By Father Casey
Amidst so much suffering and hardship in our world right now, I want to share with you several pieces of good news.
First, this Sunday we will once again celebrate the Eucharist together as a whole congregation. If you haven’t already registered, that’s okay. Join us for the service Sunday morning (via Facebook Live at 9:00 or anytime on our church website), and then come by the church between 11:30 and 1:00 to pick up a packet with the Sacrament. As we did in May and June, we’ll resume the service via Zoom at 5:00 and share in this holiest of meals in our homes. We may remain separated, but we are not alone. We who are many are one body, for we all share one bread, one cup.
Second, I am delighted to announce the hire of our new Director of Communications, TJ McCoy. TJ is a remarkably gifted designer, who worked for over 15 years as Creative Director at Stetson Worldwide. That work included graphic design, art direction, web design, events, branding, and video. He and his wife, Stevi, along with their three children, live in Frisco and are involved members of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. I am excited to see how his creativity, adaptability, and sensitivity will strengthen our efforts to communicate effectively in these unprecedented times. He begins on Monday and can be reached at tmccoy@transfiguration.net.
Third, I am thrilled to announce that Dana Jean is expanding to full-time to allow her to support our outreach ministries, while continuing to direct our youth ministries. Dana has proved in her first year to possess an abundance of faithful enthusiasm and an entrepreneurial spirit, which breathed new life into our youth ministries. I am excited to see how she will work with our Outreach Committee to help us find new ways to offer compassion to a hurting world. We haven’t had any devoted staff support for outreach in a number of years, and the Vestry agreed with me that now is the right time to stretch out in faith and expand our efforts. Rather than simply try to ride out the pandemic and wait for things to improve, we think God is asking us to find new ways to love and serve.
Finally, I have heard from many of you wondering about our financial health. Well, the good news is that we remain financially stable. Most of our pledging members have maintained their commitments in the first half of the year, despite the tremendous volatility, and we’ve been able to keep our expenses well below budget. We were also grateful to receive a PPP loan back in April, which has ensured our ability to maintain payroll for all our staff, something I’m proud to say the Vestry particularly supported. I humbly ask for your continued generosity and faithfulness, which will enable us to remain focused on our mission and ministries, rather than scarcity and shortfalls.
It’s always nice to hear some good news, isn’t it? Especially when it seems like most of what we read is bad news. Times are hard, but our church remains faithfully committed to the mission of seeking and serving Christ in all persons. So keep praying, friends, and keep loving all of your neighbors as yourself. And God will keep holding each of us in the palm of his mighty hand.