Monday, January 27, 2014

Annual Rector's Report 2014



 Annual Meeting Sermon: 3 Epiphany, Year A
St. John’s, Sharon, PA; January 26, 2014
Rev. Adam T. Trambley

In our Gospel readings the past two weeks, we have heard how Jesus was baptized by John, how he came up out of the water and how he received the Holy Spirit.  This week he announced his purpose and chose four others.  Does this remind you of anything?  Yes, the discipleship arm dance!  Since today is our annual meeting, and this is my annual report to you, let’s start by reviewing what we learned this summer.  I’ll do it once as a review, then we can all do it together.

 
Jesus was baptized by John.
He came up out of the water.
He received the Holy Spirit.
He heard the voice of God, “You are my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
He went into the wilderness.
He defeated the devil.
He came out of the wilderness.
He announced his purpose.
He chose four others.
He taught them everything they needed to know.
He sent them out.

Jesus announces his purpose in the Gospel today: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”  As a church, we turn around our lives and live into Jesus’ coming kingdom as we live into our purpose to worship God, care for people and grow as Christians. 

We also see Jesus calling his first four disciples today.  They are fishermen along the seashore, and he chooses them and prepares them to carry on his work.  Both as individuals and as a congregation, we have been chosen by Jesus, as well.  Part of his call is to learn what he has to teach us so that we can go out and bring others into the life of his kingdom, as well. 

Over the past year, St. John’s has been doing the work to going out and bringing others into the Kingdom of God in this place.  We have experienced a disproportionate amount of change this year.  Some of that change was intentional to help us grow in mission and ministry.  Some of that change was far from intentional, but hopefully we have weathered it and allowed God to bring good, if unexpected, things out of it.  

I want to start by talking about something that was a huge success.  Over a year ago, in 2012, we spent Advent working on being welcoming and hospitable.  We had skits as part of the sermon, we had cards and exercises, and we even interrupted the sermons to go talk to people.  People seemed to enjoy it, but, as they say, “the proof is in the pudding.”  Fast forward a year to the third Sunday in Advent 2013.  Many of you remember the moving service we had with the Walnut Lodge and Ballet Theatre Shenango Valley.  It was a powerful experience of worship, and we hope to build on it in the future.  What I particularly want to share with you though, is the feedback I got from many of the guests and visitors that joined us that day.  People felt overwhelming welcomed in a way that blew them away.  They felt like we genuinely appreciated that they were with us, that we wanted them to be able to participate in our services, our fellowship and our church life, and that we wanted to welcome them whether they would be there for just that day or might decide someday to join the church.  I felt very proud to be a part of this parish, and I just wanted to take a moment today to say “well done” to all of you who really do love each other in ways that can be so easily shared with others. 

That same sense of welcoming has permeated a number of other things this past year, as well.  Two rooms  were overhauled almost entirely with the individual contributions, expertise and elbow grease of numerous parishioners.  Earlier this year, the lounge went from a large Victorian study to a modified coffee house motif.  The resulting set-up has facilitated more discussion and fellowship at coffee hour, as well as an easier place for other meetings and conversations throughout the week.  Then, later this summer, a group of volunteers, mainly from St. John’s Family Kitchen, took the upstairs dining room and kitchen and turned it into a beautiful space that could serve lunches on Saturdays, as well as host parties, classes and meetings.  In fact the space was so welcoming, that as the finishing touches were being put on it, an AA group decided to relocate to our handicapped-accessible upstairs dining room.  I want to thank everyone who helped overhaul these two important spaces, especially Katherine Huff, who managed to discover the perfect used, quality tables and chairs for the lounge, Ron and Madge Tamber, Paula Ference, Curt and Cleo Baker, Bob Edeburn Bob King, Jacque Beck and Bob Verholic, who spent days updating the wiring.         


Our sense of welcome also contributed to the growth of our outreach ministries.  St. John’s Community Kitchen continued to grow, serving 150-200 people each week.  A special two-year anniversary was held in December that included the opportunity to provide holiday portraits for our guests.   Episcopal Community Services welcomed the clients from First Baptist Church when their food pantry was forced to close.  St. John’s worked with St. Jude’s Church and the Laurel Technical Institute to provide welcoming spaces to those coming to downtown Sharon for Waterfire through comfort stations and children’s activities.  The Episcopal Church Women continued their Mad Hatter’s Tea and Christmas Tureen, welcoming family and friends for good food and fellowship.  Thanks to the dozens of people who spend their time and effort to make these and all our ministries so successful.

2013 has also been a year of transitions.  Some of these transitions have been great celebrations.  Seven  couples were married at St. John’s, and a few others with roots in the parish were married in other locations. We also welcomed 26 people into the church through confirmation, reception or reaffirmation.  Some of those new members of the parish are already stepping up into leadership.  Three were just elected to vestry this year, and another, Linda Houk, is our new Altar Guild Director.  Linda will take over for Pat Gross, who was appointed director by Father Considine some years ago, and actually started on Altar Guild when she was invited by a school friend to help out.  I am exceedingly grateful for Pat’s dedicated service, expertise, and level-headed common sense.  She will still be on the Altar Guild, as well as volunteering in a number of other capacities around the parish.

Much of my time this year has been working with staff transitions.  In January, Diana Moreland took over for Missy Greene as our Youth and Family Minister and in September Ron Gracilla became our Music Director when Frank Dodd got a teaching job downstate.  I am very happy that Ron and Diana have chosen to join us at St. John’s, and I feel blessed to be working with them.  Thank you to our choir, as well as our youth group leaders and Sunday School teachers, who have helped with these transitions and allowed our excellent ministry to continue even in the midst of occasionally sudden changes.
I am also saddened to announce that our Sexton, Ed Gunesch, has announced that this week will be his last week at St. John’s.  Ed has done a wonderful job with us, and his stories and humor, as well as his hard work, will be missed.  We are still working on hiring our next sexton and, in the meantime, please feel free to clean anything that strikes your fancy.  By the way, Tina has assured me she has no plans to go anywhere, and I expect you’ll be stuck with me for a long time. 

There are probably many other things I could say about last year, and I could spend a long time thanking many, many people for their prayers, dedication and hard work.   I am regularly humbled at the devotion I see in so many of you, and feel exceedingly blessed to be able to serve as your rector.

Now this could be a perfect place to stop and sit down, but I do want mention six key efforts coming up in 2014. 

First, we have begun a capital campaign process.  The Diocese has provided funding for us to work with Michael Davis of Evans/Davis Fundraising Counsel.  (Michael, please stand up and wave).  Over the past few months, Michael has helped us develop a case statement for capital work to be done over the next five years.  Much of this work focuses on needed exterior renovations, but it also looks at air conditioning, our music program and new ministry opportunities.  Over the next month or so, Michael will conduct a series of confidential interviews with 20-30 families from St. John’s to get feedback on our priorities and to determine what kind of capital campaign could be successful.  People from a cross section of the parish will be asked to participate in the interview process (which will take about 45 minutes), but he will also meet with anyone who would like to be interviewed at this time.  Our expectation is that the capital campaign itself will occur sometime this fall.  If you have any questions, Michael will be around today and is happy to talk with you.

Second, we will be moving forward with our Natural Church Development Process.  Last year we took a survey and a number of people volunteered to work on our minimum factor, which is passionate spirituality.  Given some of the other things happening at the end of last year, we did not get much farther, but we will be moving forward this year.

Third, our healing and prayer ministries will be working on reaching out in new ways.  Last year they held a monthly soaking prayer service on Saturday afternoon.  This year they will be reaching out with a rotation of three different services one Monday evening a month.  Starting with a more traditional healing service on February third, they will also host Taize services and soaking prayer services in the coming months. 
  
Fourth, we want to intentionally deepen some of the partnerships we have begun over the past two years.  Of key importance are our partnerships with churches and other organizations that assist with the Saturday lunches.  In addition to deepening the good relationships we already have, we have opportunities for other churches or organizations to help prepare a monthly meal and to help with serving. 

Through Waterfire, we began a partnership with Laurel Technical Institute.  Not only did we work together this summer, but they helped register folks for our holiday portraits and provided free haircuts and styling.  We are also in discussions with them about a few other projects, and I think we are only scratching the surface of ways we can work together, and of what we can offer their students and faculty.  

During our Advent service, we saw the fruits of a partnership with Walnut Lodge and the Ballet Theatre Shenango Valley.  I know that Ron and I are both committed to continuing to find ways to incorporate different artists from a variety of media into our worship experience.  I don’t know what future possibilities will look like, but given our initial success, I hope to keep exploring them. 

Finally, earlier this year, an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting began to meet here for the first time in a number of years.  Not only did they begin meeting here, but they felt incredible welcomed and, I think, feel some ownership for the place.  Already a second meeting has started and other meetings are being looked at.  To be able to host these gatherings where people are intentionally changing their lives is a great honor, and I expect that their presence will bless us in ways we can’t yet imagine.

Fifth, I hope to have new opportunities for Christian Formation, especially adult education and formation.  Diana and some of our volunteers will be looking at activities for children and youth beyond Sunday School, and a number of things are in the works for adults.  Over the next four weeks, I will be offering introductory classes about our church in the upstairs dining room between services.  Next week we will look at the story of the Anglican Communion, followed by a week on the Episcopal Church, and then a week on the story of St. John’s.  We have offered these before as part of adult confirmation preparation.  Given the new people who have joined us over the past year, we will be offering them again.  Then, on February 23, I will be offering a new class on how St. John’s works, with explanations of our vestry, our finances, our endowments, and our relationship with the Diocese and the Episcopal Church.  I expect this to be of interest to both new folks and those who have been around a while.

As part of determining what might be helpful topics for future teaching and preaching, I want to ask for your input.  In your bulletin, you will find a paper with two questions: 

  • What question(s) would you like to ask God?
  • What question(s) do you have about our church, our buildings, how we do things, what we believe or what our church expects from us?

Feel free to answer those questions either today or in the coming weeks and drop off your answers in the collection plate, in the office, or even by emailing me.  I will try to address your questions in future sermons and teachings.

The other significant Christian Formation opportunity we hope to offer this year is at least one mission trip.  Our confirmation class is looking at a mission trip, and we expect to put something together for all ages, as well. 

The sixth important initiative we will be working on this year is hosting Diocesan Convention.  This event on November sixth through eighth will bring about two hundred people to Sharon from around our Diocese.  We plan to have business sessions in the sanctuary at First Methodist next door, a Diocesan Eucharist here, and a banquet at the VFW up the street.  While some work will be involved, convention will also be a great opportunity for people in this parish to connect with the work of the wider church.

2013 was a pretty special year here at St. John’s.  We worshipped God, cared for people and grew as Christians in some amazing ways.  2014 is shaping up to be a great years, as well, with lots of love to share and prayers to say.  I look forward to seeing what God is going to do with us in the next twelve months.  So consider yourselves to be chosen, and sent out.