Congregational Meeting about the Nursery School

The following letter was emailed to the congregation on July 12, 2025.

Dear friends,

On behalf of the Vestry, we invite you to join in a brief (30-45 minute) congregational meeting after the 10 am service on Sunday, July 20.

The purpose of this meeting is to share information about the current realities of our Nursery School ministry, and to include you in the Nursery School Committee and Vestry’s ongoing discernment process about this ministry.

Nursery School Ministry Finances & Enrollment

Enrollment in our Nursery School has declined since the pandemic. We have space for up to 12 children each day, but for the coming school year we expect only 4–6 children daily.

The needs of Hyde Park families have changed. Poverty levels have risen, and most families no longer have a caregiver at home during daytime work hours. As a result, our half-day Nursery program is difficult for many families to access. Many find their needs are best served by our school district’s free universal pre-k program, or by other full-day programs.

For nearly sixty years, the Nursery School balanced ministry costs with tuition income—we were even able to provide scholarships! But since 2020, tuition income has halved due to declining enrollment. The resulting deficit has cost the church about $81,000 since 2020, or about $13,500 per year—the equivalent of seven to ten church members’ average annual pledges.

What we’ve tried

We are proud of our Nursery School, which has offered a loving, child-centered environment since 1963. Many members, and members’ children, had their earliest learning experiences here! So leaders have been working very hard to overcome these financial and enrollment challenges:
Our dedicated Nursery School Committee and teachers have done an excellent job marketing the Nursery School. They’ve hosted open houses, tabled at community events, sent mailings to new families, canvassed our local schools, campaigned on social media, and partnered with talented St. James’ artists to create beautiful marketing materials like a new brochure and video. They also secured generous gifts and grants to renovate our playground, making it a more welcoming draw for families.

At this year’s Annual Meeting of the congregation, the budget presentation outlined a plan to eliminate the Nursery School budget deficit by expanding our family ministries, adding a before-school care program starting this fall. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen delays in the permitting process, we were only able to open the program to one local elementary school, and so far have only one student enrolled. While we are still hopeful and excited about expanding into before-and-after-school care—which seems like a real community need—we are unsure about when we’ll be able to get the permit to do so successfully.

The Path Forward

The best of St. James’ is our relationships—with God, one another, and our whole community. We want to be a hub for a variety of ministries, community groups, and nonprofits that are actively meeting the needs of our neighbors today.

Our church is not a business, but it is an institution called to invest its resources in service to the good of our community. The question before the Vestry is whether, given the changing needs of the families of Hyde Park, St. James’ is doing the right thing by investing approximately $13,500 annually in the Nursery School ministry.

The July 20 meeting is an opportunity for you, as a congregation, to fully understand the realities and challenges this beloved ministry is facing. You may have ideas to share or questions to ask, and these will be gratefully received. We ask that you pray for the Nursery School Committee, teachers, students, families, and your Vestry.

Please plan to join this important conversation on July 20, immediately following the 10 am service.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Meredith Kadet Sanderson
Priest-in-Charge

Mike Glancey
Senior Warden

Joseph Gasparini
Junior Warden