Strategic Plan Update- Strategy #3
Strategy #3 – Use the campus at St. James Parish more fully in pursuit of our mission.
As stewards of a magnificent downtown church with a nearly 300-year-old legacy – a place and a history that we as a parish today hold in trust – we should feel faith-bound to share it with others, especially those who are less fortunate than we are. This charge urges in us the Christian virtue of “hospitality.”
In recommending this strategy to the Vestry, the Strategic Planning Group has reasserted a traditional calling, when St. James was the base for a number of Wilmington-area nonprofits: for example, The Wilmington Homeless Shelter, Elderhouse, Head Start, The Hill School of Wilmington, and a chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous (a tradition that continues today). Many of those organizations eventually outgrew our facility and became successful independent entities. Now, in the wake of the pandemic, when many non-profits need special support, we hope to reprise that kind of hospitality and enterprise by offering:
- Perry Hall for athletic and social activities
- Small meeting rooms for regular and occasional meetings
- Temporary storage space in times of need
- The Great Hall for large gatherings and musical events
Of course, there are obstacles or inconveniences that could discourage hospitality, but with proper organization, oversight, and supervision this strategy can be implemented, given a willingness to accommodate the needs of others. Moreover, it is a way to demonstrate our best and truest qualities as members of the Wilmington community.