Notes and ministry highlights from our annual meeting at St. George's Episcopal Church in Fredericksburg, VA.

1. St. George’s Annual Meeting
December 4, 2016

2. • Annual Parish Meeting
• December 4, 2016 10:00 a.m. Sydnor Hall
• St. George’s Episcopal Church
• Growing into Christ + Reaching out in Love
•
•
• Call to Order + Opening Prayer The Reverend Joe Hensley, Rector
• Hymn: Seek Ye First
• Scripture reading: Romans 12:1-4
• I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you
may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among
you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of
faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who
are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
•
• Rector’s introductory comments and question for discernment
• 1. How are you experiencing transformation and renewal through your connections with St. George’s? How might we, as a parish, be
called into further transformation? (discuss and/or write responses on sticky notes)
•
• Introduction of Vestry Nominees + Election Vestry members
•
• Nominees: Pam Asamoah, Russ Carter, Marilyn Farrington, Ronda Henderson TJ Kneale, Hector Musa, Tres Seaver, Joyce Steele
•
• Junior Warden Reflection Anne Beals
• Reflections on interfaith mission The Rev. Gay Rahn
• Recognition of Amy Bogardus for 18+ years of service The Rev. Deacon Carey D. Chirico
• St. George’s by the numbers and some ministry highlights Rector
• Financial reflections Tom Meredith,Treasurer
• Year in review slide show with music by St. George’s ensembles
• Senior Warden Reflection and Stewardship report Earl Baughman
• Recognition of Earl Baughman, David Morgan, Mary Wools for vestry service Rector
• Reflection by the Rector on our compassionate community and looking ahead to 2020.
• Final Acknowledgements + Thank you’s
• Blessing The Ministers of St. George’s
• Adjourn
•

3. Let’s sing: Seek Ye First
Seek ye first the kingdom of God
And its righteousness
And all these things shall be added unto
you
A-lle-lu, Allelu-ia

4. Seek ye first
Ask and it shall be given unto you
Seek and you shall find
Knock and the door shall be opened unto
you
A-lle-lu Alle-lu-ia!

5. Scripture reading: Romans 12:1-4
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of
God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and
acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—
what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given
to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more
highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober
judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has
assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and not all
the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are
one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of
another.

6. Share with a neighbor and write on a
post-it note
• How are you experiencing transformation and
renewal through your connections with St.
George’s?
• How might we, as a parish, be called into
further transformation? (discuss and/or write
responses on sticky notes)

7. Vestry election
• Voting now and after each Eucharist service today.
• Votes tabulated this evening by three vestry judges.
• Need a vote by the meeting to adopt a special rule:
“Whereas Diocesan Canon 11:5 requires that “a majority of
votes shall be necessary to a choice,” “unless otherwise
provided by the meeting,” we, the qualified voting members
of the annual meeting of St. George’s, make this alternative
provision: that the four vestry candidates receiving the most
votes will be chosen for a three-year term. In case of a tie, if
necessary, a coin toss will determine the addition of one vote
to one of the tied candidates.”
• Results will be posted on our website Monday morning.

8. Thank you!
Amy Bogardus has served at St. George’s for 18
years, making her the longest currently serving
staff member. We give thanks for her ministry
and look forward to more years with her!

9. St. George’s by the Numbers
• Number of current enrolled members: 966
• 297 Prospective members (may attend regularly but have
not officially transferred membership)
• 2016
• 142 Newcomers
• 113 persons actually joined in one way or another
• 13 persons officially transferred out of the parish
• 22 Baptisms
• 26 Confirmations
• 6 Weddings
• 14 Burials

10. Ministry Highlights
• Two parish clean-up days (spring and fall)
• Potluck dinners with our Muslim neighbors
• ECW Mary Faulkner Chapter had interesting
programs, including Peg Phillips and Meghan
Cotter’s presentation of the Micah Story and local
artist Sarah White’s presentation about her
abstract sculpture.
• The greeters enjoy welcoming members and
guests to St. George's each Sunday and have
begun greeting on George St. also.

11. Ministry Highlights
(a sampling…there’s so much more to tell!)
• Altar guild gives thanks for people quietly donating to
fund supply needs of many kinds.
• In October, St George's, through the Haiti team,
facilitated a two-day medical clinic in Port-au-Prince
where 521 people were examined and treated.
• St. George’s Preschool has
• "Our members provide altar arrangements for the
weekly worship services, the "greening" at Christmas,
and the "flowering" celebrating Easter. We are always
looking for people to join us, no experience required,
only the love of creation in the service of God.”

12. Ministry Highlights
• St. George's gave $1,904.54 to the United Thank
Offering for the 2016 granting season. Grants
were awarded to local ministries to support Mark
of Mission Number Five: “strive to safeguard the
integrity of creation and sustain and renew the
life of the earth.”
• The first Wednesday drumming group is reaching
more people in the community and attendance is
increasing.

13. Ministry Highlights
• Stewardship – 379 pledgers (total 2016), 79% participation
• Financial - As of Nov. 30, 2016, pledge payments made -
$815,289.75, $10K over our budget for YTD Nov
• Accounting – 6 bankers boxes full of accounting records. 6
months at the accountant. 52 weeks to make it happen.
• Finance Committee – To date, we have spent half of a day
explaining, discussing , and yes making an occasional
argument over numbers. We part as friends and colleagues.

14. Ministry Highlights
• St. George’s History website – r8dov.org/history 252 pages covering
almost 300 years of history. Come travel through time!
Contributions welcome.
• Stained glass window restorations – 2 done this year and 1 more
grant for 2017.
• St. George’s walking tours – new this year. Average of 15 printed
per week with an average tour of 15 minutes. Take a walk on the
wild side!
• St. George’s graveyard – We print as many brochures as there are
graves in an average summer week.
• Come see it online – r8dov.org/graveyard

15. Ministry Highlights
• One Body Response Team (OBRT) called, visited,
brought meals, sent cards, gave rides and more to
parishioners with immediate needs, including parents
with new babies and the bereaved. We also have about
15 persons on our long-term needs list who receive
regular contact from OBRT volunteers.
• 2nd year of the Giving as One stewardship campaign,
passing pledge packets from household to household.
Neighbors meeting neighbors.
• Election prayer vigil and listening sessions after the
election: providing space for people to speak and be
heard.

16. Ministry Highlights
Very few of our Shoppers are on Food Stamps
Most use The Table for less than a year
For 25% of our shoppers we are the primary food source

17. Ministry Highlights
• Building and Grounds - along with help from lots
of enthusiastic parishioners - planned and
completed our new Youth Floor.
• We established a Children’s Chime Choir that
performed for the first time.
• St. George’s Musicians performed in our first
program wide concert, featuring music from all of
our ensembles.
• Commissioned two new Stephen Ministers to
provide pastoral companionship

18. Adult Christian Education
(2015-16 How, in God’s name, do we live together?)
(2016-17 Still trying to figure out how to live together)

19. • Learning to live together in relationships, in marriage, in
covenant, and in civil discourse.
• Natalie Finstead: learning to build a beloved community
• Ed Jones: civil discourse in a world where we have differing
political views
• Dr. Chris Rollston: examining our Biblical roots in covenant
• Conversations in Faulkner about ANIMATE-ing our lives in
faith
• Finding common ground on issues of racial and economic
injustice
• Dr. Akbar Ahmed: living together with our Muslim neighbors
Finding Common Ground: Learning to live together

20. Ministry Highlights
• We signed up five new Lay Eucharistic
Ministers (LEM’s).
• We signed up at least seven new lectors.
• We had two training sessions for LEMs, and
we had one training session for lectors, for the
first time in years.
• Noon prayer services

21. Ministry Highlights
• Began praying daily at noon prayer for all
parishioners in a “cycle of prayer” and
following up with phone calls/messages.
• 3P in Easter and 3P in Fall: Parish Prayer
Partners made lasting connections through
praying for others.
• Lectio Divina (Bible meditation) and
weeknight study groups helped people go
deeper in learning and relationships.

22. Ministry Highlights
• St. George’s World Mission: working together
with our sister church in Port au Prince, Notre
Dame, along with Haitian doctors and nurses,
the St. George’s Haiti Team has
helped approximately 900 children and adults
with healthcare this year at its biannual clinics.
YOU, St. George’s parishioners have provided
numerous scholarships funding a monthly
donation of $1,100 to the Notre Dame School
providing academic support as well as nutrition
for the students.

23. St. George Youth Group
• Skiing Trip to Bryce Mountain
• Camping in the Mountains
• Youth Mission Trip to Glory Ridge
• Kayaking down the Rappahannock
• Tubing down the Rappahannock River
• Confirmation class
• Shrine Mont
• Hiking up Elliott Knob Trail
• Rite 13 Liturgy
• Robotics class in the Feeding of the 5000
• Hot Dogs for Haiti
• Standing with Standing Rock Indian
Reservation
• Taking a stand against bullying
• Understanding about inside voice and
feelings

24. Financial Overview
Treasurer, Tom Meredith, summarized 2016:
-best pledge campaign in church history (for 2016)
-began the year with a faith-based, deficit budget
and plan to end the year with a budget surplus (due
to frugal spending and increased giving)
-2017 on track to grow even further in giving and
pledges. Hoping to grow the budget to add part-
time youth and clergy positions.

25. Slide Show
See the slide show with music from our St.
George’s music ensembles.

26. Thank you to vestry
Members completing their terms:
-David Morgan (served as senior warden 2 years)
-Earl Baughman (served this year as senior
warden)
-Mary Wools
-Daniel Johnson (ended his term earlier this year
to attend seminary)

27. Building our “Compassionate
Community”
• Goals we identified in February:
– Sharing our stories with each other
– Spiritual nutrition
– Accepting invitations to join with others
– Supporting our Muslim neighbors
– Get to know each other better
– Action in the greater community
– Sharing publicly what we do and who we are.

28. Building our “Compassionate
Community”
• At its January 2016 retreat, the vestry identified
these related goals:
– Address unjust structures of society.
– Renewed conversations about how we confront
racism
– Continue conversations about Islam
– Encourage and engage with Latino/a neighbors
– Reaffirm support of LGBT members and neighbors
– Make more time for people to go deeper on Sunday
mornings
– Engage more intentionally with recovery communities

29. Building our “Compassionate
Community”
• Would like to re-convene a Compassionate
Community Team to work with vestry and
explore how we go further with these goals.
• Lent weekend 2017 will further explore what
it means to live in covenant.
• Would like to build on the neighborhood
connections formed in the “GO and GO”
campaign: how can we be more connected to
our neighbors?

30. Looking ahead to 2020
- It’s all about telling the story of God’s work in
this compassionate community!
- Who, what, and where have we been? Who,
what and where are we now? Where is God
calling us to go…with whom? Why?
- Helping each other feel connected broadens
our mutual support for the future.

31. What are our priorities?
• Building and caring for our compassionate
community, grounded in our Baptismal
Covenant and radically welcoming.
• Continuing to reach out beyond the walls in
mutual partnerships.
• Making sure we have a welcoming physical
space that is home to this community and our
partners.

32. Who accomplishes these?
• The ministers of St. George’s: all of us!
• Vestry and leaders.
• Lay staff members.
• Clergy
• Partners: local community, diocese, statewide
and national, international

33. Staff development
In 2016: Reorganized responsibilities and created new
positions: Director of Communications (Helen Mosher)
and Director of Facilities and Welcome (Michelle Midkiff).
Hired new assistant music director: Achim Loch
In 2017-18, hoping to add
• a part-time youth minister to provide more logistical
support
• part-time priest
• Both positions create more clergy-time to focus on
pastoral care and programming.

34. Staff development
In 2017-2019
-continue to build a reserve of funds and
increase annual budget so that we can
eventually pay for lay positions that are
currently non-stipendiary.

35. Looking ahead to 2020
Would like to create several new working groups (to work
with the staff, vestry, and existing commissions and
ministries):
• Compassionate Community Team
• Leadership Development Team
– Engage potential leaders and provide training and
discernment about how God is calling them.
• A Tri-Centennial Team that would plan events and
projects leading up to and including 2020.

36. Looking ahead to 2020
• Neighborhood engagement team. Building on
the connections in our “GO” campaigns,
prayer partners, and more. How to continue
to connect neighbors with each other and
with newcomers?

37. Looking ahead to 2020
• Storytelling Project Team. Interview living
members of St. George’s and the wider
community who know pieces of our history.
Assess our historical collections. Create a book
and/or film or other presentation that would
be ready to share in 2020. This is not just a
history project but an evangelism effort:
sharing the Good News as it has been lived
and wrestled with in this parish over 300
years. Important to tell the whole story.

38. Looking ahead to 2020
• A long-term space planning team to assess our
physical plant and our program space needs.
What costs are coming up in the next 5-10
years (HVAC replacement, painting the church,
updating electrical systems, etc.)? What
additional spaces might we need to buy, rent,
share, create as we grow, both in numbers and
in scope of ministry?

39. Looking ahead to 2020
• Capital Campaign Team (possibly 2017)
Potential goals:
– Add to long-term building fund (currently 138K) to
accomplish major capital projects in the next 3 years:
• HVAC - $350K (will need $70K in 2017)
• Exterior painting $130K (needed every 10 years)
• Resolving our “damp” issue $75K
• Creating a children’s courtyard outside Sydnor Hall
• Improved handicap accessibility
– Complete the organ (732 pipes to go: roughly $272K)
– Establish a reserve that could be used to help purchase or
rent additional property for program expansion.

40. Looking ahead to 2020
• Planned giving sub-committee of stewardship
– More actively engaging with parishioners about
including St. George’s in their estate and financial
planning.

41. How do you connect?
• Pray…how is call calling us?
• Keep showing up!
• Talk to your vestry and staff leaders: tell us
how you’d like to be involved.
• Continue to share from your abundance in
thanksgiving to God and in support of our
work together.

42. Thank you’s
• Members of this year’s stewardship commission
-there are still pledge cards available. Pray for
the finance committee and vestry as they discern
the 2017 budget in the coming two weeks.
• All those who make contributions small and great
of time, talent, and effort.
• Staff who helped pull this meeting together!
• All of you for attending today.

43. Final Blessing said together
May the Lord bless us and keep us
May the Lord reveal God’s shining face to us.
May the Lord lift up the light of the divine
countenance upon us and give us peace.
AMEN!