The Need
Dear Friends,
What a privilege to write to you with thanks in our hearts for all you have done for the St. John’s family in the past year.
A year ago, we didn’t know exactly how the global pandemic and its effect would change St. John’s and how we would manage to worship, serve and mission together. We, your rector, leadership, and Stewardship Committee are grateful to report that your commitment – to Christ, to the church, and to each other – has kept us tightly connected and generously serving each other and our community, in a time of uncertainty. We’ve comforted, prayed for, and rejoiced with each other, whether distanced or in person. And we have found meaning and beauty regardless of physical distance.
So, thank you – for your time, your participation, your financial gifts, and your feedback on how to be St. John’s this past year. And now, having learned so much, we again ask you, how do you want to serve God at St. John’s in the coming year?
For us, the stand-out theme as we go forward is obvious because of the kind of year we’ve just had. In myriad ways, we worked together to be the church in new configurations. And here’s what that took and what we’re taking forward with us:
Faith, Hope, Love
1 Corinthians 13:13
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
Faith. We were able to gather in person when the Bishop welcomed our confirmands and others this spring. More than forty people determined to affirm their faith with us, in a year when we had so few opportunities to build that faith in person! What a testimony to St. John’s ability to convey the meaning of faith. The year ahead is bright, in a parish with people choosing discipleship.
Hope. This may be the most uncertain time St. John’s has been through in our lifetime. The world’s landscape is changing in almost every way, but we are serving an unchanging and eternal God. In the coming year, your gifts, both financial and otherwise, will make a difference in this world. We need to hope, together, to create a stable space built around that eternal Hope to sustain each other and to offer that hope to everyone around us.
Love. With the support you provide, we pray to continue to love one another, as Christ loved us. We want to reinforce the connections we’ve made across so many new avenues from Compline to Women in Faith to continuing to serve our community through Share, Second Story, Martha’s Table and Homestretch. Your determination to keep everyone at St. John’s connected – praying for one another and sharing burdens – will continue to be the major expression of “church” in the coming year.
Your pledge this year will be an expression of all three – Love, Faith, and Hope. If you have never pledged before, this is the perfect time. Pledges allow families to plan their gifts and our leadership to plan how we will serve each other and the world. The St. John’s family needs your participation, and we pray you will make that pledge as soon as possible.
You can count on your leadership and the Stewardship Committee to make our pledges early. For those who have joyfully pledged before, thank you, please do so again. For those who may be pledging for the first time, thank you, also. We are the St. John’s family, serving in Love, Faith, and Hope. Help us make the coming year one of outstanding service to God.
With appreciation,
The Stewardship Committee
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St. John's McLean
6715 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101
703-356-4902