Dear Parishioners and Friends,

We are blessed to be able to celebrate the 156^th Homecoming of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church of Washington DC.  It is a joyful occasion each year when we gather in remembrance of God’s gifts to each of us individually, as well as the gift of togetherness that is bestowed upon us.  All around us, we see members of our Parish – old and young – whose lives have been entwined with ours; representatives of families that have worshipped here for generations, and of families that have joined us in recent decades; we see friends and neighbors from the Foggy Bottom area; and we see officials and VIPs from various organizations and endeavors in Washington DC and across our nation.

In recognition of St. Mary’s 156^th Homecoming, we invite you to join a $25,000 initiative proposed by our Vestry and designed to be accomplished this year.  The goal is to raise the funds necessary for the restoration and embellishment of the Guild Room, in which so much of our activity takes place, and where so many of our memories have been made. This is the room in which the children of our Sunday School have gathered to learn the meaning and expression of God’s word as they grow up in the world, where our Vestry meets to conduct the business of our church, where candidates meet with our clergy to learn the biblical lessons essential to their baptism or confirmation, where Episcopal Church Women meet to commune and carry out the tasks they have set for themselves, and where we retain the records of our activities and historical photos of the famous Rectors and clergy who led us over these 156 years. Our goal is to modernize the tables, chairs, and furniture, and to embellish this room in preparation for the next century to come.

We invite you to give according to your means to this 156^th Homecoming Initiative, no matter how small or how generous the amount.  This is different from the annual Pledge each of us makes as we give of our time, talent and treasure in recognition of our “gratitude with God.” This initiative focuses our attention on acknowledging the importance of this room, by making the active and historic contribution that you see fit.  Please place your gift in an envelope marked 156^th Homecoming Initiative (please include your name), and place it in the offering basket as it comes around. Alternatively, please go to St. Mary’s updated website, and look in the Giving subset to see how to make a donation; and to the Homecoming subset to see this invitation, so that you can send it to others.

Please know that the vestry and our parish family are grateful for your contributions.  The vestry will keep you informed, and we think that you will be pleased to see the results in the coming year.

Thank you!

Senior Warden,

Mr. Brandon Todd

And 156^th Homecoming Co-Chairs,

Ms. Gwendolyn Mikell and Mr. Adam Hunter