†

Rector’s Report

The Rev’d Albert R. Rodriguez †

To borrow a notable literary phrase, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”  While many would like to fast forward past 2009, at least financially, there were some good things happening that should be brought up to our attention.

St. John’s has crossed the Rubicon, so to speak, in the sense that it is no longer a small congregation from the standpoint of its focus on church growth and the improvement of its ministries and programs.  Congregational development specialists would call St. John’s a transitional-size church, since it is on its way to outgrowing its church family characteristic.  St. John’s is unique though, because it continues to emphasize its familiar “church family” characteristic, but is beginning to act more like a bigger-sized church.  The number of parishioner households has grown in the congregation and new families have joined the parish, although the 2009 economic setback and recession have had a negative impact on overall Average Sunday Attendance and budget during this year. 

Organization wise, St John’s is now on the best footing since I started almost 11 years ago.  Thanks to our out-going Sr. Warden, Laurie Williams, and the hard work of many of the ministry and program leaders, our ministries have taken on the challenges of having a better coordinated and focused scope of work and objectives.  While some ministries still have to recruit more active members to their ranks, the organizational structure is now in place and prepared for continued growth.

The parish took a step forward by adding a part-time, Membership Coordinator to the staff, Fay Jones.  Thanks to a grant awarded by the Diocese of Texas, we are now in the process of establishing a more intensive Greeters Ministry and getting a better handle on identifying those parishioners who do not have their Letter registered here at St. John’s.  Fay is busily trying to improve our “Front Door” hospitality to visitors and newcomers, plus help us to integrate our new families into the life of the parish.

We can now count on a solid core of families and individuals who are regularly attending the Spanish-language 1 PM service. 

The 1:00 PM service went through a “shake-down” phase of experiencing low attendance for the first part of 2009, compared to 2008.  This is primarily due to an intensified campaign by the Rector to explain the difference between the Episcopal “catholicity” and that of the Roman Catholic Church, which is the usual religious faith of many of these Hispanic families.  Consequently, the 1 PM service is now seeing a steady attendance of about 45 per Sunday.  Another evidence of the stabilization of the Spanish-speaking component is the positive response to the Stewardship campaign that produced 15 pledge cards being signed for financial and time and talent offerings. 

The parish has had one of its best years from the standpoint of baptisms and First Communions, most of which occurred in the Spanish-speaking component of St. John’s.  While the year 2008 produced more baptisms and First Communions, 2009 was a better year for learning how to effectively deal with Hispanic families attracted to St. John’s because of its liturgical sacraments, such as baptisms and First Communions.  We are now requiring more intensive baptism and First Communion classes for the children and the parents and godparents.  Contrary to 2008, many of these families baptizing their children are regularly coming to church. 

Special thanks and acknowledgments:

·        To the parishioners of St. John’s, without whom we would not have a viable parish and congregation.

·        To the office staff: Annette VanDover, Mary Anne O’Brien and Sheri Rasmussen,

·        To the worship team – Vergers, Chalice Servers, Lectors, and Acolytes, including the Ushers and Greeters.

·        To Philip Riley and the choir and instrumentalists.

·        To the Altar Guild with all of its teams.

·        To the Grounds Committee, especially Mike Davis, Hal Hughes, Wes Nauert, Vaness Simmons, Margaret Beare, Anne Reed and Nancy Mangham.

·        To the many ministries, committees and program groups, including the Daughters of the King, the Columbarium Committee, the 50^th Anniversary Committee, Pastoral Care, and Outreach Committees, plus Mark Hartwell and the nursing home ministry.

·        To Ann Reed and Margaret Beare and their Hospitality group for all their faithful contribution and enhancement of our fellowship time and receptions.

·        To our committed teachers, coordinators and parent-sponsors of our Children’s Chapel, especially Amy Aleman, Margaret Beare, and Gigi Jacobson.

·        To the Vestry and the outgoing Vestry members, Elaine Jackson, Sandra Ward and Laurie Williams who completed their three-year commitment.

·        To John Williams and his group for a most creative and well-run Stewardship ministry, which is now year round.

·        To Katherine Lilly, Laurie Williams, and Marvin Rasmussen and the Communications committee for their work in getting us moving towards a better and different website.

·         To Steve Kriechbaum, Kay Soper, Shay Flegal, Shawn Jones, Brad Jacobson, and their family members, including the Rev’d Rohani Weger, who contributed to the 11:45 AM Prayer and Praise service.  This service is being phased out as a stand-alone service and is being transitioned into the 10:30 AM service.

 

Membership Coordinator

Fay Jones

The more things change, the more they stay the same! Episcopalians love tradition, and so I felt right at home being introduced to St John’s on the day of a potluck luncheon ~ what can be more traditional than that?  Since that day in August 2009, I have spent much time learning the other traditions of St John’s and meeting many of the wonderful people who worship within these walls.  Thank you so much for your warm welcome and hearty encouragement.

Although my initial designation was “Newcomer Coordinator”, it quickly became apparent that in order to fulfill the expectations of the Vestry and Fr Al, I would need to work with all members, new and old, and visitors as well as newcomers.  One of the first priorities has been to determine the status of each person who attends St John’s.  To that end, I have spent many hours working on the Church Windows database and developing a collaborative system for ensuring the information in the database is complete and correct for everyone.  (Thanks to Sheri and Marvin Rasmussen and Annette VanDover who have been tremendously helpful in this area!)  Do you know that to have official membership status at St John’s, we must have on file a Letter of Transfer or Request for Membership, or you must have been baptized, confirmed, or received here?  Therefore, I will be contacting those who are active parishioners but who are not “official members” in order to complete this process.  I will also be updating the files for all parishioners by obtaining and inputting full and correct information for everyone.

One of the things I love about being here is working with all your ministry leaders!  Together, we will revitalize and renew the enthusiasm I felt when reading the Annual Report from 2004, just after the completion of the new church building.  It is not unusual to experience a slump after a major building campaign (my church in Bastrop went through the same thing!), but it is now time to hear God’s call for our return to His work in the community.

New ideas will be forthcoming ~ hopefully from you as well as from Fr Al and me.  This too will be an exciting year as we prepare for the 50^th Anniversary Celebration.  There is much to remember, much to bring forward into the life of St John’s today, and also, much to let go so that our rooms can be clean and our spirits light as this new decade opens new opportunities not even yet considered.

Just to let you know, there are already some things in the works!  An enhanced Greeting Ministry will be launched after the first training session on January 31; themed potluck dinners will begin May 30 and continue every 5^th Sunday; Membership Mixers (focusing on visitors and newcomers) will be held every second month with the next on February 21.  And thanks to those of you who already serve and have expressed an interest to serve, our current ministries will continue to fill many needs, and we will be looking at how St John’s can expand and grow into the areas where God is leading us.

Senior Warden

Laurie Williams

January 2010 marks my final year on the Vestry and the end of my two-year stint as Senior Warden.  The past year has been a major uphill climb including many challenges that will carry over to 2010.

As we entered 2009, the country was beginning to feel the upheaval in the economy.  In those early months, things at St. John’s continued as per usual.  However, it wasn’t long before we felt the impact that faced the country—several parishioners lost jobs, some had to move to find new work, some had additional responsibilities thrust upon them, others found pay cuts and loss of savings or having to dip into savings.

St. John’s began to feel the pinch in drop in attendance, drop in financial support and pledges, a drop in participation.  When this first hit us, it was summer time, and we hoped that things would turn around for us by September.  But that wasn’t to be.  The trends that surfaced in summer continued through the fall and winter.  A significant indicator was the difference in the number of pledges that came in during December as compared to 2008—we had an approximately 50% drop!

A significantly visible addition to the St. John’s calendar of events was instituting a “We Are One!/¡Somos Uno!” service in June and October, meant to bring parishioners together for one worship service and a communal meal.  The success of these two events will mean periodic services of this type.

One very positive event that occurred this year was receiving the grant we had applied for in 2008.  With the grant, we were able to hire Fay Jones as our Membership coordinator.  Fay began working for us in August, and has become a visible presence at services and events.

The Vestry faced numerous challenges this year, but managed to complete all the tasks we had set for ourselves for the year, including establishing a committee to help organize our community for St. John’s 50^th Year Celebration in 2010.

As we begin this New Year, let us work to move forward, helping to reinvigorate our congregation.    As I stated last year, with God’s help, I know that we will all be diligent in support of St. John’s.

 

JUNIOR WARDEN

Paul Villarreal

Greetings to all!  During my first year serving as St. John’s Jr. Warden, I’ve learned there are many challenges in this role.  Fortunately, there are many members who volunteer their time and talents, which keep St. John’s buildings and grounds looking well-kept.

These volunteers complete many tasks “behind the scenes”; such as, repairing our mailbox, mending fences, purchasing supplies and equipment, taking lawn equipment for servicing (or servicing equipment themselves), adjusting our sprinkler system for drought conditions (mandatory conservation), taking charge of the trash/recycling receptacles, etc.  The tasks go on and on!

We also have a dedicated group who managed the grounds week after week.  They survived the near record-breaking temperatures of this past summer!  We also had a church member who paid to have some bushes trimmed, as these had gotten out of control.  We also got a pretty good deal with that company on cutting the “Back 40”.  This was beneficial as that area had grown too high for our own lawn tractors.

As noted, we have many things to maintain at St John’s…the a/c units in both buildings have required servicing due to the extremely high temperatures of this past summer.  We also had the expense of repairing the fence (post replacements) on the east side, as well as having some dead trees cut down.

The Church cupola continues to have a water leak…we conferred with 3 different contractors, selected a contractor and paid for repairs, however, the water leak continues.  We will continue to seek a solution in resolving this water leak issue.

Another major undertaking will be the changing of the light bulbs in the Church.  In addition to replacing all the bulbs at once, we need to coordinate the rental of a scissor lift assembly.  Due to size of the lift assembly, some of the pews may require movement – this will require volunteers to lift or move the pews with due care, so that they are not damaged.

As you can see, there are many things ongoing at St. John’s to maintain our buildings and grounds.  It has been a blessing and privilege, to work and coordinate with all the volunteers this past year.  I am always looking for “new” volunteers, whether for just one task or volunteering on a regular basis.  Any and all volunteer assistance is GREATLY appreciated!  I pray that we will have a plentiful volunteer base for 2010 to keep St. John’s looking beautiful.

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Annette VanDover

We began 2009 with an average Sunday attendance of 190 and an average weekly offering of $4,425.74.  We ended the year with an average attendance of 159 and the average weekly offering of $4,461.45.

The Operating Fund received total receipts of $172,653.66 and made disbursements of $184,105.11 in 2009, for an decrease in the general account of $11,451.46.  The General Fund Operating account shows a balance of $20,117.14 on the year-end balance sheet.  To get a true picture of what is left in the Operating account, one has to deduct the $4,077.65 prepaid expenses, also reflected on the balance sheet.  Bottom line, the Operating Fund has $16,039.49 available.  In August of 2009, the property and liability insurance on the buildings was paid in full.  1/12 of the amount was added to the August expenses, and 11/12’s of the amount was placed in prepaid expenses.  Each month another 1/12 of the amount is added to the monthly expense, reducing the total left in prepaid expenses.  This is done to even out the monthly church budget.  Other expenses that are handled in this manner are the clergy pension expense - invoiced quarterly, and the lease on the copy machine. 

The Building Fund shows a total of $51,192.87.  Throughout the year we have used the building fund to pay for the interest payments on the loans plus a pay down of $19,437.13 on the principal of the loans.  The loan principle due to Frost Bank is $295,738.56 and to the Crump Foundation is $170,000.00.

Our interest bearing checking account at Compass Bank shows an end of year balance of $60,119.97. Additionally, we have a Money Market Fund account with Compass Bank that provides a better monthly interest rate, which is credited to the Building Fund.  That account shows a year-end balance of $51,192.87.

Contribution Statements for income tax purposes were put in the mail on January 6.  Still to do to close out the necessary paper work is to file the 2009 federal reporting forms and the Parochial Report forms for 2009. 

 

Finance Committee

Laurie Williams

The Finance Committee is a standing committee of the Vestry.  As stipulated in our By-Laws, the committee meets on a quarterly basis to keep on top of finances: comparing the budget amounts to actual accounts, discussing other monetary and budgetary issues that arise that could impact St. John’s, and noticing trends that occur throughout the year.

Becoming aware of trends also helps the Finance Committee determine issues that need to be addressed in the budget. One trend that became apparent this year was the frugality that ministries showed, keeping their spending down.  The Finance Committee reports to the Vestry after each quarterly review, especially noting budgetary deficiencies that the Vestry must address. 

The committee is also responsible for drafting the annual budget.  The 2010 budgeting process began by looking forward and costing out expenditures that were above and beyond the usual scope of budget—a dream budget.   At the same time, we realized that in these tough economic times, we must be as realistic as possible about plans for 2010.  After lengthy sessions to bring the budget down to more realistic terms, the committee recommended a modified annual budget that was accepted by the Vestry in December. 

 

AUDIT Committee

Kevin W. Flegal

The Audit Committee is a standing committee, which meets regularly to ensure that the procedures under which the annual audits are completed at St. John’s are current and incorporate the best practices and standards to place St. John’s in the best and most secure position.  Met several times to guide and assist the current Annual Audit Team, which is empowered each year for six months, to conduct the actual audit of our books and records.  Our thanks to this year’s Audit Team, Bill Cox, Chairman with Edna Hunter and Dottie McClellen.  The annual Audit includes all funds of the church and the Rector’s Discretionary Fund and their associated records and documents.

 

 

CHILDREN’S CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Margaret Beare

Director of Children’s Christian Education.

We continued in 2009 with the program called Godly Play for our children under the age of 7.  We have been fortunate to add a second class.  We now have a group for the 4 to 7 and a separate group of the 8 and up that has been provided with their own bibles to read and make notations in.  Our numbers continue to hold at about 20 children, this number is still about half of the available children in the Church.  We welcome any children that are now not attending to join us.  We are also always looking to any of you that might be interested in teaching a lesson for us.  In this manner we hope to allow our children the opportunity to learn from a variety of people.  We continue to meet at 10:00 AM on Sundays and end in time for the children to receive Communion with their families.

 

Communication Committee

Katherine Lilly

The committee has focused on the following communications areas over the past year and will focus on the following areas:

        ·            Provided information packets for newcomers and visitors.

        ·            The bulletin boards in the Parish Hall were reviewed and reconfigured according to content.

        ·            Completed the redesign of the church website and the branding of all the communication sources used by the church.

        ·            Continuing to announce upcoming events and place various sayings on the marquee sign.

        ·            Need to complete communication protocol that will be used to advertise various events in the surrounding community over the next year.

        ·            Elaine Jackson is temporarily chairing communication committee.

 

 

Events Promotion and
Facilities Use Committee

Kevin Flegal

Members include Debbie Kriechbaum, Ruth Dinarte, Philip Riley and John Hutka.

We were designed to assist the Vestry in managing the renting of our facilities and in promoting our facility for use by other organizations. We also work with those organizations wishing to hold fundraisers at St John’s, providing a framework to screen applicants and retain record for future use.

The Committee met and prepared documents for use by those organizations wishing to rent the space of St John’s.  Additionally, we have also been attempting to translate all the documents into Spanish, so they will ultimately be available in English and Spanish.

Currently the Senior Warder and Rector of St John’s are reviewing the documents we created. Eventually it would be advisable that the Diocese and the Church Corporation review the documents as well.

Hospitality

Anne Reed

We have received full cooperation from all on the Sunday Coffee Hour refreshments with baked goodies and cleanup!  The coordinators of each team are in charge and are doing a great job.  The donations that are given are being put into the Fund Raiser account. 

Our St. John’s family is very giving whenever we have an occasion for a pot luck lunch or a “heavy” hors d’oeuvre affair, and there is always an abundance of food.  Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the Bishop’s luncheon on January 17 but I’m confident that it will be a superb affair, with lots of food and a large attendance.

We have made plans for our Lenten Soup Suppers beginning with the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper on February 16, hosted by the Vestry, with the following schedule for the Wednesday Lenten Soup Suppers:

          February 24 – Daughters of The King

          March 3 –       Altar Guild

          March 10 –     Ushers/Greeters

          March 17 –     Choir

          March 24 -      Groundskeepers

 

We will have the 7:00 PM Maundy Thursday service on April 1, and will have volunteers lined up for the Lentil Soup/Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday, April 2.

My involvement with the Hospitality Committee has always been a God-given gift and so fulfilling.  I am totally Blessed!

Thank you all, and many best wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2010!

 

OUTREACH MINISTRIES

Bill Beare, Outreach Coordinator

In 2009 St. John’s Outreach was very active.  In January we had our Rummage Sale at Resurrection Church jointly with their parishioners.  We raised about $1,500.00 dollars to benefit the St. John’s Community Center Food Pantry to be able to purchase food from the Capital Area Food Bank.  We help feed about 10,000 people with about 80,000 lbs. in food.  At Christmas and Thanksgiving we did 75 Food Baskets for the seniors and about 25 more baskets.  We also adopted 6 families thru the Christmas Clearing Organization and gave food and gifts.  Once a month we had a game night at Oak Crest Manor Nursing Home were we sang, played games and had refreshments.  We have continued to support the North Central Caregivers with volunteers and money to aid seniors who need transportation.  From our Perpetual Endowment fund, our Money Jar and other Contribution we sent about $200 to the Rosebud Lakota Episcopal Ministry.  We are also members of the Austin Interfaith Ministries. 

Giving Tree Ministry – Karoline Gebert

We assisted six families this year.  The members of St. John’s were very generous even in these tough economic times.  The recipient families were all very appreciative of the gifts that we were able to provide.

Nursing Home Ministry - Mark Hartwell

St. John’s Nursing Home Ministry consists of monthly visits (Third Monday from 7 to 8 PM) made to a nursing home / long-term care facility which was chosen by our Outreach Council based on the perception of unmet needs of the residents. We have been visiting Oak Crest Manor Nursing Home for almost ten years.  The residents at this facility represent a wide array of ages as well as physical and/or mental disabilities.  The common denominator for all of these residents is that they lack the financial means to have many real choices for their care and most lack much family support during their stay.  The residents have many physical, emotional, and medical needs.  Our mission is to provide them with emotional support by routine visits and social interaction.  Our goal is to share our love and compassion with them, as Christians, as we are called to do by our Christ.  The impact in many of the residents’ lives over the months and years is observable as familiarity and ultimately friendships are allowed to form.

PASTORAL CARE MINISTRY

Nora Jackson

This year the Pastoral Care Committee has had 14 care concerns.  At this time we have only a few people who are in need of assistance, and that is mainly only for a visit.  One person receives Holy Communion in his home.  We have 6 members of our committee: Father Al, Nora Jackson, Bill Beare, Margaret Beare, Sandra Ward, and Ermine Smith.  We continue to discuss ways in which to use our resources to help our parishioners in need.  However, at this time, thankfully, almost all are at a stable condition or completely recovered, so a large part of our ministry is keeping these people in our prayers.

 

STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

John Williams

The Stewardship Committee for 2009 consisted of John Williams (Chair), Debbie Cox, Karoline Gebert, Steve Kriechbaum, and Annette VanDover.  The committee’s objective is to extend the concept of stewardship beyond only financial support of St. John’s, and to help parishioners realize that Stewardship is “everything I do and say, after saying I BELIEVE”!

Stewardship Committee events and activities in 2009 included: participation in the convocation environmental stewardship group (Austin Episcopal Environmental Guild); sponsoring a guest speaker from Austin Energy during a Lenten soup supper; planting a tree for Earth Day; attending the Diocesan stewardship retreat; planning and carrying out the Fall Commitment Campaign, which included both education about and invitation to commitment of time and talent to St. John’s ministries, as well as financial stewardship; and a celebration party at the culmination of the fall campaign.

Special thanks to Fr. Al, Bill Cox, Roger Hall, Fay Jones, Steve Mudge, Mary Anne O’Brien, Sheri Rasmussen, Anne Reed, and Laurie Williams for their support of Stewardship Committee activities.

The Stewardship Committee will need to recruit additional members for 2010.  Please contact John Williams if you are interested in this diverse and energizing ministry.

 

Web Site

Marvin Rasmussen, Webmaster

During 2009, the St. John’s Web Site (www.austinstjohns.org) remained a tool for both evangelistic and internal communications by providing information via the Internet for visitors, guests, and members. The web site has basic information about St. John’s such as: the church address, phone number, regularly scheduled service times, maps to the church, mission statement, etc., which are expected to be of primary interest to visitors and guests. Weekly updates include the Sunday service bulletin cover, announcements, scripture readings, and next week’s calendar of events. Monthly updates include The Good News newsletter, monthly calendar of events, and ministry service calendar; the newsletter, calendars and server’s schedule are now available as downloadable PDF files as well as being viewable on-line (“PDF” is a popular file format that allows more consistent viewing and printing). In addition, there are brief descriptions of the services and activities of the many ministries and church organizations.

The web site update was completed and turned over to us in August, but as you can see at http://76.12.90.23/, much of the desired content is either significantly out of date or missing altogether. I have agreed to postpone my retirement and continue to keep the old web site up and its content updated until the new web site is ready to go live. Unfortunately, I am seeing little progress on the new web site, and we appear to desperately need a qualified volunteer to step up to being the new site’s webmaster.

Please help keep our web site interesting, current, and correct -- send information for publication, corrections, and suggestions to the church office.

 

ACOLYTES

Karoline Gebert

The St. John’s Acolyte Corps has lost several members this past year and is looking to grow.  We are looking for both youth and adults to join our group.  The current acolyte corps consists of Kylie Cantu, Will Cox, Nathan Havlick, Chays Laremore, Sarah Riley, Sydney Swanson, and Matthew Villarreal.  We want to thank all of the youth that serve with us each Sunday and encourage others to join us.

ALTAR GUILD

Debbie Cox, Altar Guild Directress

The altar guild continues its ministry, serving quietly and reliably in the background.  The nearly twenty members are dedicated to preparing the altar for all regular and special services and maintaining the items used during these services.

 

Chalice Bearers and Lectors

Annette VanDover

In 2009, the individuals who serve as Chalice Bearers and Lectors faithfully served in approximately 160 regular services, 50 healing services, and a number of special services.  We use a book called “Illuminations” which gives a brief recap of the reading that our servers use to introduce the readings at all services.

 

CHOIR REPORT

Philip Riley

The St. John’s Choir served faithfully by providing music for the 10:15 AM services throughout the year as well as other special occasions such as Maundy Thursday and Christmas Eve.  Additional choir activities included the annual covered dish supper with singing in the summer, caroling at Christmas, support for the nursing home ministry, and participation in the North Austin Caregivers Benefit Concert.

The group worked with musicians from other services to provide special musical arrangements for combined services a number of times, including Bishop Doyle’s visit in February.  In December, the choir performed with musicians from the Spanish service to form a bilingual choir performing “Dual Medley,” an arrangement arranged and conducted by the rector, Fr. Al.  We shared this selection at the Caregivers concert.

The choir welcomes new members “without audition.”  Thursday night rehearsals are a time of positive fellowship and Sunday morning services are an avenue of dedicated service.

 

DAUGHTERS OF THE KING

THE WOMEN OF THE WELL CHAPTER

Ermine Smith

The Daughters of the King is an order for women in the Episcopal Church.  Our mission statement reads: “The mission of this Order is the extension of Christ’s kingdom thought Prayer, Service and Evangelism.”

The chapter at St. John’s, the Women at the Well, meets once a month, beginning our meetings with a prayer and meditation for people whom we have been asked to pray.  We also try to have a quiet day for our members’ spiritual renewal each year, as well as attend quiet days at other churches in the area.

Service, the second part of the mission statement, materializes through each of us visiting the sick, taking flowers to people, making phone calls, and wrapping shoe box gifts for people leaving the state hospital. The boxes, prepared twice a year, have caps, gloves and sundries in the winter and sunscreen and sundries in the summer.

We are also active in evangelism, aiding missionaries in the foreign field.  Jeanne Loving is serving in Honduras, and Cheryl Waltower in Malawi.  Although our donations are small, we make them in faith to help the people in their care.

Mary Engle, Betty Langdon and Carol Nauert were admitted to membership in our chapter this year, bringing our total to twenty-four.  All members complete a course of study for the order and made their vows of the pledge of prayer, service and evangelism in a service in church.

We have been so blessed with general good health and caring for others.  We close our meetings with the Motto of the Order:

For His sake

I am but one, but I am one.

I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

What I can do, I ought to do.

What I ought to do, by the grace of God I will do.

Lord, what will you have me do?

 

PS: Please save your shoeboxes for us!

 

EYC - YOUTH GROUP

Mary Anne O’Brien

The EYC participated in the Crop Walk in March.  In September we reorganized the EYC training by using a team to teach the youth with a theme of Faith, God and Bible.  The first day we had the group tell us what questions were on their minds.  Their questions were religion based as well as life issues and were quite impressive.  The team continues to cover the youth’s questions with discussions each Sunday.  We have had some fun outings to end each month. 

The EYC has taken on the St. John’s Rummage Sale as their Outreach project.  The project continues through early February and each of them gets an opportunity to see what it takes to put on a fundraiser of this type from beginning to end.  It is educational for them.  We have a wonderful group to work with.  We continue to seek new youth from our St. John’s community who are between sixth grade and fourth year high school to come join us each Sunday at 9:00 AM.

 

USHERS/GREETERS MINISTRY

Sandra E. Ward

 

In 2009, the usher duties were basically routine.  We experienced a fluctuation of weekly group line-up’s, due to illness, unavailability, and, understandably, ‘Burn Out’.  However, this did not affect the operations of the Sunday services.

Changes implemented in 2009 include:

·        The Ushers and Greeters Ministries will be recognized as two separate entities.

·        The Ushers Ministry will continue to be lead by Sandra E. Ward.

·        The Greeters Ministry will be lead by our new Membership Coordinator, Faye Jones.

·        Implemented at the end of 2009, when usher support is needed for special occasions, such as, holidays, weddings, funerals, etc., the ushers will color coordinate their attire; and will also wear special usher badges.  This change is very beneficial, in that it improves the usher’s visibility; as seen by visitors, and it creates cohesiveness within the Ushers Ministry.

·        The process of how an usher approaches the altar during the “Offering” portion of the service was initially changed for safety purposes.  To avoid any missteps and/or falls, ushers were to take “only” the first step up into the altar area, followed by the exchange of offering plates, wine and wafers. Due to feedback from the team, as well as, other parishioners, this process continues to be potentially dangerous.  It also disrupts the uniformity of the ushers that are serving; having to split up and then come back together at the bottom of the step.

·        After conversing with Fr. Al Rodriguez, we’ve decided that the above process will no longer be followed in 2010.  The ushers will not enter the altar area; they will stop at the bottom of the step.  The acolytes will meet the ushers at the first step to exchange the libations.

 

In paraphrasing the Ushers Ministry Mission:

A team that shows fluidity in their processes; makes a positive and lasting impression on visitors; and through their service, exudes genuine, welcoming, warmth towards everyone that they come into contact with; represents the efficiency of the St. John’s Episcopal Church Ushers Ministry.

Achieving this Mission is what the Ushers Ministry will strive to accomplish in 2010.

 

VERGERS/WORSHIP LEADERS

Bill Beare

The St. John’s Verger Guild assisted the Clergy in every 10:15 Service during 2009.  In addition the five Vergers assisted in all of the Easter and Christmas Services along with the Episcopal Visits.  Vergers include, Bill Beare, Bill Cox, Karoline Gebert, Marvin Rasmussen and Annette VanDover. 

In April St. John’s hosted the 7^th annual training seminar for the vergers in the Diocese of Texas.  Speakers included Austin Bay, who spoke on the process for selecting the next companion diocese, The Rev. Al Rodriguez who spoke on prayer and Paul Brinsden who shared his experiences as a verger and about training acolytes.

The Worship Leaders conducted the services on Wednesday night when our Clergy was on vacation, at Diocesan meetings or were unable to officiate, primarily during summer.  Betty Langdon conducts Morning Prayer in the Chapel on Monday and Friday at 10 AM.  The active Worship Leaders are Bill Beare, Betty Langdon, Mary Anne O’Brien, Marvin Rasmussen and Sandra Ward.