Reaching Beyond Christ Church Cathedral
At a recent Sunday Adult Forum, the topic was the budget of Christ Church Cathedral. On the income side of the budget, it was noted that 38 percent of the funds we will receive in come from something called “Investment Income.”
Investment income is the money earned from the wise investment of funds given to the Cathedral by parishioners. These Parishioners were nurtured in their faith at the Cathedral and expressed their gratitude by giving funds to keep the Cathedral strong.
Some were wealthy and gave large sums. Others with smaller earthly treasures gave less. All of them, as Elton Trueblood notes above, “planted trees under which they knew full well they would never sit.” And we are the beneficiaries of their faith and their generosity. Think of how the Cathedral’s ministry would be curtailed if we had to remove 38 percent of its budget!
A majority of these tree planters left gifts in their wills. From time to time, a parishioner makes a gift while he or she is still an active member. Such is the case right now. I’m honored to tell you that our dear junior warden emeritus, Sunday usher, Adult Education Committee member, Outreach Committee chair and faithful friend Laurel Stewart has made such a gift.
Laurel has established the “Laurel G. Stewart Outreach Fund” at Christ Church Cathedral, and she has contributed $100,000 to initiate the fund. It is Laurel’s wish that the fund support the outreach ministries of the Cathedral, the “programs and services which reach beyond the needs of the Cathedral and its members, and which address the needs in the broader community.”
In Laurel’s case, the planting of a shade tree under which she will not sit is more than simply making “a start at understanding the meaning of life.” It is a wonderful expression of her love for this Cathedral and its people, and it is a profound witness to her faith in the one “who makes all things new, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
On behalf of us all – and on behalf of generations of Cathedral members yet unborn – THANK YOU, Laurel, for this shade tree. We send you our love and our prayers.
- by The Very Rev. James G. Munroe, Dean of the Cathedral, From Christ Church Cathedral’s Newsletter, The Cathedral Chronicle, and the April 2008 Pastoral Staff