Greetings, Siblings in Christ,

Earlier this fall, I shared with you in a sermon one of my favorite passages of Scripture: A grateful heart sits at a continuous feast. (Proverbs 15.15)

My experience with gratitude has been that it is like a good soup stock. It makes everything you put in it taste better. When we cultivate gratitude, we find that even lean times can be blessed with nourishment that meets our hunger. These morsels can be shared with someone else who is hungry for hope and healing.

Having said that, I realize it is easy to experience the world as a place of scarcity right now: Ukraine, Haiti, the widening wealth gap, climate change, inflation, the crisis of teen mental health, the specter of a contentious election season, and more. Many of us may have personal or family pains that are acute. Even though our weekly eBlast open rate pushes 60%, and the number of households who annually commit to the financial support of the church hovers around 115, Church attendance on a Sunday morning can feel sparse, for all kinds of good reasons.

I know our parish to a place of grateful hearts, preparing places of feasting for others. Our Annual Appeal and other gifts help us to do that, by financing nearly 70 % of our mission. (Facility rentals—roughly 20% — and endowment income – roughly 10% – underwrite the rest. See the FAQs for more information on our financial situation as well as guidelines and goals for giving.)

Reaching out from gratitude supports our ministries with MANNA, Haiti, and Community Concerns (our microgrant committee); our staff, as we welcome numerous community groups and renters into our spacious and well-located building, which needs regular maintenance and capital improvements; our Ministry of Music and the new staff member we are recruiting to nurture our Church School community; our solar panels, which gently supply the electric needs of our physical plant; and so much more.

We live in challenging financial times, to be sure. If you are able to stretch a bit beyond your financial support of the parish in the past, we all will know the satisfaction of a ministry well done.

View the FAQs here. Complete your FIT online here or print this PDF of the FIT card, complete it and mail it back to the office. Please let the office (781-444-1469) would like forms and return envelopes mailed to you.

We invite you to reach out from your grateful heart to support the mission and ministry of our parish—to love God and neighbor as Jesus teaches.

With gratitude,
The Rev. Nick Morris-Kliment, Rector, along with
Annual Appeal co-chairs Kim Rocco & Jean McCarthy; team members, Duncan Allen & Phil Trussell