Published in the Summer 2019 issue of ParishLife.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church is a special place. St. Paul’s has always distinguished itself by its stately architecture, its rich liturgy and music, its stability through good times and bad, its commitment to Christian formation, its provision of compassionate pastoral care, and its dedication to serving and providing hope to those in need.

Standing as the foundation of this special place, and what truly sets St. Paul’s apart, are the people of St. Paul’s. Over the last nearly 12 months, my wife Charlotte and I have had the privilege of bearing witness to the goodness, selflessness, commitment, hard work and faithfulness of the clergy, the staff, many volunteers and so many parishioners who have ReNEWal Campaign Projects Progressing given generously of their time and resources to the St. Paul’s ReNEWal campaign and the projects it will fund. To all of you, thank you!

We are pleased to report that the work on the 875 West Fifth Street building has begun in earnest and is currently on schedule to be completed by early August so that ReadWS, Kids’ Café and the Backpack Program can all move into the building in late August, in time for the start of the new school year. Work has also begun on the 1928 church building, with an estimated timeline of approximately one year for the completion of its renovations. The work on Dalton Memorial Garden, the carriage house and other parts of our campus will likely begin early next year after the upper parking lot staging area for the work on the 875 building and the main church building is cleared. And finally, the unrestricted endowment fund is beginning to grow.

We are also pleased to report that thanks to the generosity of so many of you, we have received pledges and gifts that so far total more than $9.7 million. A number of cash payments have been received that will help reduce the amount of funds that will have to be borrowed in the short term to finance the projects. If you find that your circumstances will allow you to accelerate the payment of some or all of your pledge, we hope you will consider making those payments to help St. Paul’s reduce the amount it has to borrow and thereby reduce the interest expense St. Paul’s has to pay.

While the ReNEWal campaign has certainly been focused on trying to exceed a financial target of $10 million, we have also stressed the importance of trying to achieve as close to 100% parish-wide participation as possible.

For those of you who have not yet given to the campaign, we hope you will prayerfully consider making a gift. If you have misplaced your pledge card, there are pledge cards at the back of the church and in the church office reception area, or you can simply call the church and speak with Margaret Turner, our Director of Stewardship. While we have encouraged folks to stretch as much as they can in their giving to the campaign, we also want to make it clear to each of you that all gifts of any amount are critically important and valued. We think it is vital that all parishioners contribute to the campaign in any way that they can, and we hope that you will agree by making a contribution if you haven’t already.

On Sunday, September 8, the 90th anniversary of the first church service held in the 1928 church building, there will be a special service and celebration to mark the end of the ReNEWal campaign and the beginning of a wonderful new chapter in the life and history of St. Paul’s. Please mark your calendars for that day. We look forward to celebrating this great milestone with all of you.

In closing, let us pray. Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we beseech you, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen.

by David Broughton
ReNEWal Campaign Co-Chair
Based on remarks made at
May 19, 2019, services