​Reflections by the Rev. Lou Hays - Our Bright Future

Our parish is truly blessed. Jon Delano and the entire Vestry have done their job exceedingly well. They have selected an outstanding Rector Search Committee and two excellent co-chairs, Eileen Sharbaugh and Geoff Hurd. They will be guided by a seasoned search consultant who knows us well, Dana Phillips. With God’s help, they will do their work carefully, prayerfully, with skill and dedication, and with the best interests of the mission of St. Paul’s at the center of all they do. Please keep them in your prayers as I do every day.

One reason for my tremendous optimism for the future of St. Paul’s is what we are seeing happen every day. St. Paul’s, simply stated, is full of life. From the oldest and longest time member to the newest and youngest parishioner, there is energy and enthusiasm wherever I look. Sunday mornings, of course. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings bring the deluge of youth for the two youth groups and adults for the adult program. Women’s groups meet throughout the week. Friday night fish fries, Sunday afternoon concerts. Whoever God brings as your next Rector is going to be an incredibly fortunate person!

Another reason for my optimism was the somewhat unexpected news that we grew in 2015. Some of you may recall that I preached a sermon in early January that predicted that we may have had a net loss of parishioners. I pointed out that every year people die, move away, or otherwise stop attending St. Paul’s. It takes a lot of births and newcomers to stay even, let alone grow. I said that we could no longer count on “voluntary” newcomers to replenish our numbers, and we would have to be more intentional about inviting people to come to St. Paul’s. About a month ago, I got the happy news that I was wrong! Not about the need to be more invitational, but I was wrong that we had not grown in 2015.

So this is what actually happened in 2015:

• Sadly, 10 parishioners died during the year.
• Happily, we had 16 baptisms during the year. Many Episcopal churches have far more deaths than births each year.
• 27 parishioners moved to other parts of the country and had to be removed from our rolls. Living in a somewhat transient area is a two-edged sword – we welcome newcomers when they move into the area, but we say farewell when people move for job changes or retirement.
• 22 other parishioners stopped attending St. Paul’s, some of whom were parishioners’ adult children who have moved away.
• We welcomed 70 new parishioners and one returning parishioner.
• Bottom line, we grew by 28 members, from 1,447 to 1,475.

Huge growth? No. But so much better than the alternative, given that a large majority of Episcopal parishes are shrinking, not increasing.

And this brings me full circle. Why are we growing, not shrinking? Because we are full of life. Because we do an ever improving job of welcoming and connecting those who are new to St. Paul’s. Because the abundance of life at St. Paul’s creates buzz in the community which in turn attracts new members, who in turn add additional energy and life to the parish. Because we are a beacon of Christ’s love and bring the love of God to the community, the nation, and the world.

Lou