The Abiding Power of Hope:
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love
1 Corinthians 13:13

Dear Cathedral Parishioner:

As we approach 2010, Christ Church Cathedral is a place of hope. Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians reminds us that hope is a spiritual gift that is both eternal and essential to all Christians. Hope represents the promise of something better and even something bigger than our own individual lives. It gives us reason to believe – if indeed we are open to the possibility – that we have not fully achieved all that God has intended for us to experience and become. Hope becomes a sure foundation to stand upon in strengthening our parish community and expanding our ministry to Nashville and even beyond into the world.

It is an exciting time in the life of Christ Church Cathedral. We are delighted to welcome the Reverend Timothy Kimbrough, who has accepted the call to be Christ Church’s 25th Rector. Timothy, his wife Darlene, and his daughter Hannah will join us on All Saints’ Day, November 1. With Timothy’s arrival, we will usher in a time of renewal. After the sense of anticipation surrounding our search process, we are all eager to receive Timothy into the life of our parish and grow with him through this rejuvenating hope that is alive in Christ Church Cathedral.

As we plan the parish budget for 2010, we want to translate this sense of hope and renewal into tangible financial commitments from our parish community. Due to the generosity of our parishioners in contributing their time, talents, and treasure, we can thankfully report that we have continued to build and sustain our ministry even amidst the economic difficulties of the last year. For 2009, the congregation pledged just under $2,000,000 to support Cathedral programs and outreach. Through careful and prayerful management, the Cathedral has been able to adhere to its budget and to maximize the impact of those dollars in our ministry.

We are sending this letter to ask you to make an investment in the ministry of Christ Church Cathedral—an investment that will be multiplied many times over by the gifts of parishioners’ time and the blessings of God. As you reflect on your support for the church in the coming year, we ask you to be mindful of the many pathways to service that God has opened to us. To fully fund our existing programs and ministries and provide staff and clergy with a modest increase in compensation, we need to increase our pledges by $200,000 (approximately 10%). In reaching this goal, we will avoid the dilemmas of cutting staff or programming and enter 2010 prepared to minister to our community and to each other.

The theme of this year’s stewardship campaign is the abiding power of hope. Without hope, faith and love expire like the setting sun. But hope reminds us that the sun is rising on our Cathedral community. Based in that sense of hope and with the promise of the multiplying effects of our faithful prayers and loving members, we ask you to renew your commitment to the Cathedral with a pledge to support our ministry.

We recognize that some households can give more, some less. We ask you to prayerfully consider how you can help financially to support the ministry of the Cathedral. We need everyone’s support to reach our goal. We ask everyone to complete and mail their pledge card as soon as possible. You can always complete your pledge card online at www.ChristCathedral.org/Give. It is our prayer that we will be financially prepared to fund the ministry God has given us to do in 2010 as well as welcome our new Dean and Rector to a parish that is poised to respond fully to God’s call in our life.

Faithfully yours,

Jeffrey P. Yarbro
Stewardship Co-Chair

Scott Viebranz
Stewardship Co-Chair