My Dear Friends, Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

What we have, we have from God.

In our fall appeal, we ask you to pledge a gift to support the important work of Saint James. Now is a time for Saint James to grow, in every way – to deepen and strengthen our faith, to attract and serve new members, to engage more fully with our Lancaster community. We need your help to support this work.

Throughout our nearly three centuries of mission history in Lancaster, Saint James has planted, built, and even rebuilt several churches. There have been other times when the church has been called upon to grow, and this is certainly one of them.

The generosity of our members has already placed us in a position where we can grow. Last year we had a record amount of support pledged. The extraordinary Clark Green estate gift adds to an endowment that strengthens the financial foundations of the church.

The need for growth has already made itself present in our lives. For the congregation of Saint James, 2024 will rank as one of the most important years of our history because through it we have:

• Experienced steady attendance at all our weekend services
• Expanded our contemplative prayer and worship offerings
• Begun a new on-campus ministry with Church World Service as they assist the work of resettling refugee families arriving in Lancaster
• Hired remarkable new and talented clergy and staff into key ministry positions to grow engagement for families, for children & youth, for pastoral care and worship
• Strengthened a meaningful congregational diversity and spiritual journey for all

Saint James teaches our members and each of our generations how to pray, connect, rejoice and serve. The energy, commitment, and, frankly, financial support that allows this work to happen originates with each of us. As members of the body of Christ, we give our time, talent and treasure to God.

Household giving each year through our annual pledges is the most important source of support for our budget for salaries, care and maintenance of the church, and the array of programs we offer. The commitment you make now will unfold through the coming year to sustain our discipleship and prayer together.

We hope you will complete the enclosed pledge form or the online version as soon as possible in October and through doing so, find your love of God growing. In the first three Sundays in October, you will hear the testimonies of our sisters and brothers whose stories of how their love of God, and all we do together at Saint James, inspires them. May they in turn inspire you during the weeks of our annual giving campaign.

As we look to 2025, we must ensure that God’s many blessings to us as individuals and as a parish family—and the responsibilities we joyfully accept as disciples of Christ—create new momentum for our call to growth. The world needs to see the good news of Jesus Christ and the connections and community that flow from God’s love. We offer this at a time when our country struggles with polarization…when young people struggle to find hope and purpose in the shallow digital landscape…when all generations experience loneliness as places of community, trust, and friendship diminish.

Please join us as your vestry, lay leaders and clergy together, to focus on the goals outlined in our long-range plan to grow our membership, grow our commitment and grow our joy by serving the world together in Christ’s name.

With love in Christ,

David Peck, Rector
Stacey Carpenter, Associate Rector
Glenn Miller, Priest Associate

and the Vestry of Saint James