The Ministry Narrative

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

You have in your hands the Ministry Narrative for 2023.  This document is a description of what we have achieved in five areas of ministry:  Service/Outreach to the Community, Worship, Education, Evangelism, and Pastoral Care.  Assuredly, there are things forgotten.  This document, as well as the congregation it describes, is a work in progress.  As individuals and as the Body of Christ we are continually becoming more fully who God created us to be.

As you read about each category, you will see two numbers under the heading.  The first number represents the percentage of the total financial budget of the church towards the support of the particular ministry highlighted.  The second number is the approximate amount of money that supported this category of ministry in 2023.  Again, the numbers are approximate.  They are the Annual Meeting’s anticipated direct program costs comprising the portion of the priest’s time, direct expenses and use of the facilities.  What is not provided is undoubtedly the most important calculation in considering the life of a congregation and that is the time and effort you gave to make our ministry successful.

God is calling us into a bold future.  There are challenges and opportunities awaiting.  We will be stretched because that is what God does.  God stretches us as individuals and as a faith community.  I am confident we will meet the challenges and opportunities that face us.  I am confident we will thrive within them.  I am confident God will continue to work powerfully amongst and through us.  We will continue to make a difference in people’s lives and God’s creation.

I hope you will be excited by what we have accomplished together for God with the resources you have offered.  As we rapidly approach a new year, I hope we will all be grateful to God for all God has given us and done for us and respond with generosity for those abundant blessings. 

Faithfully yours,
Jean G. Collins
Rector 

SERVICE (OUTREACH)

16 % of our expenditures
$26, 795.

In joyful response to Christ’s command to love and serve one another, our Church has a very strong presence in the wider Lewistown community.  Our outreach involves many members and is ever present throughout the year.

Within the Episcopal Church structure, our congregation participates in the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund (ERD) and other national/international programs through our gifts and assessment to the Diocese of Montana. 

Also within the Episcopal Church structure, a number of members devote time and talent to our Diocese.  Scott Sweeney, Brian Priest, and Rosemary Kent went to Diocesan Convention in October in Livingston where they served as our Delegates.  Dean Martin serves on the Standing Committee of the Diocese.  The Rev. Jean Collins serves as a Deputy to General Convention.  Members Dean Martin, Rosemary Kent, Scott Sweeney, Tom Wojtowick, and Randy Hoch serve wonderfully on St. James' Vestry.  Darla Kolar is our terrific Treasurer.  Jennifer Downey serves as our Assistant Treasurer.  Mary Beth Roy serves most excellently as Clerk of the Vestry.  Michael Kent chaired our Audit Committee once again.  Tom Wojtowick served with Michael.

For the fourth year in a row St. James, under Dean Martin's leadership, spearheaded the Community Thanksgiving Day Dinner.  500 meals were delivered, picked up, and served on-site at the Trade Center.  St. James also initiated an effort to help our neighbors who are without shelter.  Shelter Solutions for Central Montana was born at St. James and over 45 members of the community and 14 different churches and organizations are a part of this effort to establish a Central Montana Warming Center.  We honored Anne Knerr by taking up the mantel of serving soup and sandwiches for the Red Cross Bloodmobile on October 3rd.  Darla Kolar and Rosemary Kent chaired this effort.

Locally we are known for our efforts in environmental stewardship.  We have worked to make our buildings more energy efficient, started plastic recycling (ROWL:  Recycle Our Waste Lewistown), and installed solar panels in 2017.  Although ROWL is now an independent entity, St. James' members remain active ROWL volunteers.  A low flow toilet was installed this year in the men's restroom in our effort to further reduce our water usage and waste water output.

St. James’ supported Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) Clearinghouse which assists area residents with rent and other expenses when unexpected events occur in people's lives, the Community Cupboard, bell ringing for The Salvation Army, and others this year.  The Rev. Jean Collins and Dean Martin also serve on The Salvation Army local leadership board and she and Dean answer requests for assistance two months each during the calendar year.  Jean also serves on the HRDC Clearinghouse board, the Lewistown Public Library Board, the Patient Family Advisory Council at Central Montana Medical Center, and as Chair for Shelter Solutions for Central Montana.  Our Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper benefitted  Heart of Montana Farm in the Dell this year.    Under the direction of Dean Martin, we observed Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month throughout the month of April.  A Walk for Child Abuse Prevention Awareness' was held beginning and ending at Veterans' Park on April 29th.  Throughout the month of April blue pinwheel gardens could be found in several locations throughout Lewistown.  We observed Blue Sunday for the sixth time on April 30th.  Members of St. James’ and friends in the community created 60 quilts for Grace Camp, pastoral care, and local law enforcement agencies.  These beautiful quilts were blessed in worship on May 28th.  We also make our Parish Hall available for community groups including yoga, an exercise class, Green Share Project Garden, Central Montana Resource Council, Love, INC, Shelter Solutions for Central Montana, meditation and other groups or individuals desiring a location for meeting or offering the community a program.  Our "Little Green House" next door to the church offers a quality rental house at an affordable rate. 

Many members of our Church live out their baptismal vow to “seek and serve Christ in all persons” through their work in and support of the Boys and Girls Club, Community Cupboard, Judith Mountain Players, the local Museum,  RSVP, Friends of the Library, the Green Share Project Garden, Special K Ranch, the Veterans' Administration, Home Health / Hospice, the Council on Aging, Ski for Light, the American Legion including the Honor Guard, Kiwanis, HRDC Clearinghouse, the Salvation Army, Historical Preservation, Backcountry Horseman trail work, SAFE (Saving Animals From Euthanasia), Equine Special Olympics, Future Farmers of America, PEO, Trout Unlimited, Your Neighbor Cares, Hilger Volunteer Fire Department, Central Montana Resource Council, Heart of Montana Farm in the Dell, Central Montana Community Concert Association, and a plethora of other organizations.

Finally, many in our community have no church home, yet at times in their life require the services of a church.  At St. James', our clergyperson and some lay ministers are available in times of emotional need.  Our parish is available for funerals and receptions/luncheons following them.  We are also available in times of joy.  Our church is available for marriages. We also provide motel rooms, food, and gas to those in need passing through our area and assistance with rent and utilities and various other needs through the Rector's Discretionary Fund.  In many ways, much of what we do as a church addresses a very wise expression from former Archbishop of Canterbury, William Temple, who said, “The Church exists for the sake of those outside of it.”

"He comes in the form of the beggar, of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help.  He confronts you in every person that you meet.

As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor..."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

WORSHIP

18 % of our expenditures
$ 30,145.

This year we have continued to transform ourselves into a “Welcoming Church.”  We have tried to be mindful of the need to help guests feel comfortable, knowing that we have been given an extraordinary privilege in worshiping with them.  We continue to use only gluten free communion wafers as some of our members cannot eat wheat.  Delightfully, new folks continue to be with us sharing ministry in the Body of Christ.  We strive to be “A House of Prayer for All the People.”

On Sundays, readers, chalice bearers, officiants, greeters, ushers, leaders of prayers, organist, choir members, the altar guild, the rector, and the congregation proclaimed the most visible and central act of ministry in the Church which is worship using both the Holy Eucharist (also known as Holy Communion, The Lord’s Supper, and Mass) and Daily Morning Prayer.  We give heartfelt thanks to God and our members for our choirs and organists and pianists and guitars and drums in worship. We are richly blessed by our music and God is glorified! 

In addition to Sundays, we observed the Winter Solstice at the home of Bil and Cathy Holmes with music, prayer, poems, delicious food, and excellent fellowship.  We held one service on Christmas Eve and one service on Christmas Day and also, of course, services during Lent and Holy Week.  We observed The Way of the Cross each Friday during Lent.  During Holy Week we observed Maundy Thursday with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist.  On Good Friday we observed the day ecumenically at Noon at First Presbyterian Church.  In the evening we observed Good Friday with The Way of the Cross outside with procession, fire pits, and drums at St. James.  We celebrated the Great Vigil of Easter and afterwards we rejoiced in the land of milk and honey with ice cream, honey, and sherry. 

We celebrated Advent Lessons and Music in worship on the Second Sunday of Advent.  We observed the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple or Candlemas on February 5th.  We blessed candles and enjoyed the French tradition of crepes and the Mexican tradition of tamales at Coffee Hour.  On the Day of Pentecost we wore the color red, decorated with red flowers, heard the lesson from Acts in multiple languages, blessed quilts, and held a very festive Coffee Hour.  We joyfully celebrated Rogationtide at the ranch of Alan and Stephanie Shammel on May 21st.  We brought water, seeds, soil, tools, and plants from various places in our large parish and asked God’s blessing upon all of these plus all of our fields and pastures, orchards, animals and gardens. 

We observed All Saints’ Sunday with “A Litany of All the Saints” and remembering those whom we love but see no longer in the Eucharistic prayer.

Since June of 2017 members and friends have gathered for Centering Prayer.  We sometimes meet weekly and at other times monthly.  We continue to meet using Zoom. 

We offer the sacraments of the Church including burials and weddings to the broader community.  We take Holy Communion to the ill and infirm.  In addition, we offer prayers and worship services as invited by the community.  We once again were able to lead worship at Central Montana Medical Center Skilled Nursing.

We celebrated Thanksgiving ecumenically at Zion Lutheran Church.  And finally we celebrated the Blessing of the Animals on October 1st.  This was our twelfth year celebrating this wonderful event – or ‘joyful shenanigans’ as some refer to it!  In these twelve years our worshipping congregation has included dogs, cats, miniature and full size horses, hamsters, chickens, cows (in sculpture and picture form) and their assorted human companions. This year brought a Corn Snake!  In addition to the usual blessing, we also pay special attention to remembering pets who now enjoy everlasting life.  Our joyous worship is followed by a reception loaded with animal treats and some people food.  This year we and our animals enjoyed wonderful homemade treats courtesy of Judy Marxer and Jennifer Downey.  

From a Zoom worshipper:

Thank you so much for connecting me with your Zoom link for Sunday services.  The service has given me a wonderful place to pray and "be with" others in God's love and caring.  I cherish your words and gospel....I will continue to attend virtually; I hope I can attend in person sometime soon.

EDUCATION

17% of our expenditures
$28,469.

Devotional literature was available in the form of Forward Day by Day and additional booklets during the seasons of Advent and Lent.  We also invited participation in “Lent Madness” since our priest is crazy for it!  Thirty-two saints, 40 days of Lent, voting and the awarding of the “Golden Halo” at Easter. 

We continued something called "Second Cup" which provides education on occasional Sunday mornings after everyone has enjoyed a 'first cup' of coffee or tea.  The Bishop of Wyoming's keynote address to Diocesan Convention about world religions and our similarities was viewed and discussed on March 26th.  We discussed the plight of the homeless/Shelter Solutions on April 23rd.

We read two books together:  If God Is Love, Don't Be A Jerk by John Pavlovich and

Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time by Marcus Borg. We came together to view and discuss the movie "Dick Johnson is Dead".

The Reverend Canon Bradley Wirth visited St. James on November 9th and 10th.   He read one of his stories:  For The Whole Kit And Cabbodle.  The offering was designated for The    Humane Society on Maui as they struggle to care for the animal victims of the wildfire.  He also worked with interested parishioners on our Ministry Narrative on both days of his visit.

In our engagement with the media we educated the public about our congregation and The Episcopal Church. 

EVANGELISM

32% of our expenditures
$53,585.

Evangelism encompasses all that goes into presenting the Church and the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world.  St. James’ has publicized through the local media:  newspaper and radio and as members of the local Chamber of Commerce we placed an advertisement on the placemat of our local Charlie Russell Chew Choo.  The congregation has a weekly e-blast.  This practice was born during COVID-19 when circumstances changed frequently.  A new website and a Facebook page for the church are in place.  Episcopal Church signs are hung on Highway 87.  All worship services in the church are Zoomed.  We have a worship guide for Morning Prayer and a wonderful brochure for guests and distribution in the area.  The Blessing of the Animals is an opportunity for evangelism as are invitations to be present and pray and officiate at local events.  We observed Shrove Tuesday with a Pancake Supper open to the community.  All monies received benefitted Heart of Montana Farm in the Dell .  Our evangelism efforts include "Pint with the Priest".  We gather on the last Tuesday of each month.  Currently we are meeting at the Elks Club from 5 -7 pm.  Each month between 6 and 20 people have gathered for spirited theological and friendly conversation.

St. James' Episcopal Church, as part of The Episcopal Church, is connected to the Episcopal Diocese of Montana.  As such, it joins all the other Episcopal Churches in Montana in contributing 19% of its normal operating funds to the Diocese.  The Diocese, in turn, engages in spreading the good news through state-wide ministries and initiatives, such as Camp Marshall.  The Diocese takes a portion of the funds that it receives from St. James and gives it to The Episcopal Church which stretches from Taiwan to Europe.  The Episcopal Church then contributes to the Anglican Communion and its 80 million members worldwide.  And so, using money sacramentally given (an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace) what we contribute on a Sunday morning on the corner of West Montana and Fifth Avenue North in Lewistown helps provide support for missionaries, health professionals, teachers, and disaster relief personnel around the world!

Presenting the Church to central Montana involves making St. James’ an inviting and attractive place for worship, solace, rest and fun.  We began observing our 125th Anniversary as a church community by participating in the area's Fourth of July parade.  During the year we enjoyed an Advent concert by the Spring Creek bank with delicious refreshments and nativities from around the world afterwards.  We concluded our celebratory year with a picnic at Frank Day Park.  We continue to be mindful of our buildings and grounds and use the gifts of many to keep it reflective of the loveliness of God’s creation.  Many buildings and grounds activities have happened this year.  The lawn mowed, flowers tended, sidewalks shoveled, ivy cut down, and the organ and piano tuned.  We're making progress on a parking lot next to the Parish Hall and Benchmark has completed the work of re-pointing and repairing our beautiful stonework.  We held two 'cleanup days' which included organizing the kitchen and painting where our buildings needed it on the outside.

Part of our ministry is making our area towns more aware, again through public relations, advertising and signs and through our behavior, that at St. James’ they will find a congregation that is accepting, inclusive and willing to embrace them as fellow members of the Body of Christ. 

WELCOMING STATEMENT

St. James is an affirming and inclusive parish celebrating life through worship, love, and service to welcome all just as created by God. We strive for justice and peace among all people, and we respect the dignity of every human being.

Wherever you are in your spiritual journey you are welcome at St. James.  Whether you are single, married, divorced, separated, or partnered, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, gender identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, world view, or economic condition, our welcome knows no boundary.

Welcome to our community - a sanctuary of faith.

We believe God strengthens our diverse world by unity and love.

All are welcome at God's Table.

PASTORAL CARE

17%
$28,469.

Pastoral Care takes on a variety of expressions in our congregation.  The most obvious occurs when we take care of one another in times of need and also when we join together to celebrate in times of joy.  The Rector and Eucharistic ministers are always available for home communions.  We are eager to be present for visitation to the sick and being with people during emergencies of all types. If a member is infirm and wishes to come to worship and other congregational activities, transportation is provided.  As a family we are eager to help each other out when times are tough and we demonstrated this clearly this past year on a number of occasions. We are eager to pray for one another in joy and adversity.  We take seriously the emotional and spiritual feeding of one another and especially our priest.

Pastoral Care involves staying in touch with each other through the journey of life.  Conversation at coffee hour, phone calls, cards, emails, rides to worship and other activities, and the delivery of altar flowers and food – uncooked and prepared -  all proclaim the ministry of pastoral care.   All Saints Sunday, the Day of Pentecost and at other times are important means of pastoral care as well as evangelism. Our Coffee Hours provide gluten free choices which is necessary for some of our parishioners and another way we show our love and care for one another.  We are always eager to help when someone precious to us dies and a reception or luncheon is desired.  We are able to offer "The Burial of a Companion Animal" worship service as it has been made available to The Episcopal Church.  We enjoy one another as we attend movies and concerts together and share meals and coffee and support area non-profits with our attendance at their fundraisers.  Pastoral Care also means helping people settle into our congregation.  The Church directory, name tags, and newsletter greatly assist in that.  A new pictorial directory is in the works.

The Bishop’s Discretionary Fund provides for pastoral care within the Diocese of Montana and the Rector's discretionary fund helps provide for pastoral needs within the congregation and the area.  

FROM JEAN:          

As mentioned in my letter at the beginning of this Ministry Narrative, I'm sure some things have been inadvertently left out.  What is perfectly obvious is that St. James and all of its members pack a powerful punch in this community.  We are a relatively small congregation doing amazing ministry in our towns, county, state and world.  Each and every one of you is to be commended for that ministry.  As well, just imagine how wonderful it was to hear members of the Diocesan Congregational Development Commission sing your praises in saying that this is an extraordinarily healthy and vibrant congregation.  It's such an honor for me to serve with you!