This is our 175th anniversary year. It’s probably also our 175th annual meeting, or very close to that. We’ve been learning a lot about our history as a parish--from our beginnings as a country church, surrounded by fields, small plantings and a few scattered graves to what we are today, a bustling suburban church surrounded by busy roads in a town of thousands. We began as a parish in a country yet to go through the Civil War, a country just 73 years old, so close to its founding. The tallest building in Manhattan at that time was Trinity Wall Street, Episcopal Church. The year of our founding, 1849, does anyone know who was president? This is a major bonus question. Zachary Taylor! He was the 12th president of the United States and I would totally have bombed that in a trivia contest.
The solidity of this place, the old stone, the historic finishings make it seem changeless, but the truth is, we’ve changed a lot over the years in response to a changing community and a changing world. Our building, our budget, our property, liturgy, kids’ programs--really, nothing looks quite like it once did. In some cases things are vastly different. Reflecting on our history this anniversary year, I’ve come to appreciate how one of the strengths of St. James has been its ability to read and respond to the times, meeting each new decade and each new century--and yes, we talk in centuries--with courage and creativity.
So how are we doing that today? That’s what I want to talk about in the rest of this address. How are we at St. James being responsive to the world we live in now?
