Dear Ones,
These early weeks of the new year are filled with annual meetings, parochial report filings, and hopefully, reflection and celebration on the calendar year that has passed. We know that numbers tell a story and it is helpful to track the trends from the data collected on attendance, engagement, and finances. I pray that we would always remember that important as those numbers may be, they don’t tell the full story of how you are showing up as beacons of Christ in your communities. Much of the goodness that is happening in our Diocese, congregation by congregation, can’t be captured in numbers.
The story I want to tell of our Diocese is one of deep faithfulness, high commitment, and infectious energy in our congregations. This is what I experience when I’m with you for my pastoral visitations and you give me hope for our church and for our witness to the love of Jesus Christ. Fully aware that the numbers tell only part of the story, I’d like to share this first-ever Annual Report of our Diocese. It is a snapshot of the ministry of oversight and care that I’m blessed to share in as your bishop.
I will never stop thanking God for your leadership and faithfulness. As we look to the year ahead with its challenges and opportunities, I am grateful for the blessing of being in this together with you, wherever we are to be found across Central and Southern Indiana, with Christ leading us on.
Faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows
Bishop
