Tuesday, March 16, 2010

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		Our Message
	St. Paul's Church is a parish in the Diocese of San Joaquin of the Anglican Church in North America. As such, it is a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which includes both Catholic and Protestant traditions. We accept Jesus as Savior, and we promise to follow him as Lord. We believe in One God, the Father who created us and all things, the Son who redeems us from sin and death, the Holy Spirit who renews and sanctifies us. We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the Word of God and to contain all things necessary for salvation; and we accept the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds as basic statements of our beliefs.

Members of the Clergy and Staff

A Parish in the Diocese of San Joaquin of the Anglican Church in North America

The Rev. Richard I. James Rector

The Rev. Jim Rouse Assisting

Elaine McKinney
Parish Secretary

Antoinette Horsting Financial Secretary

Mel Morris, Sexton

Vestry

Convention Delegates

2010

Amy Gunn, Mary Murray
Jack Ramirez, Kashy Rowland- Smith, William Winn

Delegates to Diocesan Convention

Kathy Bernardi, Betty Blackmon,

Kim Robinson, Chet Smeds

2011

David Francis, Monica Norton,
John Peters, Harry Tow,
Larry Wilds

Alternates to Diocesan Convention

Cindy Hoover, Nancy Salmon

2012

Larry Akey, Mark Cave, Sue Nyberg,
Sue Piper, Ed Robinson

Senior Warden -
Kashy Rowland-Smith

Junior Warden -
John Peters

Secretary -
Mary Murray

Treasurer -
Monica Norton

Editorial

The Epistle

Newsletter of St. Paul’s Church
A Parish in the Diocese of San Joaquin
The Anglican Church in North America

Taking Stock of Who We Are

This year, due to a change in canons associated with the formation of the Anglican Church in North America, the forms that are used for reporting the information are being revised – so the process is being delayed. As far as I am concerned, that is not a bad thing, since I don’t like all the work that is required. But, I know that inevitably the forms will arrive, with a due date attached, and we will have to complete the task.

Even with my lack of enthusiasm for dealing with the annual parochial report, I know that the information will be helpful, not only to the diocese and the wider church, but also to us here at St. Paul’s. The report will give us a statistical picture that will help us evaluate parish life.

For example, we will be able to see if the parish is growing or not by looking at the number of people in worship on an average Sunday. We can also look at the number of baptisms, weddings and funerals to see what trends those figures reveal. And, of course, a review of the church’s financial situation often tells a story about the church.

Every year in January and February, parish priests and parish secretaries throughout the Anglican Church struggle to deal with the challenge of completing the annual parochial reports that each congregation is required to submit to the diocese. These reports provide statistical information on various aspects of church life.

In essence, compiling and reviewing the statistics gives us a good idea of who we are as a congregation.

But as we all know, statistics cannot tell the whole story, because we cannot measure some things that are very much a part of who we are.

For example, we cannot count the prayers that are offered, or the daily acts of service rendered by parishioners, or the amount of trust we put in God.

But all of these things, and so many more, are a part of who we are. We are individuals who are gathered by God into a community of faith. Our faith is in Jesus Christ, and we gather for many things, including fellowship, worship, study and service.

As we begin another Lent, perhaps this is a good time for individuals within the parish to assess for themselves their role in the life of the community. During Lent we can ask ourselves how well we fulfill our roles as part of a community of faith, gathered for fellowship, worship, study and prayer.

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