New “Forward Day by Day” Booklets Have Arrived

The new Forward Day by Day booklets for February, March, and April are available on the Foyer table.

Thank you to all who recycle their old booklets at the church -- Mary still takes them to the jail in Santa Cruz for their prison ministry.

This is an exciting time of opportunity for us at St. Philip’s. First we had the shock of Fr. Martin’s departure. Then there was all the bustle of the holidays and the arrival of our interim vicar, Fr. Barry Miller. Now things are settling down, and we have the challenge of: What’s Next?

Thinking back, Martin worked to develop St. Philip’s as a community center, as a place where people could gather and make good things happen. Today, we are indeed blessed with all the 12-step and youth groups that meet here every week -- good work is happening here.

St. Philip’s is also blessed with the energy and talents of our congregation. Most of our members are involved in volunteering in some way: We participate in the Bishop’s Committee, the finance team, the music committee, the youth ministry, or the Sunday School. We join in the prayer chain or the Altar Guild or the Liturgical Arts committee. We step forward to help with every-week tasks, like signing up for coffee hour or flowers for the altar, or reading lessons or being an acolyte. Then there is all the energy that goes into special events, from brunches and dinner groups to the big fundraisers. We do a lot of good stuff.

But we have a bigger task ahead of us. In order for St. Philip’s to grow and be healthy, we need to take the next step: We need to keep doing all these things, but see them in the larger context of our community. When so many people are volunteering so much, it is easy for individual efforts to be isolated and for people to lose sight of the bigger picture. Now it is more important than ever for us to get together not only for fellowship but to focus our energy and channel it effectively.

One way the Episcopal Church helps us grow is with the ECW. ECW originally stood for Episcopal Church Women, to encourage the women of a parish to come together in projects for their church or for the greater social good of the community. In our post-feminist culture, the initials often stand for Episcopal Church Workers, because all our members are encouraged to participate.  As ECW members, we could explore a program, or a short series, on leadership skills to help us work together as a team. These skills will help us more effectively navigate the search process for our next permanent vicar. With stronger leadership skills, we are better able to identify rough spots in how we are doing things now and work together to find better ways.

Not that long ago, the national ECW granted St. Philip’s the money to install a heating system in the classrooms. In time, our own ECW efforts could lead to helping other churches grow, too. There is much to do -- here in our own church, in our community, and in the world.

Right now, we are in Epiphany, a time associated with the bright Star marking the birth of Jesus, set in the darkness of the world he was born into. This was the light of all that is good, of all that is possible, set in the darkness of uncertain times. At St. Philip’s, we have the darkness of uncertainty in a time between permanent vicars -- not to mention the leaky roof and old electrical wiring in the building. But as we come together, share, and lift up our fellowship in celebration, we will be able to focus on that Star, remember all that is good and possible, and move forward to grow to the next step.

             Mary Rhodes, Church Secretary

The monthly meeting was held on Monday, January 17.  The meeting centered around financial matters.

2004 Review

We ended $2K in the black for the year.  We were $10K short in collected pledges, about half of which may still be collected.  We made $600 more than budgeted in fundraising – many thanks to everybody involved in these events, especially our long-standing coordinator Julie Edwards Levy.  As usual, the receipts for ministries expenses were below budgeted amounts.

2005 Budget

Pledges for the new year are $116K, far short of our goal of $137K.  Many 2004 pledgers have not submitted pledges for 2005, and we are still hoping that some of these people will come through.  Nancy Bliss left the church a bequest of $10K last year, which will alleviate the shortfall somewhat.  It is also a great reminder to all of us to think of the church when we make our own wills.  Many line items were adjusted up or down:

~ Utilities were reduced pending the rental of the upstairs space.

~ A small honorarium was added for the Sunday School Director.  The committee wanted to recognize the importance of this position.

~ Expenses for ministries were reduced, since they are always under-reported.

Security

The church needs to solidify its policy on opening and closing the church.  The 8am ushers will open the church, as they do already, and will be provided with a checklist of things to do.  Since we need to start having two people count the plate offerings and prepare the weekly deposit, we will have two people do so immediately after the 10am service.  One of these people will be a BC member.  As soon as the deposit is ready, the church will be closed and the deposit made at the bank (in the night deposit slot).  The cylinders on all the locks may be changed soon to get better control over who has access to the building.

An additional meeting was scheduled for Jan. 31 to discuss roof repair and the process for formation of the Search Committee.

Bruce Clift, Clerk

The St. Philip’s Family: Together We Can Move Mountains