St. Anne s Episcopal Church. Parish Profile. North Billerica, MA. Pg. 1

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2 Upon entering St. Anne's, one begins to immediately feel a sense of serenity, a sense of holiness, and a sense of belonging that says "this place is a house of God". Whether sitting amidst the quiet of the church or experiencing the activities in the Sunday school classroom, it is apparent that the Holy Spirit is alive and present here at St. Anne's. There is a spirit of family that draws you in and embraces you, and you too begin to understand why many visitors have spoken of feeling at "home" and falling in love with St. Anne's. St. Anne's seeks to be led by the spirit to understand God's purpose for the world with our mission being to respond through Christ in worship, education, We who attend St. Anne's sometimes take the quiet beauty of our church for granted, however, we try not to take for granted the reason why we are here and why we came here in the first place. That reason is to give glory to God and to Him in the tradition of the. fellowship and service. Amen. Pg. 2

3 St. Anne's has been through many changes in its more than 125 years of service to God. The challenges we face as we prepare to do His work in the 21st century mirror those of the larger. Our challenge is to come together in a spirit of love, charity, and reconciliation to our community and the world. It is our hope and prayer that you will want to share the unique experience that is St. Anne's. 14 Treble Cove Road PO Box Pg. 3

4 Our History St. Anne s May 1886: The first services were held in Billerica at the Baptist school. November 1886: The St. Anne s Mission was organized and services were held at the Union Hall. 1890: The cornerstone was laid and St. Anne s Mission was consecrated in September. This is where our church still stands. 1905: In September, a House building was dedicated at the 15 th anniversary of the church. This building is now the site of our Thrift Shop. 1937: The Rev. Warren Bixby was assigned to St. Anne s on a part-time basis. 1956: The Rev. Stephen Austill became St. Anne s first full-time resident rector. St. Anne s was also given full parish status. 1962: The Rev. Ellwyn J. H. Nichols came to St. Anne s in January. 1965: A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the church school building. 1972: The Rev. Kenneth S. B. Campbell came to St. Anne s. During his tenure, St. Anne s celebrated our 90 th anniversary in June 1976 with a banquet and a float in the town's Bicentennial parade. 1977: Our Thrift Shop opened. 1982: The Rev. Geoffrey W. Lennan arrived as rector. During Rev. Lennan s thirteen years, the church saw a re-dedication of the church cornerstone, new stained glass windows, the dedication of a memorial garden, and columbarium. 1986: St. Anne s celebrated our 100 th anniversary. 1996: The Rev. Peggy Howell became our new rector. During the eighteen years that Rev. Peggy served the parish, many upgrades were made to the church while keeping the beauty of the church intact. 2012: Our parishioner, Peter Jeffrey, was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate. Pg. 4

5 _ North Billerica, WELCOME TO BILLERICA St. Anne's is located in the town of Billerica, Massachusetts just a few hundred yards from the banks of the Concord River. Billerica, the "Yankee Doodle Town", is located 20 miles north-northwest of Boston positioning itself as the border between the Boston Metro region and the Greater Lowell region. We are not far from the New Hampshire border, where you can find beaches, lakes, mountains, ski resorts, scenic highways, and charming towns. If you like small-town New England with easy access to metropolitan areas, you'll love our town, and our parish! The town of Billerica encompasses approximately 26 square miles, with a population of over 40,000. The Billerica public school system consists of six elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. In addition, the town is home to a regional technical high school. Billerica is also minutes away from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and Middlesex Community College. Pg. 5

6 Billerica offers a full range of recreational activities including baseball, soccer, football, golf, hockey and basketball. In fact, Sports Illustrated named Billerica one of the nation's top fifty towns for sports and recreation and the "Sportstown for the Bay State." Of course, our town is also close to the homes of the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics! Our town also has a historical society, arts council, a garden club, a local cable television station, and an active senior center. During the summer months you will find a weekly farmers market and concerts on the common. For more information on our town please go to: Pg. 6

7 Sunday Services - Normal 8 AM - Holy Eucharist (Rite I) Sunday School at 9:50 AM 10 AM - Holy Eucharist (Rite II) Worship From Psalm 95: O come let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into His presence with thanksgiving.for the Lord is a great God and a king above all gods. Worship is central to our Christian life at St. Anne s. We gather at Christ s table to celebrate Holy Eucharist every Sunday morning. Rite I from the Book of Common Prayer is celebrated at 8 am and Rite II at 10am. We do consider ourselves to be a Broad. Our Sunday School children leave their classrooms during the service to join the congregation to receive communion and blessings. Special children s services are held throughout the year. For example, at Christmas the children put on a pageant, and on Holy Saturday the children come together to hear an Easter story, bake unleavened bread, then enjoy an Easter egg hunt. Other special services we hold are the Blessing Pg. 7

8 of the Animals in honor of St. Francis in October, a Silver Tea following a midday Christmas Eve service and a Memorial Day remembrance of our soldiers and veterans. St. Anne s also sponsors the Ash Wednesday Luncheon, which is part of a six week Ecumenical Lenten Luncheon program in Billerica. Lay people are an important part of the service. They include acolytes, Eucharistic ministers, lay readers, the choir, and the altar guild. Our choir is an important aspect of our 10 am service. It is a group of dedicated parishioners who have a love of music. They enjoy singing not only the traditional, but contemporary music as well. They practice and present beautiful anthems on various Sundays, such as Christmas and Easter. Pg. 8

9 FELLOWSHIP Fellowship, a cherished tradition at St. Anne's, brings people together in a social capacity and creates an atmosphere of family among the members of our parish. Our parish offers multiple opportunities for those seeking fellowship, such as: St. Anne s The Womens Knitting Group: This group meets three times a month on Wednesdays. Members enjoy working on projects that range from knitting, crocheting, embroidering, sewing, and mending. Much of the finished work is made ready for sale at our annual church fair. Ideas, creativity, and fellowship are shared. St. Elizabeth's Guild: This is the hospitality group of the church. The members sponsor a Silver Tea following the afternoon celebration of the Holy Eucharist on Christmas Eve. Their yearly fund raiser is a bake sale held on Palm Sunday. The Guild also sponsors an Ash Wednesday Ecumenical luncheon or a soup supper. They also have a bake table at the annual fair. The Gardening Angels: Members of this group care for the Memorial Garden and beautify the church grounds with annual and perennial flowers. In June, they hold a Strawberry Festival and craft fair. With the funds earned from this fair, they have been able to purchase shrubs, extend the lawn irrigation system, and provide outdoor lighting around the gardens. The Womens and Mens Breakfast Group: These groups meet monthly on a Saturday morning at a local restaurant. Those who are involved with these group enjoy a delicious breakfast, lively discussions, and fellowship. Pg. 9

10 St. Anne s Embroidery Guild: This is a group of women who have embroidered Baptismal bibs by hand. They meet on an as needed basis, keeping a supply on hand to be available for upcoming baptisms. The Anneacreons: This is a social group for adults. They gather once a month for fellowship and fun. Some activities include a January Yankee Swap, a movie night, progressive supper and a cook out in June. They also sponsor the Christmas Fair Cafe. The Coffee Hour Team: This group provides hospitality following the 10am service. The coffee hour is not only an opportunity to catch up with friends old and new, it allows for our community to connect with one another. It s the glue that binds us together. Cursillo: Many of our parishioners have attended Cursillo. This is a three-day weekend that focuses on showing Christian lay people how to become effective Christian leaders. Pg. 10

11 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION St. Anne s Children s Formation Children meet for Sunday School during the 10 am service, joining their parents for the Holy Eucharist. The church school year runs from September through May, ending with Recognition Sunday - our day to celebrate and honor the children in our parish. Seeds of Love is the Sunday School program we use for 3 to 7 year-olds and children who may need extra help focusing. The structure is simple: a gathering time followed by a short lesson, then time for individual work. The children learn prayers, do crafts and sing songs. The main focus is on the love Jesus has for all the children. In addition, the basics of worship is covered. Sunday School for the older children utilizes the Betty Lukens program, which teaches Bible stories using a felt board. They learn of God s love and guidance through the stories of the Old and New Testaments, not only through the telling of them with the felt board, but also using interactive visual aids, craft projects, music, poems and prayers. They also learn about specific parts of the church service in preparation for worship. The goal is to teach the children, at a level they can understand, about the Lord s message of love. Pg. 11

12 Adult Formation Adult Study groups are held twice a week. On Mondays at 10 a.m. parishioners come to read and discuss the books of the Bible. On Tuesdays at 7:30 pm a series of Biblically-themed videos are shown, after which discussion ensues. Study groups in the past have covered many interesting topics such as: the Alpha Program, reading and discussing the book The Purpose Driven Life, the lectures of Karen Armstrong, and an overview of World Religions. OUR YOUTH Our parish is enthusiastic to rebuild the teenage Youth Group to provide a transition from the Sunday School to active roles in St. Anne s and the local community. In the past our youth have successfully participated in many fundraising events and community service activities including pancake breakfasts, Christmas fairs, Fall fairs, car washes, raffles, food drives, and even a U2charist service. In addition, some of our strongest leaders have been part of the leadership development provided by Summer counseling at the Barbara C. Harris Camp, Youth Leadership Academy (YLA), Diocesan Youth Council (DYC), and Mission Trips to El Salvador. Pg. 12

13 THRIFT SHOP St. Anne s St. Anne s Thrift Shop provides a valuable service to the community offering re-cycled clothing, jewelry, books and household items at affordable prices. In times of crisis, clothing and other items are donated both to individuals in need and to charities or other organizations. Originally founded in 1977 by a few parishioners to provide clothing for families with limited means, St. Anne s Thrift Shop has expanded and grown considerably thanks to the efforts of many dedicated volunteers, some of whom have participated for a dozen years or more. Because of its success we now have a volunteer manager to help us continue that growth into the future. In addition to being a successful outreach program to the community, the Thrift Shop provides significant income to the church allowing us to both maintain and improve our facilities. OUTREACH MINISTRIES The Angel Tree Project is an outreach ministry that provides Christmas gifts to the children of inmates at the Billerica House of Correction. During the Advent season a tree is decorated with Angels that parishioners are invited to take, buy and wrap gifts, and place it under the tree to be delivered to the children. We also have a Mission Committee. This is an outreach group that accepts donations to lend support to the local food pantry, Wounded Warriors, the Relief and Development, and the Gifts for life. This committee has also traveled to New Orleans to help those who were hit by Hurricane Katrina. St. Anne's also makes space in our parish hall available to AA and Al-Anon groups that meet on a regular basis. Pg. 13

14 DIOCESAN MISSION STATEMENT St. Anne s As members of the Diocese of Massachusetts we believe God in Christ is working everywhere in the world to heal, to reconcile, to love every person and all of creation into wholeness. Through the life, cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, the power of sin and death has been broken; life and hope is the new reality. It is our mission to join God's transforming mission. We will form our children, our young people and our adult members, through prayer, worship and Scripture, to become followers of Christ, that we might discern where God is carrying out this mission in our world. And we will send our people to serve with Christ, inviting everyone and all of creation to share in the just reign of God. STEWARDSHIP We ve recently have begun to expand Stewardship at St. Anne s as an ongoing spiritually based program at both the personal and parish level. Our objective is twofold: to create an awareness of existing Stewardship within the parish people s contributions of time, talent and treasure and increase awareness of St. Anne s in the larger community. ioners currently contribute time and talent in a number of ways ranging from weekly service preparation to making fund raising events successful and keeping the Thrift Shop running, a key outreach program to the community at large. Pg. 14

15 FINANCIALS St. Anne s We are a parish with 80 pledging families. Every year we come in under budget, and have no outstanding loans or mortgages. Our bills are paid in a timely manner, including our Assessment. A large part of that comes from the fact that now 1/3 of our annual income comes from the Thrift Shop, which at one time only brought in a few hundred dollars per year. Last year we budgeted $45,000 and we took in $62,699. This year we have budgeted $50,000 and in spite of the severe Winter we are on a par to exceed last year's totals. In 2014 our budget was set at $216,671 and our actual expenses came in at $198,676. This year our budget is set for $208,483. When the Rectory was sold, a portion of the proceeds went to create a Capital Endowment Fund. A portion (60%) of the annual interest is used for outreach, scholarships and grants. Last year we issued two scholarships and one grant for a total of $2,242. This year we have $2,291 available. There is a Property Endowment Fund, the interest is accruing to be available for costly repairs not included in our annual budget. We also have a Memorial Fund which covers flowers and elements for the altar as well as an account for our youth to attend the Barbara C. Harris Summer Camp. Pg. 15

16 VISION STATEMENT St. Anne s Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that your Holy Spirit bless and guide our parish as we journey forward in the search for our new spiritual leader at St. Anne's. Grow our congregation with the help of the Holy Spirit. Find a dedicated spiritual priest to join with our involved lay leadership to grow our outreach ministries so that we may show the world what a loving Christian community we are. Embrace and welcome change. Encourage and foster parishioners to participate across old and new roles. Rebuild and transition our youth into more active roles in our parish community. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A NEW RECTOR A Rector who will help St. Anne's grow, not only spiritually, but in numbers as we face social challenges. A collaborative leader who is able to motivate and empower the congregation, by delegating responsibilities and challenge them to use their gifts of time, treasure and talent. A Rector who has reverence for the liturgy and relates the sermons to our everyday lives. A loving and caring Rector who embraces pastoral care. Someone who is able to maintain our connection with the Diocese and to keep us visible in our community. A Rector who will help us revitalize our youth. A Rector who is able to facilitate ministry for and with young families. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Pg. 16