Dan Welch is a proud supporter of St. John’s. He shared his thoughtful stewardship reflection for the 2026 Faithful. Grateful. Generous. campaign at the 10:15 a.m. service on Sunday, October 12th.
Learn why St. John’s is more than a place of worship for Dan — it’s a community where beauty, reason, and compassion come together to help us encounter God and one another in deeply meaningful ways.
Asked to offer a reflection on stewardship and my experience of St. John’s, I am drawn to a liturgical prayer in Deuteronomy: My father was a wandering Aramaean, who went with his family to Egypt, where we became a great nation. But the Egyptians persecuted us…We cried out…God heard us and led us out of Egypt…into this land of milk and honey AND THEREFORE…I offer the first fruits of the harvest in gratitude.
This passage reminds me that faith is not a possession, but an encounter inaugurated by God…passed down by our ancestors for millennia. And it evokes grateful surrender of what I “have” and “am” into an intimate “More”, beyond telling.
It suggests that community matters. It remembers, demonstrates, and exemplifies the loving surrender in truth, persistently, if somewhat imperfectly at times. And in doing so, it amplifies the experience.
I think it was Yogi Berra who declared You can see a lot by observing. I would call your attention to some of the realities of St. John’s that I have observed.
• The aesthetics. This space in which we gather, the music, The Saint John’s Bible illuminations, and the various prayer services. Beauty and aesthetics are windows into the Divine.
• People of Service: Bill’s Blessing, A Sacred Place ministry to imprisoned women, support for Middlesex Habitat for Humanity, Shoreline Soup Kitchen and Pantries, Rummage Sales, presence and preparation for liturgical services, the list is longer, but I think you get my message.
• A commitment to reasoned reflection on Christian faith. Bible Studies, Historical explorations, ethical rumination, and a comfort with the nuance and complexity of life together.
• How people feel safe enough to share vulnerabilities. Be they concerns about addiction, our parents, children, and grandchildren, depression, or whatever. And most striking, the way those vulnerabilities are met with acceptance, support, and presence.
I am someone who, by temperament, education, or whatever, has spent much of my life seeking to find God. But recently, I have been struck by the thought that perhaps it would be better to diminish my seeking of God and be open to letting God find me. I believe that realization in faith has been fostered here. At St. John’s, I’ve experienced God…finding me with all that can mean.
This Stewardship appeal is devoted to generating the material resources for St. John’s to thrive. I would suggest that before coming up with a pledge number, that we all ponder our own Version of DT. 26. Bask in the aesthetics, the quality of service, the reasoned reflections, and the ways we have witnessed vulnerability and concerns tenderly met by our fellows. How God finds us and we find God. Do this first, and then arrive at your grateful measure and commitment of support for the year ahead. Real gratitude has a way of deepening generosity.