FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST WISCASSET, MAINE JANUARY 27, 2019

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2 FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST WISCASSET, MAINE JANUARY 27, 2019 ANNUAL REPORTS PAGE NO. Notice of Annual Meeting 3 Agenda 4 Minister s Report 5 Trustees 7 Church Clerk 8 Diaconate 9 Church in Society 10 Christian Education 11 Pastoral Relations 12 Ladies Organ Society / Church Belles 13 Ladies Organ Society / Church Belles Treasurer s Report 14 Church World Service 15 Stewardship 16 Summerfest 17 Nominating List of Officers 18 Personnel 19 Annual Audit Report 19 Operating Budget 20 Non-Operating Budget Items 22 TD Wealth Status 23 Proposed Annual Budget

3 NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING First Congregational Church UCC Wiscasset, Maine Notice of Annual Meeting To be held on January 27, 2019 Call: In accordance with its bylaws, members of the First Congregational Church, UCC of Wiscasset, Maine, are hereby notified that the Annual Meeting of the Church will be held on Sunday, January 27, 2019 following the regular worship service in the sanctuary. The agenda will include annual reports of the officers, boards, committees, the budget, and any other business that can be legally brought before this meeting. January 3, 2019 Deb Olson, Church Clerk 3

4 ANNUAL MEETING AGENDA January 27, Opening Prayer 2. Reading of the Call 3. Presentation / Acceptance of Minutes of the Annual Meeting 4. Memorials: William A. Cumming, Louise D. Jewett, Shirley H. Barton, Bertha M. (Daigle) Melnuk 5. Report of the Minister 6. Reports: Church Committees and Treasurer 7. Report of the Nominating Committee 8. Election of Officers for and Commissioning 9. Remarks from the Council President 10. Presentation of the Proposed 2019 Budget 11. Old Business 12. New Business 13. Adjournment 4

5 MINISTER S ANNUAL REPORT For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:12 As I prepared to write this report, it brought me such great joy to reread the report from last year for it is a testimony from where we have come. Today, we recall the past, as we cherish these moments in which we currently minister, and as we prepare for all the ways in which our congregation will be called to be the church in the future! Of course, through it all, we trust that God will guide and strength us for ministry yet to come. As I think back over the past year, I give thanks for the staff team that we have assembled at FCC Wiscasset. Janet Leonard, our Office Administrator, continues to be a wonderful asset to our life together as a church. I am especially thankful for the ways in which she strives to make the office as efficient as possible while continuing to offer wonderful hospitality to all who visit the church throughout the week. Linda Adams, our Organist/Choir Director, joined our staff this year after the resignation of Leela Koilpillai. Linda enhances our worship weekly with her offerings on the organ and continues to inspire and develop our choir. Linda is also a great encourager of musical talent in the wider congregation! Linda goes above and beyond the terms of her role in many ways, including when she plays for the Chase Point Chapel Service we offer. Colleen Crowley, our Church School Teacher & Coordinator, works faithfully with our children. Though we have a small Church School, she makes class meaningful and inspiring for the youngest among us! Her flexibility, faith, and love of teaching are evident in her work. I also rejoice in all the ways that Colleen has gone above and beyond to be a part of our church life, by joining us at Summerfest and Oktoberfest for example to offer activities for the children. Mary McKinney, our Sexton, strives to keep this facility for ministry we share clean and in good working order. While so much of her work is done quietly in the background, we are blessed by her gifts and rejoice that she is with us! Still, one of the greatest joys of serving among you this past year is seeing all the ways in which this congregation embodies the idea of being a community church and being the body of Christ. Every hand helps and the talents within the congregation are freely shared 5

6 whenever there is a need. Each person seeks to support the church in all the ways that they can and this is a good sign of a healthy church! Looking beyond our congregation and beyond these walls, our church is continuing to strengthen connections within the community around us and enriching our role as a church for the town and townspeople. The fruits of this labor can easily be seen in the number of community visitors who join us for worship, in the conversations that people share about our church, and in the press coverage that our church events receive to name just a few. Bottom line, more and more people outside the church know about us and what we are doing! This will continue to lead to a growing ministry. As I look at where we are today, I continue to see what I saw last year, a ministry which is growing in a very holistic way. Of course, we have been seeing growth in our worship attendance and in our numbers of faithfully active members and friends of the congregation, including 11 new covenant members this year. We are beginning to make strides toward a more financially sustainable ministry with decreasing dependency on our endowment, while still allowing the endowment to support and encourage the ministry we are doing and are striving to create. The Stewardship Campaign is currently pacing to hit their goal of $100,000! These are all good figures when we look at growth. Still, we also see growth in community awareness and engagement. We see a growing sense of the value of our church to the community. All of this is needed for a sustainable and viable ministry and I rejoice in where we are today! Finally, as we look toward the future, I am filled with joy for what is yet to come. Together, if we continue to engage the community, remain an important part of the fabric of our town and surround towns by striving to meet the needs of the community, seek financial sustainability, and provide a space to engage the spiritual aspect of our lives, I believe we can continue to grow the ministry we offer here in this place for God s glory. If we all continue to offer our hands and our hearts to the work of being Christ s church, I believe there is much more joy to come! Faithfully & Joyfully Yours, Josh Fitterling 6

7 BOARD OF TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT Thanks are due to all who served as Trustees during : Brian Adams, Cheryl Day, Steve Hatt, Brendan Joyce, Steve Whitfield, and Treasurer Beth Whitney. Bud Lewis was officially appointed Financial Secretary at our January meeting. Beth Maxwell served as Assistant Treasurer during the year. Maintenance work was accomplished throughout the year. Due to storm damage from October 2017, we received an insurance reimbursement of $5299, which covered most of the cost of replacing half of the roof over the Sunday School area and new carpet in one of the classrooms. In combination with that work, new insulation was added over the Sunday School area. Brian Adams and Steve Hatt headed up a new team of nearly twenty maintenance volunteers who toured the building and set up a to-do list of repairs within the scope of the volunteers abilities. At least twenty-five items from that list were completed during the year. Tom Cramer rebuilt the stone wall outside the parlor door, pulling the whole thing down and starting with a new foundation for the wall, and resetting all the stones; many thanks to Tom. Attempts were made during the year to constitute a Revenue Raiser sub-committee, since the Council had assigned the role of Revenue Raiser activity to the Trustees. Sadly, we did not get a committee set up but did have great success bringing in more than $6,500.00: An Italian Dinner (thanks to Sarah Whitfield and Linda Adams) Two courthouse lunches and a St. Patrick s Dinner (thanks to all who helped with these) Flocking the town with playful sheep to honor people and events in their lives (special thanks to the shepherds who built the flock and moved it as needed) Sale of T-shirts with new church logo (thanks to Bob Bond for the design) Chair Yoga sessions offered to the church by Pam Dunning of Wiscasset Public Library Oktoberfest (thanks to all who helped out) Marketfest Café (thanks to all who helped out and made chili). In December, we voted unanimously to return the responsibility for Revenue Raisers to Church Council, requesting that Council set up a sub-committee reporting directly to the Council. Building use has continued to support many groups, extending our presence into the community: Healthy Kids Play Group on Tuesday mornings Sheepscot Valley Chorus rehearsals Garden Club of Wiscasset club meetings and related District and State Garden Club meetings AP Testing for Wiscasset Middle High School PEO Sorority meetings Cycling for MS overnight stay in May Week-long stays of two mission trips who did significant work in the Lincoln County area Respectfully submitted, Beth Maxwell, Chair 7

8 New Members Deane Attwood Susan Attwood Pam Frenier Allan Sylvester Linda Wallace Oscar Wallace Tom Kovarik Chris Kovarik Susan Kubler Sky Wentworth Michelle Wentworth Deaths William A Cumming Louise D Jewett Shirley H Barton Bertha M (Daigle) Melnuk Weddings Hannah Olson & Carrie Roberts Kent Wusterbarth & Cheryl Day George Peck & Carol Donnell CHURCH CLERK ANNUAL REPORT In the Fall of, letters of inquiry were mailed to all inactive and absent members of the church to ascertain their status. Based on this mailing our church records have been updated to show a total of 127 active members and associate members and 33 inactive members as of December 31,. Respectfully Submitted, Deborah S. Olson Church Clerk 8

9 DIACONATE ANNUAL REPORT It is a duty of the Diaconate to provide ushers and flowers for each service. We deeply appreciate all of you who volunteered to usher and to bring flowers to beautify our sanctuary. Many of you also donated lilies at Easter and poinsettias at Christmas. They truly set the tone for these special seasons. These flowers go far beyond just decorating the sanctuary but represent all the people in our lives whom we love. What a beautiful way to express that love! The number of poinsettias this year was the largest I remember seeing. We also serve communion monthly. Thanks to Julie Bellefleur for providing bread each month. It was with great sadness that we accepted the resignation of Leela Koilpillai as our organist and choir director. Linda Adams graciously agreed to fill in at least temporarily but then chose to accept the position full time. Under her leadership, the choir continues to be an active and vital part of our ministry. We truly appreciate all the hard work and dedication that Linda and the choir give to the church. The Easter Sunday Service was again held at the town dock. In spite of the very cold temperatures, fifty or so people gathered to be reminded once again that Jesus had risen. What a powerful message! This fall we held two different services. One was in honor of all our first responders who work daily to keep us safe. Those who attended the service were asked to come forward and introduce themselves. Secondly, on a beautiful fall afternoon we held a "Blessing of the Animals" service on the front lawn. Donations were collected for Lincoln County Animal Shelter. Advent was again a beautiful season beginning with the Hanging of the Greens service and ending with our service of lessons and carols. None of this would be possible without all the volunteers who carried wreaths, lit candles, read descriptions of various parts and read scriptures. Thanks to all of you for your willingness to help out. For the first time in many years we held two services on Christmas Eve. The first service at 7 was attended by 157 people and one service dog! At 11:30 21 one of us gathered to bring in Christmas which we did by ringing the bell exactly at midnight. Thank you to Janet Leonard for playing for that service. Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn t thank the Deacons for all their hard work this past year. Your willingness to pitch in and help was very much appreciated especially when I was unable to be present. Respectfully submitted, Becky Lenz, Chair, Diaconate 9

10 CHURCH IN SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT The mission of the CIS committee is as follows: shall be responsible for bringing before the congregation issues of peace, justice and other social concerns in the community and the world. It will be the church s contact with CIS organizations of the wider church. In February, along with Organ Society, CIS sponsored an evening presentation by Leslie Livingston, Director of Healthy Kids. Healthy Kids is a community based and professional network, offering support and educational outreach to families throughout Lincoln County. Our church is now providing space for a weekly playgroup being run by Healthy Kids. In March, members of CIS participated and encouraged church members to participate in the March for Our Lives event in Brunswick. This event was a student-led demonstration in support of stronger gun violence prevention measures. This event followed the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida and was one of many demonstrations across the United States. In April, CIS sponsored a movie night Happening: A Clean Energy Revolution complete with popcorn. Also, to celebrate Earth Day, Flower Seeds were provided to church members. In June, CIS sponsored the Tour for Trans Allies. This was an evening workshop open to our members and the public provided by MaineTransNet. The transgender allyship training was offered to help build a deeper bench of allies to transgender people and to ensure that rural communities are safe places to live for openly transgender Mainers. In, CIS members provided our congregation the opportunity in May and October to participate in the Bread for the World Offering of Letters. Bread s mission in was For Such a Time as This. It focused on raising our collective voices to ask Congress to invest in and protect key programs that help improve the lives of men, women and children facing hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world. Our church members sent over 100 letters to our congressional leaders this year. Church in Society members continued to provide Mission Moments for our Church s Neighbors in Need, Strengthen the Church, One Great Hour of Sharing, and Veterans of the Cross offerings. Respectfully submitted, Kimberly Hatt 10

11 CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT Thanks to Rev. Josh and Colleen Crowley we have Christian Education for our children and ourselves and we are grateful for their consistent and quality efforts. It is not easy for Colleen with low and irregular attendance from busy families, but she is there Sundays teaching a lesson and leading an activity to carry in their hearts. She has stepped up to attend: Summerfest (where the children s activities were well attended) Oktoberfest (where they weren t) The Advent workshop organized by Jan Whitfield (which was also well attended by the local community) We have found a quality teacher and we must continue to encourage children to attend. They will be glad they did. In Adult Christian Education, Rev. Josh offered an Adult Bible Study class for much of on Sunday evenings and Wednesday afternoons. The group recently studied Romans. In September church member, Rev. Oscar Wallace, led a three-week study on the topic of civility which was attended by approximately 30 church members. During Advent Rev. Josh invited the congregation to engage in a Virtual Advent Calendar. This Calender included daily s with a scripture, a suggested act of caring for the day and a special message from Rev. Josh as we journeyed to Christmas. CE is in a good place. May attendance in these offered classes grow and many thanks to the congregation for all their help and support. Respectfully submitted, Mary McKinney, Chair 11

12 PASTORAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT The Pastoral Relations Committee met monthly except June, July and September. Our role is to support the ministry of Rev. Josh and his relationships with the wider Church and its committees. One of our missions for the year was to plan, execute and analyze three Completing the Circle focus groups. Our Experience of Worship was the focus of the first groups that met the first week in February. We had thirteen church folks come to these two meetings to explore their feelings about worship at our church. The results were reported to the Church Council. New Members/New Faces was the focus of the next group that met in the middle of May. Seven new folks shared their experiences of first coming to our church. From the results of our meetings, we brought two ideas back to the Church Council. New Members thought that a pamphlet talking about the various committees in the church would help folks make connections to the church more easily. Also, the subject of wearing nametags every Sunday was brought up. Our final group, Church Vitality, met the first Saturday in October at Sarah s Restaurant. Questions about the vital signs of the church were explored by ten church people. We discussed how our church is doing and the roles the congregation and the pastor play in the vitality of the church. We are currently planning to have our next Completing the Circle group the first week of February. Our focus will be Christian Education. Anyone with ideas on Christian Education is welcome to come explore the topic. A tentative make your own pizza night with child care is planned. Be sure to share any questions or concerns you may have with a member of the Pastoral Relations Committee. I would like to thank the members of this committee for their hard work this year in making all of the focus groups possible. Respectfully submitted, Libby Mooney, Chair Members: Betty Applin, Tom Cramer, Jon McKinney, Carol (Donnell) Peck, Ron Sanchez, Libby Mooney 12

13 ORGAN SOCIETY ANNUAL REPORT The Organ Society meets weekly on Wednesday morning with programs on the fourth Wednesday of the month from Labor Day to Memorial Day. We have a regular attendance of 12 to 14 members per week. Some members are busy knitting or crafting items for Summerfest, Oktoberfest and Christmas sales while we gather in friendship. The Organ Society also offers monthly social and educational programs, alternating day and evening schedules. The following programs were offered in. In January, we learned about SEARCH (Seek Elderly Alone Renew Courage & Hope) which provides visitation, transportation, correspondence and referral to other services and programs including the ride share program FISH (Friends In Service Helping). In February, Linda Livingstone of Healthy Kids gave us an overview of the organization s services of children and adult programs for strengthening families. In April, during a cooking demonstration, Brad Adler shared his secret for a delicious pie crust. And in September, Roger Whitney gave a fire safety talk and a hands-on use of fire extinguishers. The Organ Society appreciates your support with our pie, cookie and wreath sales. The apple pie sale was so successful last year, we made and sold 20 pies in time for your Thanksgiving dinner. With your generous help, we put together 60 plates of cookies, well over our 40 to 50 plate average. And to complete a busy fall, the wreaths were decorated and ready for the Christmas season. The ladies enjoy making these items for you and appreciate your support by purchasing these items. Every January, the Organ Society makes and pays a generous pledge to the church from the funds we have earned throughout the previous year. The Organ Society continues to send cards and notes wishing congratulations, speedy recovery, and consolation. If you know of someone who could use a message, please contact the church office. All women of the church are welcome to participate in the Organ Society activities. Our aim is to provide social fellowship and educational programs to the women of the church. Join us for a Wednesday morning gathering or a monthly program. A listing of Upcoming Programs is posted in Fellowship hall. Respectfully Submitted, Martha Speed 13

14 ORGAN SOCIETY TREASURER S REPORT Checking Account The First Total Carried Forward $2, Receipts 5, $ 7, Disbursements $4, Balance $2, Investments Camden National Bank Larabee Fund Certificate of Deposit $2, (Unusable Principal) Total $2, Bath Savings Institution Varney Fund Certificate of Deposit $3, Savings Account Total $3, Total Assets $9, ********************************************** (Included in above figures) Fund Raisers Donations Cookie Sale $ FCC Pledge $1, Craft Sale st Aid Kits Pie Sale AED Wreath Sale Burner Pans Summerfest EMS New Hope for Women Total $2, Total $

15 CHURCH WORLD SERVICE ANNUAL REPORT Church World Service, our church s mission committee, has had another busy year. This Spring we held our annual CWS Kit Program and donated 31 school kits, 11 hygiene kits, and 8 emergency clean-up buckets. Several people donated many multiples of school and hygiene kits as well as the Doughty family donating three entire emergency clean-up buckets! We continue our partnership with the Feed Our Scholars Program. The Spring fundraiser was a Paint Party held at St. Philip s Church on May 11 th with delicious desserts offered. Thank you to everyone who contributed special desserts. In December, many from our church baked for the FOS Bake Sale at Ames which raised more than enough to sponsor two students for the entire school year. A huge thank you to the Organ Society who donated handmade hats and mittens for our school children. The CWS facilitated our church s participation in the Wiscasset Holiday Family Wishes program to provide needs and wants for Christmas gifts for Wiscasset children. CWS made the following donations this year: $100 to St. Philip s Food Pantry for 4 Thanksgiving dinners $300 to Camp Pride, Pilgrim Lodge $300 to FCCW Special Needs Fund $600 to CWS Hurricane Relief for Hurricane Michael & Hurricane Florence 3 pairs of boots for children at Christmas CWS is very grateful to the Summerfest committee for their donation for our work which would not be possible without their support. CWS greatly appreciates all the support of the congregation throughout the year. We have such a caring congregation that responds so quickly whenever asked. Thank you all so much!! Respectfully submitted, Nancy Roby, Chair, Church World Service 15

16 STEWARDSHIP ANNUAL REPORT As of January 2, 2019, we have received $ 96,670 in pledges for We have received 54 pledges. Our goal for 2019 is $100,000, so we are currently only $ 3,330 short of our goal. The Stewardship Committee would like to, once again, thank all of you who have participated in our pledge drive. Hopefully, we can receive those last few pledges to push us up to our goal. Please remember that any size gift is welcome. We will give a final accounting of our pledges at the annual all-church meeting. Respectfully submitted, Margot Stiassni and David Lenz co-chairs 16

17 SUMMERFEST ANNUAL REPORT On Mission Sunday, October 28 th, we presented a total of $8800. to the following organizations: Camp P.O.S.T.C.A.R.D. Camp Pride, Pilgrim Lodge Carpenter s Boatshop CHIP. Inc. Church World Service Cooper-DiPerri Scholarship Feed Our Scholars Habitat for Humanity Healthy Kids Lifeline of Midcoast Maine Lincoln County Dental Clinic Midcoast Humane-Edgecomb Midcoast Literacy Miles & St. Andrews Hospice Mobius, Inc. New Hope for Women People to People St. Philip s Food Pantry Sussman House Tedford Housing Washington County Children s Program Westport Island Helping Hands Wiscasset Green FCCW Special Needs Fund Thank you to all who worked so hard before and during Summerfest and a special thanks to our generous benefactor who brought the total to this wonderful amount. Your generosity and hard work will help many!! Respectfully submitted, Nancy Roby and Ed Peele, Summerfest Co-Chairs 17

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19 PERSONNEL COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT On April 6, the Personnel Committee agreed to changes in the Office Administrator job description written by Janet Leonard and Rev. Josh Fitterling. The changes were made to more closely reflect Janet s current office duties. Joan Shea, Dewey Harris, Don Doughty Personnel Committee AUDIT REPORT The Church financial records for were audited on October 18,, by Brian Adams, Steve Hatt, Beth Maxwell and Beth Whitney, Treasurer. Two months were randomly chosen and entries in the check book were compared with invoices/receipts, and with the Treasurer s spreadsheets of income, expenses and payroll records. Our financial records for were found to be in good order. The Church financial records for 2017 were audited on December 4,, by Steve Hatt, Steve Whitfield, Beth Whitney and Beth Maxwell, Treasurer in Two months were randomly chosen and entries in the check book were compared with invoices/receipts, and with the Treasurer s spreadsheets of income, expenses and payroll records. Our financial records for 2017 were found to be in good order. Respectfully submitted, Beth Maxwell, Trustee Chair 19

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