Cash Stipend Housing / Rectory Detail Utilities. budget. Vacation Weeks Vacation Weeks Details Continuing Education Weeks Continuing Education Weeks

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1 1100 Washington Street, Bath, ME 04530, United States Weekly Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) 135 Number of Weekend Worship Services 2 Number of Weekday Worship Services 1 Number of Other per Month Worship Services 0 Current Annual Compensation $70075 Cash Stipend Housing / Rectory Detail Utilities $70075 SECA reimbursement Compensation Available for New Position $70075 Housing Available for Pension Plan We're in compliance with CPF requirements. Healthcare Options Dental Housing Equity Allowance in Full family budget Annual Equity Amount Vacation Weeks Vacation Weeks Details Continuing Education Weeks Continuing Education Weeks 4 2 (standard) Details Continuing Education Funding in budget $501-$1000/year Sabbatical Provision Travel/Auto Account Other Professional Account $70,075 represents diocesan minimum total compensation for Bath and is negotiable

2 The Stewardship Kickoff Dinner on Oct. 18, 2014, was undeniably a moment of success and fulfillment. It was a turning point for our parish from uncertainty in the wake of our Rector s departure to confidence buoyed by the visible evidence of how richly blessed and empowered we are as a group of people devoted to God, the Church, the community, and to each other. A very large number of us turned out, partly to meet our new interim priest, George Lambert, and partly to show our concern for our common future. The energy we drew from such a strong demonstration of our collective commitment was palpable and powerful. The food was superb, the setting elegant, the service well-managed and the speakers well-spoken, but that was icing on the cake of our presence together. No one left that dinner in any doubt that we were well equipped to grow and prosper, notwithstanding our loss. Subsequently the Stewardship Campaign was a signal success, exceeding its target. Our talents were not buried on that night, but engaged, invested, and already bearing fruit in our hearts and in our actions. We look forward eagerly to finding our next leader and collaborator in God s work in Bath! How are your preparing yourselves for the Church of the future? We understand that the church of the future will not look like the church of today, especially after reading People of the Way at Adult Ed in Children s Church has been addressed in Question 7 and remains a shining example of a successful ministry at Grace. Although the families are otherwise unaffiliated with a church, they ARE the church of the future. We take the Good News outside the walls through our website, a Children s Church Facebook page, offering Ashes to Go and Blessing of the Animals, an active outreach program, and support for others through the Rector s Discretionary Fund. Televised services on the local cable channel are actually viewed by the public! It has been surprising how many people tell our ministers and parishioners, I ve seen you on TV. Through our Feast at 5:30 Program, we bring potluck supper to elderly and disabled residents in local housing units. We are willing to experiment, even if we partially fail; keeping an open mind helps us prepare for the church of the future. inspirational, energetic, good communicator, engaging

3 Grace parishioners embrace the Book of Common Prayer in their worship. Rite I is used in the 8 AM service, Rite II in the 10:15 AM service. Our music program is a rich and integral part of the 10:15 service, using a variety of instruments in addition to the organ, including recorder, cello, trombone, guitar and piano among others to accompany our choir in a diverse and well-led musical program. On Wednesdays we have both a Eucharistic and a Healing Service at 10 AM. A number of lay groups assist with worship, including the altar guild, chalice bearers, readers, ushers, greeters and camera operators. The Worship Committee assists and advises the Rector in planning liturgical activities. For variety, we also utilize other orders of worship, such as those from Enriching Our Worship and the British Books of Common Prayer. Children s Church, with its distinct congregation of children and adults, is held at 9:30 AM and occasionally participates in the principal services as well, usually musically or by lighting candles. Our Blessing of Animals service at Library Park the Sunday closest to St. Francis Day is a well-loved public event. How do you practice incorporating others in ministry? We use a committee structure with periodic ministry fairs or Sign-up Sundays to encourage members to learn about and participate in committees that interest them. Committees are open to all parishioners. Periodic training is held for people interested in liturgical roles. We have a packet for newcomers listing committees and ministries with a description of activities and contacts. There are many flexible options for volunteering. Roles include greeters, ushers, lectors, lay Eucharistic visitors, choir, altar guild, altar flowers, prayer shawls, pastoral care, coffee-hour hosts, Children s Church, childcare, and Feast at 5:30 a weekly potluck that rotates among three public housing communities. Parishioners volunteer at our monthly Good Shepherd Mobile Food Truck, assisted by local students from Morse High School and Hyde School. Newcomers are recognized during services, and encouraged to attend our weekly coffee hour. Specific opportunities for involvement are communicated in our weekly newsletter Grace Notes, edited by Deacon Lois Hart, and are included in our service bulletin on Sundays. The 10:15 AM service is recorded and televised on local cable TV. As a worshipping community, how do you care for your spiritual, emotional and physical well-being? We experience grounding in our Christian faith, a rich liturgy and fellowship through our worship services, which include a personal and heartfelt exchange of the Lord s Peace. The Eucharist is shared at each service as well as by Lay Eucharistic Visitors (LEVs) who serve the homebound. Opportunity for healing prayer occurs weekly at our mid-week service and monthly at our Sunday service. As participants in worship, whether greeting, ushering, serving on the altar, or filling the sanctuary with music, we feed others as we feed ourselves. Fellowship reaches beyond worship to coffee hour, Circle Dinners and potluck dinners, and many opportunities for outreach together such as our food ministry. Weekly Bible study, Christian Education, and EFM provide challenge and spiritual enrichment. Grace s ministry of pastoral care -- shared among the clergy, the Pastoral Care Committee, LEVs and individuals interested on an ad hoc basis -- meets special needs of parishioners in areas such as companionship, meal preparation, shopping and transportation. All of these experiences contribute to our total well-being.

4 How do you engage in pastoral care for those beyond your worshipping community? We provide pastoral care to the greater community through: televising our Sunday 10:15 AM services on local television each week; reaching out to those who are homebound through the Lay Eucharistic Visitors of our Pastoral Care Committee; offering Ashes To Go in addition to the regular Lenten services within the Church; and providing a monthly Eucharistic service at a nearby assisted-living facility. Parishioners participate in a wide variety of volunteer outreach activities including Habitat for Humanity, Feast at 5:30, meals for the homeless shelter, Haiti Grace Committee, and monthly collections for the Food Bank. Grace Church hosts the monthly Mobile Food Truck that provides food for those in need in the community. In addition, we offer flu shots and distribute winter clothing and blankets knitted by inmates at Two Bridges Jail with yarn contributed by the parish. Students from two local high schools assist parishioners with Mobile Food Truck activities. We also have an Advent Giving Tree each year, contribute to a Fuel for Friends program, and have the Rector s Discretionary Fund to assist those in need in our area. Our congregation actively serves both our Diocese and our local community. Our commitments are diverse. We have routinely hosted Diocesan events including clergy and youth retreats. We have also mentored several clergy interns. Our church has a rich tradition of outreach in our community. Our parish: -actively participates in Habitat for Humanity, - hosts weekly Feast at 5:30 potluck dinners at three congregate public-housing facilities on a rotating basis, -supports the Mobile Food Truck that distributes food to all comers on the last Tuesday of each month at Grace, -donates to the Bath Area Food Bank, -holds an annual community service to bless the animals, -visits and raises money for Institution Univers, a school in Haiti, and -prepares monthly meals for the local homeless shelter. Our Rector s Discretionary Fund also provides financial support to those in need. Our parishioners take their faith into the community, where they may be found serving on civic boards and charitable organizations. Children s Church (contact Larry Bartlett and Amy Carmichael) was started several years ago as a response to the decline of Sunday School despite numerous attempts to revive it. Children s Church is attended by children and adults -- typically one or more parents or grandparents -- and is held at 9:30AM in the Chapel. We have 27 children from Pre-K to third grade enrolled with an average attendance of twelve. A number of the families are otherwise unaffiliated with any church. Adults listen intently and stay involved along with the children, a key feature of the service. Four children from Children s Church have been baptized, with others interested. The service begins with a brief holy time, followed by an active lesson, an offering, and closing doxology. The children then ring the carillon, calling worshipers to the 10:15 AM service. Occasionally, they participate in the principal service, usually musically. After considering gently folding this group into our regular services, we now think this service is successful as it stands. Our current challenge is how to expand the range of activity to keep the older children engaged as they grow.

5 What is your practice of stewardship and how does it shape the life of your worshipping community? Grace Church has a strong ethic of stewardship. In a period when we could be expected to have had a decline in financial contributions, our stewardship drive exceeded our goal. We also have a transparent financial process allowing people to give confidently. This financial strength is coupled with very strong contributions of volunteer work that allows Grace to function at a very high level. These pledges of our finances and our skills are a result of a belief in how worthwhile this church is to its parishioners. Other responses will provide some other insights into our stewardship. We also have a pass-through outreach line item of approximately $30,000 each year in addition to a $5,000 Outreach Committee line item in our budget. Others in our community are also aware of our outreach and our stewardship, particularly with respect to the Mobile Food Truck, and have provided financial support. We continue to practice environmental stewardship with recent building insulation, energy-efficient lights, and an upcoming transition from an oil-fired furnace to natural gas. We are a strong worshiping community practicing stewardship in our church, our town, and in the world as a whole. Our parish works hard to recognize, acknowledge, and address conflict directly. We try to avoid triangulation and factionalism. We suggest that people or groups involved contact either the vestry or our priest directly. Careful listening to all points of view is essential to this process. The Iraq War, the consecration of Eugene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, and the statewide Same Sex Marriage referendum have been hot topics. In each case, the rector facilitated discussion sessions at coffee hour to listen to various points of view. Our goal is that people leave feeling that they have been heard. The pulpit has not been used to favor political points of view. Issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have been explored in our Adult Ed classes. We may not be in the business of always agreeing with one another, but we are in the business of loving each other. What is your experience leading/addressing change in the church? When has it gone well? When has it gone poorly? And what did you learn? Presently, we are addressing a major change in our parish life due to our rector s departure. After a period of grieving, we have re-formed ourselves, increased our pledges, found a strong interim priest, and collectively turned toward a new era. We have long had a strong committee system that continues to stand us in good stead. We learned then, and live now, a) the value of patience in seeking God s will, and b) that the aphorism God helps those who help themselves is not without truth. We have tried a variety of programs to engage with our community, some of which fell short. Candles and Carols was a non-liturgical neighborhood Christmas party that flopped, while Feast at 5:30 in Bath s housing for elderly and disabled is a continuing success. We have learned to take the failures in stride. In the broader Church, we undertook with the Diocese a two-year experiment to strengthen a neighboring parish. Our rector served as rector for both parishes and supervised a recent ordinand based there. This arrangement introduced us to new friends and was instructive, but was costly in terms of the rector s time. We are not afraid to try new things or to drop them when warranted.

6 Prior Incumbents Name Position Title Date Begun Date Ended Michael N. Ambler Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge Name Position Title Date Begun Date Ended Heather J. Blais Assistant / Associate / Curate Name Position Title Date Begun Date Ended Martha G. Kirkpatrick Assistant / Associate / Curate (Part-time) (Notes re. below:) Church School is a "Children's Church" service, described in one of the Narrative answers, with significant lay leadership supported by the Rector. Adult programs are topical forums with varying leadership and participation. Both programs are successful, and will call for further growth and development. Church School Number of Teachers/Leaders for Children School Number of Students for Children School 2 27 Number of Teachers/Leaders for Teen/Young Adults School Number of Students for Teen/Young Adults School Number of Teachers/Leaders for Adults School Number of Students for Adults School 5 25 Day School Number of Students for Day School Number of Teachers for Day School Day School

7 Powered by TCPDF ( Worshipping Community Web site: Media Links: Online References: Provide Worship or Classes in: References Bishop: The Rt. Rev. Stephen T. Lane Diocesan Transition Minister The Rev. Cn. Michael N. Ambler Current Warden/Board Chair Carrie Strasburger x 125; x 123; mambler@episcopalmaine.org ; cstras@gmail.com Previous Warden/Board Chair Greg Millert ; gmillert@yahoo.com Search Chair Will Neilson ; will@solobistro.com Parish/Institution Local Community Leader