Dear Friends,
Traditionally, Annual Congregational Meetings and annual reports focus on external things the church has done, such as services, budget, building maintenance, attendance, etc. These are important, and we heard about many of them in our Annual Meeting yesterday (January 26). But when Mark's Gospel summarized Jesus' preaching, he did not report Jesus saying: 'The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near, so start Episcopal churches, hold proper services, balance your budgets and pledge lots of money.'  Instead, Jesus calls us to "repent and believe in the Good News."  These are issues for our own daily lives, personally and in community, seven days a week. To repent is not to grovel or be guilt-stricken - it is to turn away from whatever hinders or distracts us from God and one another. The same motion is turning to - "believing, trusting" - the Good News of God's love and grace for each of us as we are, and God's intention that all God's people live justly and in peace.
Considering this, I challenge us all to consider this Church not in terms of programs and external statistics, but in terms of how we are growing in faith and in serving God, in following Jesus. That is, how does St. Philip's inspire and support the ministries of our daily lives, as described in our Baptismal Covenant (pages 304-5 of the Book of Common Prayer).
In our First Lesson last Sunday, Jeremiah promised that as the people of Israel returned to the Lord, they would be a blessing (not just to themselves but) to all nations. Our world needs blessing and healing, and this church is called to be part of that blessing - way beyond ourselves! 
It's not about the Church as institution, but the Church as the Body of Christ, and each of us as members of it, wherever we go and serve throughout the week. It is about people's lives being enriched and transformed for the better. Therefore, the question (actually, two inter-twined questions) of our Annual meeting, which was mailed out with the Agenda, and about which many shared on Sunday, was:  "How does St. Philip's support your and your household's daily ministries?  What do you sense is God's call and mission for St. Philip's?"
As I consider St. Philip's in 2002 and today, I recall our Strategic Planning exercise of last Fall as an exercise in listening to one another and to the Spirit's moving among us. Our 2003 Budget responds to the affirmed priorities of youth and children's ministries and of spiritual enrichment.
I celebrate our worship as intentionally "user-friendly", and welcoming to visitors and children, with sacraments and preaching offered to nourish and inspire our daily lives. How can we be even more engaging of the whole fabric of our daily lives, and how shall we offer this worship beyond the congregation to a searching world?

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