Ke Kama Hele August 2010 No. 10-08 The Traveler St. Christopher s Episcopal Church Sunday Schedule 7:15 Holy Communion 8:00 Breakfast* 8:30 Church School for ages 3-11* 9:00 Childcare for 9:15 service 9:15 Holy Communion (choir & hymns) * except June through August Clergy The Rt. Rev. Robert Fitzpatrick, Bishop The Rev. David Kennedy, Interim Rector Staff Leigh Ann Braley, Parish Administrator David Hicken, Director of Music Dean Wilhelm, Sexton Fran Dillinger, Childcare worker Ann Cosson, Childcare worker Vestry Sharon Billingsley, Senior Warden Bettye Jo Harris, Junior Warden Linda Bruckner Mike Caps Karl Schweitzer Lisa DeLong Cathy Rubasch Sheryl Seaman Fall Focus: Stewardship Fall is approaching sooner than you think and so is the time of the year that St. Christopher s leadership begins to financially plan for the next year. Part of that financial planning is accomplished through the annual stewardship drive. Bettye Jo Harris and Linda Bruckner are chairing this year s drive. Financial giving is part of our spiritual relationship with God and God is asking us to give an appropriate amount of our income back. So the question for all of us to prayerfully consider is, "What percentage of our income is God prompting us to give?" The high light of this year's campaign will be on Sunday, 12 September. A joint worship service will be followed by a festive brunch in the parish hall. St Christopher's is very blessed to have a nationally recognized guest preacher and speaker for our gathering. The Right Rev Steven Charleston has agreed to worship with us. Ordained a priest in 1983, for the past twenty years, Bishop Charleston has served The Episcopal Church as the Bishop of Alaska, Chaplain of Trinity College, President and Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts and the Assistant Bishop of California. Bishop Charleston, a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, is widely recognized as a leading proponent for justice issues and for spiritual renewal in both the U.S. and Canada. He has been called "one of the best preachers in the Episcopal Church" with worship services ranging from a revival style service in Texas to Lenten Services at Harvard. Some may recall that Bishop Steven was on Oahu in January 2002 for the Windward Revival, a weekend of worship and praise. Please join us on September 12th for this wonderful event of worship, music and a meal together. Beth Barry Tara Bennett John Robinson Contact Information PHONE: (808) 262-8176 FAX: (808) 262-1053 E-MAIL: stchristopher@stckailua.org WEB: www.stckailua.org To know and share God s love with all people
Dear Friends, My goal is for Ke Kama Hele to grow into a tool that works along with our website, emails, bulletins, and announcements to provide for effective parish communication. I appreciate the great moral support I ve received as your editor. Please submit articles, photos, stories, or other materials for consideration to me at pete@hokiegoat.net God s Peace, Pete Schiefelbein Windward Oahu Gathering by Pete Schiefelbein On Sunday, June 13 th, members of each of the five Windward Oahu Churches gathered at St. Christopher s to begin discernment of what our shared ministries might be. Bishop Fitzpatrick set the tone for the event, opening by reading the Mission of the Church from the Book of Common Prayer, then offering a scripture reading from Galatians, concluding with the words, Come Holy Spirit. The Bishop noted that our five churches, Calvary, Kaneohe, Emmanuel, Kailua, St. Christopher s, Kailua, St. John s, Kahaluu, and St. Matthew s, Waimanalo are only 17 miles apart from end to end. He also reminded us that of the five, St. Christopher s is the only church with full parish status, meaning we have more autonomy than the others. (Calvary is an aided parish, and the three others are missions.) The bishop also provided statistics to show that over the past five years all none of us are have pledge income that is keeping up with costs and that St. Matthew s and St. John s are the only ones showing significant growth in attendance. The Bishop then invited each member of the group to share three things that they feel their respective congregation does well, and three things that they feel their parish could do better. Not surprisingly, common themes emerged. Most of us feel that our churches do outreach well and that our fellowship is strong. Our challenges were similar, too. We all share economic struggles and budget shortfalls, some of us are facing declining attendance, we could all improve in faith development, and we need better communication. Some people at the meeting expressed their concern that this gathering might be the first step toward consolidating, downsizing, or closing one or more of our churches. Others wanted to be sure that none of us would lose our distinct identity and flavor. Bishop Fitzpatrick assured us this was not the case and clearly stated that this is not the intent, focus, or desired outcome from this group. He went on to be very clear that no decisions would be made at that meeting, or in the very near future. He sees this as an ongoing process of discernment. He did make some observations about our common themes during the two hour session: Communication is currently a challenge. Bishop Fitzpatrick would like help in learning how the diocese can do this better. Outreach, both its definition and its various forms among the Windward Churches, needs clarification. Youth and Children present an opportunity for shared ministry. Music is important to many of us and again, is an opportunity for fellowship and ministry. Faith Development and Making Disciples is central to what we should be about. Money is an issue for everyone, particularly within today s economic climate. The timing and extent of subsequent meetings is undetermined at this time. Bishop Fitzpatrick was clear in stating that since St. Christopher s is a large, historic anchor congregation in the Diocese of Hawaii, and since we are the only parish among the five churches, we would be the ones to take the initiative and call upon our sister parishes to work together with us on the windward side to further God s Kingdom. Mahalo to The Reverend Kate Lewis for graciously and expediently editing this article. Editor s Note 2
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Vestry Meeting Highlights VESTRY MEETING MINUTES [JOINT MEETING WITH SEARCH COMMITTEE] Abridged for publication 27 JULY 2010 Present: Beth Barry, Tara Bennett, Hank Hankins, Barry Marr, Talbert Tamanaha, Bill Watkins, Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick, Larry Williams, Karen Seth, Fred Smith, John Robinson, Sharon Billingsley, John Hawkins, Cathy Rubasch, Bettye Jo Harris, Father David Kennedy, Maryalice Woody, Sheryl Seaman, Michael Caps, Lisa DeLong Absent: Sarah Gall, Linda Bruckner, Karl Schweitzer 1. The July Vestry Meeting began at 7:05 p.m. in the Senior Center. Senior Warden Bill Watkins opened the meeting. 2. Old Business a. Appreciation: The Vestry and search committee applauded Senior Warden Bill Watkins contributions and dedication to St. Christopher s and thanked him for his sustained service over the years as he completes his post as SW and prepares for a move and retirement. b. Appointment: With Senior Warden Watkins notification of his resignation, Bishop Fitzpatrick appointed Sharon Billingsley as his replacement, to start at the conclusion of the meeting. Bishop explained that, in the absence of a rector, the bishop may appoint the SW. c. Rector Search Update: Bishop spoke at length to the Vestry and search committee about his perceptions about the current state of St. Christopher s, provided feedback on the church profile being developed to support the rector search, and urged the group to connect the recent past, present and future priorities to create a trajectory that would provide an incoming rector with enough information to be able to set a course for the future of the parish. The search committee encouraged the Vestry to meet more regularly and with a sense of urgency to facilitate process of completing the profile and selecting a priest. The search committee left at 9:00 p.m. and the Vestry continued to meet, including Fa. Kennedy. d. Rector Search Plan: Fa. Kennedy encouraged the Vestry to develop a process to pull together the available data and develop a plan for next steps. He proffered that the group has sufficient information from which to draw the strategic plan, focus group reports, the profile, and brainpower of the group. The Vestry decided to hold a retreat, include both the Vestry and the search committee, which includes primary stakeholders, and contract a neutral facilitator. Harris moved to hire a facilitator to conduct a visioning process. 2nd Robinson. Motion carried. e. Easter Seals Update: The organization continues to work on securing a city county permit. This delay may prevent occupancy as the group continues to seek any viable alternate site, including St. C s. f. Rector Decision: Bennett moved call a permanent rector instead of a three year Priest in Charge. 2nd Caps. Motion carried. g. Stewardship Campaign: In lieu of the annual sermon on the beach, the stewardship committee is proposing that the church hold a festive brunch to include a dynamic speaker. The committee proposes a three pronged approach to fundraising that includes a letter writing campaign, a one to one approach, and the motivational brunch on September 12. The brunch would follow a combined service. The theme would harvest gathering. h. Budget: Watkins reported a correction. He stated that $220,000 was pledged, not $230,000, as was previously reported, so the church s budget is short not $3000 but $13,000. 3. New Business a. Safeguarding God s Children: This training program must be completed before anyone in the church who works with children. Need to check if completed by anyone at St. C s working with children. Next class is July 31. b. Seminar for Non Profits: The Hawaii Tax Foundation is sponsoring a seminar on September 24 to educate groups on required rules and regulations for non profits. Fa. Kennedy has information, if interested. c. Internet Evangelism Internet Project: This Diocesan program helps parishes make better use of the internet to improve parish evangelism. The Vestry will check with Langley to determine who might attend. d. Mother s Care: The Vestry determined that this group needs to get the insurance aspect resolved before further discussion takes place. The Diocese may also need to get involved as they are also impacted. The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m. Next meeting: 24 August 7 p.m., Senior Center Lisa DeLong, for Linda Bruckner, Vestry Clerk All parishioners are highly encouraged to review the full meeting minutes, available from the Senior Warden, Fr. Kennedy, or the office upon request. 5
Parish Events The Parish Calendar is available on the website. If you are involved in a ministry or activity that the congregation should be aware of, please contact the church office and request that it be added to the calendar and/or other appropriate placement for parish communication. August Highlighted Event 15 21 Family Promise Week at St. Christopher s September Highlighted Event 12 Joint Worship Service and Stewardship Celebration (see Front Page for details) St. Christopher s Episcopal Church Non-profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid PAID Permit No 2 P.O. Box 456 93 North Kainalu Drive Kailua, HI 96734 Address Service Requested 6