An Invitation to Cultivate and to Let Go
March 04, 2025
"'Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?'
He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart,
and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
~ Matthew 22:36-40
Vital Signs
When we go to the doctor, our vital signs are usually the first thing assessed. Temperature, oxygen, pulse, and blood pressure give medical professionals the information they need. Vital signs answer the first question: Is this person’s health functioning overall?
When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, he summed up the vital signs of our faith as loving God with heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Annually, each United Methodist Church is asked to report our numbers. These organizational vital signs measure categories like worship attendance, people served, and membership. This helps the conference see if a church is functioning overall.
This spring, I have visited our Sunday school classes to talk about our vital signs. At the end of 2024, we had 633 members, and our average worship attendance was 273. On average, 33 screens worshiped with us online. We served an estimated 3,550 people.
These numbers are a good snapshot of who we are (thank you for your involvement, church!) but they will not ever measure everything. We are also a church where people deepen their faith through continued classes, spiritual practices, and vulnerability in small groups. We are a church which is warm and welcoming to everyone we meet, and we work to continue to expand our welcome. These are also signs of our vitality, even though there isn’t a number associated with these important aspects of our life together.
For 2025, our budget is $1.8 million. At the end of last year, we were looking at a deficit, yet after two significant gifts and several pledge increases, we were able to pass a balanced budget. Thank you for your generosity. Working with church leadership, we hope to continue to rent out some of the houses we own across the street as an additional revenue stream. Current tenants have vacated, and the trustees are fixing up the properties while they are vacant. We have talked to a couple of non-profits about office space already. Reach out to me with any questions.
Construction on our new HVAC and classroom renovations will begin later in the year as a result of the 2024 capital campaign in which we raised over $2M. The start of the construction phase means we will be bumping into each other a bit, so begin your prayers for patience now! But we will get through this, and can look forward to decreased maintenance costs after we have the new unit.
These numbers and updates help us understand how Saint John’s is doing. You, dear church, seek to love God with your hands and feet — and also your heart, soul, and mind. You love your neighbor well in the name of Christ. By the Holy Spirit’s work within you, these vital signs show that you are sharing vitality with the community around us.
I am so grateful to serve this church which is healthy and whole.
