Trinity Episcopal Church

Transcription

1 , 2014 Parish Profile

2 WE ARE TRINITY a small, strong congregation where nearly everyone is engaged in at least one or more ministries. From altar guild to acolytes, from Eucharistic ministers to Eucharistic visitors, we are devoted to together. Although one may consider us small, our congregation is big in our commitment to our church. For example, we have eleven active altar guild members, nine Eucharistic ministers, six Eucharistic visitors and a large group of youth acolytes. Most of our group ministries, if not all, have rotating leadership and the leaders train new members. We support each other in these ministries and recently ran a campaign of Try on Something New in which individuals could work alongside various ministries members to experience what it was like to serve in those capacities. A large part of the congregation took up the challenge and tried new opportunities for ministries. s congregation encompasses the young, the old and everyone inbetween and we care deeply for one another. About one hundred families strong, our parishioners come from and the surrounding towns of Duxbury, Kingston, Plymouth, Pembroke, Scituate and Norwell. loving congregation in which everyone strives to meet the needs of our families, our parish and our. Our strong sense of is reinforced every Sunday through worship and fellowship, building our connections with one another and welcoming new faces too. As a congregation we are not afraid to get our hands dirty, roll up our sleeves and work. While willing to embrace change, we want to do it thoughtfully and respectfully, balancing a congregational sensibility with Anglican tradition.

3 OUR WORSHIP the center of our life together at. We are focused on deepening our life together deepening so our that spiritual we can life love as God so loves that we with can J.O.Y. love as Jesus, God loves Others, You. Sunday services are celebrated at 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. throughout most of the year. During the summer months the services are merged into one service offered at 9 a.m. which provides a wonderful opportunity for the regulars at both services to re-connect. Nursery care is available at the 9:30 a.m. service and the Sunday School program is offered at that time as well. At present we are also exploring the possibility of offering an alternate worship service in an effort to meet the needs of families with children in sports and parishioners who may work on Sunday mornings. The Book of Common Prayer is the primary source used in our worship services although we do supplement our worship utilizing other liturgical resources, such as Enriching our Worship. Our choir, like our, is small yet their voices fill the church with joyful CHRISTIAN EDUCATION: the opportunity for our congregation to build a foundation of faith, develop a relationship with God and understand what it means to be a Christian in the. offers many ways for parishioners to grow in their faith. Our Sunday School program, operating September through May and staffed by parishioners, uses a variety of materials such as stories, videos, plays and purposed-filled crafts to engage the children and enable them to experience God in their lives and hear their faith stories. With twenty children enrolled, the attendance averages between seven to ten children each Sunday. Opportunities are presented throughout the year for adult members of the congregation to explore their faith and build their relationship with God and our. Venues include book groups, focused discussion groups, special prayer services and bible studies. Each year the Sunday School children present a Christmas Pageant which, without fail, delights all who attend the pageant service. Currently ten families participate in the Sunday School program.

4 FELLOWSHIP: When we break bread together we create companions...we create relationships that nourish us. Nowhere is this more evident than on Sunday mornings at. deepening After our we spiritual gather life at the communion rail our Fellowship Team invites so that everyone we can love in attendance as God loves to with join J.O.Y. together in our parish hall to have coffee, juice, a sweet treat while we enjoy each other s company in an informal, relaxed setting. Throughout the year special occasions arise, such as a Bishop s visit, honoring confirmands or graduates, and the Fellowship Team is there to help organize whatever the occasion demands. The team is also responsible for providing brunch at our annual meeting, lunch on clean-up Sundays and planning an array of other special events such as our annual adult barbecue and our well attended Advent Dinner. Gathering getting to know one another better, strengthens our relationships and makes a stronger family. PASTORAL CARE and OUTREACH: There are abundant opportunities for individuals in our congregation to exercise their time, talent and treasure to help and empower each other and the greater. Members of volunteer and support organizations in a variety of ways such as donating funds, collecting and distributing food and clothing, as well as volunteering their time and talent. Some of the organizations which continually benefit from assistance are South Shore Habitat for Humanity, the Food Pantry, Carolina Hill (a family homeless shelter) and Sowing Seeds (an interfaith organization located in that helps our neighbors in need providing goods and services such as clothing, transportation, legal advocacy and housing services just to name a few). Knitters busy hands knit beautiful prayer shawls for those who need care, love and healing. Meals are prepared for parishioners who need assistance now and then. Our Lay Eucharistic Ministers take communion to those who are unable to attend Sunday Services.

5 PASTORAL CARE and OUTREACH continued continues to explore ways to expand our visibility and reach within and outside of our. Our participation in the s Farmers spiritual Market, life where we sell fair-trade items to the greater so that, we can love allows as God us loves to support a global effort while increasing our presence in the. Through our year-long collaboration with Good Shepherd, Watertown in the Missio:Engage project we are identifying manageable ways in which we can join God in what God and others are already doing in the and seeking intentional ways to invite others to join us in whatever we do. It is our hope that our new Rector will want to engage with us in this continuing conversation, exploring ways to try on something new as together we become a more outwardly focused congregation. Foremost, we hope that all we do reveals God s love to our. OUR CAMPUS: comprised of four buildings on six acres of land is located in the seacoast town of, midway between Boston and Cape Cod., previously known as Mission, began in 1916 with services in the homes of a few families in the Seaview area. The Women s Guild later purchased the Summer Street School House from the town of then services were held at the Seaview Mission. In 1947, the North Baptist, then owned by the North Community, was given to to become, where we hold worship services today.

6 Located directly behind the Johnson Hall. Formerly the old Summer Street We are School a house, deepening then the Seaview our Mission so Chapel, that we it can was love moved as God to loves Highland Street for use as the parish hall. An addition was made to the former school house and it was renamed Johnson Hall, in honor of Archdeacon Herbert L. Johnson, priest-in-charge of Mission. The hall houses the rector s office, the parish kitchen, a large multi-use room and stage. This building is utilized by groups such as AA, Al-Anon, and South Shore Ballet and where we host coffee hour, receptions and many other activities. Johnson Hall is a place where fellowship, education and outreach abound. The Christian Education Building located behind Johnson Hall is home to Steeple School of. Steeple School was founded in 1963 to fulfill the need for a kindergarten-nursery school. At the time it was established there was no public kindergarten program in. The school was located in Johnson Hall until 1969 when it was moved into the then new Christian Education Building. In 1969 enrollment was at 250 and by 1972 enrollment reached 275. The Steeple School Board of Directors is made up of members of. The school, which has 6 classrooms, two offices, a large common room along with a small kitchen area, holds morning and afternoon preschool classes for three and four year old children. An extended care program is offered each afternoon and we anticipate adding classes for two year olds this fall. As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Steeple School of with a wide event we are delighted to note that Steeple School continues to provide a quality preschool program for children of and its surrounding towns.

7 Located just steps away from the is the rectory, a Royal Barry Willis We are designed a home. deepening The rectory our spiritual has life three bedrooms, so that we a can full bath, love as a God recently loves remodeled kitchen, dining area and living room on the main floor and a walk out family room, second full bath, laundry room and two car garage on the lower level. Adjacent to the Christian Education Building our Resurrection Garden is nestled amongst tall pines, beautiful shrubs and plantings. It is a tranquil place where one can meditate, pray and remember those whose ashes are interred there. The garden is maintained by volunteers. OUR TOWN OF MARSHFIELD: situated on the South Shore of halfway between Boston and Cape Code is easily accessible from Route 3. It is a town of great geographic, demographic and socioeconomic diversity. With 18.5 miles of sandy shoreline, its population swells from 27,000 to approximately 38,000 in the summer. Among the largest towns in the commonwealth in terms of land area, it offers any number of views, properties to explore and settings to paint. Ten areas of town are so well known that they appear on state maps and five have their own post offices. Each area has a distinctive character perpetuated by its residents. Hills (where is located), North and Center are heavily wooded, hilly and dotted with old farm estates along its winding roads. Seaview, Rexhame, Fieldston, Ocean Bluff, Brant Rock and Green Harbor face the Atlantic Ocean and are backed by the town s three rivers. The marshlands surrounding the rivers provide a backdrop for homes in proper. Because it lies along the coast, enjoys a climate that is both milder in the winter and cooler in the summer than that experienced in the inland suburbs. residents are proud of their excellent school system with five elementary schools, a middle school and a newly constructed, state of the art high school.

8 OUR FINANCES, while always a challenge, have in the past ended the year better than so that expected. we can love Our as God actual loves income in 2013 was $215,335 and expenses of $226,717 which supported our full time rector. The major portion of the deficit in 2013 was a late payment from our nursery school that was received early in January. Our income in 2013 included a diocesan subsidy of $29,375 toward the salary of our interim Priest in Charge and $36,944 from our endowment funds. This draw from our endowment fund is just $9,000 over the recommended 4% draw. Our two endowment funds totaled $699,161 at the end of In 2013, pledging accounted for 43% of our income and nonpledgers plus other offerings accounted for an additional 5%. Our budget for 2014 is 223,377 and also includes a clergy subsidy of $20,625 and an expected draw from our endowments of $73,062. Our pledges are down this year at 39% of our budget and other Sunday collections account for 4% of the budget. As of May 30 th, 2014, our endowment funds totaled $691,863 which includes prior withdrawals this year of $34,795. This is a concern; however, we believe that with a new permanent rector in place and our efforts to become more visible in the, we can rekindle the spirit that has kept strong.

9 OUR GOALS FOR THE FUTURE In keeping with our mission statement to deepen our spiritual life our goals looking towards the future include: Becoming more outwardly focused as a. Exploring and developing new opportunities and times for worship including alternate services to enable more people to attend worship. Embracing and welcoming change. Developing a year-round stewardship program of time, money and talent. Celebrating with joy s 100th anniversary in GIFTS FOR MINISTRY The rector we seek will be a priest who... Possesses good preaching skills. Is willing to become visible and involved in our communities. Can create and guide the congregation in developing a year-round stewardship program. Has the ability to implement and utilize social media. Cares deeply about the environment. Is able to empower the gifts and passions of the congregation.

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