Christ Church's Future

A couple of months ago, we engaged a consultant to help us discern a path for our congregation. Christ Episcopal Church will soon mark 300 years, and we will celebrate that important milestone beginning in November 2027. I wonder if those who started this congregation thought it would be a thriving place of spiritual growth and nurture for so long.

In the face of enormous challenges, those pioneers sowed a seed, and I am glad that they sowed the seed that has grown to become what it is today.

As we reflect on the best way to celebrate this milestone, we are also obligated to consider what we can do today to ensure this congregation remains a beacon of hope and renewal in the Columbia and Howard County community.

It was based on these conversations, which started a couple of years ago, that led us to recently engage a consultant to help us discern the best path forward for our congregation. I believe so strongly that the witness of this congregation is so important to Columbia and beyond that we should spare nothing to ensure its continual sustainability. But we can only do that if we build a strong foundation that secures our future.

As your pastor, priest, and friend, I owe it to this beloved congregation to raise concerns wherever I see them and to help us better understand those concerns, so that together as a congregation we will discern the best way to overcome them.

The consultant we hired to help us presented her conclusions to the Vestry and me earlier this week, and she will present them to the congregation this Sunday. It is my fervent prayer that no matter which worship you attend, you will gather with us at 11:15 a.m. in New Brick for this important conversation. 

Blessed Summer, 

Manny+