May 8, 2026
A few years ago, when Saint Anne's Vestry was engaging in our first Dreams and Visions brainstorming session, one intangible that kept coming up was "become more of a community resource and hub". We weren't sure exactly what that would look like, or how to achieve that goal, but the idea of growing in relationship with the community outside our walls kept tugging at us. Without knowing what it would lead to, staff, Vestry leadership, the Peace & Justice team, and various other ministry areas, began to intentionally build connections and relationships in our wider area. We met with school social workers to learn more about what they do and what they need, and local organizations doing good work, to see how we might be able to support them. We reached out whenever we saw a community group looking for space or other needs. If it was at all possible, we said yes to everything that came our way: offering our indoor and outdoor space for use, hosting school supply drives and other special collections, and offered donations and support, as we could, to various groups. We started participating in local parades, and offered support for the local PRIDE festival. We built and installed a Little Free Library. Even just sharing local needs and activities in the Announcer has been an intentional practice. It has been joyful, time-consuming, hopeful, challenging, and downright fun to put ourselves out there in every way we can.
Our efforts have resulted in stronger connections to our local schools, better awareness of - and ability to support - other local non-profits, and increased use of our building as a gathering place, including our partnerships with the WSP Rotary Club, which meets at Saint Anne's every Wednesday, and with the Spanish School. This week at Saint Anne's was a busy one, but not atypical: we've hosted a baby shower for local family, an annual board meeting for a local organization, and an Aspen House event, loaned tables out to a local non-profit, were contacted by a local school for a need they had, provided space for Spanish classes, and (today!) are hosting another Blood Drive. This week we've also installed our new playground, which local families as well as Saint Anne's families enjoy, and are expanding our outdoor chapel, to be able to be even more welcoming to all. Our church is a busy, bustling place!
All of the busy-ness is one part "whew!", and many parts wonderful. To have local groups reach out and say, "We've heard you're the ones to call", is exactly what we dreamed of. We hope these relationships and our connections outside our walls only continue to grow. Thank you for being people who support YES as our first response and then support that by being flexible, by being problem-solvers, and by never getting bent out of shape about juggling space, time, and resources. My prayer for you this week is to know that your light shines not only in every corner of Saint Anne's, but also out into the world. My prayer is for you to know that your care, compassion, generosity, and willingness to throw the doors open, literally and figuratively, is a beacon to so many people in search of some kindness in this world. Each YES! you offer makes a difference, and oh, the difference you make.