Monday, January 26, 2015

Annual Rector's Report 2015



                                                               Epiphany 3A 2015
                                     Jonah3:1-5,10; Ps 62; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mark 1:14-30
Father Adam Trambley
January 25, 2015 St.John’s Sharon
Annual Meeting Report

This morning’s first reading from Jonah describes the amazing transformation of Nineveh based on one day of good preaching.  This part of the story takes place after God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah said “No” and hopped a boat going in the other direction. Then God sent a storm that almost sank the boat, the sailors threw Jonah overboard, he got eaten by a huge fish, and lived in the fish’s belly for three days before being spit out onto the beach.  That is the part of the Jonah story we tend to remember.  The important part, however, is that after all of that, Jonah finally did what God told him to do, went to this huge city filled with every kind of evil and wickedness, proclaimed that God was fed up with them and going to destroy their city, and the people repented, changed their lives, and God spared them. 

Thinking about this story in light of our annual parish meeting today, this question arose for me:  If one person, doing what God called him to do, could make such a huge impact on an enormous, wicked city, how much of a difference could one church, doing what God calls us to do, make throughout the Shenango Valley and even in other parts of the world?   We may not be living in Nineveh, and most of us, at least, are probably not called to walk around with signs reading “Repent! The End is Near!”  But we have a sense of what God is calling us to do, and if we do it faithfully and prayerfully and effectively, the impact we can make is beyond anything we could ask or imagine, and is limited only by the power of God.

We have a pretty good idea of what God is calling us to do.  A few years ago we distilled God’s call to St. John’s throughout our history in our purpose statement: Worship God.  Care for People.  Grow as Christians.  The strategic directions we discerned at that time are still valid paths that God is calling us to work in: worshipping God in creative, passionate and beautiful ways; building authentic, loving relationships; strengthening youth and families; meeting people’s basic needs; supporting the revitalization of our wider community.  Our guiding principles also describe how we carry out our work when we are at our best: asking for God’s guidance and power; developing loving relationships through our work; being hospitable and welcoming so that we invite newcomers and strangers to join us while engaging the wider community; doing what we do well for the glory of God; and enjoying our work together and having fun while we do it. 

As we focus on these activities in these ways, we live into the ministry that God is calling us to do, and we trust that God will bless our efforts and allow us to bear greater and greater fruit for his kingdom.  More than that, we have experienced God’s blessing on our work, and seen numerous of transformations in the lives of individuals and our community.  Even amid the struggles of being church in a declining area at a time when church participation is generally declining, I doubt a week goes by when I don’t see at least one small miracle occurring through the ministry of those at St. John’s.  One of the joys of being your rector is the opportunity to share so many incredible moments of God working in people’s lives, both with those inside the congregation and with those outside the congregation whose lives have been touched by the ministry and prayer and generosity of so many here.

Last year at this time, I laid out six different areas that I expected the parish to focus on in 2014 beyond our on-going ministries of regular Sunday Worship, the Episcopal Community Services food pantry, our Saturday lunches, our Sunday School and Youth Group, and the work of the Episcopal Church Women.  Before providing an update on those, and looking at some areas of focus for 2015, I want to note a few things that fall outside of those areas.

This past year we have been blessed with the addition of two part time staff.  Samantha Zicardi came on as our nursery attendant and has been a great addition to our Sunday mornings.  More recently, Fred Dickman joined us as our new Sexton.  Throughout the year, between Ed’s leaving and Fred’s arrival, a number of people have helped for a time, and we are grateful to Juan Zamora and Mike Zuhosky for their work, and to Rick Marzulo and especially to Mike Mackalia for his incredible volunteer efforts.  Samantha and Fred join a hard-working, dedicated, professional staff.  I am very grateful, and we are truly blessed, for all the work done by Tina, Ron, Diana and Deacon Randy. 

Our Allen Hall entrance received a thorough overhaul, with color, art, and ambiance.  Quite a few folks spent some time on ladders or otherwise helping out, and I’m grateful for all your work.  St. John’s has a great tradition of people stepping up to make things better, and I am grateful to everyone who has helped keep our buildings and our grounds welcoming and hospitable.  I especially want to thank Bob Verholic for his yeoman’s service in almost every aspect of our building work. All of your volunteer help makes an important difference.

The Episcopal Church Women transitioned their 3 C’s into St. John’s Winterfest, with a slightly different focus that allowed them to still raise money to give away while reducing some of their workload.  We are all grateful for the many ways the ECW supports our parish.  After many years, Glen and Virginia Hull are preparing to turn over the semi-annual rummage sales.  The efforts of them and their family have raised thousands of dollars for our ministries while providing a ministry.  Thank you to them.  If anyone is interested in helping with the rummage sales going forward, please let me know.

Last year, I noted that we had seven weddings in 2013, in addition to some parishioners being married in other places.  This year, we have faced a number of tragic deaths in our parish, of people dying suddenly or much too young.  We remember them all with a moment of silence during our annual meeting, and we recognize that part of what we do as a church is encourage each other as we hold onto the hope of the resurrection.   

Turning to last year’s goals, the first was our Capital Campaign.  We put together a list of $350,000 worth of items that included needed building maintenance, air conditioning in the church, and work in the basement to prepare it for new ministries.  At this point, we have 51 pledges accounting for about $195,000, with a number of pledges still pending.  We should raise the $200,000 that we expect to cover the needed building maintenance costs and any campaign expenses.  I want to thank everyone for their generosity toward the campaign.  You are allowing us to keep our buildings in shape, so that we can continue our work for the next generation.  I’d also like to thank Randy and Jacque Beck, Nick and Missy Baron, Ron and Madge Tamber, Bob King, Laura Peretic, and Donna and Angelo Stamoolis for overseeing the campaign.  I especially want to thank Donna, whose dedication and vision were the driving force that enabled this campaign to succeed.

The second priority was our Natural Church Development work with passionate spirituality.  Natural Church Development is a process for church health and growth that looks at eight different characteristics of every church and helps a church grow by focusing on their minimum factor, or the weakest link that is holding them back.  At St. John’s, that factor was passionate spirituality, particularly in terms of a passion for private devotions and daily prayer.  To work on this minimum factor, a group looked at various ideas and decided to do a Bible study on The Story, which we are doing every Sunday at 9:00am, and to begin a spiritual trainers class where folks could learn about prayer and be able to pass on what they learn.  Both of these classes have had some success, and if you are interested in learning more about them, please let me know.

The third 2014 priority was our healing and prayer ministries’ development of special services for the community.  We held a number of healing prayer, soaking prayer and Taize services, ranging from about twelve to about thirty people.  That group, led by Deacon Randy, is looking on possibilities for the coming year, as well, and is beginning with a Groundhog’s Day Taize service on February 2.

The fourth priority was deeping partnerships.  2013 saw growth with our community lunch partners, a great worship service with the Ballet Theatre Shenango Valley, and both Waterfire and Christmas photos done with the Laurel Technical Institute.  In 2014, we are still working with LTI and had dancers join us for two services, including our family Christmas service.  We continued partnering with St. Jude’s for our Easter Vigil, Christmas morning, and Thanksgiving services. Additionally, we now have three AA meetings a week, and both the model club and a behavioral health initiative are regularly meeting at St. John’s.  This year has also brought Cana’s Corner coffee-house to our lounge two Fridays each month, bringing in 30-50 people for music and fellowship.  Thanks to David Peretic for enthusiastically inviting Robyn Ruth to St. John’s and helping to make that connection. 

The fifth priority was Christian Formation.  Beyond the spirituality classes, we also had a sermon series this summer on the baptismal covenant and classes about the history and work of St. John’s and the wider church.

Finally, last year we hosted a very successful Diocesan Convention in Sharon.    People from the Diocese felt very welcome, things went smoothly, and folks at St. John’s had an opportunity to see more of how the Diocese works.  Thank you to everyone who worked on the Convention.

For 2015, I want to highlight six areas that, in addition to our on-going ministries, our development of strategic partnerships, and our outreach to the community, I think will help us live into our calling over the next year. 

St. John's Pot Luck Dinner (1964)
First, in 2016, St. John’s turns 150 years old.  I think this calls for a party, and not a small one.  So in 2015, I’d like to start to plan what should be a year of great celebrations.  In some initial discussions, people have expressed a desire for a deeper look at our history, for opportunities to invite back extended family and friends from the past, and for a community wide party.  We could do some great things that would not only look back, but also launch us forward, so let’s spend a year planning and dreaming and praying and having a great time putting together some very special anniversary pieces.

Second, we will be starting the actual maintenance work that our Believe and Prepare capital campaign is raising money for.  That work will begin with repointing of the brick on the lounge building, and move forward from there.  As a congregation, we will also be making payments on our pledges so that this work can continue.


Third, we will work further on our Natural Church Development process.  In May, when The Story study and the spiritual trainers courses are done, we will evaluate how to continue those pieces, and see where to look at next.  We will also do another Natural Church Development survey to see if our minimum factor has changed. 

Fourth, we are planning to have a number of people confirmed in the fall.  Due to some rescheduling at the Diocesan level, those confirmations will take place in September instead of May as in the past.  Our two-year confirmation cycle of youth classes will be complete and we expect to confirm six youth.  Additionally, I would expect that a number of adults who are new to St. John’s may wish to be confirmed or received, and we will offer adult preparation classes in the late spring and summer.  Last year we had two adults received into the Episcopal Church, Ron Gracilla and Tony Kropp, and we are grateful for their decision.  I also want to thank Pastor Joie Baker, who has agreed to teach our confirmation students, and for the work Lisa Zamora and Christian Lowery have done over the past eighteen months. 

Fifth, I want to tell you a bit about two development opportunities for me that you are also a part of.  The first is a three-month sabbatical that I plan to take sometime between August and November of this year.  Sabbaticals have been written into the agreements between every rector and parish since Bishop Sean became bishop.  The research shows that if priests in churches with only one priest do not get sabbaticals, they tend to get stuck in their ideas and ministry and move to different churches to get unstuck.  Sabbaticals help clergy stay fresh and be effective in the same parish.  I was supposed to take a sabbatical last year after five years, but wanted to see the capital campaign through.  I was strongly encouraged to take the sabbatical this year, so I am making plans.  I am tentatively planning to attend a couple of leadership development opportunities, take a retreat, and hopefully do an international mission with those working with people groups that have not yet received the gospel in either Northern India or Southeast Asia.  As part of planning for the Sabbatical, I will ensure that we have clergy coverage for all needed Sundays and other emergencies, as well as offering opportunities for the parish to learn about some of what I am experiencing as I go through it.  As the year goes on, I will share more details.  A sabbatical is a great gift, and I hope it will be beneficial both to me and to our common ministry.

I have also just begun a Doctor of Ministry degree with a two week residency at Virginia Theological Seminary.  This Doctor of Ministry is focused on ministry development, both for me as a priest and for the parish around me.  Practically, the degree has nine weeks of residency on campus over a three-year period, and then a thesis that consists of a project that is carried out and then written up and evaluated.  The first major component of the program is a congregation study that I will be working on over the next eight months.  This comprehensive look at the parish will include some interviews, surveys and other work which should provide some insight for helpful next steps in mission and ministry.  I will be asking some people for help with various parts of this study, but, in the end, I’ll get to write the paper.      

Finally, I want to mention our need to continue to pray and be open to new or unexpected opportunities.  Over the past two months, I had a number of people mention an interest by some Spanish speakers in the area to have a mass in Spanish.  I and some others in the parish put out feelers, and I don’t know if anything will happen or not.  Such opportunities to reach people who aren’t currently being reached by other churches are likely to be an essential part of our future ministry and growth, even when those opportunities might not be how we traditionally have done things.  Yet, these opportunities might perfectly fit our guiding principles and strategic directions, and God may want to open some unexpected doors for our work to bear fruit.

So together in 2015 let us continue to worship God, care for people, and grow as Christians.  As we live into God’s call to us, we will also notice how God is using us as individuals and as a parish to make positive differences, and even miracles, in the lives of those around us.