Week of September 8th, 2024
Dear friends and members of St. Matt’s,
Welcome, officially, to the fall! I hope you had a wonderful long Labor Day Weekend and that things are moving along for you, however you’ve entered into this season. This coming Sunday represents the quiet beginning of our new year. We’ll invite you all to bring any bag, backpack, or briefcase that you or your children carry regularly. And we’ll bless them at the end of the service on Sunday. We’ll also have a time of discussion after worship for those who read (or are interested in hearing about) The Measure. And then the following week will be our very big, very loud, very fun, very festive kickoff with lots of fun for the kids and lots of surprises along the way. We’ll also formally welcome our new staff members. So, please, make a special effort to join us for worship these next two Sundays.
Over the summer, I spent some time reflecting with both the Vestry and the staff on how different the world is, how different Wilton is, how different this parish is than when I arrived here seven years ago. So much has changed. And so, I’ve said to the Vestry that my hope for this coming season is that we will begin again. Of course, we have memories and relationships, and there are special parts of our life here at St. Matt’s that we will carry forward with us. The things that bind us together and make us who we are. But we all know that everything is different now – and so, too, is God calling us to be different! So, as we head into this new year, know that I am approaching our life together like a start up. With that level of excitement, engagement, and attention to detail.
We have two new wonderful staff people. Lots of new ideas between the four of us and the lay leadership. And some rest this summer has given me a fresh take on what’s ahead. I am ready to hit the ground running this fall, to begin again, to start building from the bottom up. And I hope you’ll join me. Rather like a Jubilee year in Hebrew Scriptures – a time when God grants renewal and refreshment, a time when people come together to celebrate, to plan, to love anew. With God, change is always brimming with hope and possibility. And so is our life together. Come and join us as we make our way into this new season, as we begin again this fall, as we see what new things God is up to and is calling us to be up to in this place and in the larger community. There is a place for you here.
I hope to see you on Sunday. And until we’re together again, God loves you. And so do I.
Faithfully,
–Marissa +