​Dear Friends,
 
Did you know that there is a ministry tool called the “Rector’s Discretionary Fund?”  If so, do you know what that fund is used for?  As the name suggests, this is a discretionary account that is controlled solely by the Rector and is mandated by the Canons (our Church law).  While these funds are “discretionary,” their intended use is to provide support for those in need.  The recipients of this fund are completely anonymous and are known only to the Rector.  I report the amount of any deposits and expenditures to the Vestry on a regular basis, but who and what the funds are used for is not shared with anyone, and when time comes for this account to be audited, it is done so by someone who has no affiliation with St. John’s. 
 
I share this with you, because I have become aware that many people do not understand this fund, and because a couple of meetings ago, your Vestry approved a change in how this fund will be funded.  First, let me emphasize that this fund does a tremendous amount of work.  In the last year we have been able to provide emergency shelter to three families, we have prevented a number of individuals from having their utilities turned off during cold months, we have fed several families, we have provided Christmas dinner and gifts for a family facing tragedy, and we have provided grants to ministries doing very important work in our region.  These are just some of the uses of this discretionary fund. 
 
In the past, this work has been funded from the General Budget and has been somewhat hidden under the category “Outreach”.  Beginning January 1st, we will remove this funding from the General Budget and instead begin funding it from a special collection on a designated Sunday each month.  This will enable the congregation to actively participate in worthwhile ministry that is too often invisible.  So when we announce in January which Sunday the collection will support the Rector’s Discretionary Fund, please be generous, this money is used entirely to care for those who need our help the most, those who Jesus especially calls us to love, those on the margins of society, just trying to get by. 
 
Blessings,
Fr. Jeremy

​Dear Friends,
 
Today on the Church’s calendar we remember three women who were executed during the reign of Elizabeth I for being the hands, feet and heart of Jesus.  Margaret Ward, Margaret Clitherow, and Anne Line were arrested and put to death for the crime of providing sanctuary to Roman Catholic priests.  They believed that God’s love was such that no person should be put in prison, exiled, or executed for the way they worshiped God.  As I read their stories this morning I couldn’t help but think of the story of immigrants in our own nation today.  The Church has a millennia old tradition of providing sanctuary for those seeking refuge.  In fact the word sanctuary literally means a place of refuge or safety, fitting I believe that the most sacred space in our church is called the Sanctuary, the area where the altar stands. 
 
Today at least 45 churches around the nation are providing sanctuary for immigrants.  And while there is no law preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement from entering churches to arrest immigrants, they have been following their decades old policy, refraining from making immigration arrests in such “sensitive locations.”  Margaret Ward, Margaret Clitherow, and Anne Line are remembered for their courage and integrity in standing up to both a government and a Church that were intent on removing those who they feared would taint society, and thus were dangerous.  They died as martyrs, doing what I believe Jesus would have done.  As followers of Jesus, we continue to struggle to find our appropriate response to a world and a government that fails to see the face of Jesus in the least of these.  But as persecution continues, and increases, find it we must!  If we are to take serious our baptismal vow to strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being, then I think we need to begin having serious conversations about how we, as a faith community, will respond to these trying times.  What do we do when our neighbors arrive, grabbing onto God’s altar crying for sanctuary, crying for refuge and safety?  I would like for us to consider what St. John the Evangelist might look like as a church with sanctuary space, being willing to be a place of true sanctuary for all God’s people.  Remember these most vulnerable amongst us in our prayers and pray for justice and peace to prevail.
 
Faithfully,
Fr. Jeremy