Uncategorized

Beloved in Christ,

I am very pleased to announce that Erik Landstrom has agreed to serve as the Director of Christ’s Christian Formation for the Church of Our Saviour. As all of you know, we have been blessed with a growing number of children in the parish and we have precious little time with them. We need to use this time well and foster the formation of distinctly christian habits of heart and action. Erik Landstrom is a talented and pious man who has dedicated his life to this particular task. As such, I am pleased to have him give direction to our collective ministry.

Fr. Jonathan Kell+

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Vestry met last week and I wanted to share several key takeaways with you.

Praise God for his work in our midst here at Church of Our Saviour Oatlands! Attendance and giving continue to grow, while we keep operating expenses low to exercise good
stewardship. We ended 2023 with giving nearly double that of our expenses, thanks to God’s provision through you his faithful people.

We are making progress in our call for an Assistant Rector to help Father Jonathan shepherd the Parish hopefully beginning before this fall, with the salary approved last fall in the budget for 2024.

A generous parishioner is donating custom-made commandment boards to be installed above the altar on either side of the stained-glass window. This tradition of displaying God’s Precepts above the altar, accompanied by the Apostles Creed and Lord’s Prayer, began in 1560 by order of Queen Elizabeth for every church in England, and was reaffirmed by her successor James I in 1604. Stay tuned for more on this lovely development.

The Vestry has reviewed the plans of the Building Committee to construct a new Parish Hall and estimated costs and unanimously agreed to continue to pursue this path. Next, we plan to bring this proposal before the congregation in March in a special Parish meeting and will welcome your feedback and ideas for improvements on our current concept design. We plan to commence with a capital campaign this spring to fund the construction. 

For more details on our monthly Vestry meetings, I encourage you to review the minutes regularly posted in the Cottage. Please let any member of the Vestry know how we can better serve the Lord with you.

Your Senior Warden,
Steve Mouton

Dear Friend of Reformed Episcopal Missions:

I am writing to ask if you might “come over and help us” with a single sizable donation this Fall to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of strategic ecclesial ministries of the BFM to “plant, build, and restore the Church and its ministry.” In addition to sending individual missionaries, the BFM budgets the following:

1. Missionary Diocese of Cuba: $98,000 (keeps ~30 pastors focused on ministry)
2. Missionary Diocese of Croatia: $15,000 (assists five church starts)
3. Missionary Convocation of Germany: $12,000 (maintains use of Camp Knüll for REC100–Europe)
4. Foreign Seminary Scholarships: $24,000 (provides the second half of tuition, room, and board for twenty-four students at the biblically orthodox Leonard Kamungu Theological College in Malawi, where our own Dr. Gresser now provides instruction and leadership)

Funds for these ministries are dangerously low. Further, they are supplied very generously by only a few parishes; I would like to see all our parishes and their members involved. Normally I appeal to each synod in the Fall, but with General Council having just occurred, this expense is being spared this year. Hence this appeal directly to you!

If each parish budgeted any monthly amount in addition to its annual $500 for the General Fund, I am confident these ministries could each be fully funded. Or, even better, if half of our parishioners did the same as a personal ministry, these ministries would not be in their present danger of losing their funding!

Would you consider making a recurring monthly gift? Go to the donation page today, and make your gift or monthly pledge by CLICKING HERE. God be with you—as His Kingdom comes through you.

The Rev’d Canon John Peter Boonzaaijer
BFM President

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Thanks to all who helped with our Fall workday last Saturday. What a blessing it is to serve together as stewards of our beautiful campus!
I’m looking forward to the Parish meeting this Sunday, which will focus primarily on our finances and plans led by the Vestry to further God’s mission.

In our last meeting, the Vestry approved our FY24 budget, which our Treasurer Sean Reeves and Vestry members will present to the Parish on Sunday. The Vestry is working to address the Parish’s growing need for additional space, as well as our spiritual needs. We are developing plans for a new Parish Hall and classrooms to be built just east of the parking lot, funded by a capital campaign if the Parish approves our proposal, currently in development. We’ve asked Jack Curtis to start laying the groundwork for a capital campaign.

Meanwhile, we’re working to make the Cottage and Nave more usable and accessible, with assistance from the Building Committee. In addition, recognizing the need for a pastoral assistant to help Fr. Jonathan shepherd the growing flock, we have included an allowance in the approved budget. The Vestry also determined to begin distributing funds to our global and local missions partners on a quarterly basis.

For more details on our monthly Vestry meetings, I encourage you review the minutes regularly posted in the Cottage. Please let any member of the Vestry know how we can better serve the Lord with you.

Your Senior Warden,
Steve Mouton