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OVERSIGHT * WORSHIP * DOCTRINE * ACTION * TREASURER * STATISTICS
PARISH LIFE, PART I: OVERSIGHT
Annual Report from the Rector for 2007
Each year the annual meeting gives us as a parish and me as your rector the opportunity to reflect on where we’ve been and where we’re going. This is a useful exercise and always results in a real sense of gratitude for the many ways God has blessed us with the abundance of His grace.
NCD: Our big focus this past year was the Natural Church Development process. Led by Canon Victoria Duncan from the diocesan office, we conducted a survey and selected Passionate Spirituality as our area of focus. Two excellent forum series (one on sharing faith and the other on learning to pray) were conducted in the Fall. We will follow up with retreats, classes and programs in early 2008. Spirituality will also be a focus of preaching this year and our Lenten worship and evening program will focus particularly on healing and reconciliation. Stay tuned for more information. Personally I have been working on my own spirituality by trying to set aside more time for prayer and by meeting monthly with my spiritual director, a nun from the Benedictine Sisters in Erie, PA.
Communication: We made some important strides this past year. Thanks to a generous gift from the Meyers family (and Tom’s expertise as well) we were able to produce and air two TV commercials. We also followed them up with regular radio spots. Merrill Woolnough (“Rev. Merrill”) joined our staff in a formal way as Associate for Internet Ministries and has created a Blog (or weblog) and a regular podcast of our sermons, forums and other programs. We continue to videotape our Sunday services and have upgraded to DVD format. This enables me to take the DVD home and edit it (adding titles and making it flow a little better) before bringing it to Time Warner Cable. Our plans in 2008 include a new radio show on WJTN every Sunday morning at 8:45 am and a new professionally created website which will be at www.stlukesjamestown.org. If all goes well, the website should be up by the end of February. We also put a big chunk of our property budget this year into our new sound system. While not perfect, it has been a huge improvement over our old one. For those with particular hearing problems, the system also includes portable devices with headphones. Ask the ushers for help next time you are in church.
Plans for 2008: We will, of course, continue to work on Passionate Spirituality during the coming year. Our plans for the sabbatical are coming together as well. We will be heading off some time after June 15. The first part of our sabbatical will be a pulpit exchange with a priest in Wales. We will then do some traveling and end up in France where we will visit our exchange student from last year, Alex. I will keep you posted as our plans get more detailed. Some of the planning here will be for supply clergy and pastoral coverage. Speaking of pastoral care, we are in need of more Eucharistic Visitors to bring communion to our home bound parishioners. This is a very fulfilling ministry and not very time consuming. Training is offered periodically. Speak to Cathy Basile for more information.
Diocese: I continue to serve on the diocesan Standing Committee, a group of four priests and four lay people which serves as an advisory committee to the bishop and which approves persons in the ordination process and gives consent to bishops elected in the Episcopal Church. I also co-chaired (with Dr. Alfred Price) the State of the Church Committee.
Discretionary Fund: I am grateful also for your generous support of the Rector's Discretionary Fund. This fund is used to help those in need. Income comes from wedding and funeral honoraria, special gifts from parishioners, and $1,000 per year from the annual budget. Thanks to your generosity, in 2007 I was able on your behalf to give away additional gifts of $11,723.21.
I wish you and your loved ones a blessed, prosperous and happy New Year!
2007 Annual Report from the Associate Rector
Looking back on a busy year at St. Luke’s, it’s hard to know where to begin! Many areas I assist in overseeing are covered by others (e.g. pastoral care, worship leaders); so I’ll focus on a few that are distinctly “my own.”
Church School: We are continuing to use the “Rotation” model of Sunday classes for young people, spending about a month on each Bible story as the kids move to a different workshop each week. I’m grateful to the wonderful teachers we have, who creatively bring the characters and ideas to life for our students age 3 – 11. Teaching in Spring and/or Fall were: Victoria Bauer, Debbie and Jessica Cardone, Virginia Carr, Nicki Casler, Emily Garfield, Darcy Kell, Heather and Tom Meyers, Margaret Mims, Joann Piatko, Elizabeth and Tom Rankin, Susan Schrader, Susan Williams, Lisa Yaggie. Also special thanks to Mark Goshgarian of Cable 8 News, who served as video consultant for our fabulous Easter Vigil “newscast”! Students age 12 and up are part of the Rite 13/Journey to Adulthood program, which is described below by Deacon Cathy Basile.
Family Ministry and Fellowship: The fall we began a new experiment, a Sunday Youth Night occurring twice-monthly. The Youth Choir practices, then we all have dinner and an activity. Leadership of the evening program, and the delicious meals, have been provided on a rotating basis. Those who attend seem to enjoy it; but there are still a number of kids (especially teens) who haven’t checked it out yet. Come on down!
The Parish Picnic was held at Camp Onyahsa this year and we finally had a beautiful day for it. Good thing, too, because it was also the Annual Visit of our Bishop, J. Michael Garrison, who confirmed or received a number of adults, then stayed for the food and fellowship. (Some of us even went in the lake, intentionally!)
Also a wonderful family event, Roxanne Wendling coordinated a major Thanksgiving Dinner for anyone in the extended Parish family who wanted to come. Nearly 50 people took her up on the offer, including a nice contingent from the “Fourth Street Café” group. Everything looked and tasted great. Thanks, Roxanne and crew! The Williams family feels it’s part of our ministry together to host various fellowship events. This year, in addition to the now-annual, Post-Loop-the-Lake BBQ in July and the Bishop Overs Guild party in August, we hosted a Christmas Open House and really enjoyed your company – I hope you did, too. Thanks for providing us with such a lovely Rectory for such events.
Worship: Ron McEntire continues to be a delight to plan with and sing for, as we try to put together a truly Anglican service (i.e.: diverse, theological and high-quality), every week. Some pieces of music or liturgy have been “popular” with the worshippers, which is fine but not our goal – the goal is to praise God, in ways that reflect our congregation in its entirety (and perhaps push its boundaries a little). Speaking of which, a new kind of liturgy was introduced to St. Luke’s (and the region) this Fall: a “U2charist,” which featured music of the Irish rock group U2 and information about the Millennium Development Goals. Leadership from our youth and a number of interested adults made the event possible; and over 100 people came from a variety of churches. Speaking of our youth, I’m really pleased with how the Youth Choir is progressing and look forward to its growth. They did a great job with this year’s Christmas Pageant! Other Worship-related topics are also being covered in reports by Ted Kapuscinski, Donna Phillippi, Cathy Basile, Ron and Eric.
Deanery, Diocese and Beyond: I serve as the “Dean of the Southern Tier,” overseeing regional ministries for both Chautauqua and Cattaraugus deaneries. I was elected by the Diocesan Convention in October to return to our Church’s General Convention in 2009; who knows what the topics may be at that point! (But for what it’s worth, I think our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefforts Schori is doing an admirable job listening to all points of view within the currently-contentious Anglican Communion. I don’t envy her job.)
Crossing diocesan boundaries, we’ve welcome a new Seminary Intern, Joann Piatko from Bradford PA. I serve as her supervisor, as she gets to know St. Luke’s and tries out a variety of ministries. She appreciates the welcome and encouragement received from all of you; and especially the efforts of her Lay Committee: Marge Allesi, Peter Bumsted, Peter Dawson and chair Elaine Gallup. Joann will be with us until mid-April, as she finishes her work at Bexley Hall Seminary.
Many, many thanks to all who make these and other ministries possible at St. Luke’s.
Warden for Program In addition to general oversight, the warden for program focuses on how we adhere to our mission, including individual ministry and overall strategic planning. In 2007 we began a process called Natural Church Development, which focuses on minimizing the obstacles to growth, and releasing and developing the potential God has put in our church. Research in thousands of congregations identified eight characteristics demonstrated in growing churches all around the world. In spring, 30 parishioners representing a cross-section of the congregation completed questionnaires to identify where we have most room for growth and strengths on which we can rely. Throughout the summer, parish-wide focus group sessions invited everyone’s input. Prayerfully considering all of this, the NCD team selected Passionate Spirituality, one of our lower scoring areas, as a focus for congregational development through at least the first half of 2008. What is Passionate Spirituality? It simply asks, “Do Christians in this church live committed lives and practice their faith with joy and enthusiasm?” It means prayer and Bible-reading are inspiring experiences, not dull duties. Church members experience a genuine relationship with God. Two teams have been created that have been planning a variety of programs to help us move closer to these goals. In 2007 we also began reaching out more directly to let the community know more about us and to try to remove some of the discomfort people may face when “trying out” a new church. We had two television spots and also had radio announcements promoting various programs airing monthly. It’s hard to measure the impact of these messages; general feedback clearly showed us that people did hear them, so awareness and image of St. Luke’s may have grown, but it’s unclear whether these efforts brought any more people across our threshold. A communications team met at the end of the year to shape the coming year’s efforts. The great challenge seems to be how we can support current and potential members who live busy, fast-paced lives to comfortably move toward making their relationship with God important enough to nourish. Yours in Christ, Karen Collins
Administrative Warden’s Report My focus was on finance, staffing, compensation and setting a plan to schedule meetings in the year to review things that are to be looked at regularly. This past year we continued the work begun in 2006. The Mutual Ministry evaluations were done and all staff received an evaluation with a plan for goals for the coming year. This process will be annual and make for a flow of services for staff and the church working together. The compensation team made a commitment to bring the clergy up to the recommendation of the Diocese. This currently will be a 3 year plan. We are also pleased that the pledges increased in 2007, and again have increased for 2008. This year more families and individuals are pledging than the previous years. We feel this is a testament to the programs that are being offered. We want to meet the growth of the individual as the program group works with you.
Also noted in 2007 was the increased commitment of our church to ECS -
Episcopal Community Services. We had a goal for 2007 set at $8,000. This was
double the goal for 2006. We are pleased to say that we almost made goal with
about $7,300 pledged. What a great statement for our parish. Thanks to all who
supported ECS! 2008 will be an exciting year.
Paula Pickett
OVERSIGHT * WORSHIP * DOCTRINE * ACTION * TREASURER * STATISTICS
PARISH LIFE, PART II: WORSHIP
AcolytesAn acolyte assists the ministers in our worship services by performing minor duties. Often this is one of the first ministries a young person in the church takes on. To be an acolyte is to be a valuable member of the worship team, and an excellent way for young people to become more familiar with and involved in the worship services. The Acolyte ministry can create a strong appreciation of our worship because you get to touch, carry and assist with symbols of the church. Our current corps or acolytes include: Cassandra Butler Kellen Fiore Ian Jones Dana Kapuscinski Michael Kapuscinski J T McEntire Donna Phillippi Madeline Pinciaro Hannah Wendling Kelsey Wendling Margaret Williams and myself, Ted Kapuscinski
St. Agnes Altar Guild Recently, a former Altar Guild member said that before she joined, she never really thought about how the things that you see on a Sunday morning come to be. How do the bread and the wine, the chalice, the vestments and hangings, etc. come to be exactly where the clergy need them? The Altar Guild, that’s how! Our Altar Guild is divided into four “teams”, which take responsibility for setting up and cleaning up a week’s services each month, as well as any special services such as weddings and funerals. The time commitment is actually pretty minimal. Best of all, the Altar Guild only formally meets 4 times a year! We also try to do a more in-depth cleaning twice a year before Christmas and Easter – replacing candles, polishing more brass, scraping wax, etc. We also decorate the altar for special occasions: Harvest Sunday, Christmas and Easter. This may seem like a lot of work, and there are a lot of details to be considered (just ask our newest member, Toni McManus!) But since 90% of what we do is consistent from week to week (and year to year), it doesn’t take long at all to learn the ropes. And the old saying of many hands making light work is very true of our role. If you think this might be the ministry for you, if you’d like to learn more about it, or if you’d just like to give it a try before committing to it, please let me know. We are open to all ages and genders, and would love to have you join us! In Christ, Donna Phillippi, Sacristan
Music In both Ephesians and Colossians, we are told to "Speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody in our hearts to God... giving thanks. "I love the image of "speaking" to each other while singing. Next time you greet someone, try doing it in song. The command implies that music is ever present in worship and the fellowship of the church. I have just finished viewing the recordings of the Christmas services and am delighted with the results. From the Advent/Christmas portion of the Messiah, Light of the World pageant by the youth and bell choirs, to the music of Christmas Eve, we are blessed with many people called to offer their musical talents. There were other highlights this past year in the music and worship of the church. The Lenten Taize services in the chapel, the Children’s presentation at the Easter Vigil, and Randall Thompson's Alleluia for Easter. This fall the Youth and Handbells led worship on a regular basis. The Festival Choir concept was introduced to help meet scheduling needs of members as well as the ability to concentrate on more challenging works. We have offered a variety of anthems, hymns and service music. We have brought out new as well as old music with the intent of capitalizing on the inheritance of the Anglican tradition afforded us as Episcopalians. This provides us with a richness of divinely inspired music rarely found in other churches. Ronald McEntire, Director of Music
Ushers Our group of ushers helps to make a visit to St. Luke’s a warm and welcoming experience. The overall philosophy is to be relaxed and friendly within a structured environment, and in doing so, helping all to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of the Episcopal Church. In addition to greeting parishioners and visitors, we assist in Holy Communion and receiving the offerings, watch out for and help during any emergencies, make sure the pews are in order after the services, and the ushers deliver the Sunday altar flowers to hospitalized members, the sick at home, or others who are homebound. Ushers serving during 2007: Dan Anderson Sheila Eaglesome Doug & Kim Mann Jack Andrews John & Vicki Flood Bruce Martenson Carol Barr Fenton Gustafson Grant Mims Bill Bauer Kurt Gustafson Rich Pinciaro Doug Benson Richard Gustafson John Roos Larry Bourne Brian Johnson Jack Sleigh George Campbell Barb Kiddoo Marcia Sleigh Karen Collins Bob Lamp Ron Stahley Rachel Daelhousen Stan Lundine Pete Steen Vince DeJoy Doug Mabee Donna Vanstrom David Dower Georgiana Whitcomb Jack Wheeler The work of this highly dedicated group of volunteers is greatly appreciated each week. We always welcome more people to join the corps of ushers. If you are interested, please contact the church office or speak Bruce Martenson. Bruce Martenson, Usher Chairman
OVERSIGHT * WORSHIP * DOCTRINE * ACTION * TREASURER * STATISTICS
PARISH LIFE, PART III: DOCTRINE
Adult Formation Natural Church Development (NCD): NCD was the project that was taken on in 2007 to be the focus for Adult Formation and for all formation. Early in 2007 an NCD Team was formed and met with Coach, Canon Victoria Duncan. Those on the NCD Team are: Karen Collins Catherine Way Cathy Basile Donna Phillippi Fr. Eric Barbara Bumsted (Elaine Gallup was on the team through the first part of the process, but then due to events and circumstances beyond her control, needed to withdraw from the team. We miss her and her input!) The Team began the NCD process and in March we surveyed 30 of our parishioners using the international, yet culturally weighted questionnaire. Over the course of the summer presentations of the results of the survey were given first to the Survey takers, then to the parish in general at three open sessions. In August, after taking in all comments and thoughts given by those attending these sessions, the team selected which of the quality characteristics that would be the focus of the parish for the rest of 2007 and the first half of 2008. The winner was (is!) PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY! In September, a retreat was held to fully discuss passionate spirituality and to figure out how best our parish would engage in developing and nurturing a passionate spirituality. Canon Duncan led us in the retreat. Two areas on which to focus our attention for action steps were identified by the end of the retreat. Those areas: Understanding Spirituality Openness (vulnerability) to Spirituality
Two groups have been formed to deal with these areas and many plans have been made for the year. · The Adult Forum hosted a series on forms of prayer · A retreat has been planned for January, 2008 on prayer · The Adult Forum will once again be the platform for an introduction to Healing · Another retreat has been planned on Reconcilitation in March · The Wednesday Night Lenten Program will be “A Journey Toward Wholeness” – what better way than to work on being whole and developing your spirituality?! The Team meets every other week for prayer, discussion and support. Much effort is underway to keep these tasks and the concept of passionate spirituality in front of each and every member of St. Luke’s. Any thoughts or suggestions on how we may better do that are always welcome!!
Gifts Ministry: The Gifts Ministry has not been as active in 2007 as it was in 2006, but it is still very much alive! We have been able to use what we have learned about some of our gifts to work on our Passionate Spirituality. The Men’s groups met as a follow-up to their gifts discovery and the Journey of Faith group also did gifts discovery.
Journey of Faith: A Journey of Faith continues to be the “program” that we use for adult formation and for preparation for adult confirmation. (At one point this was called “Inquirers Class”.) We had eight people attend the sessions in 2007 and six were confirmed or received in June! Gifts Discovery was the subject for one of the sessions. Barbara Bumsted, Director of Christian Formation
RITE 13 This is our second year of our adventure into Journey to Adulthood (J2A). The first two years of the program is called Rite 13. The focus of this group is on celebrating the individuality of each young person and their creative potential. We will have a special liturgy in the spring for all of our young people who have or will turn 13 within the last months and in the months ahead. This past year’s activities included, helping with two events held by the Joint Neighborhood Project, bowling, a movie, and a lock-in. We hold classes on Sunday mornings at 9:00 a.m. Prayer and self-esteem have been our two major topics of discussion. We would like to thank the parents for their prayers and support. It has been a great adventure for all of us thus far. This year’s class includes: Spencer DeCinque, Kellen Fiore, Nicholas Gustafson, Michael Kapuscinski, JT McIntyre, Maddie Pinciaro, Kelsey Wendling. In service for Christ, Marge Fiore & Deacon Cathy Basile
OVERSIGHT * WORSHIP * DOCTRINE * ACTION * TREASURER * STATISTICS
Bishop Overs Guild Bishop Overs Guild is dedicated to answering God’s mission to the needy of our community. Through the efforts of these St. Luke’s ladies and willing help from many members of the church, the annual chicken and biscuit luncheon was served in early November. The monies are then given to organizations of our community; $3000 was distributed this past year. Liz McIntyre leads the group early in the fall in preparing for the 500+ meals that are served, along with baking apple, cherry, concord grape, pumpkin and lemon pies. A bake sale is offered at this time with generous contributions from church members and is organized by Marie Jim. Rada Cutlery and brooms are also available to purchase. Guild members are grateful for the willing help of church volunteers keeping the dining room organized and set up while the men keep clean up moving smoothly. Visitation of those unable to attend functions or church is made monthly. The Guild is also asked to serve refreshments following funerals and other events. Bishop Overs Guild meets the 2nd Tuesday of the month for supper and fellowship. Welcome is extended to all ladies of the church to join us. Faithfully, Barbara Dunderdale, Chair
Coffee Hour and Cookie & Juice Ministry Coffee and tea are provided in the undercroft every Sunday after the 10am worship service. Many weeks refreshments such as cookies, muffins, or donuts are donated by the hosts/hostesses and also served. In the summer (if the weather cooperates), the beverages are served in the courtyard and a cold drink is also offered. There are 9 families in the current rotation. New recruits to our coffee ministry are always welcome. Speak to Tammy Laurito, or send an email tam166@yahoo.com. Would you like to host one Sunday? Or would you like to join in the schedule on a rotating basis? This is a terrific opportunity to greet fellow parishioners and meet those you do not yet know. All it takes is set-up, serve (bring a “goodie” if you can) and clean up coffee cups, etc. at the end. Call the church office to volunteer for Coffee Hour. Tammy Laurito sends a new schedule to all in the rotation every 2 months. For Cookies & Juice Ministry, all you do is bring cookies (homemade or store bought) and juice of any kind, serve it to our younger members and clean up following. Our children love this time after church, and we welcome any who wish to volunteer to help with this ministry. Contact Tammy to volunteer. Thank you to Tammy Laurito for taking on the mission and ministry of Cookies and Juice for the kids and Coffee Hour. Please don’t hesitate to contact Tammy if you would like to participate ( tam166@yahoo.com ).
Eucharistic Visitors and Pastoral Visits Report I am happy to report that in addition to our monthly visits to our shut-ins by the clergy, we are sending out Eucharistic Visitors on most Sundays. The Eucharistic Visitors take communion from the Sunday services to our shut-ins, while the Pastoral Visitors are group that go to just visit and keep the connection with our family members that cannot make it to church at all or on a regular basis. This ministry is a wonderful way for our parishioners to keep connected to the church and the church family. The folks that are visited are enjoying these visits very much. I want to personally thank each and every person on this list for their continued commitment and love that they share. The light of Christ shines through them in this one of many important ministries alive at St. Luke’s. Eucharistic Visitors: Marie Jim Peter Dawson Paula Pickett Kim Mann Brian Johnson Fran and Ron Stahley David Dower Kay Stahlman Kris Morrison In Christ’s Service, Deacon Cathy Basile
Healing Team The “Healing Team” is healing (itself)! The sacrament of healing prayers is offered every Thursday morning at the 7:00 am service of Holy Communion, and on the last Sunday of the month at the Saturday evening worship, and Sunday mornings 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. As part of the Healing Ministry at St. Luke’s, this team has been formed to study about healing, prayer, and pray with and for people for healing. Just what is healing? Watch for more as we move into Lent this year. If you are interested in the ministry of healing prayer, if this is one of your gifts and you are seeking a way to learn more, please talk with me. Barbara Bumsted
Property Committee The priorities were reshuffled this past year to allow the installation of a new sound system. The system was designed and installed by DCI out of Syracuse, NY and although pricy, the quality of the output and the flexibility it provides will carry us forward for many years. It was a much needed upgrade and we are pleased with the results. Should any of you not be able to hear where you sit, please let me know. Another major project was the replacement of the 60 year old range in the undercroft. The new Vulcan range is not only beautiful, but functions well too. The ten burners and both ovens were all in use for the Shoppers Luncheon. Thanks to the Bishop Overs Guild for their generous donation in making this happen. The last major project was the replacement of the basement access doors in both the Parish House and the Church itself. The old doors had reached the end of their lives and were replaced with steel Bilco doors which with proper maintenance will last for decades. In 2008, we will start the project of re-building the stained glass windows. Our magnificent windows are in need of varying degrees of repair as gravity continues its relentless efforts to pull them down. While we protected them from the ravages of WNY weather by over-glazing them with tempered glass almost 20 years ago, the weight of the leaded glass windows has caused them to sag and it is time to start putting things back where they should be. This will be a long and expensive process. Your patience is requested and any financial help would be greatly appreciated. Other projects for 2008 include: 1) Painting of the Rectory and Parish House, 2) Re-building and re-pointing the wall along the Main St. sidewalk, and 3) Re-grouting the courtyard. If anyone has any questions, suggestions or comments regarding the St. Luke’s properties, please direct them to me. I welcome your input. Finally, we haven’t seen a drop of water in the undercroft where it shouldn’t be, so the ugly white pipe in the courtyard will be removed come spring! Respectfully, Chip Ulrich, Property Committee Chair
Stewardship Report At the time this report is written, the total pledged for 2008 is $247,263. That is a 6% increase over last year and is due to several new pledges and several increased pledges. Many thanks to all who support this parish by pledging and to our stewardship committee: David Dower, Stan Gallup, Jennifer Pierce and Sue Foley. This was also a good year for ECS. With excellent leadership from our chairman, Ron Stahley, and a wonderful committee including Paula Pickett, Kris Morrison, and Fran Stahley, we raised our goal of $8,000. This goal was reached through our annual Lenten appeal and special events like the candle sale this Christmas, the Loop the Lake bike ride and the miniature golf outing. Thanks to all who participated.
Planned Giving The basic focus of the Planned Giving committee is to educate the congregation and offer opportunities to support St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and/or the Dioceses of Western New York through their estate plans. To accomplish this the Planned Giving Committee:
The following Church members made up the Planned Giving Committee in 2007: Donna Vanstrom, Chip Ulrich, Catherine Johnner, Richard Fessenden, Tyler Swanson and Fr. Eric Williams.
St. Luke’s Thrift Shop The Thrift Shop has held on quite well this year despite the neighborhood competition from the Humane Society at the corner. Our receipts are slightly lower than last year, mainly attributed to slow summer sales. Business has increased this fall and the steady stream of donations is appreciated. Monetary contributions in the total of $13,200 were made to local organizations such as Joint Neighborhood Project, Episcopal Community Services. St. Susan’s Center, YWCA, Striders, Reach Out Ministries, Children’s Museum of Jamestown, Union Gospel Mission, Meals on Wheels, and Hospice. Unfortunately due to the drop in sales revenue we were unable to provide extra funds at Christmas time. In addition to the monetary contribution vouchers are provided for those in urgent need and items that are not suitable for sale are donated to local organizations or use in their programs or recycling. Our volunteer list has shrunk a bit due to illness and the untimely death of a dedicated member. Please consider volunteering a few hours of your time to the shop. We enjoy social times as well with a Spring Luncheon at the Marvin House and a Christmas Party at Moonbrook CC. The Thrift Shop is an enjoyable way to participate in the outreach program of our church. Contact Wilma Twinam (488-1264) or Carol Barr (763-6213) to learn more about working with us. Thrift Shop hours are Thursday and Friday 10 AM to 2PM & Saturday 10AM to 1 PM for sales and Tuesday 9-12 AM for receiving donations. Respectfully submitted, Carol H. Barr, President
WEDNESDAY GROUP The basic focus of the Wednesday Group is to reach out to the members of our church and community, especially those who are unable to attend church services on a regular basis. It gives them an opportunity to participate in the service and receive communion as a parish family, and a chance to greet old friends and meet new ones, enjoy a nice lunch and a short program. We have a picnic in July, held at the Sportsmans’ Club in Stow, New York, and hosted by Jane and George Campbell. We do not meet in August and December. There are approximately 20-25 volunteers who help with the food – making salads and desserts – setting up tables, serving and cleaning up. We have a calling committee, program committee, and those who provide transportation. The altar guild prepares the altar for the Holy Communion service. Many thanks to the clergy and to all of you who give so willingly of your time, and to those who come and support this important ministry. Transportation is always available for those who need it. Call Liz McIntyre at 664-2873, or the church office at 483-6405, if you are interested in coming or have any questions. We welcome you! Liz McIntyre
4TH Street Café This new ministry was begun, very successfully, by the members of the Downtown Ministry Committee in March, 2006. The 4th Street door is open every Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. to anyone who drops in for free coffee, donuts, and conversation. Two members of a dedicated group of volunteers arrive about 8:45 on Thursday to make coffee, set out cups, plates, sugar and cream, and donuts. People begin to stroll in just about nine. Over the last few months, at nearly 20 different people have taken advantage of this ministry. There is a core group of 7 or 8 who come at least twice a month, and 5 who come most weeks. Out of this group, 4 have come to our Church services, 2 of them regularly. In addition to the downtown visitors, several parishioners have dropped in to join in the conversation. This is especially gratifying, as it gives the downtowners an opportunity to meet new people and our parish to make connection with our neighbors. This wouldn’t be successful without the 10 very faithful volunteers who man the Café in twos. Each pair has its special “week”; if they can’t make it, the “fifth week” pair is often available to substitute. During my absence this coming winter, Mary and Frank O’Connor have agreed to be the coordinators of the volunteers. If there is anyone who is interested in becoming a regular volunteer, or a substitute, please call the Church office. The duties are simple; bring donuts, make the coffee, put out the sign, set out the necessities like cups, napkins, etc., and then, just enjoy the company of some very interesting people. You’ll find it very rewarding. Jesus asked us to feed his sheep; St. Luke’s does, literally, every Thursday, 9-11 a.m. Please consider joining us.
MISSION REPORT 2008 Our diocese continues to support the following missionaries:
The Rev. Jonathan and Kunai Kim – based in the Diocese of Pusan in the city of Kumi where they established the Bishop John Daly Mission Center in 1995 The Rev. James and Lorine Williams – serving in the Diocese of Matlosane in South Africa. There is at least one trip a year planned to support Our Little Roses orphanage in Honduras. The diocese continues to be a member of the Global Episcopal Mission Network: An organization of dioceses who share prayers, ideas, dreams, hopes, and strategies about Global Mission. They hold an annual Education Institute every June to provide context for sharing mission concerns among those attending. This past August, 17 folks from the diocese traveled to New Orleans. While there, we were able to worship with and hear remarkable stories from parishioners at St. Paul’s in New Orleans. Our diocese, with the Diocese of Olympia, Washington have been supporting this parish with prayer as well as our physical presence. Folks from St. Luke’s continue to support and travel to Honduras with St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church. Last year, Shauna and Mel Anderson and Brian Robert Johnson from St. Luke’s went on the trip.
St. Luke’s also continues to support the Fitzgerald family, who bring the Gospel to the people of Camaroon, Africa, with the hope of translating the Bible into their native Baka language.
Jennifer Pierce traveled to Kenya. The group’s focus of ministry there was at a Baptist Primary school in the Huruma slums, the Children’s Rescue Center, and the Masai school in Amboseli. Our vestry has voted to send MDG money to these three places. Please continue to pray for all missionaries. If you have any ideas of a possible mission of any type, please feel free to talk with me about it. We welcome new ideas and new opportunities. In Christ’s Service, Deacon Cathy Basile
UTO – United Thank Offering Mission Statement: The mission of the United Thank Offering is to expand the circle of thankful people. To achieve this mission we encourage daily prayers, offerings and awareness of abundance of God’s blessings. Our core values are thanksgiving (for joys, blessings and challenges) Generosity (all offerings are granted), Mission (expand the church), and Ministry (meet compelling human needs). The United Thank Offering is a spiritual and financial partner in the mission of the Episcopal Church. The United Thank Offering Committee prayerfully studies, researches and responds to grant applications from throughout the Anglican Communion. In 2007 we held two traditional and joyful Ingatherings, one in the spring and the other in the fall. At the ten o'clock service many of our young parishioners participated. First, in the Children's Chapel they decorated butterflies to be flown during our procession and wrote notes of thanksgiving to Jesus. Then the youngsters enthusiastically collected and presented everyone's thanksgiving offerings during the offertory. Nicholas and Ryan Gustafson served by collecting the offerings at the eight o'clock services. Jennifer Pierce, UTO Chair
Videographer This was an exciting year from a technology stand point as we added a brand new sound system along with new video equipment. We are no longer recording our services onto VHS tape but directly to DVD. The reason for this change was two-fold. First the quality of the recordings is vastly superior. Second Time-Warner cable has moved away from the outdated tape technology for their programming. They had told us a couple of years ago that this move was coming so it did not come as a surprise. Services continue to be broadcast weekday evenings on the local cable. The new camera and DVD recorder wasn't the only upgrade this year. The filming platform has been reinforced and is more stable than ever before. The combination of all of these improvements mean that we are sending out an even better representation of our worship to our community each week. We've had some added interest in the Sunday morning video ministry but we still could use a couple more extra bodies. Running the equipment is very simple and obvious after the first time you've done it. If we could get four or five people willing to do it none of us would be called away more than once a month. Peace, Jay Phillippi
Volunteers We have an incredible corps of volunteers who “jump in” when the going gets tough and help is needed. Ruby Gustafson and Georgiana Whitcomb have “stayed the course” over this past year by being available to help with the Saturday/Sunday bulletins. Joyce Green is a new “recruit” to help out during high volume times such as Easter and Christmas. Elaine Gallup (former church secretary “extraordinaire” for the Lutherans !) offers her “retired” expertise on a continuing basis. At the risk of omitting anyone, I wish to thank all those who have helped to prepare the church, the grounds, and services for our parish family, with special thanks to the “guys” who have stepped in -- my adoring and faithful husband, Doug Mann, Jim Butler, Doug Jones, David Bollman, Brian Johnson, Bob Finley, Jay McManus, the Kapuscinski “Klan” – including Ted, Michael, Rachel, and Marcia – new altar guild member, Toni McManus who got her “feet wet” with Christmas decorating, past altar guild member/visiting “dignitary” Kirsten Jones, who braved the altar decorating, and Sacristan, Donna Phillippi who tries to keep everything polished and shining. I believe that each of these volunteers finds reaching out to help draws them into closer community with their parish family here at St. Luke’s, and opens their hearts to the love of God. Joy and Peace, Kim Mann
OVERSIGHT * WORSHIP * DOCTRINE * ACTION * TREASURER * STATISTICS
TREASURER'S REPORTYear Ended December 31, 2007
St. Luke’s closed the 2007 year with a surplus. Some of the surplus was due to proceeds that we received from our church secretary’s insurance company. The church paid her wages during her period of absence. The insurance company reimbursed us for that time. We thank all of you who donated your valuable time so that we did not have to incur any additional expense to hire a temp. And thank heavens she is back! Additionally, we had considerably more plate and regular givings from parishioners who did not pledge. From the expense side, utilities were not as high the last quarter of the year due to some wonderfully mild weather. The surplus has been designated to the Vestry New Initiative projects. The 2008 budget reflects pledges higher than last year. This is in part due to parishioners who did not pledge last year but have pledged for 2008. We still have a number of pledges outstanding that may come in throughout the next few weeks. Our endowment funds performed nicely during the year. Our 12 quarter average endowment balance continues to grow permitting us to increase our transfer to operations and capital improvements. We continue to track our finances on the Church Windows computer system. There will be a significant modification to the financial module in 2008. I plan to attend a workshop to remain current with these new developments. In 2008, we are taking another significant step forward by using internet banking. Parishioners are now permitted to have their annual pledge automatically deducted from their checking accounts and deposited into St Luke’s operating account in equal monthly installments. Please see Kim for a form if you wish to participate in this program. Additionally, staff and clergy will have their net pay automatically transferred to their individual checking accounts beginning in January 2008. Thank you to Fran Stahley and our faithful group on Sunday morning counters for their volunteer services. This system worked so well in 2007 that we will continue the ministry again in 2008. I think this is the shortest report I have ever written. I am very pleased with the efficiency and accuracy of our operations. We do make mistakes, however, so please feel free to bring your concerns and ideas to my attention at any time. Respectfully submitted, Catherine Johnner, Treasurer
Treasurer’s Report
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