Dear ones of St. John’s, 

I am so deeply grateful to be serving God at St. John’s with all of you. So many of our parishioners find ways to be connected and active in our parish family; from attending worship to caring for each other when someone needs a ride or a a meal; from sharing gifts in gardening, maintenance, or teaching to sharing your financial support, St. John’s thrives because of your dedication. the most important words to say I Church are “thank you” and today I say it to you: thank you for the many gits that you share with our community.

As many of you know, I’m an avid hiker. When I walk through the woods along the Brandywine, I’m aware of the blessing of connection that a forest is. Trees may appear individually tall and strong, but in truth the roots are a tangle, one tree is connected to another. Trees use these networks, secretly talking to each other through their roots, passing information along. Adult trees share their sugars with young saplings, a dying tree can send its remaining resources back out to help the community. These networks, these roots of abundance, keep trees in place just as much as they free them to grow and share.

Our own congregation is like a forest. I often experience the blessing of being able to see the big picture of our congregation – the ministry we bring to our neighbors, the impact we have on our community, the ways that week after week we come together to celebrate our faith and praise God. This is the forest. And I get to wander amongst the trees. From our children – the small shoots reaching out from its seed and finding the sunlight – to our elders, the mightiest tree offering sheltering love to those who need it: you are those trees, drawing strength from our Communion and showering the world with the grace you’ve come to know here.

The theme of our annual pledge campaign this year is Rooted in Abundance, and we are reminded that we are a mighty forest comprised of ancient trunks and sprightly saplings, each of us contributing our gifts to a world that needs us. In the next few weeks, as you hear the stories of abundance during our stewardship campaign, take note of how generosity spreads and widens our root structures of faith and action. Prayerfully consider your support to the ministry at St. John’s.

You may make your pledge electronically right now by clicking here. Alternatively, our pledge form can be printed here and sent/brought to church. You can also fill out an updated ‘Time & Talent’ form here! Please try to have your pledges back to us by Sunday, November 19 so we can appropriately plan for the next fiscal year.

In gratitude,

Rev. Jill LaRoche Wikel, Rector