The Annual Meeting of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church Reviewing Calendar Year 2017 January 14, 2018

Transcription

1 The Annual Meeting of St. Andrew s Episcopal Church Reviewing Calendar Year 2017 January 14, 2018 Call to order and opening prayer Introduction of Vestry Nominees & Vote Agenda Adjourn to Parish Hall for Blessing of the Meal Election Results Senior Warden s Remarks Treasurer s Remarks Rector s Remarks Endowment Remarks Farewell to retiring Vestry Concluding Questions and Answers Minutes of the 2017 Annual Meeting.7-8 Rector s Report Building Committee Parish Calendar...12 Endowment Fund...13 Senior Warden s Report..14 Treasurer s Report & Junior Warden s Report...15 Andy s Market and Festival & Urn Garden Committee Altar Guild and Christian Formation...17 Mission and Outreach New Member Committee Music Ministry Children s Ministry...21 Episcopal Youth Ministry Vestry Nominees Financials...25 Vital Membership Statistics for

2 Minutes of the Annual Meeting January 15, 2017 The Annual Meeting of St. Andrew s Church took place on January 15, 2017; it was originally scheduled for January 8, 2017, but had to be re-scheduled due to inclement weather. The meeting was called to order at the time of the Announcements during the 10:00 a.m. service, by the Rev. BJ Owens. He expressed gratitude to all parishioners and to various vestry members and individuals for their faithfulness and service throughout the year. Fr. Owens specifically mentioned his thanks to Betty Self and Mike Van Ormer, Sr. and Jr. Wardens, for their work while he was on sabbatical, as well as all other Vestry members who helped things go smoothly during that time. He thanked Debbie Dowd for all her pastoral work, and he expressed gratitude to all outgoing Vestry members: Judy Hackett, Betty Self, Mark Kaley, and Tim Fleming. Also mentioned were staff members Ann Doyle, Kimberly Howard, Olivia Wilson-Smith, and clergy Audra Abt and Brooks Johnson. Fr. Owens introduced the Season of Jubilee, which is an invitation for each parishioner to take a break from the need to build and grow; he explained that if there s a ministry in which individuals have been participating for some time which isn t as fulfilling as it once was, to step back and do some discernment around other areas of interest. There will be a parish survey which all will be requested to take part in, which will be available on GoogleDocs; it will ask what interests you? Where else can you participate? Where are you led to serve or lead? Survey results will be compiled and will be used in determining a number of different areas of parish work, service opportunities, and activities. Nominations have been made for membership on several committees, and are as follows: Endowment Committee Linda Cummer, Mark Courtright, and Erin Bennett Urn Garden Committee Charlene Hanna, Rebecca Gray Karen Rierson will serve as Clerk of the Vestry. Nominees for Vestry are as follows: Scott Durham, Susan Black, Joe Graves, Alice Hill, and Robin Bartlett. Parishioners voted on four new members; votes were counted while the remainder of the meeting was conducted. John Frizzell, Treasurer, presented his report together with Chris Berger, chair of the Endowment Committee. It was explained that a change needs to be made to the Endowment Trust Charter. The Leota Osborne gift allows us to put $250,000.0 in the Endowment Trust; changing the charter will provide more clarity regarding the Vestry s role in determining how to use the interest, possibly for Outreach, Christian Formation, or for Capital Reserves. They are also formulating a policy statement that will ensure that any gifts given will not be touched for a specified period of time, but as the opportunity for growth presents itself, we will be able to take advantage of it. Continued p. 8 7

3 Continued from p. 7 It was reported that now that we are over the threshold of $500,000.00, the Endowment Committee and Vestry is considering raising the threshold. At this point there were some questions regarding administration of the Endowment, how decisions are made about how available monies are to be dispersed, procedures for dispersal, etc. The answer was that decisions are basically made in consultation between the Rector, Vestry, Treasurer, and Endowment Committee. John Frizzell reported that staff have worked hard this year to get to a break-even budget; it is now balanced in terms of income and expense. A new budget item was added this year for a Children & Youth Coordinator. He reported that our revenue has stabilized, due to an increase in non-pledged income; we are still working to develop new sources of revenue. Barbara Lawless reported on the new Children & Youth Coordinator position. Anna Taylor chaired the Search Committee, and led the process for developing a Vision Statement and a Job Description for the position. They are hoping to have the position filled by Spring, or Summer at the latest. Attention was directed to the change in the Endowment Trust charter; those in attendance voted on this change; it passed. Also at this time, the election of new Vestry members was announced; new members are as follows: Scott Durham, Susan Buck, Joe Graves, and Robin Bartlett. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Submitted, Marcia H. Moore 8

4 Rector s Report A Picture of Growth 2017 was a year of renewal and growth for St. Andrew s. We continue to see new initiatives and ministries from the New Member Team to the new organization of the Vestry gain momentum as they deepen the life of our church. New faces in the pews (and in the weekly procession out to Godly Play and Kids of the Kingdom) are a regular part of our life. Parishioners are stepping into leadership for the first time, including four vestry nominees who have never served in that capacity at St. Andrew s. After years of generational change, our stewardship giving has steadied and even increased in recent years. We have so much to celebrate! There are many ways to look at how a church grows, and I d like to take note of two of them: growing membership, and increased giving. As we discus membership, I realize that it can sound like a cold, institutional word. But I don t see it that way: we are here to grow as members of the Body of Christ. We do that when we grow in number, and we do that when we grow in generosity and depth of involvement. I notice two primary ways that our membership has grown in recent years. Thanks to the prayerful work of our Children s Support Team, families with children continue to grow in vitality and presence at St. Andrew s. Yet I have also noticed that many of our newcomers are at very different stages of their lives. Our New Member Committee has done fabulous work in creating initial points of engagement and follow-up for these folks. Some are recently retired, others have felt restless in their former church, while others haven t been a part of a church for a long time. This is a vital part of our emerging story, and lends a wonderful diversity of age and experience that enriches our church. I invite you to join me in welcoming all these folks, not just at coffee hour or the annual Welcome Luncheon, but in all the ways that we can connect folks to the life of St. Andrew s. Our growth in stewardship is very good news indeed. We Continued p. 10 9

5 Continued from p. 9 have now grown in our giving for several years running, and this year was stronger than the year before. This matters because our giving is an expression of our relationship with God. But this also matters because it means we are moving towards a place of financial wholeness as a church. We have been blessed with the ability to pay off debt and grow our endowment. We have also been blessed with legacy funds that have allowed us to carry out the ministry to which the people of St. Andrew s are called even in lean times. We do still have a budget deficit, but it is shrinking year by year. As our stewardship grows, we will grow in faith and our capacity to carry out life-giving ministry. So what does growth look like? I believe it involves a healthy mix of actively welcoming people and incorporating them into the life of the church, and in deepening our awareness of transformational giving as a core Christian practice. In 2017 we did these things well, and good things happened. So let s keep up the good work, and strive to continue to grow in generosity and in welcome. Growing Capacity for Lay Ministry A little more than two years ago, we reorganized the vestry to strengthen their focus on the lay ministries of the church, in part to grow as the baptized ministers of the church (that s all of us) and in part to allow me and Brooks to focus on the work of preaching, pastoral care and community building. It continues to be a learning process, but we ve had several years now of vestries committed to this active and collaborative way of leadership. I believe our next growing edge is to cultivate more leadership beyond the vestry: an ideal way of structuring a ministry team would be to have a non-vestry chair and a vestry liaison, so I encourage you to support the church and your hard-working vestry folks by joining them in the work of leadership & ministry. Site planning This year we continued our work with Phil Kiester, architect for Tise-Kiester Architects. Betty Atwell s report on 10 Continued p. 11

6 page 12 will give greater detail, but simply put we took a closer look at what might be possible with space for Children and Youth and campus-wide accessibility. We removed portions of pews, following Phil Kiester s recommendations for sanctuary accessibility, and we moved the children s classrooms upstairs to get a feel for what changes might look like. This continues to be an ongoing learning process. Looking ahead: Holy Cow! With so many good things happening, we plan to engage an outside consultant to help us get a clearer sense of what inspires and energizes us today, as well as help us see some areas of church life that we may be missing. We anticipate with a company called Holy Cow! Consulting to help track where we are and where we re going. This is less a process (such as a strategic planning committee, etc) and more of an instrument for mapping the energy and spirit of St. Andrew s today. Thanks and Praise This has been a rich and rewarding year of ministry at St. Andrew s. We said farewell to some longtime leaders including our treasurer John Frizzell, who moved with his wife Brenda to Tennessee and welcomed new staff and ministry leaders. We are thrilled to welcome Felicia Cole to our staff as our Children and Youth Coordinator, and Chris Berger as our parish treasurer. We had another successful fall fundraiser (now called Andy s Market and Festival) and were able, for a second year in a row, to give all funds raised to outreach. Thanks to Lisa Garrett and all those involved for leading that effort! St. Andrew s is blessed with both the best staff and the best vestry in the diocese, in my humble opinion. We are supported by a faithful and committed staff including Kimberly Rathburn, Debbie Dowd, Ann Doyle, Felicia Cole, and the Rev. Brooks Johnson. Your staff is committed to the vision and mission of St. Andrew s, and works hard to see us grow as a healthy, vibrant church. Brooks and I are grateful to be joined at the altar and in the pulpit and in many other vital places in our church s life by four retired clergy who continue in their ministry as both active congregants and pastoral leaders. We give thanks for the lively ministries of the Rev. Leon Spencer, the Rev. Barbara Cooke, the Rev. Trisha de Beer and the Rev. John de Beer, and for the depth they offer to our church. The vestry this year has worked very hard to see our ministries flourish. We say farewell to four fabulous outgoing vestry members: Barbara Lawless, Charles Kappauf, George Platt and Mike Van Ormer. We thank Karen Rierson for her service as the Vestry Clerk, and welcome Linda Cummer to her role as clerk for a two-year term. I offer a special thanks to Senior Warden George Platt and Junior Warden Mike Van Ormer for their wise council and committed service to this church. I give great thanks for all of you, for the privilege and blessing it is to serve as your priest. St. Andrew s is truly a special place, and I am grateful for the ways that we grow together. BJ+ 11 Continued from p. 10

7 Building Committee (Site Planning) The Building Committee continued to meet monthly with Phil Kiester, Architect, of Tise-Kiester Architects of Chapel Hill throughout the past year. On August 24, Phil presented an overview with architectural drawings of the last several years of planning. His presentation showed the entire campus long-range plan. In the last year, the study has become more focused on a smaller campus plan. Thus, the committee continued to address the Children & Youth needs within our building. These meetings resulted in a proposed first phase in which the Godly Play Classroom and the Nursery would be relocated upstairs to the rooms that were the Conference Room and Andy s Place. The Library was to become a combination of meeting space and library. All other areas of the upstairs hallway remain the same. Godly Play and the Nursery have been relocated to these areas at this time to study the feasibility of such a plan. Also, this proposed initial phase would provide handicap accessibility to Herman Hall and the Undercroft by building a handicap ramp on the East side of the church and additional handicap parking. An entrance hallway would be constructed around Herman Hall to provide private access to the hallway classrooms, upgraded kitchen and bathrooms. Two classrooms would be converted into a larger Youth Room. The Children s Chapel and other classrooms would remain the same with some upgrading. New windows, lighting and dehumidifying system would be installed. A more energy-efficient heating system is also included in phase one. In August, a phase one goal was completed by renovating six areas of sanctuary pews to become handicap accessible for more choices of seating. (Two areas in the back, two in the middle and two in the front.) The Vestry will continue the process of discerning if St. Andrew s is ready to embark on any proposed Site Plans going forward, including a Feasibility Study and Capital Campaign. Phil Kiester has provided invaluable professional insight, plan development and will continue to assist as needed. Betty Atwell, Committee Chair Parish Calendar St. Andrew s is a vibrant and busy parish with many church events occurring throughout the year. The event calendar was developed over the summer by members of the Vestry parish life pod with guidance and input by BJ to include traditional church events as well as committee functions. The calendar shares events from August through May and gives parishioners a year s view of upcoming events. It may be viewed on the St. Andrew s website s home page. It is not too early to begin thinking about events that will need to be scheduled. In April, we will ask ministries to submit events and dates for next year. Submitted by the Parish Life, Pastoral Care and Stewardship Vestry Pod: Susan Brannan, Charles Kappauf and Susan Buck. 12

8 St. Andrew s Endowment Fund The Endowment fund was valued at $600, as of September 30, As of November 17, 2016 the fund was valued at $359,170. Our model for investing has been focused on moderate growth using a 70/30 investment mix with 70% being invested in the market and 30% in cash and equivalents. For the first time, the amount within the fund exceeded $500,000. This is significant because when this amount is reached, income then becomes available for the parish. In 2017, $15,000 was made available for use in the parish budget. The committee prepared a revised investment policy statement which was adopted by the Vestry. The highlights of the statement are: A. The Fund is to be invested with the objective of preserving the long-term, real purchasing power of its assets while providing a relatively predictable and growing stream of annual distributions in support of the Church. B. For the purpose of determining income available for distributions, the Fund shall make use of a total-return-based approach, meaning that income available for distributions shall consist of interest, dividends and net realized capital gains. Distributions, however, shall not include, nor cause a reduction in the total of, the original principal of the cumulative gifts to the Fund as of the date of any distribution. C. The distribution of Fund income will be permitted to the extent that such distributions do not exceed a level that would erode the Fund s real assets over time. The target will be a 4% annual distribution with 75% going to the church for annual expenditures as outlined for the purpose of the Fund. As a protective measure, the remaining 25% will be reinvested yet available for future budget needs, thereby allowing for a distribution should the Fund not meet its annual growth objective. At the close of September 30 annually the total value of the fund will be the new base to calculate the following year s total return exclusive of any gifts that were added to the fund. D. Fund assets will be managed as a balanced portfolio composed of two major components: an equity portion and a fixed income portion. The expected role of Fund equity investments will be to maximize the long-term real growth of Portfolio assets, while the role of fixed income investments will be to generate current income, provide for more stable periodic returns, and provide some protection against a prolonged decline in the market value of Portfolio equity investments. E. Cash investments will, under normal circumstances, only be considered as temporary Portfolio holdings, and will be used for Fund liquidity needs or to facilitate a planned program of dollar-cost averaging into investments in either or both of the equity and fixed income asset classes. F. Diversification across and within asset classes is the primary means by which the Committee expects the Portfolio to avoid undue risk of large losses over long time periods. To protect the Portfolio against unfavorable outcomes within an asset class due to the assumption of large risks, the Committee will take reasonable precautions to avoid excessive investment concentrations. Dirk Siegmund, chair 13

9 Senior Warden s Report 2017 has been a year of growth for us at St. Andrew s. The Vestry pods are now in their third year. They seem to be working well for the ministries as well as the Vestry. There are four pods with several Ministries in each. They are Facilities and Administration pod, Christian Formation pod, Mission, Membership, and Liturgy pod, and Parish life, Pastoral Care, and Stewardship pod. Having a Vestry Liaison working with the various ministries helps them have more of a voice on the Vestry. We have a new Children and Youth Coordinator, Felicia Cole. She jumped in with both feet to continue the great work all the volunteers had done to grow it. She has been working hard to grow it even further. One major change we have made to make the young people more a part of the congregation was to take a test run of moving the younger members upstairs. After Andy s Market and Festival we moved the Nursery and Godly Play upstairs. This makes it easier for parents to drop their children off as well as for the youth to get there when they come from the Service. Speaking of changes, the site plan has had another going over. We have identified several areas that we feel should be done sooner rather than later. The Site Plan Team s report offers greater detail on what was considered and presented. We have already modified the pews in the church to accommodate people with disabilities. We have also moved the children upstairs as a test run before we spend any money if it doesn t work out. Your Vestry is taking the slow but steady approach before making any suggestions to the Congregation. The Stewardship Committee has done a magnificent job. Their Community Gatherings went over very well. The campaign was better than it had been. Thank you. Andy s Market and Festival was changed in its format. It was made smaller and all on one floor to alleviate volunteer burnout, yet still raised over $11,500 to support local outreach. Like last year, all the proceeds from our principal fundraiser will go out into the community. This will help many people that may not be as blessed as some of us. Our treasurer of 10 years, John Frizzell, moved to Tennessee to be closer to family. We have a wonderful new Treasurer, Chris Berger. Chris has done a great job working on the budget as well as getting a feel for all the other duties. The St. Andrew s Endowment has been fully funded thanks to a generous gift. The investment profits can now be used to help St. Andrew s and outreach. Your Vestry has been busy. I would like to thank all of you for allowing me to serve on the Vestry and serve this year as your Sr. Warden. There will be exciting things coming as well. George Platt, Senior Warden 14

10 Treasurer s Report Charles Darwin is noted as saying, It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. This would be St. Andrew s, in a sense. Ever so welcoming and friendly, but also changing, and so I am writing this annual report on the financial health of our parish instead of John Frizzell, who served in this position for ten years. So now I want to dig into the numbers and provide some insight. The year was marked by an amazing legacy gift (received in 2016) that left St. Andrew s in a much healthier position. Gifts such as this have enabled St. Andrew s to begin to draw from the Endowment Fund for the first time in its history. These funds go directly to outreach, education for the parish and capital improvements. We also had a phenomenal stewardship campaign. Past members increased their pledge or pledged for the first time, and new members made a pledge. We budgeted for a deficit of $56,146 for 2017 and as of the end of October were at $25,601 in deficit spending. In addition, we did have several capital repairs that totaled a little over $10,000 for the year, and we will budget for that amount again for By the time the books are closed on 2017, I expect our deficit to be closer to $44,620. We continue to run a very lean operation and ask our staff to wear many hats to make our church function. I also want to thank the members of our church that volunteer their time to help us operate on a daily basis. A little more than 12% of our funds will go to formation and outreach in 2017, which is a commitment to supporting the parish and the community. We are budgeted to increase that amount slightly to 12.4% for We have reserves that will allow us to run deficits, that it is not sustainable for the long term. I see this changing with continued growth and the ongoing support of the parish. I want to thank everyone for their support since I assumed the position of treasurer, and look forward to our improving financial strength. Chris Berger, Treasurer Junior Warden s Report 2017 started like most, with a need to repair and maintain our building and grounds. There was considerable wood decay around several outside windows and the support poles for the entrances and sofit around the sanctuary. These areas were repaired, primed and painted. The steeple was also scraped, primed and painted. Repairs were made to interior ceilings and walls. Grant s Landscape replaced numerous shrubs that had died over the past few years. The spring cleanup made our grounds look good. Grant continues to keep the lawn and shrubbery in good shape. It has been an honor and privilege to serve as your Junior Warden. I would like to thank all the parishioners who helped make my job easier. Thanks also to our priest BJ for being a positive leader and a lot of fun to work with. Michael Van Ormer, Junior Warden 15

11 Andy s Market and Festival Annual Report 2017 On October 7, 2017, St. Andrew s hosted Andy s Market & Festival; a transition from the longstanding annual Church Bazaar. Along with the change of name, there were several other changes: We had live music on the lawn, an expanded lunch menu, supervised activities for children, and an interactive project to help those experiencing homelessness. We streamlined operations, staffing, space utilization, and offerings to better engage St. Andrew s resources and meet the needs of our community. We communicated differently with our own parishioners and with those outside of our parish. On the day of the Market & Festival 80+ St. Andrew s members showed up to make this event happen. We worked hard, enjoyed great fellowship, and raised $11,500 to directly fund local outreach efforts. Many thanks are owed to the AM&F team: Betty Atwell, Alan Atwell, Pat Stultz, Mack Baker, Jean Phelps, Susan Brannan, Karen Spencer, Ted Atwell, Lynda Sanecki, Jon Anderson, Dan Seaman, Judy Platt, Sandy Shelton, Fran Swan, and Carol Phillips.along with everyone who made and solicited donations, moved furniture, set up tents, cooked food, rang up sales receipts, hand crafted beautiful items to sell, put out signs, hauled flowers, managed expenses, supervised children, baked goodies, greeted guests the list goes on and on. Our Parish Administrator, Kimberly Rathburn, deserves a special shout-out for her good-natured patience with a rookie chairperson. Several organizations outside of St. Andrew s donated goods and services as well. We are indeed blessed. What a wonderful way to demonstrate our love for Christ, our parish, and community. Thanks be to God! Submitted by Lisa Garrett, on behalf of the AM&F team. Urn Garden Committee The Urn Garden Committee is committed to providing a sacred memorial garden for our members and their loved ones. We are responsible for coordinating the preparations for the burial and inscription on the marker and monitoring of accurate records of available plot s and costs. Committee members: Michael Van Ormer, Jr. Warden, Nancy Bishop, Chair, Julie Dameron, Rebecca Gray, Charlyne Hanna 16

12 Altar Guild The Altar Guild prepares for services (Sunday 8:30, 10:00 and Tues. 12:00.) Our duties include care of Altar linens, vessels, candles, flowers, hangings and clergy vestments. The Altar Guild has 22 members organized into 4 teams. During 2017 the Altar Guild has worked with the Clergy to prepare for over 160 services including Sunday, Tuesday and special services such as weddings, funerals and Baptisms. We also prepare communion kits for Lay Eucharistic Ministers. We are a self-supporting ministry. All funds for bread, wine, vestments and other requirements for worship are received primarily from donations for Christmas and Easter flowers. Also, this year tapestry hangings were donated by parishioners for the Chapel. Christian Formation We continue to explore different models of offering regular adult Christian Formation. We have settled into a good pattern of leaving one Sunday open a month for fellowship, and offering classes on most other Sundays of the month. We have had weekly classes after the 10 a.m. service on a host of topics, ranging from the story of St. Patrick and an exploration of Celtic Spirituality to a class on the removal of Confederate monuments. In the spring we offered monthly Core Classes on Sunday exploring some basic components of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion and our own history at St. Andrew s. I also led a first session on the creation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and will continue those classes this year. We have also had a number of special offerings and classes. Our Education for Ministry (EfM) continues to go strong and build a culture of wisdom and discipleship at St. Andrew s. Each Thursday our Hearing the Gospel folks gather to study the Gospel of the week new folks are welcome any time! I was joined by Dr. Joe Graves in leading a Lenten class on Dr. Martin Luther King s Letter from a Birmingham Jail. St. Andrew s hosted the traveling Diocesan exhibit on the History of the Episcopal Church in North Carolina, as well as a Wine, Cheese and History Night where Lynn Hoke presented the exhibit. Our Racial Justice and Reconciliation Ministry also leads monthly sessions that include education and conversation around the history of racism in our culture. I am very grateful for the assistance of Carol Phillips, vestry liaison for Christian Formation, in developing a calendar of offerings. Though much of our spring calendar is now set, my hope for the coming year is to reboot some form of the Worship and Christian Formation Team to develop offerings going forward. Please let Carol or me know if you are interested and thanks for your active participation in our classes. BJ+ 17

13 Mission and Outreach In September 2017 the Mission team hosted its second Mission Fair, where over nine partner agencies and two parish directed organizations interacted with parishioners to discuss the ways they feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit the sick and needy in their respective missions. It was a festive and fun Sunday for the entire parish. We continued to welcome additional members of the parish to our committee who are also so inclined to improve the lives of children, limit food scarcity, assist the homeless, and serve the immigrant community with all of our partners listed below. We look forward to using the bulk of the funds dedicated to Mission from Andy s Market which raised over $11,500 that will be distributed to agencies and our own Rev. Audra Abt for her work as the Northeast Greensboro Missioner in Some additional funding may also become available as result of the Endowment Fund. Respectfully submitted, Douglas P. Sanecki, Chairperson -Mission and Outreach LIST OF FUNDS DISBURSED Greensboro Urban Ministry Breakfast Program - $2,000 Faith Action International- $1,000 Interactive Resource Center-$ 1,000 Parents as Teachers Guilford -$1,000 La Misa Ministry -$500 One Step Further Food Pantry-$ 400 Second Harvest Food Bank -$300 The Servant Center-$300 Greensboro Housing Coalition-$250 The Barnabas Network-$200 18

14 New Member Committee 2017 was a busy year. We continued several activities from the previous year: *Children s activity bags for children to use during the service * Welcome bags to people visiting us for the first time *Mug sales for parishioners who may not have one of our ever-popular St. Andrew s mugs. *Assign Newcomer Hosts for every Sunday. Their responsibilities include not just a warm welcome on a given Sunday, but a follow-up within the week to provide them with an opportunity to ask questions and make personal connections. We are working to strengthen the connection with visitors and various St. Andrew s committees where interest has been expressed. Our new activities included: *Hosting a luncheon for new members in June. *Hosting the Welcome Luncheon for the parish in November, providing an opportunity to welcome the newer members, enjoy the fellowship and friendships which have grown over the years, and come together in community. *Providing a Welcome Table at Andy s Market and Festival. Committee members helped wherever needed and were available to answer questions for those visiting St. Andrew s. *Planning a Community Open House in December to welcome the stranger during the busy holiday season. We provided a warm place to rest, free refreshments, safe parking, and restrooms to the many people who visit the Christmas light display in the neighborhood. We continue to: *Assess ways to grow our ministry to those new to St. Andrew s and provide opportunities for all to feel better connected and more involved in the life of St. Andrew s. *Explore ways to implement, where appropriate, our participation in the Welcome, Invite and Connect program. A special note of appreciation to the generous support of the committee members: Robin Bartlett (vestry liaison), Cindy Shane, Johnetta Shablack, Carol Phillips, Lois Washburn, Alice Hill, Julie Green and Barbara Cook. We encourage everyone to introduce themselves to people they may not know-even members of the congregation who have been with us for some time! We look forward to finding new ways to support our mission of welcoming the stranger as we all grow in our faith and our faith community. Lynda Sanecki, Chair 19

15 Music Ministry Singing celebrates all we are with all that is divine. The music ministry at St. Andrew s strives to enhance the worship experience at each regular worship service throughout the year, and at special seasonal services such as Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter. Choir participants honor their commitment to one another and to the Church with regular rehearsals and enthusiastic participation, thereby creating a community that shares the gift of music and provides a place where each person can learn and grow, both musically and spiritually. In addition to membership growth, the Adult Choir has been fortunate to have 6 paid vocal section leaders. Four of these are made possible by the continued strong support of private donations along with two budgeted positions. With these young, talented musicians joining forces with our parish choir, we are able to raise the bar to greater service offerings in our worship as well as community collaborations. The Children s Choir, grades K-4th grade, has grown to 15 singers. They participated in worship in October and sang for the afternoon Christmas Eve service in December. They will again participate in the Palm Sunday service in the spring. Rehearsals are conveniently held on Sundays 11:15-12:00, following the worship service. We have a small handbell ensemble that enhances worship by accompanying choir anthems and hymns throughout the year. Our goal this year is to educate and expand interest in the art of handbell ringing to involve more of our parishioners in the music program. The Adult Choir will present A Little Night Music on Friday, Jan. 26 in the Parish Hall, 7:30 p.m. This is an evening of light entertainment and scrumptious, assorted desserts. Reservations are $10 per person and are available on Sundays following both services in the Parish Hall. Seating is limited so early booking is recommended. All proceeds from this event will go to help sustain our section leaders and enhance the overall choir program. Ann Doyle, Music Director 20

16 Children s Ministry 2017 has been an exciting time for the Children s Ministry of St. Andrew s. We re currently experiencing some of the highest children s attendance. We continued with our Godly Play Sunday School schedule for ages pre-k through 2 nd grade. In addition to this class, we also restarted our Kids of the Kingdom (KoK) group. KoK takes place at the same time as Godly Play on Sunday mornings, and is offered to children in 3 rd through the 5 th grade. KoK has been a great success and has helped our ministry find an exciting way to keep older children engaged in the church. We have made community building a top priority within our ministry. We have hosted several family gatherings/ community projects for children and their families to get involved in. For example, in October we had our first Pumpkin Carving Event and in November we hosted a work day for Scarves4Warmth. An additional change the Children s Ministry saw in 2017 was our move upstairs! Our Godly Play classroom and nursery were moved into the upstairs hallway, and our KoK class now meets in the Cloister. These changes have been so fun and exciting for the kids! The space is brighter, more welcoming, and gives us access to teach fun lessons outside. Of course, all these exciting changes have been a group effort. We are so thankful for our Children s Support Team, which consists of Anna Taylor, Jennifer Jones, Barbara Lawless, Dania Ermentrout, and Rebekah Carlson. We re also thankful to our additional helpful hands who teach Godly Play and KoK, Brenda Swearingin, Melissa Fleming and Lorin Kaley. It s impossible to convey how much of a team effort this ministry truly is. Thank you to everyone who has assisted in the Children s Ministry this year. Whether you helped with the move or attended an event, we couldn t do this without you! Here s to another exciting year! Felicia Cole, Children and Youth Director 21

17 Episcopal Youth Community This year has been an awesome time for our EYC group. EYC has continued to meet on the 1 st and 3 rd Sundays of each month in Herman Hall. Our EYC group has chosen to focus on serving our community. In November, we researched different shelters in the area and decided on assisting veterans experiencing homelessness at The Servant Center. The youth decided to prepare a meal to be delivered on Thanksgiving week. In December we prepared toiletry kits for local shelters preparing for the busy, colder season. It s been really special to see our EYC group become active within the Parish. In October they put on the All Souls Festival for the children, which was fun for everyone involved (even if the rain moved the festival inside). Many of our youth members have also chosen to become acolytes and are doing an excellent job. In 2018 (and into 2019), we will offer a youth confirmation program for those who will be in 8th grade or above when Bishop Rodman visits us in Spring The Rev. Bernard J. Owens and Catherine Clifton will lead this program for our older youth that will include small group gatherings, a confirmation retreat, community service and participation in important moments in the life of the church, to build community and prepare them for confirmation by the Bishop. Huge thanks are in order to our Youth Support Team, which consists of Chesley Huskins, Rachael Revell, and Melissa Fleming. EYC wouldn t be what it is without their constant help and support. We re excited to see what 2018 has in store for our group! Felicia Cole, Children and Youth Director 2018 Vestry Nominees Steven Loch St. Andrew s is an amazingly special and unique place of worship and a community of believers that offers a truly authentic, extravagant, and Christ-like sense of welcome. My primary passion pertaining to St. Andrew s is my desire to work through the Vestry and the Congregation to find new, innovative, and creative ways to Grow the Church. I want to make sure more people find, discover, and choose to become involved with and committed to the Faith Family that is St. Andrew s. At All Saints Episcopal Church in California from , I served as a Board Member and Liaison to the Rector at All Saint's AIDS Services Center, which is a social services organization for people and families living with and affected by AIDS. It was part of my responsibility to keep our Rector, the Vestry and the Congregation informed of the activities of the organization. Now nearly 30 years later, it is still serving through a food bank, medical and dental referrals, AIDS testing, outreach and prevention, etc. I also served First Congregational Church in New Jersey from on the Vestry. I am, primarily, just an excited, passionate, and inspired Congregant. Beyond that, serving as a Lay Eucharistic Minister is one of my personal passions. It is a humbling honor and privilege to bring The Eucharist...along with the spirit of St. Andrew s to members of the church family that, for various reasons, aren t able to join us on Sunday mornings. Continued p

18 Pat Stultz I would describe St. Andrew s as a very warm, open, and giving community with a diverse congregation willing to help our neighbors. I wish to serve on the Vestry to assist in the growth of St. Andrew s and service in the community. I have served as a Vacation Bible School leader at St. James Episcopal Church in Michigan and at St. Andrew s as CareNet Leader and Bazaar Chair. I have served as the Treasurer of a Boy Scout Troup, Secretary of a community Baseball Little League, chair of an elementary school book fair, chair of the Soccer Concession Stand Fundraiser, board member of the PTA, all for 4 years when my children were young. Currently at St. Andrew's, I volunteer in the church office, serve as treasurer of Andy s Market, and am a member of the Funeral Reception Team, Greeter, and Newcomer host. Cindy Shane St. Andrew s is a thriving, welcoming, inclusive church full of thoughtful caring people. At St. Andrew s, everyone is accepted as their authentic self. It would be an honor to serve on the Vestry. I know serving on the Vestry will be a challenging endeavor, but I am up for the challenge. Serving on the Vestry will be an opportunity to be fully engaged in helping achieve the future objectives of the church. I feel that I could contribute to the mission of St. Andrew s by facilitating opportunities for members to grow in Faith, Love, Community and Service in a positive way. As a recently confirmed Episcopalian, I have not had an opportunity to serve in a leadership role within a church. My leadership style is to embrace a team approach to problem solving by being a good listener, effective communicator and working well within a group. I attend the 10 a.m. service. I joined St. Andrew s in 2014 and was confirmed in Currently, I am a member of the Altar Guild and have served as cosecretary for the past two years. I am a member of the new member committee and have served as a newcomer host since its inception. As a retired Law Enforcement Officer, I have had the privilege to serve the citizens of Greensboro for my entire career. I have been active with community and police programs in helping to provide food, clothing, shelter and gifts to children and the elderly in need. In addition, I was a liaison with the community by connecting citizens with needs to the appropriate community resources. Brenda Swearingin We have found St. Andrew s to be a welcoming and warm group of people that faithfully fosters one another as we live, learn and serve together in close community. Our family has enjoyed the benefits of being a part of this community for years, and though we feel we have always shared in a collective voice of leadership as active members, we are at a place in which we have the time and ability needed for vestry service. I have served on a few church committees over the 13 years we ve been attending. I ve particularly en- Continued p

19 Continued from p. 23 committee in previous years; however, this is the extent of my role in church leadership. I have always been willing and often available to serve in supporting roles and have often found my fit there serendipitously. I have enjoyed participating in many aspects of the St. Andrew s community. My most active and consistent role has been as a volunteer with children s education and formation programs and planning. At this time I am actively involved in leading Godly Play in a rotation with several other church members on Sunday mornings during the 10 am service. Not only do I find great benefit in preparing and presenting the lessons through the Godly Play format (which uses a Montessori-type presentation style) for the children, I very much enjoy the unique perspectives of the kids as they share their own ideas and observations about the lessons. Most of my engagement has just happened organically by saying yes whenever it has been possible to do so. I have been actively involved in many VBS activities and Winter Break programs over the years and have facilitated a video-based program and discussion for Adult formation. A capstone experience in my parish life thus far would definitely be the benefits of participation in the 4 -year Education for Ministry (EfM) program here at St. Andrew s. Through the EfM program I was able to broaden my scope of ministry through reflective study of the texts, history, traditions and experiences of our faith, and related faiths, in community with others in the group. This experience, as well as the friendships that were formed with members of the group, was an exceptional experience and likely a key motivation in my understanding of how to faithfully grow as a part of this parish and the importance of being continually engaged in our faith community. Our family has grown up as a part of this parish community, we feel love and support from so many of its members, and we will continue to be engaged and happy to be a part of St. Andrew s in any way that we are called to do so Parish Life and Fellowship 24

20 2017 Budget Actual Budget Actual Budget Revenues Curr. Yr.Pledges $279,620 $287,700 $287,700 $304,444 Parishioner Non-Pledge Giving $34,546 $33,000 $42,524 $20,672 Non-Parishioner Giving $5,650 $6,000 $7,128 $7,101 Plate Cash Offerings $7,567 $7,400 $8,284 $7,400 Building Usage Donations $2,416 $1,500 $4,613 $1,500 Misc Income $0 $0 $81 $0 Andy s Market Income $21,900 $12,000 $0 $10,000 Total Revenues $351,699 $357,300 $395,330 $351,117 Expenses Total Clergy $133,372 $134,894 $130,791 $139,141 Total Staff $105,343 $133,619 $112,978 $134,572 Welcome Team $3,076 $510 $510 $650 Christian Education - Children $698 $1,624 $1,291 $1,656 Christian Education -Adult $120 $500 $230 $510 EYC $673 $3,000 $1,295 $3,121 Total Formation $4,567 $5,694 $3,326 $5,937 Pastoral Care $95 Outreach $17,933 $7,000 $1,039 $0 EYC Glory Ridge $0 $0 $0 11,650 Theological Education $1,250 $1,750 $1,750 $1,750 Diocesan Fair Share $40,479 $37,450 $37,365 $37,713 Total Mission $59,662 $46,200 $40,249 $51,113 Clergy/Staff/Formation and Mission $302,945 $320,407 $287,344 $330,763 Total Bldg & Grounds $26,215 $40,230 $41,193 $41,264 Total Service $1,835 $1,924 $1,567 $2,179 Total Administration $14,330 $13,330 $17,422 $13,946 Total IT Equipment and Support $7,127 $7,336 $8,330 $8,935 Total Utilities $24,318 $29,232 $23,551 $29,817 Total Insurance $11,425 $12,750 $11,063 $13,005 Total Operating Expenses $85,250 $104,802 $103,126 $109,146 Total Expenses $388,195 $425,209 $390,470 $439,909 Net ($36,496) ($67,909) ($40,141) ($88,792) Endowment Interest and Operating Reserve Funds $0 $9,700 $45,000 $28,933 Net including non-operating funds $4,859 (59,859) 25

21 2017 VITAL STATISTICS Increases during the year: BAPTIZED (11) TRANSFER IN (26) Harper Grace Collins Patricia Baker Will Jennings Lillian Worth Wangelin James Baker Steven Loch Kenneth Crawford Wangelin Faye Brown Nancy O Donnell William Siler Wangelin Lane Harvey Mimi Pomeroy Calan Elliott Banner Rebekah Carlson Russ Pomeroy Christopher Theodore Krantz Matthew Carlson William E. Revell Jonah Elliott Carlson Catherine Clifton Rachael H. Revell Dorothea DeLorento Richard Dean Margaret Rose Revell Anthony DeLorento Thea Park DeLorento Ryan Bland Revell Evie Lois Fowler Anthony V. DeLorento Ruby Wells Revell Michael Fergus Bentz Frahm Julie H. Green Gail Day Walters Savannah Hamilton Christopher C. Wangelin CONFIRMATIONS (4) Patti Jennings Katherine M. Wangeliin Steven Loch Naomi Galbreath MARRIGE (1) Patti Jennings Stuart Dean Barrett to Will Jennings Belinda Mae Kerr Mondie Decreases during the year: BY DEATH (11) TRANSFERS OUT (7) Meriel Ellen Gee Wilkinson Brenda Frizzell Lindsay W. Cox John R. Frizzell III Kathleen Saunders Skinner Katherine K. Hart Sidney Newton Morton Hephzibah Roskelly Joyce Wallace Pallagut Kathryn M. Simons Fred Lemmon Walters Matthew E. Simons Elizabeth Wharton Newland Catherine Anne Smoak Carol Elizabeth Florence Ann Rives Clendenin James Clyde Rayborn (This information will be (Others that were in our Catharine T. Abbitt included in the 2017 Parochial pastoral care died, however Report. ) they were not in our membership roles.) 26

22 St. Andrew s Episcopal Church 2105 West Market Street Greensboro, NC Staff Vestry 2017 The Rev. Bernard J. Owens, Rector bernard.owens@standrewsgso.org The Rev. Brooks Johnson, Deacon bjohnson4335@hotmail.com Debbie Dowd, Pastoral Associate debbiedowd@mindspring.com Kimberly Ann Rathburn, Parish Administrator/Business Manager parish@standrewsgso.org George Platt, Senior Warden Mike Van Ormer, Junior Warden Robin Bartlett Susan Brannan Susan Buck Scott Durham Charles Kappauf Barbara Lawless Ken Massey Bob Mills Carol Phillips Ashley Wigglesworth Ann Doyle, Minister of Music ann.doyle1313@gmail.com Karen Rierson, Clerk Chris Berger, Treasurer Felicia Cole, Youth/Children s Coordinator felicia.cole@standrewsgso.org Deadline for February Harmony: January 15th by Noon to: parish@standrewsgso.org 27