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.
