In May we run our "Annual Spring Appeal," inviting people to make a pledge to St. James who might not have been here for our Annual Fall Appeal. Thank you to Alice Herman and Russell Crane, who shared last Sunday why giving to St. James is so important and how it makes a difference here. Did you know? Episcopal churches are supported by the annual financial contributions of the members. Click the button below to learn more. Meantime, here are Russell's comments, reprinted:
Good morning St James,
For those who don't know me, I am Russell Crane. My wife, Omaira, and our boys, Julian and Daniel, have been members of St. James for about 10 years now. As many other families here have also, our boys have traversed the sheep to narrator pipeline in the pageant and have really grown up here at St. James. Maybe they have grown so much now that sleep for them has taken precedence over making it to services!
I have also had the privilege of being in the new Vestry class this year. I am here this morning as a part of St. James' Spring appeal for contributions to our church.
It’s always important to appreciate and celebrate what our Parish's current contributions have been able to provide us. It’s impossible to miss as we drive into our newly re-designed parking lot that had been a challenge for so many years. Our contributions really create everything we have here at St. James from allowing us to have our amazing Rector, Mother Storm, and funding the beautiful music from Victoria and our choir.
I also see our contributions at work while my family and I are serving with others in our St James community at the Fordham Food Pantry and during Breakfast Runs where we can see part of the contributions to St. James going directly to help those in need through the outreach activities that we fund.
On the Vestry, we are discussing new ideas, which we hope will provide additional benefits to St. James and will continue to support our growing community. With Mother Eliza moving on to her new role, I think it’s clear that we need additional support for Mother Storm. So, I would ask, if you have not yet pledged, to please consider doing so. And for those of us who are already pledging let us be thankful for what we have here at St. James, and I would ask us to consider whether we may be able to do more that could even make it possible to add an additional priest to St. James.
Thank you for your consideration, and in our topsy turvy world, I am truly grateful that our family can continue to be a part of growing the community here and furthering our congregations’ mission as Christians and Episcopalians.
Russell Crane
