The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue
July 2007
Bishop's Reflections
STRETCH STRETCH STRETCH
I hope that most of you have kept up with the update reports on the Episcopal Church Center (ECC), under way for a year now. Lots of work has been done by various committees, to say nothing of the builders themselves. I don't recall passing by a single day, whatever the weather, when they are not working full speed ahead!
Usually there are surprises along the way in
such a large building project, and the ECC is no
exception. Some of ours fall in the category of "we forgot to..." or "we didn't realize that..." but for the most part we are on schedule.
The hard part is that we are not on budget,
and even if we were we haven't raised enough
money to pay for its completion. Steve
Hutchinson, diocesan chancellor, and the Rev.
Canon Dave Bailey, canon to the ordinary, and I
have now visited all our congregations to present
the project in detail and to ask for your
financial support.
Many, many of you have responded and we
are deeply grateful for that. We are already planning
how we will recognize and honor your gifts
and pledges in the building itself.
We are also conscious of the many hours of 'stitch time' you have put into making quilts,
and we hope to have you place them on the beds
in the hospitality center at the time of our dedication.
There will be plaques with your congregation's
name on the doors of those rooms.
The reality is, however, that we need more
and larger gifts to complete the funding of the
Center. Later this month we will be sending letters
asking you to consider additional (or first
time) contributions in significant amounts. This
may not be a possibility for you, but we do hope
you will consider it—particularly in stretching
your donations over a three year period, for
example, or in working out a way to charge
monthly donations to your Visa or MasterCard
accounts.
In stretching my own contributions, I have
found what many people have told me to be
true; that people who give to one organization
or project often find that it makes them want to
give more to others! Giving can then become a
real habit of the thankful life.
I say this in the context of knowing that you
are being asked for money on many fronts: you
parish support, earlier pledges to your building
projects, other organizations in the church, such
as Episcopal Relief and Development and the
United Thank Offering, and soon we will all be
talking about the Millennial Development Goals.
In addition all kinds of other organizations
seek your support for the arts, education, the
homeless, hungry and so on.
My encouragement here is simply to ask that
you consider a real stretch, even some risk, in
helping to make the ECC a debt free project. It
isn't often that we need to ask for your help, but
we do now. I was quite amazed to learn that
over the years we have received more than $87
million from the Perpetual Trust (not counting
Project Jubilee!), and the Trust still holds significantly
more than that!
We can take nothing from this capital, however, because the Trust has been structure to provide for those who come after us too.
The resources we still receive from it allow us to support the churches you attend as well as mission and ministry of this Diocese "beyond ourselves." The ECC itself is designed to serve this'beyond ourselves' commitment to our community
and the larger church in very tangible ways.
The Center is really about the future of our
church in Utah. Certainly in this 140th year of
our presence here, the Center will be a very clear
statement that we are here to stay!
Please give prayerful discernment and discussion to a STRETCH that will bless you as well as others.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Carolyn Tanner Irish
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