Dear Parishioners:

In my report a year ago I concluded by saying, Obama's election has provided our nation and the world with excitement, inspiration, and hope, in the midst of difficult and challenging times. Today I write on the morning after our special election for U.S. Senator and in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, and my heart is heavy.

2009 has indeed been a difficult year in the world around us. The murder of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, the defeat of marriage equality efforts in several key states, on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the continuation of the Great Recession, to list just a few disheartening realities, contribute to our collective sense of anxiety and frustration.

At the same time, life here at St. John's flourishes. I was fortunate to be on sabbatical for four months from May through August, and the parish carried on seamlessly under the steady leadership of Nicole Parsons, Rob Watters, and the Vestry, and with the gracious pastoral presence of the Reverend Anne Minton. The programs begun in 2009, Angel Food Ministries and Night Song, have grown and prospered. Another music program, Jamaica Plain Concerts, under the enthusiastic partnership of Music Minister Ken Brooks and our friend Peter Terry, has taken off with extraordinary energy and excitement. Our partnership with our tenant, Pine Village preschool, continues as an unqualified success.

Our facilities are busy as never before in my many years here. We continue to host an AA group, a yoga group, and a Mom's group, and for a short time a support group for Alzheimer's caregivers met here. Now we are providing meeting space for a group of supervisors from Jewish Family and Children's Services, as well as for occasional community meetings. The Pine Village Children enjoy our basement space and our parish hall - their "gym" - and the many musicians performing in our sanctuary are grateful for our hospitality.

It is ever more apparent how much these same building cry out for repair and restoration. Falling plaster inside and falling stones outside are the outward and visible signs of decades of deferred maintenance. We worked to renovate our basement before it became entirely unusable; we now must undertake renewed efforts before other parts of our beloved buildings become unsafe for occupancy.

Fortunately, a group has formed with the commitment and energy to focus on our capital needs. Our historic buildings, as I have often said, are a gift from previous generations that we are blessed to hold in trust. Our focus now must be to care for and restore them that we may honor that legacy and preserve it so that future generations may give glory to God in our sacred space, and continue as a beacon of hope and hospitality in a challenging world.

Faithfully,

Anne