by Rev. Dr. Jim Warnock
I want to begin by remembering Deacon Jeffrey Boyce. Losing him was a tragedy for all of us and especially for me as his priest. He embodied what it means to be a deacon. I enjoyed working with him up front on Sundays and holy days, planning services to emphasize his office, and trying to restrain him in the number of candles he wanted to place on the altar. He never did convert me to a more un-restrained Anglo-Catholicism, but he never gave up. Deacon Jeffrey also excelled in the diaconal mission to bring the world to the church, offering us many ways to be involved in our community. He will be greatly missed.
In other ways, like in 2023 our parish life was marked by consistency. Our attendance remains at an average of 23 people each Sunday. We have continued to use the hymns for smallchurchmusic.org. Our sermons are placed on our website each week. We have a reliable and skilled corps of acolytes and readers. The altar guild continues to do excellent work setting up for services. As your priest, it’s a blessing for me to know that I don’t have to worry about things go-ing wrong on Sunday mornings. The E[piscopal] C[hurch] W[omen] and the Daughters of the King continue to meet and engage in projects in the church.
Our Wednesday Bible study continues to thrive. We usually have ten people attending. We’re working our way through Genesis at the moment, one of the longer books in Scripture. Our conversations tend to be wide-ranging, but that’s a good thing.
In terms of work in the community, we continue to host the Safe Streets meetings for this neighborhood. It meets bimonthly and brings various community officials in contact with whoever wants to attend. Usually spirited discussions ensue, and we get an idea of what people who live nearby are thinking.
Funding for Veterans Village expired in 2024, and that project end-ed. We continue to collect coats and Christmas stockings for the Larchmont schools. Nourish Sunday provides food to local food banks. We continue to host All Saints’ Goshen, a Kenyan congregation, on Sunday afternoons.
I am happy to report that our property sale looks to be going through, with closing anticipated in summer. Our buyer has organized as ASE B St. LLC. They await new Tacoma zoning rules to come into effect on February 1st. At that point they will submit the necessary paperwork to move forward with the sale. They anticipate that to take up to three months, but then we should be on track to close. Their engineers are occasionally on-site taking measurements.
Our pledges remained the same as 2024 at 24 as two households did not renew their pledge while two who had not previously pledged did so this year. The amount pledged declined by $4,881. Overall, of the seventeen people who renewed their pledges from the previous year, two declined, seven remained the same and eight increased. Our total pledge income is $71,799 at this writing. Given our finances, I have reduced by hours from half-time to quarter-time.
In terms of my community involvement, I continue on the board of the North American Chapter of the Community of the Cross of Nails. I am working part-time as a chaplain with West Pierce Fire and Rescue. I also volunteer on occasion with the Tacoma Fire Department.
This has been a great year for Kresha and me. We saw the birth of Zahava, our first grandchild, in February. Kresha continues as secretary for the ECW. Our children are doing well. I want to close by remembering Lucille Locke, Gillian Taylor and the Rev. Dcn. Jeffrey Boyce who died in 2024. Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon them.