St. Boniface Episcopal Church Parish Profile Priest-in-Charge Search 2016 St. Boniface Episcopal Church 5615 Midnight Pass Rd, Sarasota, FL 34242 941/349-5616 bonifacechurch.org
St. Boniface Episcopal Church Diocese of Southwest Florida We are a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church in the United States. The Diocese of Southwest Florida's 77 congregations total some 30,000 baptized persons who share an exciting pilgrimage of ministry and mission. The Diocese extends along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, From Brooksville in the north to Marco Island in the south. The Rt. Rev. Dabney Tyler Smith was installed as Bishop in 2007, and in 2015 was one of the four final candidates for Presiding Bishop. The Diocesan offices and conference rooms are located at DaySpring, a beautifully wooded retreat and conference center. Our Diocese has a relatively low apportionment (10%) versus other dioceses in the TEC. For more information, visit the website of the Diocese. http://www.episcopalswfl.org/ Our Mission The mission of St. Boniface is to continue Christ's ministry in the world through worship, teaching, healing and service. Who We Are St. Boniface is a parish with an average Sunday attendance of 355. The year-round membership of 1,200 swells by several hundred additional snowbirds, from the northern climates including Canada. St. Boniface Church takes pride in its inclusiveness, with a welcoming atmosphere to all. Our staff includes 2 priests, 1 deacon and 7 lay staff members, plus 5 preschool teachers. We have numerous "small group" ministries that appeal to parishioners' varied interests. These offer a wide-ranging array of opportunities for outreach, service and fellowship. We are a destination parish, with many of our members driving significant distances each Sunday because we value high quality preaching, teaching and music in our Sunday liturgies. Many of us have come to St. Boniface from other Christian denominations and have found a true church home here. For more information on outreach ministries, please visit our web site; http://www.bonifacechurch.org. 2
History St. Boniface Church began as an Episcopal mission in 1954, and became a parish in 1962. Within four months, the fledgling congregation applied for a charter. The current site, near Siesta Key's beautiful Crescent Beach, was purchased in 1956. The current sanctuary was dedicated in 1980. Our 50th anniversary theme of "Building the Future" saw a redesign of our main courtyard into a plaza open to the community and centered on a classic labyrinth and a new three-bell tower. Our Location St. Boniface is located on Siesta Key, one of a chain of barrier islands off the coast of Sarasota, Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico that was nationally voted the best (or No. 1) beach in the country. Sarasota is known as the arts capital of Florida, with a thriving performing arts community, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, and four college campuses. Our Campus Our Sanctuary The St. Boniface grounds are centered on our main sanctuary, an architecturally modern sixsided space with seating for 550 parishioners. Five magnificent stained-glass clerestory windows depict the themes of God and creation. In 2013 we installed a Hearing Loop to enhance the worship experience of people with hearing difficulties. The campus includes a separate office building, parish hall, community center, healing mission and garden, library, outdoor chapel and columbarium, music room and classrooms which are used for Sunday school and a weekday preschool with more than 25 students Outreach Through our St. Boniface Endowment Fund we provide grants to those doing God's work in the world from local groups to those serving in far-flung corners of the world. In our own community we have given time, talent, and treasure to support organizations that provide food, shelter and protection to adults and children. We host on-campus housing and food for up to three transitional homeless families for one week, four times a year, through the Family Promise Program. Grants have supported such diverse projects as summer camps for at-risk 3
teens to wells for drinking water in Africa. This financial assistance is augmented with our Giving Tree, inviting parishioners to supply wish list items needed by small, local charities. For a further description of other ministries, please go to our web site at http://www.bonifacechurch.org/service. Current Snapshot 75% of us have been members of St. Boniface for longer than six years. Most of us have been members of the Episcopal Church for more than 10 years. Most of us attend weekly services at least three times a month. 75% of us have college or graduate degrees. Most of us are married. We are about equally divided between male and female. Many of us are retired, but a substantial number are still in the work force. Our goal is to continue to attract young families. Congregational Life While Sunday is busiest, with services at 8 and 10 a.m., our weekdays often find members on campus for special services, our weekly Wonderful Wednesday dinners and educational programs. Our worship, teaching, healing and service ministries support us as we carry out our mission of continuing Christ s ministry to the world. Coffee Hour in the Parish Hall Volunteer groups host Sunday Coffee Hours where parishioners gather to enjoy fellowship. Newcomers are especially invited to attend so they can experience the welcoming atmosphere of the Boniface family. Ministry Fair in Labyrinth Courtyard Our annual Ministry Fair offers an opportunity for our small groups and ministries to celebrate and inform the parish about their ministries. 4
Bay Village Residents Attending Live Video Stream of Worship Service Our video ministry enables parishioners or anyone unable to attend services in person to watch a live stream of our main Sunday service, or to play past services from our website. St. Boniface Music The music at St. Boniface is based on the Anglican tradition of the liturgy. Music is an important part of the service using choir, organ and handbells. The Parish Choir sings for services throughout the year. It is a volunteer choir with four Staff Singers as section leaders. The Handbell Choir is a volunteer group ringing once each month from October through April. St. Boniface is fortunate to own five octaves of Schulmerich hand bells. The 49- rank Moller pipe organ, along with the reverberant space, is the crowning glory of the music program. Award-winning CDs have been recorded on the organ. The St. Boniface Concert Series presents up to nine concerts each season featuring a wide variety of artists and many different styles of music. The Concert Series is made possible through the generous support of the Friends of Music, presently over 100 members strong. The music department at St. Boniface is under the direction of Mary Mozelle who serves as both Director of Music and Organist. She may be reached at 941-349-5616 ext. 326. Our Young People St. Boniface youth have traveled to Group Cares Mission (formerly Group Workcamps) since 2005. These work camps gather Christian students from all over the world! Kids live and pray together in large school buildings and volunteer doing home repair projects in the local community. Presently we are looking to rebuild our youth group and Church school. St. Boniface currently offers the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for our families with children. 5
Our Healing Mission The Healing Mission at St. Boniface has been a constant source of spiritually centered healing for 48 years. Laypersons who are called to this ministry are under the supervision of the Rector of St. Boniface. They administer the ancient, traditional laying on of hands, accompanied by silent prayer, to any person, regardless of race, color or creed, who is seeking healing. Healing ministers ask no questions and give no advice. The trust and belief is that anyone who comes to the mission will receive the help and healing that they need from this special ministry. In recent years, additions have been made to the Healing Mission, including a meditation garden for quiet reflection and prayer. Our Preschool The preschool has been open since 1983, serving children between the ages of 15 months and 5 years. We strive to provide safe and dependable care and stimulating educational opportunities for young children in a Christian environment. The preschool s philosophy is to provide child-directed, developmentally appropriate education that emphasizes rich and creative experiences and develops the love of learning. The preschool has incorporated the nationally recognized Creative Curriculum as the basis of our classroom activities. This highlyregarded developmental curriculum provides cognitively stimulating and physically challenging opportunities for growth and development. Our Budget The budget for 2016 stands at $816,203. Our current investment assets stand at about $1.83 million with our total assets at about $3.27 million. Governance St. Boniface is governed by a 15-member vestry who are elected to three-year terms. The rector appoints a senior warden; the vestry elects a junior warden, Treasurer and Vestry clerk. 6
Challenges, Hopes, and Dreams An all-parish conference in January 2016 facilitated the collection of significant information on who God is calling us to be. Challenges Among our most pressing concerns: Ensuring that Christians at all points on the spectrum find a welcoming spiritual home at St. Boniface. Building on our existing outreach to take Christ's message into the world. Hopes and Dreams That we continue to grow in numbers and commitment to Christ and to our community, locally and globally. That we will be a "doing" church. That we will educate our people through sermons and speakers. That we will live out the gospel message. That we will be a parish that gives generously of its time, talent and treasure. That we will continue to grow in our ability to listen actively and to respect people of differing opinions and perspectives. That we will see obstacles as opportunities to grow and change. That we will have fun together. That we will continue to nurture our music program. 7
The Priest we Seek St. Boniface seeks a spiritual leader who has an endless love of Christ, a pervasive love for the parish, and a love for the Episcopal Church. Inherent in that love, we look for compassion, forgiveness, and understanding. We seek a priest who can help lead us into ministries that will define our future, resulting in effective mission in our community and the world. We are a church that walks with Christ, and we ask our next spiritual leader to join us as we embrace inclusiveness and diversity. St. Boniface is gifted with people who have varied professional and life experiences (higher education, military, financial, business) and thus, sermons should not only challenge our intellect, but also stir our hearts to respond to God s call on our lives. We enjoy humor and conviction in the way our priest shares Christ s message with us. Our priest should have a command of biblical history and scripture, and possess an ability to share Christ s message with us in challenging, positive, and encouraging ways. We recognize the challenges that expectations present. The Congregation and the church leadership are prepared to work in partnership with the newly called Priest in Charge to develop a lasting bond, one based on the peace and love of Christ. 8