Dear Ones of St. Columba's,

The time has come for us to meet! This week after our 10am service we will hold our Annual Meeting. While it might not have the most exciting title, an Annual Meeting in an Episcopal congregation is an important and relatively rare event. We only have them once per year, as the name suggests, and it is the only time when the whole congregation together participates in the business of our church. The Episcopal Church is structured as a representative democracy, meaning that instead of all of us voting on all the things we are corporately responsible for, we elect people to do that work on behalf of the body. If you are from a different faith tradition, this may be a new approach for you. For example, we do not vote as a congregation on our budget. Instead, the budget is the responsibility of the Bishop's Committee, who are elected by the congregation. Likewise, the Bishop's Committee is responsible for managing relationship with clergy, and putting people forward for Holy Orders - things that in some traditions are managed by the whole congregation, and in others are restricted to clergy management. 

It is important that we all participate in this time to meet, this opportunity to do the work of our church polity together. I am pleased to tell you that Annual Meetings at St. C's are generally short, informative, and involve food. This year we will be answering questions about the staffing changes included in the 2019 budget, letting everyone know how we ended the year fiscally for 2018, saying thank you to our outgoing BC members and treasurer, and electing a new treasurer and BC members. This is a great chance to spend a little time together, and to participate and learn about the way we do the business of our church - which is just as sacred and full of the Spirit as the other things we do together! 

I hope to see you at the meeting.

with care and gratitude,

Alissa