Epiphany
3A 2015
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.
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| 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.
