SENIOR WARDEN REPORT
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New Beginnings
Where we have been in 2016:
This past year we have had many goodbyes and many hellos, as transitions and changes are a part of life. But because our church family is so strong, we have been able to pray and work together as we have met each change while continuing our walk down God’s path.
Dean Johnny Cook became our interim rector in January and lead our parish with spiritual purpose, wisdom and humor. Johnny always made sure we were focused on the wonderful ministries at St James, which there are many and always to stay mindful of the reason we are part of St. James’ family.
Father Don, became our assisting priest in January, in order to dedicate more of his time to his own search process. And in April, Don accepted a call to Grace Episcopal Church in Sheffield, Alabama. We are all very excited about Don’s new beginning with his new church and are forever thankful for his faithful ministry with us. We had a grand send off for him on April 10, in celebration of his time with us.
We then began our Search Process in earnest, with Bob Keyser faithfully leading the Search Committee. The members of the committee were selected to represent the diversity of the parish and began their methodical process discerning what kind of leadership St. James was searching for and what our vision for the future would look like.
The list of potential candidates was assembled, site visits organized, and in early summer, the search committee was able to make a recommendation to the vestry for our new rector, Father De Freeman. The vestry extended the call to De in June, he accepted and began his new ministry at St. James on August 28, Rally Day!
De and our administrative staff quickly began working and planning together as there are numerous wonderful ministries in our church to become familiar with as was meeting all of the parish family. While getting to know the staff, De has mentioned several times how fortunate St. James is to have this amazing group of people hard at work for our church.
While approaching our normal pledge time of year, the Stewardship Committee met to craft a new approach to pledging, coinciding with De’s approach to stewardship as an ongoing ministry, and not just for a couple of months out of each year. Considering our pledges, the committee wanted the parish to always be mindful of our God given gifts and how we can share those, discover and understand our outreach opportunities and enjoy the community of St. James through fellowship.
We remembered Father Mark as we dedicated the Christian Education Building to him and blessed Father De’s new ministry with Bishop Russell officiating for both in one ceremony. Father Mark will always remain in our hearts while we embrace De as our new rector.
Jen, our previous youth minister, discerned that it was time to begin a new chapter in her life, and moved to Birmingham to begin her new position as the Parish Administrator at St. Stephens in Birmingham. We were very fortunate to have Jen lead our youth and wish her well in her new position.
We are also very excited to welcome Anne McEniry as our new youth minister. We are so thankful that Anne will be serving our church in this capacity and will be able to use her many gifts to serve our youth! Please thank Anne when you see her for accepting this calling to serve our youth.
I recap all of these highlights, not only to illustrate the journey we have been on together this past year, but to be thankful for our church community. We are a healthy and vibrant parish and I thank all of you, for continuing to do such great work in God’s vineyard.
Respectfully Submitted,
Gina Walcott
Senior Warden
New Beginnings
Where we have been in 2016:
This past year we have had many goodbyes and many hellos, as transitions and changes are a part of life. But because our church family is so strong, we have been able to pray and work together as we have met each change while continuing our walk down God’s path.
Dean Johnny Cook became our interim rector in January and lead our parish with spiritual purpose, wisdom and humor. Johnny always made sure we were focused on the wonderful ministries at St James, which there are many and always to stay mindful of the reason we are part of St. James’ family.
Father Don, became our assisting priest in January, in order to dedicate more of his time to his own search process. And in April, Don accepted a call to Grace Episcopal Church in Sheffield, Alabama. We are all very excited about Don’s new beginning with his new church and are forever thankful for his faithful ministry with us. We had a grand send off for him on April 10, in celebration of his time with us.
We then began our Search Process in earnest, with Bob Keyser faithfully leading the Search Committee. The members of the committee were selected to represent the diversity of the parish and began their methodical process discerning what kind of leadership St. James was searching for and what our vision for the future would look like.
The list of potential candidates was assembled, site visits organized, and in early summer, the search committee was able to make a recommendation to the vestry for our new rector, Father De Freeman. The vestry extended the call to De in June, he accepted and began his new ministry at St. James on August 28, Rally Day!
De and our administrative staff quickly began working and planning together as there are numerous wonderful ministries in our church to become familiar with as was meeting all of the parish family. While getting to know the staff, De has mentioned several times how fortunate St. James is to have this amazing group of people hard at work for our church.
While approaching our normal pledge time of year, the Stewardship Committee met to craft a new approach to pledging, coinciding with De’s approach to stewardship as an ongoing ministry, and not just for a couple of months out of each year. Considering our pledges, the committee wanted the parish to always be mindful of our God given gifts and how we can share those, discover and understand our outreach opportunities and enjoy the community of St. James through fellowship.
We remembered Father Mark as we dedicated the Christian Education Building to him and blessed Father De’s new ministry with Bishop Russell officiating for both in one ceremony. Father Mark will always remain in our hearts while we embrace De as our new rector.
Jen, our previous youth minister, discerned that it was time to begin a new chapter in her life, and moved to Birmingham to begin her new position as the Parish Administrator at St. Stephens in Birmingham. We were very fortunate to have Jen lead our youth and wish her well in her new position.
We are also very excited to welcome Anne McEniry as our new youth minister. We are so thankful that Anne will be serving our church in this capacity and will be able to use her many gifts to serve our youth! Please thank Anne when you see her for accepting this calling to serve our youth.
I recap all of these highlights, not only to illustrate the journey we have been on together this past year, but to be thankful for our church community. We are a healthy and vibrant parish and I thank all of you, for continuing to do such great work in God’s vineyard.
Respectfully Submitted,
Gina Walcott
Senior Warden
