Click on the green "Donate Now" button above to make a gift.
Help us strengthen and expand the work to which God calls us!
Beloved of God!
I write to ask your support for this year’s Bishop’s Annual Appeal. In the time since I was ordained as your bishop on October 19th, I have been inspired both by your passion for the ministries in your congregations and your commitment to our common life in the Diocese of Massachusetts. We are blessed as a diocese to benefit from the generosity of our forebears whose legacy continues to support our witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ. Each of us, in this generation, is called to give to the witness of the Church in our own time, both locally in our worshipping communities and collectively in our diocese to strengthen and expand the work to which God calls us.
I want to highlight three areas of our life together which this year will be strengthened by your gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal.
Strategic Curacies
One of our great strengths as a diocese is that we raise up for ordained ministry a number of talented people each year. However, fewer and fewer of our churches are able to support curacies for the newly ordained where they can benefit from good mentoring in the early years of their ministry. At present, we are able to fund two full-time-equivalent curacies in our annual diocesan budget. I would love to see us double that number so we can not only ordain but retain more talented new clergy who will be serving the Church in decades to come.
Collaborative Ministries
Many of our congregations are challenged to maintain full-time clergy positions. Moreover, eastern Massachusetts has one of the highest costs of living in the country. While we are fortunate to have some bi-vocational clergy who serve in our churches on a part-time basis, the recruitment and retention of gifted clergy to serve our congregations often depends on our ability to create full-time positions and/or provide clergy housing. In several parts of our diocese, neighboring churches are collaborating with one another to create full-time clergy positions, sometimes with diocesan financial support.
Equipping Churches for Growth
Our call as Christians is to share the Good News in our communities, making new disciples and serving our neighbors. Christian witness can never be content with managing decline. Instead, we are called to equip our congregations for growth, developing strategies for vital local congregations and bringing resources where they are needed. In the coming months, we will be announcing opportunities for congregational growth and evangelism, sustainable use of our church properties, and deeper commitment to ministries that serve our neighbors and transform our communities.
We are engaged in so much good work already… and there is so much more we can do together. Won’t you join me in giving generously to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal?
Blessings and love,
The Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth
Help us share the word of this giving opportunity
with your congregation and community!
Find Bishop's Annual Appeal resource materials attached below.
Questions may be directed to the Rev. Brian Raiche, Development Consultant,
at braiche@diomass.org or 617-482-4826, ext. 515.