Brothers and Sisters –

I’d like to take a minute today to reflect on Sunday’s Annual Meeting, which was very encouraging. The Lord is doing great things!

In days to come, we will have the full minutes of the meeting available, and you can access all of the written documents in a Google folder.  If you don’t have the link, I am happy to share it with members of our congregation.

After opening in prayer and the quick business of minutes approval, our Sr. Warden, Philip gave a report on the early portion of the last year.  In summary, 2016 was a year of sometimes-turbulent change for St. Tim’s. Philip especially expressed great thanks for the good work of the Priest Discovery Team, who watched the Lord lead them through a crisis of vision, but faithfully let Him lead on to the other side.

I had the opportunity to share as well.  Jen, the kids, and I are thankful to the Lord for our call to Burlington.  It is becoming a home for us in the best possible way.  The Lord’s timing is beautiful and perfect.  I am grateful for the chance to work with the leadership of this church, who have been a joy to work with from day 1.  I will miss the opportunity to see our departing vestry members at meetings, as their terms come to a close.

I am convinced that the Lord has exciting days ahead for us.  We will see Him deepen our faith and bring new life to the lost in our city and towns.  I believe that we will see Him do miraculous things as we invite people to enter into the life of faith with us.  So the vestry and I this year will be working to implement our mission statement into all aspects of our common life.  We will make every effort to ensure that our events (worship services, community, and missions) are worth inviting people to.  We will seek to not over-schedule the church calendar, giving us all freedom to keep involved in our local communities and missions.  We will seek to train those who desire in the capacity to meet people, engage in spiritual conversations, and invite people into a relationship with our Living Savior.

Our treasurer, Bob Campbell, gave a report on the 2016 finances, as well as the 2017 budget.  The second half of 2016 showed an increased health in our financial situation (with many thanks for your generosity!) With a conservative growth prediction, Bob anticipates that we will be fully self-funding in the next couple of years.  As it is now, we are using some of our “Reserve Funds” from time to time.  The 2017 budget was approved by the congregation.

We have new vestry members!  The congregation voted on the slate of candidates, and
– Arabella Hubbard, Kara Krikorian, and Ray Milhous began new 3 year terms
– Karen Kriger was permitted a 4th year
– Mark Denison and Bob Campbell had their appointments confirmed, with 2 years remaining in their terms

The Lord has good things ahead of us!
Let all the earth praise His name!

Blessings –
Fr. Micah