Martin Luther King, Jr. and Annual Parish Meeting.

As I write this on Monday I am sitting in the church office, listening to the President and Vice President of United States take their oaths of office, and musing upon the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on this his national holiday.

A few years ago I came across an interesting fact about Dr. King and a connection to St. John’s.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was hosted at a luncheon here at St. John's on May 15th, 1958 by then Rector I.C. Johnson and the parish. He preached later in the day at St. Pauls' Cathedral. It was a part of a diocesan conference on the Church and Race.  Additionally,  as with so many parades and rallies up and down Woodward, he passed in front of St. John’s as he led a march in 1963,  pictured here. 

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Today we do something out of the ordinary.  Although we usually have our Annual Parish Meeting on the last Sunday in January, the vestry decided it needed two more weeks in order to prepare properly.  Since Diocesan canon calls for the meeting to happen in January, we have been advised by the Bishop’s office that we can open the meeting today during the 10am Service, and then immediately recess the meeting until February 10 at which time we will continue and complete the business of the meeting. 

God willing, by next week will have the Annual Parish Meeting booklet published for you to pick up on Sunday and take home with you to read over before the meeting.

I cannot stress more strongly how important it is that ALL parishioners participate in the Annual Parish Meeting.  This is YOUR parish, and it is important that you understand the financial position of the parish, and elect her leadership.