From the Senior Warden

Dick Taylor, Senior Warden

The parish barbeque is always a great way to end the summer and begin the school and church regular schedule. This year the event underscored the rich programs and critical capital needs of the parish so well described in the recent Long Range Plan. Bad weather threatened throughout the day, forcing the festivities into the dining room - where of course we don't all fit! Yet the Gospel Choir and new pastor of St. Paul AME as well as the strong group of returning and new students joined the regular members of both Chapel of the Cross and St. Paul to make a wonderful occasion.

The evening brought to mind my notion of what we are about especially this year - talking about the future vision for the parish and funding its current ministry. We are beginning parish-wide conversations about our programs, worship, and facilities as we look to the future. We also have taken big strides to enrich our current programs and must provide the support to sustain those efforts.

This is a great time at the Chapel of the Cross - Stephen Elkins-Williams is in the twentieth year of his term as rector of this parish. A fourth full-time clergy joins the parish at the end of this year. Tammy Lee's move to Campus Ministry, Vicky Jamieson-Drake coming aboard full-time, and the addition of Gretchen Jordan have invigorated our programs. We are an endowed parish - we have about $1.5 million in permanently restricted funds that generate income for the building and grounds and for outreach. But we have a growing operating budget that we must fund ourselves with annual giving.

The Chapel of the Cross has been blessed with special financial gifts for endowment, for outreach programs including Johnson Interns and for capital needs, including the new chapel organ. At the same time, the individual giving by parishioners has not kept pace with the growing program and the cost of running the parish.

Our diocese and the national church face difficult budget times in part resulting from to conflict over issues of controversy in the church. We face our own issues of controversy, although to date we have worked faithfully and respectfully to move ahead together with expansion of program, even in challenging times.

In August, the rector and wardens met with both former wardens and former vestry members to discuss the current business of the parish and the vision of the long-range plan. Especially with the wardens, the actual conversation was about the past - the rich history of this parish making strong forward-looking decisions at times of controversy. Whether those issues were changes to the buildings, like the church organ or stone floor; or large social issues like race and gender inclusion, the Chapel of the Cross found the path to responsible change - together and God centered.

We are the parish where Pauli Murray, the first black woman priest in the Episcopal Church, celebrated her first Eucharist in the chapel where her grandmother worshiped as a slave. We are called to support the ministry of this place and to build toward the future for those who follow us. I know we will, with God's help.