meet and greets with parishioners, ensuring that the Rectory was comfortable for their arrival, and organizing the Institution and reception. Thank you Sara, Jenn and Elizabeth for your thoughtfulness, your time, and your faithful service!

A Special Week for St. John’s

Good Evening, St. John’s.

Today marks the first day in a very special week at St. John’s. On Tuesday evening, The Right Reverend Julia E. Whitworth will visit St. John’s where one of her first acts as Bishop will be to Celebrate the New Ministry and Institution of The Reverend Edward Thornley, St. John’s Ninth Rector.

St. John’s Parishioners had a vital hand in carrying the Church through the transition period. We would not be here without you. We hope you will join us to celebrate our community, our dedicated Rector Search and Transition teams, and this most joyous occasion. The Institution promises to be a meaningful service, a moment to recognize what we have been through, and to look forward together to our next chapter under the leadership of Father Ed. A celebratory reception will follow. We hope to see you there.

We also invite you to return to St. John’s Friday evening for the 2024 Holiday Boutique Cocktail Party—a beloved tradition and festive evening to shop, sip, and socialize. The Holiday Boutique is the Church’s largest annual fundraiser, and a wonderful opportunity to open St. Johns’ doors to the community and kick-off the holiday season. We are still looking to fill important volunteer slots. Please sign-up here. Every shift helps!

We are so grateful for our Church home, and all of you.

Faithfully,

Jody Jones Turner & Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn

On behalf of the St. John's Vestry

Stewardship: Make Your 2025 Pledge Today

Behold, all things have become new! 

Thank you to all who have answered the call and submitted your 2025 Pledge!

Everything we do at St John’s—every service, every program, every church school class, and every bit of outreach—can happen only with financial contributions from our parishioners. We are the ones who are responsible for funding our parish. Our pledges made during the stewardship season will be the most important factor in determining our budget for next year. With broad increases in year-over-year pledged amounts, we can develop a plan that will sustain and grow our activities together.