...That in the Church, we like to build things?

We build churches, parish halls, schools, and many other kinds of structures to carry on our mission. But as important as these structures are, they are not central to our mission, which is to share the Gospel of JESUS Christ and help all people become mature and intentional disciples, to share the very Life of God, which is “Eternal Life”! At the dedication of a new church, a Bishop made a somewhat startling but accurate remark that, church buildings are simply ‘scaffolding for the Kingdom’. They give us support in building up the Kingdom in our midst, but they are not themselves the Kingdom of God, and like all scaffolding they will someday come down. Only the Kingdom of God – our relationship with God and with one another in the Body of Christ will endure forever. (One of our Priests, in responding to the comments of visitors on the beauty of the church always says, “Yes, and the building is nice too!”) “To know JESUS Christ and to make Him known” is our Mission and that should always be the primary focus of our lives as individual Christians, as families, and as a Parish! While Maintenance is important – good stewardship and the responsible care for that which has been entrusted to us – Mission is absolutely essential! Pope Benedict XVI of blessed memory said, “The Church doesn’t ‘have a mission’. The Church is mission, or it’s not the Church of JESUS Christ!” In the annual report of the Parish/Finance Council to the Parish, which was handed out on the weekend of 9-10 September (additional copies are available in the Parish Office and the Gathering Room), you will see that 31% of our budget is marked for local and world-wide mission. Your generosity extends – quite literally – around the world, because we believe that building up the Body of Christ and providing ‘scaffolding for the Kingdom’ must be our priority – in Nepal, Haiti, Ecuador, Mexico, Bethlehem, Nigeria, Kenya, on two college campuses, here ‘at home’ in Sierra Vista and across the Diocese of Tucson!! We are very, very grateful that you support this vision for what it means to be the Church! Thank you for taking the time to read and reflect on the Annual Report and thank you for responding so generously to the request for a ‘cost of living raise’ for the Parish. Many of you have indicated your willingness to increase your contributions to help the Parish deal with the impact of inflation on almost everything necessary for maintaining our many ministries and programs! Those of us who are in a position of being able to and will make an increase in our giving are exercising a deep charity – “going the extra mile” by providing for the Parish and its needs, and doing this especially for our younger families and those with limited resources. “We may not have it altogether, but together – in Christ – we have it all!”