An Update on Consolidation with HCSC

 

Dear members of St. John’s,

As you know the Vestry of St. John’s voted in favor of consolidation with Holy Cross/Santa Cruz. Last night, the Vestry of HC/SC also voted in favor of this consolidation and we received this letter from Fr. Eliacin. We wanted to let you know of this wonderful news. The next months will be spent continuing our shared ministry, building relationships, incorporating more of our members and spiritual practices in worship,  and deepening our presence of one shared Episcopal ministry in Kingston. Our transition team and vestries will also be working on revising bylaws, reviewing finances and completing paperwork for the Diocese and the state of New York. This may take many months before the consolidation becomes legal. In our hearts and minds, we make room for the Holy Spirit to guide us, strengthen us, and give us peace.

With love and prayer,
Leah and Lynn, Wardens

Letter from Fr. Eliacín

Dear People of Holy Cross + Santa Cruz,

Grace and peace to you in Christ.

I write today to share an important moment in our life together. On October 21, our Vestry voted in favor of consolidating with Saint John’s Episcopal Church. This follows Saint John’s Vestry’s vote in favor of consolidation on September 7.

This decision comes after more than a year of prayer, conversations, and discernment about our shared future as the Episcopal Church in Kingston. Together, both Vestries have listened deeply to the Spirit, to one another, and to the needs of our community. The votes taken by both Vestries represent not an ending, but the beginning of a new chapter: a single, stronger, and more sustainable Episcopal presence rooted in shared ministry, hospitality, and hope.

The consolidation means that our two congregations, Holy Cross + Santa Cruz and Saint John’s, are coming together to form one new congregation.

This is more than simply combining resources or sharing buildings; it is the creation of something new. Through prayer, discernment, and collaboration, we are being called to unite our gifts, histories, and hopes into a single community of faith, one that will carry forward the best of both traditions and open new possibilities for ministry together in Kingston. It is, at its heart, an act of trust in the Spirit’s leading, a commitment to walk together into God’s future as one church.

In the coming weeks, our congregations will continue to work with Bishop Matt Heyd’s office to guide the next steps in this process. As we move along there will be congregational meetings, and opportunities to participate in shaping what this new reality will look like.

Please hold one another in prayers. Change always brings both gratitude and grief, excitement and uncertainty. Yet through it all, we trust that God is doing a new thing among us, inviting us to walk forward in faith, courage, and love.

May this season be marked by deep joy, listening, compassion, and a renewed sense of purpose in the work God is calling us to do together.

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.
Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20–21

With gratitude and hope,
Eliacín+
Priest-in-Charge
Holy Cross + Santa Cruz Episcopal Church