Dear Friends,

The year is drawing to a close, and we have so much to be thankful for at St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church. We just celebrated Christ’s birth in beautiful fashion with a candlelight Christmas Eve service. We’ve experienced an Advent season where our hope in Christ’s sure and redemptive coming again has been deepened and refined, palpably so. But more has happened since we became St. Bartholomew’s on July 1.

In July, we started from scratch financially. Many of you gave over and above so we could have seed money, operating cash to get us on our feet as a church - thank you! We celebrated our new identity with a great St. Bart’s Day Festival in September. We helped more than 30 people discern their call in Christ’s kingdom at a retreat held on campus beginning work in them that will last a lifetime. Our Pastorates partnered with Buckner Children and Family Services' Family Pathways program to provide childcare for single mothers enrolled in enrichment and continuing education. We have baptized many and buried one. And there is more to come as we grow and our vision and mission take clearer shape. God is doing something unseen in our midst - the promise of his vision and the hope of fruitfulness are deeply ingrained in me, and I know in many of you as well. But none of this happens without your generous giving.

You’ve been welcomed at St. Bart’s; you and your family and circle of friends have grown deeper in Christ. We want to continue Christ’s welcome to those in East Dallas and the surrounding areas, to see God continue to draw to himself those who call Jesus Lord, God their Father, the Spirit their Counselor and Comforter, and St. Bart’s their home. Please consider giving generously to continue God’s mission and ministry at St. Bart’s. Thank you for the ways you’ve fueled God’s mission here over the last year, and for giving generously as you hear God’s call for the years and decades to come.

Merry Christmas!

Jay+