OTM DATA SHEET COMMUNITY MINISTRY PORTFOLIO

Transcription

1 OTM DATA SHEET COMMUNITY MINISTRY PORTFOLIO BASIC INFORMATION Name of Church: St. James Episcopal Church Diocese: Long Island Address: 490 North Country Rd., St. James, NY Phone: Position title: Rector Current Status: Open Receiving Names until: Order of Ministry: Priest Weekly Average Sunday Attendance (ASA): 76 Number of Weekend Worship Services: 2 Number of Weekday Worship Services: 1 Number of Other Worship Services per Month: Varies with liturgical calendar COMPENSATION, HOUSING, AND BENEFITS Note: Full New Rector Compensation Package Submitted Separately INCUMBENT HISTORY & CHURCH DAY SCHOOLS Name: Position Title: The Reverend Raewynne J. Whiteley Date Begun: 2006 Date Ended: December 2017 Name: Position Title: The Reverend Michael E. Bartolomeo Date Begun: 1998 Date Ended: 2004 Name: Position Title: The Reverend Richard A Burnett Date Begun: 1990 Date Ended: 1997

2 Church School: Number of Teachers/Leaders for Children s Church School: 2-4 Godly Play Leaders Number of Students for Children s Church School: 12 Day School: Not Applicable Number of Teachers for Day School: Total Staff for Day School: Number of Students for Day School:

3 NARRATIVE Describe a moment in your worshipping community s recent ministry which you recognized as one of success and fulfillment. One significant moment in our worshipping community s recent ministry centered on the reinvigoration of the Vestry. Over recent years the Vestry has evolved into a non-fractious, high performing, acutely focused group of lay leaders. Whereas in the recent past recruiting Wardens and vestry members was difficult, this year we had 31 interested parishioners and we were able to set up an independent rector search committee with seven members and a chair. How are you preparing yourselves for the Church of the future? Two years ago we set up a capital improvement campaign called "Sustaining St. James". Its focus was the restoration of the buildings on the church campus, including new roofs, windows, air conditioning, electrical work and landscaping. The campaign raised just under $300,000. Our goal was to stop the deterioration of multiple buildings. Phase I is nearly completed; Phase II, funded by the sale of vacant land considered a non-performing asset, will commence this summer. The additional goal was to provide adequate facilities to the larger community for future generations. Please provide 4 6 words (separated by commas) describing the gifts and skills essential to the future leaders of your worshipping community. Faith, constancy, worship, friendship, trust, mission Describe your liturgical style and practice. If your community provides more than one type of worship service please describe all. Over the last seven decades St. James has evolved from high church Episcopal to mainstream. Rite I is offered at the Sunday 8:00 am service and Rite II at the 9:30 service. At funerals and weddings the families' choice of which rite to adhere to has been flexible. In addition to Sunday services, Maundy Thursday has been added, as has All Souls, Lenten and Advent services. Feast of St. James patronal service, the blessing of the animals, and Baptism are incorporated into the 9:30 am family service. Until our Rector moved on there was also a weekday morning Eucharist.

4 How do you practice incorporating others into ministry? We have an active and supportive Lay Eucharist Ministry, a Eucharistic Visitors group, acolytes (both children and adults), prayer groups, Godly Play, and occasionally lay preaching. As a worshipping community, how do you care for your spiritual, emotional, and physical wellbeing? Parish Life has an active and supportive presence throughout the year. There are potluck dinners for feast days, festivals, children and young families nights, an annual BBQ, coffee hour on Sundays, and antiques and collectible sales throughout the twelve months. These are all occasions for camaraderie, emotional support, and the intermingling of many generations of parishioners. Bible study has been offered during the day and evenings but attendance could improve. How do you engage in pastoral care for those beyond your worshipping community? Describe your worshipping community s involvement in either the wider Church or geographical region. Outreach has been supportive of the Protestant Campus Ministry at Stony Brook University. We have also been long involved in the Smithtown Emergency Food Pantry, and several years ago instituted "Ashes to Go" on Ash Wednesday. St. James has maintained an active profile at the Cathedral of the Incarnation and at Mercer School. We also attend the yearly Convention, training sessions, and special services such as the Chrism Mass. We have also, on occasion, invited Bishop Michael Curry into our presence electronically. Individually, as parishioners, we have many connections to bishops and other ministers from coast to coast, and the United Kingdom. Tell about a ministry that your worshipping community has initiated in the past five years. Who can be contacted about this? The above-mentioned Ash Wednesday Ashes to Go at our local railroad station and the St. James Day Blessing of the Animals on Lake Avenue (the hamlet s main street), have taken our rector and parishioners into the community. The wardens can be contacted about this.

5 What is your practice of stewardship and how does it shape the life of your worshipping community? We have a small but effective Stewardship committee, and a very dedicated and self-sacrificing congregation. We use the programs and mailings provided by TENS. As with any small parish, it is a struggle to keep income ahead of increasing expenses. Most parishioners contribute in some manner either through pledges or plate offerings. Naturally during high feast days the plate offers increase substantially. We have also been blessed through the years by individual gifts and remembrances. What is your worshipping community s experience of conflict and how have you addressed it? There is always conflict within any communal group, be it a church, association, or business. Our goal is to deal directly with the conflict rather than triangulate. The wardens, in lieu of a rector, encourage dissenters to come forward directly. Most often this works well, but not always. Our vestry is also very sensitive to disgruntlement and our members try actively to promote understanding and equitable resolution. 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? Change is always a challenge. It threatens some and engages others, and often there is a generational divide. In our parish we have been blessed in recent years to welcome an increasing number of young families with babies and toddlers. The parents of these children want them to be present at the family service, not squirreled away in a playroom. The older parishioners want peace and quiet contemplation. Sometimes the children are unruly and fully verbal. Mostly they are refreshing. We have actively engaged our older members to understand that if our church is to grow and prosper, we need both the young and the older generations. It has taken time and patience, but gradually (and generally) acceptance has been forthcoming. We try to reach consensus through communication and let time heal those who disagree. When the Godly Play curriculum replaced the traditional program, some were concerned but their concern abated over time. In rare cases, a few have left the church over the placement of the flags for example. We have learned that gradual change with open communication will lead to acceptance.

6 CONNECTIONS Worshipping Community s Website: stjamesstjames.org Media Link: Language Significantly Represented: English REFERENCES Bishop The Right Reverend Lawrence C. Provenzano lprovenzano@dioceseli.org x131 Diocesan Transition Minister The Reverend Canon Claire Woodley cwoodley@dioceseli.org x135 Wardens and other contacts: Alexandra Rich, Warden alexandrahrich@gmail.com Jennifer Lawrence, Warden jenlawrence@msn.com