From Jan 24: Annual Meeting

Dear People of Christ Church,

As has been announced, this Sunday we meet for our annual meeting, which means we'll have ONE service beginning at 9:30 in place of 8:30 and 10. This year, we're trying something a bit more interactive-dare I say interesting-but inviting conversation on our ten desires for our parish vision. We'll have different topics of conversation spread through the church, and invite everyone to self-select into the place where they feel called to reflect on our work together. Each month at vestry, we take a few minutes to reflect on where we've done work in each of the different ten areas, both for evaluating past events and noticing where we need to put more emphasis. I'm hoping that each conversation group will talk both about what we've done in the past year, but also about hopes for the year to come. This will enable us to look both forward and backward as part of the meeting, as well as offer some space for conversation. After 15 or 20 minutes I'll invite each group to share just one notable think from their discussion so we have some opportunity to listen in. We'll still have time for questions and answers, but won't have the same expectation that each individual summarize their report for the group-hopefully you will have a few minutes to download the whole report to read it before Sunday. Print copies will be available. (Annual Report Link)

As we do at each annual meeting, we'll also invite members who've joined in the last year to sign our membership book. The "official" definition of membership is that you come and you contribute, so pledge cards will be available, as always!

Finally, I'm including our vision here-this was adopted by the vestry in 2010.

1. That welcomes all newcomers and encourages fellowship through social events and opportunities for outreach and service, collaborating with others in service of the common good.

2. That strives for justice and peace among all people; that gives our time, treasure, and talents to serve vulnerable populations such as the poor, the sick, the hungry, the oppressed, and those in prison.

3. That values the liturgy and worship of the Episcopal Church; that is both grounded in tradition and open to the world.

4. That nurtures an active prayer life and encourages spiritual growth in Communion with God.

5. That fosters the clarification of Christian thinking through study, reflection, and discussion; that recognizes these pursuits as vital to the practice of Christian charity and humility in a broken world.

6. That is committed to growing a vibrant and diverse Christian community; that develops its resources to follow God's call.


7. That has reverence for the earth as God's own creation and uses its resources rightly in the service of others; that advocates for responsible stewardship of the earth locally and globally.


8. That celebrates the gifts of every phase of the journey of life and appreciates the contributions of everyone, from our youngest to our oldest members.


9. That appreciates music in worship and seeks to include musical contributions from all members of the community.


10. That stewards the legacy of our historic building; that opens our doors to host other communities of faith; that invites all to share our grounds as a place of beauty and peace in the heart of Waltham.


Where do you see us going? What is your vision, and how will you help us to bring it about?