The Nau Matching Gift for Facilities Upgrade

Dear friends,

Earlier this year, the Church of St. John the Divine received an unexpected and extraordinary offer: a gift of $1,000,000, conditional on a match from our parishioners, to address a few much-needed renovations to our facilities. I am pleased to share that after a quiet campaign resulting in a very generous response from some members, the church has met the match. We currently plan to use the resulting $2,000,000 to enhance some depreciated aspects of the campus.

The donor for the initial gift is Mr. John Nau, a very generous benefactor of our parish community, and one who is keen for our parish to steward well our buildings and grounds. With John, I want our campus and facilities to reflect our commitment to excellence in all things as we seek to return to a growth trajectory for the future. I am deeply grateful for his initiative and generosity.

Over recent months, I have assembled an ad hoc architectural committee chaired by Kenny Meyer and comprised of our wardens and other parishioners. This committee has been hard at work identifying and prioritizing specific projects that we might tackle in this program year 2022-2023. We have identified a few areas for improvement including a much-needed major repair of our organ, lighting in the church, modest renovations to the Welcome Center, and interior renovations to our staff workspace. Look for progress reports throughout the fall.

Again, I am tremendously grateful for the offerings that are making these improvements possible. This generosity inspires me to invite all of us to consider again ways God may be calling us to be financially supportive of our Lord’s work at SJD, especially as we embark on our annual stewardship campaign. Our parish leadership is thankful for all the ways our members express their generosity to the church and looks forward to this important program year ahead.

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Dr. R. Leigh Spruill, Rector