State of the Parish Report January 2009
It has been the practice of our church for the Rector to offer a “State of the Parish” report near the time of our Annual Meeting. As part of the report we remember those members of our church who have died since our last Annual Meeting. We give thanks for the life and ministries of Mabel McKee, Russell Seely. May they, as the prayer conveys, continue to go “from strength to strength in a life of perfect service with their Lord.”
I begin this morning by sharing that our parish, while it struggles with funding, continues to be sound financially and that given our size, it is remarkable how many vital ministries we provide here. As I said in a previous report, each year Tom Herbst does a wheel on the front of the bulletin on Stewardship Sunday that notes the numerous programs we do in and beyond our parish. God must smile when he looks at that wheel!
The past year has been a challenging one for our church. Truthfully, the sources of this past years dissonance were really sown 2 or 3 years back when we began to have issues around how the Vestry and Rector were to function together. There began back then to be difficulties around who was to do what and about how the Rector was to function in the life of the parish. This was exacerbated by the fact that I had been here almost a decade and fallen into a routine, so the differing expectations probably involved more change than I was capable of. In the end the Bishop was asked to come in and help us. It was these issues that resulted in my early sabbatical leave, in changes in my Letter of Agreement and unfortunately with a couple of families leaving the church. As you can surmise, this was not without its pain and strain, but the issues truly have been addressed and are being resolved and we are moving ahead. It should be acknowledged that conflict is apart of life and I think we’ve all agreed that if we’re committed to each other, problems can be faced and resolved. Our mantra in the Vestry since my return is that “It’s a New Day.”
A special thank you needs to go to The Rev. Ray Babin who came in and provided continuity and stability in my absence. Also, thanks to Mike and Brian our Wardens, and to Becky Fairchild, our Administrator, for guiding the ship forward during that time as well. Many compliments have been offered on the leadership they provided in my absence.
Even with its stretches, 2008 was a fruitful year for St. George’s. In January we welcomed a new member by Baptism on the 2nd Sunday and Annual Meeting was held the next week. New Vestry members and wardens were elected and we all took a deep breath that the flood of the previous year was now behind us. The building truly looked fresh and back together.
The first Sunday of February the kids decorated and we had our usual festive party for Mardi Gras. With purple beads and balloons and almost sinfully creamy cake, we had what can be called a celebration of life! Lent began the following Wednesday. Two classes were offered for the season. The theme was around learning to “Love the Questions” of our Faith. Good discussions grew from our time together. Communion Classes were held at the Sunday School as some of our kids prepared to take their first communions with their families.
It was in March that you might say we got a flat tire. My leave began rather suddenly on the first Sunday of March and Ray stepped forward and began to take off the broken rim and put on a new one. Obviously this time was not without its rough edges. Still services and Sunday School were held, groups continued to meet and Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter came as you celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and the “Good News” he brings to our lives! The usual Combined Good Friday service during Holy Week between St. George’s and Methodists and Presbyterians was held at First Presbyterian and Fr. Babin preached at the service.
In April the Vestry held things together and managed the business before them. They also purchased an AED heart defibrillator to be used in case of emergency in church. Given that we are in the lifesaving business, classes were then held to teach our people how to use it properly. If you haven’t been trained and would like to be, I encourage you to talk with Tom Herbst.
May commenced with our Annual Celebration of Cinco de Mayo, sponsoring a Mexican Meal to raise Funds for Community Sharing. It was followed by the first of two trips to the Crossroads Soup Kitchen for the year as a large and hearty group ventured to the new Crossroads facility downtown to provide soup and sandwich for those in need.
I returned the first Sunday of June and with Fr. Ray there as well, we celebrated together. The Sunday School made a banner for Ray and the church gave him a nice gift. The children also had a gift for its returning Rector. It was a beautiful needlepoint stole made by the kids and their moms. This morning I wear it with pride and always now for every Family service. A nice breakfast, a joint venture by all, tied the morning in a bow!
The following Sunday Bishop Gibbs was here for his Visitation and we celebrated again that its a new day and we were moving forward! A special thank you needs to be expressed to Bishop Gibbs and Canon Lisa Gray for the time and support they offered our parish and me during the past year. You are appreciated!
Then in late June the Ali family, our Moslem friends, invited members here to their home to share dinner with them. Once a year they invite us and once a year we reciprocate. About 10 of our folk went to the gathering to share fellowship and a delicious meal together. Soon after, thanks to the leadership of Cathy Behnke, the church planted a vegetable garden next to the parking lot and we grew vegetables during the summer to give to Community Sharing. Kate Phillips came and covered the planting and wrote a nice article with pictures on it for the “Milford Times.”
In July the ECW had its usual summer gathering at the Kreys and we had our annual summer service at Milford Park. The weather for it was beautiful and with a smorgasbord type breakfast we celebrated God’s creation outdoors. The following week our kids participated in the Combined Vacation Church School that we do with the Methodists and the Presbyterians. We’ve done this now for almost two decades. While we truthfully are by far the smallest in attendance from the three churches, we were properly represented and something like 125 children participated.
In August the newly formed Fundraising/Outreach Committee sponsored, under the leadership of Cathy Behnke, a car wash that netted around $800 for the church. It was partly due to the success of this effort that we were able to provide our financial gifts for our designated outreach organizations for the year.
In September church school began again in earnest with a carnival on Rally Day. The emphasis for the day was to call our kids to be “Fishers of Men” and the activities were based around that theme. Near the end of the month we had our Annual “Blessing of Pets.” Every year so many enjoy bringing their different animals to the church, showing them off a little for the other parishioners. What’s “neet” too is that the animals, “Praise the Lord”, are almost always well behaved that day.
October began with the congregations 2nd trip to the Crossroads Soup Kitchen. Again the numbers were strong, including the entire youth group going down to work. The following Saturday night we invited the Alis and all here for our turn providing hospitality for a Mideastern Dinner. We’ve been doing this now, thanks to the leadership of Sam Daher and Lenore Hiscoe, I believe, back to the year after 9/11. There was fruitful dialogue together that night and it has become a warm meeting among friends. Kate Phillips from the “Milford Times,” came once again, and she did informative article with pictures in the paper on it. The article did a particularly good job of representing St. George’s for the inclusive, multicultural, and welcoming church that we are! The next day Bob Reichenbach did his annual Earth Day presentation to both worship services. As a member of our Stewardship committee, he talked about the little things we can do to be better stewards of the resources God has given.
After the service some of the members of our Youth Group participated in the annual community Crop Walk for the hungry. In October too, Cathy Behnke and the Scotts joined together with the women from the ECW for a used book and craft sale. The proceeds provided some extra income for the church and gave the ECW more resource for their ministries as well.
Early in November once again Cathy Behnke went to work, this time putting together a Christmas Wreath Sale to help raise more money for outreach. Then on November 8th we celebrated our annual Harvest Dinner together. With leadership from folks like Sandy Scott, the Mathis Family and the Dickeys and more, it was the usual great evening and a financial success. Next in the month, our youth group led the late worship service on November 16th. The following weekend, our high school confirmation class attended the Diocesan Youth “Happening” weekend at Advent in Orchard Lake. The concluding communion for the weekend was celebrated by the Bishop of Eastern Michigan, Bishop Ousley, and his sermon was inspiring! The next Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, we held our now annual service with the Roman Catholics at St. Mary’s. This year they came to our “house” and we had a goodly number join us. The ECW prepared a particularly nice coffee hour to welcome our guests.
The Annual Prayer Partner Luncheon, my wife Laura’s contribution, was held early in December and the “Mitten Tree” under leadership from Cathy Behnke and the “The Giving Tree,” under the leadership of Marcia McQuillan, both generated Christmas joy for those in need.
The youth group gathered for an overnight at the church on December 12th and caroled that evening for some of our shut-ins. Ladies of the Night at their Christmas gathering collected food to send to Community Sharing.
Our Sunday Christmas Pageant, led by Renee Hanson, Karen Curnow and Laurie Mathis had 25 kids participating. It went beautifully. Mike Fairchild, the husband of our parish administrator, put together an particularly nice backdrop to add to it.
A special word needs to be said here for the work of our own seamstress, Debby Davies, for the embroidery she did putting together a new altar frontal matching our stain-glass window for Christmas Eve. Giving virtually hours of work, she did it in memory of one of our special choristers, Russell Seely, who passed away last August. This beautiful cloth was blessed at the early service Christmas Eve with members of Russell’s family in attendance. The frontal added to what already was a beautifully decorated church. A special thank you to Deb for her meticulous work! The week after Christmas we held a New Year’s Eve Holy Communion and a little card party evolved afterwards. It brought a fitting and redeeming end to a challenging and yet, by God’s Grace, truly productive year.
While we might refer to these events as the highlights, they are truly only a part of the activities that are ongoing here. Weekly worship, Sunday School, Choir, Soup and Scripture, Healing Prayers, Altar Guild, Meals on Wheels, ECW, Ladies of the Night, Collecting for Community Sharing, pastoral care, pancake breakfasts, these things and more continually go on here.
And all this occurs under the leadership and direction of your parish vestry. In the midst of what has been a demanding 2 years, they have served faithfully and tirelessly, providing leadership for us. It is thanks to them that we can proclaim the words, “It a New Day!”
As I consider our future, my goals for ’09 are three fold.
The first is to try and put together an additional fund for those in the church and beyond for those who are suffering due to the loss of their job. Given that our budget here is suffering, I am not sure how to do this. It is something I plan to ask the new Vestry about as we gather in this new year.
My second goal is to look at a concern that I struggled with some during last year’s sabbatical. It is the issue of how to involve our men more in the week to week life of the church. As you are no doubt aware, the overwhelming number of folk attending St. George’s and the ones who do a hefty share of the work here, are women. Also our church attendance is probably not what it could be because many of our women have to work to get their men and consequently their families here on Sunday morning. My question is what kind of groups would we have to create and what type of activities would we need to provide to more interest men in being apart of our life? How can we encourage and enable them to provide leadership in our life together? It’s an additional question I hope to explore more deeply in 2009.
The third goal is to endorse an idea being championed by John Normandeau, our Treasurer, and a member of our Vestry. He is asking us to consider ways that we might make serving on this Board more fulfilling and spiritually enriching. This small and busy body of volunteers, with the flood and the events around my leave, have had their challenges. Thanks to John’s suggestions we are finding new ways to make our service more satisfying and fun. I intend to try and do my part to get behind John to help make this happen in the year ahead!
Allow me before I conclude to give thanks to the many who do so much to make St. George’s ministries possible.
To begin I would like to thank our retiring Vestry members, Mike Fanfair, Lisa Dickey and Cathy Behnke for the many hours you all have given our Church during your terms here. During his tenure Mike has served as our Sr. Warden and Jr. Warden and helped to see us through the great flood of 2008. He also has overseen the music ministry here, a role he will likely continue to fill. Lisa has been our Sunday School Rep during the past three years. Faithfully she has advocated for our ministry to young people and helped in establishing our sexual conduct policy to protect our kids. Cathy also has worked almost tirelessly for the ministries of this church. As you have listened to this report, you might notice that you hear her name perhaps more than any other in the activities involved here You will hear too her name more in the future as Cathy has just been accepted by Bishop Gibbs into the process to prepare for ordination to the Diaconate of our Church. Cathy in the next week is meeting with her new discernment committee made up primarily of members here who will help her discern her particular gifts for this ministry. Cathy you are in our prayers as you prepare for what is important work!
Also gratitude needs to be expressed to our Treasurer, John Normandeau, who spends endless hours working with the Finance Committee, paying bills, doing budgets and audits, reconciling statements, and overseeing our investments. John not only do you keep the bills paid and our books in order, you also often offer a willing hand with other church projects. John is assisted by the capable hand of Jim Forkner who handles the Building Fund, by Duane LaMoreaux who oversees our Memorial Committee and keeps our Memorial Book. Special “cudos” too, to the four couples: Hathaways, Scotts, Pearsons and the Carravallahs who act as tellers counting our monies (with a smile) after church each Sunday Morning. A thank you too, to Sandra Kadar who is just coming on board to assist John with paying bills.
This list of special contributors to the life of our parish include so many:
In Stewardship- Tom Herbst who chairs this committee and those who work with him: Curt Behnke, Bob Reichenbach, Jack Pearson and Bill Floyd. What would we do without you!
In Building and Grounds- Fred Rexius who took responsibility for this area soon after joining the church. You may notice that he spends endless hours here and the church continues to look more shipshape thanks to his work! I hope you will truly support him when he asks folk to do the necessary tasks that need to be done here. Thanks too: to “our weeders” our “greens keepers,” and “snow shovelers;” especially to Ron Van Assche who in the midst of the hard winter is single-handedly doing the shoveling of our walks. Also, thanks to all those who have helped with our Parish Clean-up Days.
Thanks:
To Liz LaMoreaux, President, of the ECW and to all its members who work on funeral luncheons and the other activities of this group.
To Shirley Ryskamp for her leadership, and to all who labor conscientiously sewing blankets for the kids in Huron Valley Hospital.
To Judy Hindle our UTO Rep, to Cathy Behnke our ERD Rep.
To Joyce Spletzer and Sheila Shuler for their leadership with Ladies of the Knight.
To Sandy Scott and the Altar Guild for the many hours they spend ironing linens and keeping the Altar.
To Lenore Hiscoe, Fred Krey, Helen Gauntt and Vince Griffin who read the Morning Prayer Service and to Eileen Herbst who has preached in my absence.
To the Faithful Choir and to Roberta Carter for directing them, to Suzanne Vergeldt who accompanies them, to Bob Hutchison for his capable work on the organ.
To Fred Krey and our Eucharistic Ministries for lectoring and chalicing for us. Also to all of you who greet and those who usher.
To Joan Basil, Kathy Pegan and Mike Fanfair for providing the leadership for our ministry at Crossroads. Thanks too to the many of you have helped them over the years.
To Delight Hutton who manages Meals on Wheels and to her volunteers, to David Dickey who serves on the steering committee for Community Sharing, to Chris Lisuzzo who delivers our contributions of food to them.
In the Sunday School, to all our teachers-Know you are properly listed and thanked in the Sunday School Report in our Packet. To Kelly Bause who oversees the nursery and serves as our nursery attendant.
To Renee Hanson and Karen Curnow who lead our Youth Group. They along with Laurie Mathis are the Directors too of our yearly Christmas pageant.
To Fred Rexius, Brian Lakkides, Vicki Kett and John Normandeau who continue their service on the Vestry, to Glen Grimm who compiles our monthly newsletters, to Virginia Gardner who creates posters for special events, to Tom Herbst again who helps to communicate by e-mail when Becky is not in the office, to Betty Lou Neidigh who sends out our cards for the sick.
To Duane LaMoreaux who frequently teaches the Bible Study at Soup and Scripture, to Eileen Herbst who leads the Healing Services the first Wednesday of every month. With her illness, here’s continuing prayer for our healing minister who has offered and I’m sure continues to offer, so many prayers for us.
To Carol Rosenberger who oversees the work in our kitchen.
Also to Glen Grimm who has faithfully opened up the Church almost every Sunday for us for the past eleven years,
Finally, I need to offer my sincerest gratitude to two ever so important women. The first is to our parish administrator Becky Fairchild who with her attention to detail and creative touch stood in the breach during my absence and somehow keeps this place organized and running well.
Then too--to my most special friend Laura--who keeps me grounded and fresh and coming back to this each day with energy and has done so now for over thirty-five years.
And Thank you all for indulging me in what I know has become too long a report. If I have missed recognizing you for the special contribution you make here, do forgive me and make sure you tell me of my oversight. The Church is about giving thanks!
I hope you can get just a little sense of how many it takes to make a church. Thank you all for your commitment to our life!
God has blessed me through you!
The Rev. Walter W. Dawson+
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