Over 20 years in ordained ministry, and several before that in lay leadership, I have grown to loathe church budget meetings. All too often, they can turn mean-spirited, as people look at the bottom line, see red ink, and start to count beans. So it was a lovely surprise to sit down with our parish's finance committee this week and be able to do a little dreaming. We finished 2006 in the black, the first time in the better part of a decade, and we have a reasonably good shot at balancing the budget for 2007. Our offering income exceeded $200,000 for the first time ever, the result of some very generous giving in the last two months of the year. That was probably stimulated by our stewardship campaign, a low-key program to be sure, but the parish's first attempt at a financial stewardship program since 1991.

There are still issues, including a huge heating bill, but I heard a collective desire to move ahead, to address the issues, and to build up the church.

This little corner of God's vineyard is showing signs of life.
Thank you, Jesus!