158 th Annual Report

Sunday, May 19, 2013

CLERGY

The Very Rev. E. Clifford Cutler, Rector

The Rev. Emmanuel A. Mercer, Assistant Rector

The Rev. Robert M. Davidson, Deacon

STAFF

Zachary D. Hemenway, Director of Music and Organist

Virginia A. Emlen, Administrative Assistant

Sarah Punderson, Communications Coordinator; Karen Richter, Music and Office Assistant

Caroline J. Robinson, Organ Scholar

Kalil Swinson, Parish Bookkeeper

VESTRY Dale Lower, Rector’s Warden

Rod Gagné, Parishioners’ Warden

Pam Prior, Accounting Warden

Linda Boggs, Secretary

Stephen Camp-Landis, Mark Duckett, Betsy Evans, Joe Fafara, John Faggotti, Steve Heimann, Tom O’Rourke, Allison Romig, Paul Sehnert, Rebecca Southwell, Arthur Stokes, Jill Wemple

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Welcome and Invocation

Call to Order

Appointment of the Secretary

Minutes of the 2012 Annual Meeting

Introduction of the Vestry, Deanery and Diocesan Delegates

Appointment of Judges of Election

Report of the 2013 Nominating Committee

Elections

Rector’s Report

Committee Reports

Other Business

Open Discussion

Adjournment, Blessing and Hymn

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MINUTES FOR THE 157TH ANNUAL MEETING OF SAINT PAUL’S CHURCH, CHESTNUT HILL MAY 20, 2012

I. Welcome and Invocation

The Rector welcomed the large group gathered for the Annual Meeting after the single service at 10 a.m. He opened the meeting with a prayer.

II. Call to Order The Rector called the 157th Annual Meeting to order.

III. Appointment of the Secretary The Rector appointed Linda Boggs, Vestry Secretary, to take minutes at the Annual Meeting.

IV. Minutes of the 2011 Annual Meeting The Rector asked for a motion to accept the 2011 Annual Meeting minutes. It was so moved and the minutes were approved.

V. Introduction of the Vestry, Deanery and Diocesan Delegates The Rector spoke briefly about the Vestry members whose terms were expiring – Sarah Heckscher, Parishioners’ Warden; Alix Jones; Tracy Piatkowski and Jake Roak. He thanked them all for their service. All Vestry members were thanked for their service to Saint Paul’s.

VI. Appointment of Judges of Election

The Rector appointed the Judges of Election.

VII. Report of the 2012 Nominating Committee The Nominating Committee appointed four individuals for the Vestry: Joseph Fafara, John Faggotti, Thomas O’Rourke and Rebecca Southwell for the Class of 2016. Joyce Klinefelter and Ned Smith were proposed as dele-gates to the Diocesan Convention for terms ending in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

VIII. Elections There were no nominations from the floor. The motion that the slate of candidates be accepted was made, sec-onded and passed.

IX. Rector’s Report The Rector spoke of the many accomplishments of the parish and staff during the last year. He described the the-matic goal for the next two years – Praise – as we focus on praise to our Lord and God. The Rector defined a the-

matic goal as a single, temporary and qualitative vision shared by all members of the leadership team and provid-ing clarity around what is most important to the church at this time. There are four defining objectives with this theme: being lifted into God’s presence, facilitating vital worship, welcoming others, and submitting ourselves in trust and gratitude to God – while placing him at the center of our worship and activities. The Rector referenced the nine “missional” directions to guide our next six years together. He introduced Emmanuel Mercer, Assistant Rector, to the parish.

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X. Rector’s and Parishioners’ Wardens’ Reports Dale Lower presented the report of Rector’s and Parishioners’ Wardens, sharing information on goals and accom-plishments of the parish relating to welcoming efforts, connecting parishioners to their ministries of interest, bal-ancing financial resources and needs, prioritizing, and acting as sounding boards for the clergy and parish. She

spoke of the many successful ministries at Saint Paul’s, the importance of contributing your talents, the fine job done by many volunteering and working at the church, and that the Rector’s and Parishioners’ Wardens are al-ways interested in listening to input.

XI. Accounting Warden’s and Stewardship Reports Steve Heimann presented the Accounting and Stewardship reports. He noted the importance of maintaining the beautiful buildings and essential staffing that support our worship, our outstanding music, outreach and children’s ministries, and other programs. Steve stated that support for these programs is not inexpensive. A budget deficit is projected for 2012, in part due to reduction in the endowment draw from 5% to 4% to help preserve the endow-ment over time. This change was approved by the Vestry, and reflects a trend at many nonprofit organizations. While a budget deficit had been projected for 2011, the year ended with a surplus in part due to generous parish-ioner gifts in the fourth quarter.

XII. Stewardship Report

Steve Heimann noted that Stewardship represents time, talent and treasure, and our many committed volunteers are are doing well on the first two – contributing time and talent, while we are working hard to enhance the treas-ure aspects of Stewardship. In 2011, there was an increase both in the number and average amount of pledges, while in 2012, this trend was reversed. There has been an increase in dependence on a small number of pledges exceeding $10,000, and it would be helpful to become a parish that is self-sustaining with our average gift. At Saint Paul’s, our average pledge is lower than at some other Episcopal churches in the area. Goals include increasing the average amount of pledges and the number of pledges while increasing total giving. Steve encouraged parishioners to continue to spend time in introspection during Stewardship season – to determine the gift that is best for the do-nor and church.

XIII. Property Committee Report Mark Duckett updated parishioners on a number of important projects, including roof repair, planned work for the back of the church to replace the cork floor with a labyrinth and to enhance lighting and other aspects of the nar-

thex and baptistery, as well as work planned for the columbarium.

XIV. Communications Committee Report Matt Hyde updated the parish on work being done by the Communications Committee, including development of a Facebook page, increased use of video and other important efforts.

XV. Other Business The Rector acknowledged the contributions of clergy and staff to the success of Saint Paul’s. There being no further business, the Rector adjourned the meeting with a closing prayer at 12:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted,

Linda C. Boggs, Secretary

This year we saw our average attendance reach 221. This is the highest attendance recorded since my coming to Saint

Paul’s in 2006. My goal is to see attendance eventually reach 250. So at the same time that we celebrate, we have a lot to

do in sharing the good news that is at the heart of who we are as a community.

We ended the year with a $96,000 record surplus. This is allowing us to dream a little more and be a bit more expansive

in our ministry after years of pinching back following the global financial collapse.

Stewardship giving this year is on track though a little sluggish. The Stewardship Committee has met once on March 24.

This is a ministry that is hugely important if we are to continue to grow in our minis-

try and in our sharing good news with others.

Marti Bondelid steps down as Godly Play Director after eight years of teaching and

coordinating this ministry. We will name the Godly Play I classroom, “the Marti Bon-

delid Room.” I remember fondly the group that gathered to renovate the Godly Play I

classroom under Marti’s direction in 2006. There were choir people, acolytes, little

children – all worked together to create our first beautiful Godly Play classroom. For

that spirit of openness, inclusion, renewal and commitment to imbuing our children

with stories and wonder the room will be named for her. As Marti steps down, three

other teachers leave with her: Jim Bondelid, Betsy Evans and Pam Gagné. We thank

them warmly for their service. We are rebuilding our Godly Play ministry again.

Transition times are always times of recommitment. We recommit ourselves to chil-

dren, to teaching them the faith values and stories that will guide their lives. You may

want to use this transition as a time to step up and step in to a wonderful, life-

changing ministry with children.

This year we installed a five-circuit, medieval labyrinth in the west end of the church.

This is a wonderful metaphor for where we see ourselves today. It is a time of turning

around and renewal in many areas. The labyrinth is eight-sided. Christians think of the

eighth day as the day of new creation, the day of resurrection. Gernot Candolini

writes: “on the eighth day everything begins anew. This labyrinth is the path of re-

newal. Whoever reaches the center and turns around is beginning a brand new path.”

So our path as Christians is always one of renewal and new beginnings. At the same

time, at the threshold to the labyrinth are embedded three stones that were last carved

1000 years ago by an unknown mason working on Eli Cathedral. This assures us that

amid all the change and starting over, the word of God endures forever. We are part of

a lasting fellowship that is forever new. We are Saint Paul’s Church.

Finally, a word of thanks to Edie Dixon whose gift made the labyrinth possible. Edie

has also made a gift for cleaning and relighting the Narthex of the church and the Bap-

tistery. The renewal of the Narthex will make the entryway of the church much, much

more welcoming. As we seek to grow our attendance this a significant step forward.

Because of the renovation of the west end of the church we are now able to use our

historic baptismal font created from marble and stones brought from Egypt. This area

also needs cleaning and relighting. These gifts from Mrs. Dixon are wonderful, but I

think even more wonderful is her belief in and dedication to Saint Paul’s. This is a

commitment in which all of us may join! Together, we are about transformation as the

Apostle Paul said, “by the renewing of our minds.”

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Thematic Goal for 2013 and 2014: Renewing 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.

Romans 12: 2

A thematic goal is a single, temporary, and qualitative rallying cry shared by all the members of the leadership team, and ultimately, by the entire congregation. The thematic goal is the point of the wedge in our mission together. It makes our vision (turning- each to the other – in Christ) more tangible. In other words Paul would say we are not to turn toward one another with arrogance or presumption; but in Christ, with humility, listening, dis-cernment, obedience to God. That is what Paul means by the renewing of our minds. A thematic goal is realized by defining objectives. Some of these are:

Defining objective: A willingness to change and grow. In the stone carving above the church entrance is depicted Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. In worship you will meet Jesus and it will change your life.

Defining objective: A positive outlook. “For in (Christ) every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes.’” 2 Corinthians 1: 20

Defining objective: A desire to give. Faithful giving makes us happy. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20: 35

Defining objective: Listening and telling the Good News. Christian education on every level renews our minds, no matter whether you are the teacher or the learner. We seek to be a learning community.

Defining Objective: Renewing our minds through serving others. When we reach out to those who hunger or are transitioning from homelessness and hear their stories, it changes us, broadens us, widens our empathy.

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The Vestry of Saint Paul’s is proud to have contributed to a wonderful year of accomplishments and community building within the parish and to service for the community at large. The many ministries and committees - so vital to this work and who do so much to define St. Paul’s as a welcoming place of “open doors, open minds, and open hearts”- facilitated a host of events, activities, service projects, and celebrations too numerous to list here. All were successful in their own right in bringing us together in Christ. As Wardens, we have been active in assisting these ministries, the clergy, and the parish in meeting the ever-changing needs and directions of the Church. We have endeavored to listen deeply and carefully and to coordinate and implement meaningful changes that, after prayerful consideration, best serve the needs of our growing Parish.

This year, the Vestry has worked diligently to put Saint Paul’s on a more sound financial footing. The proposed budget is balanced for the first time in many years. A balanced budget was achieved in part because of generous support from parish families who believe in the work of St. Paul’s. The budget includes monies to increase sup-port for children’s education and funds the position of Director of Children’s Education. It also supports our tre-mendous music program, including retention of the position of organ scholar, which enhances our worship experi-ence. We are hopeful that investment in these programs and in all ministries will give St. Paul’s the ability to grow and flourish in the coming years. The parish was blessed with a significant gift from Edith Dixon which allowed for the construction of the laby-rinth and the refurbishment of the baptistery and narthex. We are extremely thankful and grateful for her generos-ity and support. We have also received a substantial gift from Joe Waz in memory of his wife, Ann Stookey, to create an endowment for the maintenance and refurbishment of the organ and to support special, out-of-budget music program initiatives. As his gift was formulated as a matching grant, the music guild is hard at work plan-ning fundraising to equal Joe’s generous and timely gift. We have also taken steps to increase communication be-

tween the vestry and the parish by reinstituting the publication of the Vestry minutes. We welcome your sugges-tions about other ways of improving communications at St. Paul’s. In addition to hard work on the budget, the Vestry has worked diligently to continue improvement of the Church property, programs, and worship experience. Dialogue among Vestry members has been thoughtful and healthy in all areas of their work together, and both of us are privileged to have shared in the work of this dedicated and caring team who is committed to the betterment of St. Paul’s Church. We are all blessed to worship in an inspiring place of beauty, peace, and serenity, to hear God’s grace in the words of our caring clergy and in the beautiful musical offerings, to witness the strengthening of our youth education pro-gram, and to work together to support the continued evolution, growth, and vitality evidenced by all of our vari-ous ministries. Through each parishioner’s dedication to and support of Saint Paul’s Church, we can see God’s love flourish in our community, strengthening all of us in the knowledge that we can find spiritual support, care, and comfort at Saint Paul’s.

Dale Lower – Rectors’ Warden W. Roderick Gagné – Parishioners’ Warden

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Assistant Rector’s Report

I always count it a privilege and an honor to be a part of this wonderful faith community. It has meant a lot for me and my fam-

ily to be a part of this great church. I have and continue to enjoy my time as the Assistant Rector working with the Rector, Dea-

con Rob, Zach and Virginia and the many unpaid volunteers to continue to make St. Paul’s a wellspring of spiritual nourish-

ment; a river of service in Jesus’ name.

Pastoral Care

As part of our primal responsibilities to attend to those who need care, I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting with parishioners who

may be in the hospitals, homebound, assisted living or in retirement facilities. I feel a deep sense of joy in spending time with

parishioners in their homes or in any health facility. I am also on the schedule to celebrate the Eucharist at Springside Residence

on the 5th Sunday of any month. This is in addition to our new ministry at The Hill at Whitemarsh. The monthly meeting of the

pastoral care committee has been an avenue for me and others to reflect on the needs and concerns of members of this parish

with a group of caring individuals.

Young Professionals Ministry

This ministry is designed to be an outreach for young professionals in their twenties, thirties or even forties who may be single or

married. It has been a fantastic year for this fun but socially conscious ministry. We have met also every single month for either

a fun activity or to simply serve meals at Face-to-Face. We had a terrific Taste of Africa event which was graciously hosted by

Ed Wicks and Brian Shaffer. This is a great ministry that welcomes any and all to our activities or events.

Family Ministries:

I have really enjoyed the exponential growth of the 9:00 a.m. service. It has its unique character which makes it malleable for

innovation. A critical component of this service is our outreach to new families and the continual strengthening of existing

bonds. As part of this outreach, we started the Family Potluck Supper. Although a similar tradition existed at St. Paul’s many

years ago, the fact that we were able to reignite this tradition tells of the progress we have made within the past year. So far, we

have had two potluck suppers which were hosted the Davis/Fafara and Tullo families. The most recent and last one for the year

was hosted by the Chikwendu family. Much more than the kind act of welcoming others into our homes, the family potluck of-

fers families the opportunity to connect on a very different level, and in my view, a strong bond of connection between our dif-

ferent families invariably translates to a much stronger church. The hope is to continue to improve upon this outreach and invite

as many people as possible to participate.

Vacation Bible School:

Last summer we began a collaborative ministry with St. Martins to further enhance our outreach to children. This effort led to

the joint sponsorship of a Vacation Bible School which was hosted by St. Martins. It was a great start for St. Paul’s and the chil-

dren for that matter. We were excited by the enthusiastic participation and are already planning for the next Vacation Bible

School scheduled from August 26-29. The theme for Camp Week is ReNew and we are inviting children from ages 31/2 to 10-11

years to join us for a fulfilling time. A special appreciation to Jasmine Davis, Betsy Evans and Mohammed Al-Jumaili for volun-

teering at the Vacation Bible School.

Confirmation:

Last fall, Bishop Bennison visited St. Paul’s for the last time as the diocesan bishop, confirmed eight candidates, three of whom

are very active youth members but the five are not necessarily affiliated with St. Paul’s. One of the projects of the confirmation

class was to lead the church in a Turkey Drive. We collected over sixty (60) frozen turkeys which were later donated to Face-to-

Face and Church of the Advocate. It is gratifying to note that Confirmation for this year has been scheduled for November 3,

and so far we have six (6) St. Paul’s youth signed. As always, it will be a pleasure to prepare our young men and women for this

important part of their Christian life.

Conclusion:

It has been an honor serving as a priest and pastor in this congregation. Being a part of this community has been a blessing and a

joy for me and my family. It sometimes feels like we have been here forever. As we celebrate the past, I am also looking forward

to the exciting future ahead of us. Some of the exciting news is a Men’s Retreat at Daylesford Abbey on October 12-13, 2013

which will be led by the Rev. Dean Joseph Britton of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, immersing myself in Godly Play and

mentoring Dave Peterson whom Cliff has appointed a verger at St. Paul’s. I hope as many men of the parish will sign up for this

exciting I am always humbled by your welcome and grace, and thankful to Cliff, Rob, Zach, Virginia and Karen for their

immeasurable support.

Rev. Emmanuel Mercer

April 21, 2013 Celebration

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Bequests make a huge impact at Saint Paul’s, unlike similar gifts to large institutional charities. They help us sustain our mission in a turbulent world. Nationally, nearly half of all bequests are planned by people younger than 55 years of age. If you have not yet considered a bequest to Saint Paul’s Church, I invite you to please do so. As you can see from this report the ministry of Saint Paul’s Church makes a fundamental difference not just to the congregation but to the wider community itself. Every contribution counts. Some bequests are substantial but they need not be large. Lew and Betty Somers gift is paying for planning that was done to connect the church to the sewer and for roof repairs. Stu Skinner’s gift is helping to renovate the narthex. A prior bequest helped to leverage a two-to-one grant for building restoration. There are many ways a bequest can make a difference to Saint Paul’s. One might even argue that a bequest to a school or institution with tens of millions in endowment might not make much of a ripple. At Saint Paul’s, because our resources are fewer, it has a huge impact and makes a great difference.

Saint Paul’s Legacy Society and Parish are here for the long term. In our parish history I noted, “The challenge is in charting the future, and I think we can be helped by what we know from our past” (p. 193). A bequest is a way of carrying forward lifetime values in order to make an impact on the future. The following have notified Saint Paul’s that the church is in their estate plans and they are recognized as mem-bers of “In the Company of Angels” Legacy Society. If you have already made provisions in your will for Saint Paul’s Church, please let the office know so that we may include you “In the Company of Angels.”

Charles Head James Johnson Sandra Knup Elizabeth Lippincott

James McCarthy Harvey Miller

William Morris Margaret Pearson James & Arabella Pope Peter & Posey Randall

Karen Richter James Robertson Stanley Root, Jr.

Carolyn Sagendorph Stuart Skinner Edward Smith Betty & Lew Somers

Newbold & Anne Strong Lowell Thomas

Henry Ballerstedt William Bullitt Jeanette Cord Cliff & Amy Cutler

Thomas Evans

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Vestry Class of 2014 Vestry Class of 2015 Vestry Class of 2016 Vestry Class of 2017

Linda Boggs Rod Gagné Joe Fafara Stephen Camp– Landis

Mark Duckett Paul Sehnert John Faggotti Bill Fikioris

Dale Lower Arthur Stokes Tom O’Rourke Joyce Klinefelter

Allison Romig Jill Wemple Becky Southwell Richard Kolb

Core Vestry Functions and Responsibilities:

The vestry consists of 16 elected members of the parish. The vestry serves many of the functions served by boards of directors or trustees at other non-profit

organizations. The vestry has four new members each spring who are elected to serve a four-year term. The vestry serves as an advisory council to the rector who by church law is the parish’s chief liturgical and pastoral officer. The vestry oversees the parish’s financial health. The vestry has four officers: a rector’s warden, a parishioners’ warden, an accounting warden and a secretary. The vestry has a coordinating committee, which serves as the executive committee of the vestry; it consists of the rector’s warden, the parishioners’ warden, two other vestry members appointed by the rector and two other vestry members elected by the vestry.

The vestry members serve on many committees, the rector is ex officio a member of all vestry committees. The vestry meets on the third Monday of every month (except July and August). The vestry maintains an open-door policy with everyone in the parish; each vestry meeting begins with

“Right of the Floor” which is an opportunity for every parishioner to bring a topic, proposal or issue for discussion to the meeting. Please contact the vestry secretary or the rector a few days before the meeting to tell them you plan to attend.

We give our utmost thanks to the departing class of vestry members:

Betsy Evans, Steve Heimann, Pam Prior

The Nominating Committee is pleased to nominate the following parishioners for election to the Vestry for a four year term expiring May, 2017:

Stephen Camp-Landis, Bill Fikioris, Joyce Klinefelter, and Dick Kolb,

We are blessed that each of these talented individuals has agreed to stand for election to these important posi-tions in our parish.

Respectfully,

Sarah Heckscher, Chair Doug Anderson Jim Bondelid Dave Peterson

Allison Romig Pat Voigt

Committee Members: Matt Hyde, Chairman, Doug Anderson, Cliff Cutler, ex-officio, Clark Groome,

Carolyn Hale, Joyce Hyde, Arabella Pope

In August of 2012, Sarah Punderson joined the parish staff as the Communications Assistant. Previously, Sarah worked at Haverford College as the Assistant Sports Information Director. While at Haverford, Sarah produced both print and web materials for the school’s twenty-two varsity sports.

The parish continues to leverage both web and print mediums to communicate with its various constituencies. Over the last year, we have focused a majority of our attention on expanding our social media presence and reach – primarily through our two Facebook pages – Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill and Music at Saint Paul’s Church, Chestnut Hill. These pages are used to share news, videos, program invitations, and daily scrip-ture. If you have not already done so, the Committee encourages every parishioner to “Like” both Saint Paul's Episcopal Church, Chestnut Hill and Music at Saint Paul’s Church, Chestnut Hill on Facebook.

While we have focused on enhancing our social media presence, the parish’s website remains the foundation of

our communication effort. All of our Facebook posts and email messages send parishioners and visitors to our website. Because all of our online activities all easily measured, we can say with confidence that our efforts are yielding great dividends.

Over the last year, our web-based assets have performed extremely well. Our website attracts over fourteen hun-dred unique visitors per month and our email activity outperforms our religious institution peers in both open rate and click through rate:

Website Stats:

Average Unique Visitors to the Website (per month): 1,420

Average Time Spent on Site: 2:54

Most Popular Pages (in order):

1.Homepage

2.Advent/Christmas 2012

3.Music

4.About Us

5.Worship

6.Parish Calendar

7.Parish Life

8.Ministry

9.About the Staff

Directions

Email Stats:

Number of Subscribers: 569 (Parish email list) / 827 (Music at Saint Paul’s list)

Average Open Rate (per message sent): 37.6% (industry average for religious institutions = 24.84%)

Average Click Rate (per message sent):

18.4% (industry average religious institutions = 9.33%)

Moving forward the Committee will focus its attention on the website – specifically improving the user experience. We hope to make information more accessible and enhance the graphical appeal of the site with more engaging images of the campus and events.

The Committee believes that in order to fully execute an effective communications strategy, the parish should strongly consider expanding the role of the Communications Assistant. Currently, the budget allows for 15 hours per week.

The Committee would like to thank the clergy and Parish staff for their work. Without their collective effort, we would not be able to maintain our current publication schedule.

Respectfully Submitted, The Communications Committee:

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Members: Very Rev. E. Clifford Cutler, ex officio; Pam Prior, Accounting Warden; Jim Bondelid, Stephan Camp-Landis, Stephen Heimann, James Pope, Theresa Rollins, Newbold Strong, and Caroline West

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The Finance Committee met regularly throughout the year on the third Sunday of the month, with a break in July and August. We have remained focused on our tasks of

Conserving and protecting assets; and Providing oversight, insight and regular updates to the Vestry on the spreading of income to cover the expenses

required to support our clergy, staff, buildings and programs. Specifically, in the past twelve months we:

Worked with the Vestry and ministry heads to develop the 2013 operating budget with a focus on the needs of the ministry heads to achieve their 2013 objectives.

Worked to develop a template to report overall income and expense for ALL of St. Paul’s various funds, show-

ing an overall spend on all of our ministries (to supplement the monthly reports that focus just on the oper-ating funds).

Continued to monitor our invested endowment assets in a very challenging market environment. The compos-ite return of our endowment assets for the full year 2012 was 13.46% compared to 12.95% for the bench-mark we have adopted. The return since our move of the endowment to Janney Montgomery Scott man-agement in mid-2009 has been 10.90% compared to an adopted benchmark of 12.75%. The 2012 year end endowment value was $3.6 million.

Received a clean audit opinion on our 2012 financial statements from our external auditor. Initiated a due diligence process to ensure the most effective cost/benefit to St. Paul’s in the management of our

endowment assets. As of this report, I transition the Accounting Warden role into the extremely competent hands of Stephen Camp-Landis. Stephen has been an active member of the Finance Committee and the Vestry. In the past year he has spent significant time and energy elevating the value of our annual budgeting process. We are grateful for his will-

ingness to lead this important ministry. As I say each year, St. Paul’s is blessed by the accounting and financial talents on this committee. We owe each member a debt of gratitude for their commitment to the financial well-being of this parish. I have been proud and grateful to serve with them. They regularly attend meetings, deliberate thoughtfully over investment options, and make well-supported recommendations to the Vestry. Finally, the committee’s (and my personal) gratitude to Virginia Emlen continues. She works tirelessly with Bren-nan and Associates, our outside Accounting Services firm, to be sure that we are in compliance with all control re-quirements and that our accounting records are accurate, resulting in the clean audit noted above.

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Respectfully submitted, Pam Prior

Music Guild Members: Jim Bondelid, Jeanette Cord, Zach Hemenway, Caroline King, Dale Lower, Arabella Pope, Karen Richter, Liz Richardson, Caroline Robinson,

The music ministry of Saint Paul's Church exists to provide meaningful music for our community in the worship of God. Throughout the course of the past year, choirs have rehearsed each week to fulfill this mission. This year, the 75 singers that comprise Saint Paul's Choirs sang over 120 pieces of music over the course of the program year, all the while steadily increasing in skill. Of particular note this year is the continued growth in the chorister pro-gram - both in terms of numbers and in musicianship. A chorister program takes a number of years to build, and we are 80% there. It will be crucial over the next two years to maintain involvement with the current choristers, and be sure that the young and middle age groups in the program grow to be the next set of leaders as the older ones move up to the adult choir. The Cherub Choir, now finishing its second full year, is comprised of young children ages 4-7. The group, under the direction of Karen Richter, meets concurrently with the older chorister group on Thursdays from 5:00-6:00 p.m. The children gather in the Children’s Library and open every rehearsal with the ringing of the chime used in

Godly Play classes and a simple prayer, also based on a Godly Play model. Since the cherubs are in training to “graduate” to the older group when they turn eight, they warm-up to vocal exercises and practice solfege syllables and rhythmic patterns. Those who can read are encouraged to use the Lift Every Voice and Sing hymnal from which

we draw a majority of our repertoire. The children are encouraged to use instruments especially the handbells, drum, tambourines, and triangle. The cherubs sing at the 9:00 service once a month providing an offertory anthem and communion music.

Caroline Robinson, our organ scholar for the past three years will be leaving us this year, as she moves to France to continue her study. She has been an invaluable asset to Saint Paul's during her time here, and will be dearly missed. Her replacement will be Joseph Russell. Joseph is an incoming student at the Curtis Institute of Music and is from just north of the Chicago area.

FIVE FRIDAYS completed its second year successfully, and we are happy to report that both Face-to-Face Ger-mantown and IHN will receive over $1000.00 each as result of the effort. Efforts to secure sponsorship for the 2013-2014 season are well under way, and the Music Guild has decided to continue the series.

In November, Saint Paul's choir and parish lost a wonderful member and friend, Ann Stookey. In Ann's memory, the Ann Stookey Fund for Music at Saint Paul's Church has been established by her family. An initial gift of $250,000 has been pledged along with a challenge to the parish to match it for a total of $500,000. The primary purpose of the fund is to provide for the care and maintenance of our historic Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ, and the fund has been set up with strict spending rules to ensure that the fund is properly used and maintained.

We much to be thankful for. Our choirs work very hard to offer praise to God each week, and I would like to thank each of our choir members for their commitment. In addition, Barbie Kimberly, Diana Moro, Karen Richter, Jim Bondelid, Arabella Pope, Lorraine Knudson, Caro-line Robinson and Kate Emlen deserve thanks for helping with the day to day operations of the music program. Now is a very exciting time for

the music program and for St. Paul's Church, and we are looking for-ward to further growth!

In Christ,

Zach Hemenway Director of Music and Organist

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Rachel Falkove receiving Five Friday’s

Outreach contribution of $1000 to

Interfaith Hospitality Network from

Jim Bondelid, Music Guild Chairperson.

Adult Choir

Karen Butler Matt Campbell Cynthia Clowery Jeanette Cord Jeff Dinsmore Mark Duckett Jamie Evans Janice Fiore Susan Hansen Sarah Heckscher Steve Heimann Aaron Hoke Rebecca Hoke

Joyce Hyde Alix Jones Barbie Kimberly Charlotte Kimberly Tim Kiser Lorraine Knudson Diane Kolb Stephen Camp-Landis William Lim Greta Longenecker Dale Lower Tim Martin Anne Martinez Penny Meyer

Hildy Montaigne Diana Moro Steve Pearson Holly Peirce Arabella Pope Pam Prior Renee Riegler Deb Reinhard Lindsey Reinhard Karen Richter Steve Schindler Susan Schindler Rebecca Siler Ann Spaeth Arthur Stokes Stephen Stone Louise Thompson Renee Wolcott

Choristers

Haven Arms Corinna Breuckner Juliana Breuckner Precious Bey Mary Katherine Bucko Maggie Bucko Maida Budd Philip Crush Tatiana Davis Lilly Hanlon Leif Knudson Esther Lamb Maren Lamb

Frances Mercer Havilynd Mercer Michaela Peterson Stella Peterson Lindsey Reinhard Catherine Sorrentino Sophia Sorrentino Maggie Stutman Will Stutman Margaret Sweeney Polly Sweeney Samantha Woolworth

Music Guild

Jim Bondelid, Chair

Zach Hemenway, Director of Music

Cynthia Clowery Jeanette Cord Joyce Hyde Karen Richter Diana Moro Arabella Pope Dale Lower Anne Martinez Janice Fiore

Cherub Choir 2013 The Cherub Choir, now finishing its second full year, is com-prised of young children ages 4-7. The group, under the direction of Karen Richter, meets concurrently with the older chorister group on Thursdays from 5-6 p.m. The children gather in the Children’s Library and open every rehearsal with the ringing of the chime used in Godly Play classes and a simple prayer, also based on a Godly Play model. Since the cherubs are in training to “graduate” to the older group when they turn eight, they warm-up to vocal exercises and practice solfege syllables and rhythmic patterns. Those who can read are encouraged to use the Lift

Every Voice and Sing hymnal from which we draw a majority of

our repertoire. The children are encouraged to use instruments especially the handbells, drum, tambourines, and triangle. The

cherubs sing at the 9 a.m. service once a month providing an of-fertory anthem and communion music.

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Committee Members: Libba Affel, Cathy Davis, Sue Dure, Tom O'Rourke, Ann Reath ,Karen Richter, Trudy Roman, Ann Stevens, Judy Smith, Meredith Sonderskov

As we reflect on this previous year, I am enthusiastic to report the direction and activities of outreach committee. To help fulfill our mission of helping those in need, we were fortunate to have had another successful year with the rummage sale. Through grant submissions, this allowed us to distribute the proceeds (over $35,000!), to help sup-port 18 local organizations who we feel aid the hungry and homeless. Programs like: Interfaith Hospitality Net-work, St. Catherine Laboure Medical Clinic, Teen Challenge, Whosoever Gospel Mission, Meals on Wheels, Aid for Friends and Face to Face shelter, are all examples of these local organizations who then use the grant to multi-ply the effect. In addition to the grant process, we continue to work with our newer projects. Many of these also support the same organizations. In September we made over 50 “Empty Bowls” for IHN’s biggest fundraiser. This event is held in November at Chestnut Hill College with many of our parish attending. Our annual advent fair ran in December where some of St Paul’s members (Leslie Hanlon, Tari Carlson and Van Williams) creatively partici-pated and graciously donated their proceeds to these organizations. We supported the “Turkey Trot”(a fundraiser

on Thanksgiving Day, for Face to Face), collected many toys/ warm items for the Christmas Giving Tree, held a winter coat drive, and continue to have the food bank in back of the church. On Martin Luther King Day of Ser-vice, we held a community event in the Parish Hall where 150 people worked on two different projects. The first made 10000 meals to be sent to El Salvador through a program called “Stop Hunger Now.” The second collected school supplies for our local St. James School in North Philadelphia and packed shower kits for local shelters. We are extremely proud of the success of our newest project, serving dinner once a month at the shelter in Ger-mantown. Our first date was in December, and each month we have a team of 10 people serve a meal at Face To Face. We hope to expand this in the coming year! As we evaluate the activities hosted by Outreach, it is easy to quantify the results: The meals we packed… The dollars we sent… The gifts for Christmas… But there are two areas that are just as important, but not easily measured! First, we are so pleased to see so many

new/ different people participating in the activities! This indicates a growth in the church and a sense of love of community among us. It is so important and absolutely necessary for us to carry out our mission. We thank you all! Secondly, all the ministries have actively worked at integrating activities here at St. Paul’s. For example, the col-laboration between Outreach/ Music with Face to Face; Outreach/ Spiritual Formation of children and youth with MLK Day and Empty Bowl and the Hospitality committee with EVERYONE!! We are all realizing that the effect in the community is much stronger when our ministries work together. In looking forward to a new year, Outreach will continue to cultivate relationships internally and in the commu-nity. We welcome anyone to join the committee, forward ideas, or just help out on a particular project that may be close to your heart. In getting involved, you realize how many more ways you can help. Thank you for all of the participation in the past year! Respectfully, Cathy Davis . 17

Committee Members: Doug Anderson, Meg Class, Cliff Cutler, Rob Davidson, Sarah Heckscher, Joyce Klinefelter, Emanuel Mercer, Penny Meyer, George Reath, Charles Schrader, Rebecca Southwell, Pat Voigt and Sue Dure.

The purpose of the pastoral care meetings is to bring us together monthly to help make us aware of the needs of oth-ers in our congregation. We are all so busy these days, this gathering gives us a chance to settle down, get centered and listen to a reading by Cliff – we pray for parishioners on our prayer list, and for those we know of who do not wish to be listed, but are in need of prayer. We meet on the second Monday of each month year-round.

The committee seeks to care thru engagement in the following ministries –

A Healing minister is on duty in the chapel for anyone wanting a prayer for themselves or a friend/relative following

communion at the 10:30 service. We have a rotation of about 4 or 5 persons trained for this ministry. The present healing ministers are Ken Class, Pat Voigt, Joyce Klinefelter and Jonathon Nidock.

Flower deliveries by a few stalwart parishioners, who like to rearrange the altar flowers into small containers Mon-

day mornings, deliver to hospitals or to the homebound. This is a very rewarding ministry – anyone who enjoys both making someone smile and arranging flowers, contact Jody O’Rourke.

Lay-Eucharistic ministers deliver communion to parishioners who are in the hospital or at home. If this ministry

might interest you, contact Jonathon Nidock or George Reath. If you or anyone you know would like to have com-munion brought to them, notify the office and one of these people will get in touch with you. Lay-Eucharistic ministers also perform a service at the Springfield Residence two Sundays a month. Rob Davidson,

Rebecca Southwell and Charles Schrader have been very active in supporting this ministry and have been highly received by the residents. In the past year Manny & Cliff have been offering a similar service once a month at The Hill at Whitemarsh.

Care Meals, Just home from a hospital stay or homebound due to an illness? Some homemade soup or a prepared

dinner may perk up your spirits. Our ‘care meal’ teams are happy to be called on to deliver that dinner or hot soup to help you in the healing process and cheer you up. Call the office or Penny Meyer to let us know.

We care about our parish families – we’ve come up with two new ways to show this: Anniversary ‘Remembrance Cards’, One new idea that evolved at our pastoral care meetings this past year resulted in

the design and creation of a ‘remembrance card’. On the front of this card is a photograph of an angel looking down at us from the ceiling of St. Paul’s sanctuary (taken by Van Williams). Inside is printed a message and name of parishioner who died within the last 2 or 3 years. On the anniversary of his/her death, we send this card out to the surviving loved ones – spouse and/or children – signed by Cliff and one of our pastoral care people. . Children’s Bibles

The pastoral care committee has purchased some lovely children’s bibles to be given to newborns of currently active parish families. Thus far, they have been enthusiastically received by the parents – we’ll just have to wait to see how the babies respond.

Do join us at one of our monthly Monday eve meetings – offering new ideas and energy!

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Committee Members: Mark Duckett, Tom Evans, Joe Fafara, John Faggotti, John Grigger, Laura Hague, Alix Jones, Barbie Kimberly, Jeff Lew,

Ed Sheffield, Ned Smith, Meredith Sonderskov, Randy Williams, John Zimmerman

2013 saw major improvements to the sanctuary and the columbarium. Thanks to a gracious gift from Mrs. Dixon St. Paul’s is now home to a labyrinth that has attracted interest from individuals well beyond the church member-ship. As part of the same gift the narthex and baptistery will be re-lighted and restored. The walkway in the columbarium has been replaced. Thanks to the Boy Scouts the doors from the church into the columbarium have been stripped and repainted. New plantings have been installed and lighting will follow for this area. In addition the memorial plaques will be restored and the granite cleaned. Work will soon start on replacement of Chestnut Hill Avenue sidewalk. Two of the street trees in front of the rec-tory will be removed so a new walk can be installed. Later in the fall we will plant new trees to replace the ones that have been removed.

As always a long list of maintenance and repair projects has been addressed. These include gutters and down-spouts, resetting steps, replacing light bulbs in the sanctuary, and maintaining boilers and plumbing. There is al-ways a project to be done. There are many opportunities to adopt a project. Below is a wish list of items that we would like to get accom-plished. If an individual or group would like to underwrite any of them please get in touch with Cliff or a member of the property committee.

Repair and re-upholster inner leather doors at the narthex New fixtures and upgrades to the crypt bathrooms Re-plaster and paint the flower room Strip and repaint exterior doors Restore remaining stained glass windows

Repair stage and replace drapery in the parish hall Repaint the parish hall Refinish the parish hall floor Re-carpet Dixon House Re-point masonry Sewer tie-in

The committee would also like to thank Virginia Emlen for the outstanding job she does overseeing day to day

projects on campus. To all the volunteers who help keep the campus looking good and working well – Thank

You!

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After a lapse of several years an Adult Education Committee was again formed to take the initiative in planning and implementation of programs. Its initial members were the May 2012 graduates of the EfM program from St. Paul’s: Doug Anderson, Bob Busser, Charlotte Kleis and Jonathan Nidock. Robert Riley and Kim Leach, both EfM graduates from other groups, have since joined us. The Committee has mounted a program consisting of a variety of opportunities for both knowledge and action based spiritual growth this past year.

Summer 2012: A four-week Tuesday evening study of the book of Job, led by Jonathan Nidock and Charlotte

Kleis Ongoing September – May:

Adult Forum: Sunday mornings. Visit to Franklin Institute to view Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit, enriched by two discussion sessions led by Wil Gafney -- St. Augustine’s Confessions, Books I-V, led by Manny -- The book of

Revelation and Elaine Pagel’s Revelations, led by Cliff -- Stories of Advent, led by Cliff -- Presentation on Iconog-

raphy by Susan von Medicus -- Introduction to Jewish liturgical practices by Cantor Naomi Hirsh -- Viewing and discussion of the DVD Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of Christian Faith -- Discussion of the Binding of Isaac

with Rabbi Jacob Staub -- St. Augustine’s Confessions, Books VI-XII, led by Manny -- The tradition of the laby-

rinth and current practices, presented by Sarah Elliott -- The Implications of the Resurrection for living the Chris-tian Life today by Dr. Peter Enns, “Interpreting the World through the Lord’s Prayer” and “Sacraments and Globalization” by the Rev. Dr. Cláudio Carvalhaes

Parents’ Exchange: Sunday mornings. Parents gather to exchange ideas, discuss faith issues, and offer support to one another.

Bible Study: Wednesday mornings. Transitioned from lectionary based to close study of the book of The Acts of the Apostles in the Easter Season. Study of entire books is the approach now to be followed. Led by Cliff and/or Manny.

Education for Ministry (EfM): Wednesday evenings. Mentored by Doug Anderson, this year’s group had four students in Year 1, one in Year 2, and one in Year 4 (who graduates this month). The remaining five will move up a year and new students interested in beginning in September are urged to contact Doug or Manny now.

Friday Night Bible Study: Once a month Cliff leads the group in discussion of Bible stories, themes, or issues which the group suggests. Seasonal programs Fall

Adult Enquirers Class: Cliff led a seven-week series on Sundays from 12-1 p.m. for adults preparing for confirma-tion or to be received into the Episcopal Church, studying Zscheile’s People of the Way: Renewing Episcopal Identity.

This Far by Faith: Tradition and Change in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. A five-week Tuesday evening dis-

cussion of this 2012 book led by Cliff. Winter-Spring

Lenten House Church Worship and Bible Study: In the tradition of the early church, Cliff and/or Manny led Eucharistic worship and Bible study in parishioner's homes on five Tuesday evenings in Lent.

Hallelujah! The Bible and Handel’s Messiah: Using the Kerygma program materials, parishioners Jonathan Ni-

dock and Charlotte Kleis led this seven-week Tuesday evening series exploring the biblical passages that inspired the Handel/Jennens oratorio and their musical realization. Occasional events

Sonia Sanchez: On Sunday afternoon, February 17, the poet laureate of Philadelphia read from her works.

Lorna Byrne: On Sunday afternoon, March 17, this Irish mystic spoke (to an attendance of c. 600!) about her life-long experience with angels.

Spiritual Formation for Children and Youth: GODLY PLAY

Reported by Marti Bondelid

Committee Members: Jim Bondelid, Marti Bondelid, Betsy Evans, Rachel Fecho, Bill Fikioris, Maria

Johnson, Lynn Williamson

The strength and reputation of St. Paul’s Godly Play program continues to attract new families looking for a church home. We experienced consistently high attendance throughout the 2012-2013 church school year in all three Godly Play classrooms. With the re-opening this year of our Godly Play III classroom (named “Followers of

God” by the children in that class), after two transitional years when Godly Tweens combined upper elementary and middle school cohorts, the Godly Play program has realized its full development for children from the ages of three through ten or eleven (i.e., fifth grade). This year, Father Cutler presented lessons to children in the Godly Play II and III classrooms on a few Sundays, which created important connections between the children and clergy. At our Closing Ceremony on June 2, 2013, we will be acknowledging the retirement from Godly Play teaching of Betsy Evans and Jim Bondelid, both of whom have anchored the Godly Play II classroom for many years through their storytelling and door-person roles. We offer our heartfelt thanks to both of these committed and generous parishioners who have given so much of their time and talent to our children and to supporting the growth and de-velopment of our Godly Play program. This program could not have achieved its current solid footing without your devotion to the Godly Play II children, Betsy and Jim, and you have provided a strong foundation for the continued strength of Godly Play.

I, too, will be stepping aside as both teacher and leader of the Godly Play program at St. Paul’s at the end of this church school year after eight years of developing and growing the program to its current status. Our clergy has consistently professed their commitment to the ongoing strength and quality of Godly Play at St. Paul’s, and I know they will fulfill that promise to our children and families. The Vestry and Finance Committee took the significant step during the most recent budgeting cycle of allocating a small dedicated fund for a salaried part-time director of Godly Play. In allocating an operating budget to this min-istry, they recognized the importance of both maintaining the significant capital investment in materials and envi-ronments for the Godly Play program as well as providing dedicated leadership for the ongoing planning and im-plementation of the program. To date, this fund remains untapped and intact for assuring the preservation and on-going strength of this important ministry at St. Paul’s. We will also be acknowledging at our Closing Ceremony the dedication and commitment of Godly Play teachers Rachel Fecho and Maria Johnson, who anchor the Godly Play I classroom every Sunday, and Lynn Williamson, who devotedly shares her Sunday mornings with the Godly Play III children. Additionally, we appreciate all the individuals who have helped out as substitute teachers when our “regulars” have been away. We especially ac-knowledge Bill Fikioris for willingly and repeatedly answering the call to fill in on short notice. We are blessed by the involvement of all of these people in our Godly Play program. Finally, the importance of the dedicated leadership and ongoing commitment of Cathy Davis and Joe Fafara to the Parents Exchange program continues to support the overall involvement of families in our Godly Play and church school programs. It is impossible to overstate the significance of their devotion to the parents and children of St. Paul’s and I want to make sure that they know how much they are valued and appreciated for it.

Committee Members: Jim Bondelid, Marti Bondelid,

Betsy Evans, Rachel Fecho, Bill Fikioris, Maria Johnson, Lynn Williamson

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The primary function of the Stewardship Committee is communicating to parishioners the importance of each member’s contributions to the life of the church. Active participation in church life – through contribution of time and talent, but not least treasure – is a central part of the Christian vocation. The Stewardship Committee annually calls upon parishioners to pledge their financial support to the ministries of Saint Paul’s Church. This year, in response to our call, the parish responded with a heartening level of pledging. While only 217 house-holds made pledges – a small increase over the 216 who pledged for 2012 – the total amount pledged was $593,000, substantially exceeding the $545,000 pledged for 2012. Over 20 households were first-time pledgors this year, and nearly 50 households increased their pledge by 20% or more from the previous year. A large number of parishioners responded to the “fair share” message and increased their level of giving to at or above the $2,115 level which would fully fund the church’s ministries if pledged by all members. The Stewardship Committee, on behalf of Saint Paul’s, thanks all parishioners who have taken to heart the mes-sage that individual commitment and contribution are essential to the life of our parish and fundamental to living in Christ’s image.

Committee Members: Sandy Dillon, Sarah Heckscher, Steve Heimann, John Kimberly, James Pope, John Rollins, Allison Romig, Paul Sehnert , Arthur Stokes

Last summer I had the opportunity of leading the youth mission trip to North Dakota with three young men from St. Paul’s. We had a great time working with other youth from the Fort Yates Reservation. I will be traveling back this June for another mission opportunity. Some of our youth had a great time watching the 76ers and Toronto play early this year. Kyler Puleo, participated in a diocesan sponsored youth retreat this spring. The Mothers Day Car Wash produced @ $1000 support the Youth Ministry. ad a youth participation at our recent visit to Face-to-Face to serve meals. Some of our youth also worked serving meals at Face-to-Face. I will add that most of our youth are involved in the worship life of this church as acolytes, lectors or intercessors. One hopeful sign is that we have an up and coming class of inspired children who will be the life of any youth program in the future. Our mission then is to continue to build on what we have so this group of children will have the gift of an already established youth program.

Faithfully submitted- Manny, Kim Leach and Lynn Carroll.

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April 21, 2013 Labyrinth Dedication Day

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to

God.” Philippians 4:6

Each week intercessory prayers (called prayers of the people) are offered for those in the world in special need, our diocese and companion diocese, and those in our parish. It is my job to insure that these are correct and in-clusive of all who are in need of God's blessing. The intent is to address to God the “special needs and concerns of this congregation.”

“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a

loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke t and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remem-

brance of me.’ In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do

this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Cor. 11:23-25

The third Sunday of each month I lead a communion service at the Springfield Retirement Residence for up to thirty participants with help from members of St. Paul's. We have a complete service with hymns (organ accom-paniment by one of our two 96 year old musicians), readings, prayers, sermon, and Eucharistic meal. This is

greatly appreciated by those involved which includes past members of St. Paul's. I also accompany Cliff or Many the third Friday of the month for an identical service at the Mather house at the Hill at Whitemarsh.

“..any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33

The vocation of the Deacon is to model servant leadership to the congregation and to make them aware of the needs of the world especially the poor and those in need. This joins the sacrifice represented on the Altar with each of us in the congregation and our intention to offer ourselves, lives and labors, for the purposes of God.

“And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits , to cast them out, and to

heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease.” Matthew 10:1-2

Each Wednesday at Noon we conduct a Eucharist and Healing service in the chapel. We have a small but dedi-cated following that celebrates one of the Holy Women or Men as appointed by the church on their feast day. This is an excellent way to get a spiritual pick up mid-week for a small investment of time.

“In the name of this congregation, we send you out bearing these holy gifts, that those to whom you go may share with us

in the communion of Christ’s Body and Blood.

We who are many, are one body because we all share one bread, one cup. Amen.”

With an experienced group of Eucharistic Visitors, I schedule weekly forays to about 20 people on our visitation list. Visitors are scheduled once a month to take communion to a home bound parishioner. I provide a short training in the specifics of visiting and insure that consecrated bread and wine are available on the appropriate Sundays. Those making visits include: Doug Anderson, Jonathan Nidock, George Reath, Chip Butler, Charles Schrader, and John Zimmerman.

In the Risen Christ, The Reverend Robert Michael Davidson

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This year has been a year of growth for the acolyte ministry. We have added seven new acolytes for a total of 30. We have been very pleased with the response of our parish youth, and Dave Peterson has taken on the role of youth acolyte leader. During the past year we have: Instituted a training program to increase our proficiency in serving the parish. We conducted four training programs this year. Started a youth Acolyte program to serve at the 9and 10:30 a.m. services. We now have a number of our youth serving at both services. Thanks to the generosity of the Outreach Committee we will be buying additional robes to make sure that eve-ryone has a robe that fits. Although the number acolytes serving at 9 and 10:30 a.m. has increased, we have lost some 8 a.m. acolytes. One of our goals for the next year is to provide enough acolytes for the 8:00 service. We also want to add more youth acolytes and provide additional training programs. If anyone is interested in serving in the acolyte minis-try, please contact Doug Anderson or Dave Peterson.

is an important component to liturgical worship here at St. Paul’s. Members include Cyndi and Doug Ander-son, Liz Brooks, Lisa Budd, Randi Carr, Nina Deats, Ruth Desiderio, Rod Gagne, Jonathan Nidock, Dave Pe-terson, Ann Reath, Betsy Roak, Theresa Rollins, Sue Vierick, Alex Vierick, and Sally Wolf. In terms of sched-uling, the guild serves in small groups of three or four for one Sunday a month. The guild sets up the altar, cre-dence and offertory tables for the 8, 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday Eucharist worship services as well as for Evensong on occasion. Altar guild duties include proper placement of the white linens, the sacred vessels, candles, and the bread and wine. On the rare occasions when baked bread is not provided, communion wafers are used in-stead. For the Sacred Triduum which includes Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday of Holy Week, somewhat different set-ups and take-downs are prescribed. Periodic set-up for Baptisms at the Font near the back of the church across from the Labyrinth is also part of the duties. Throughout the church year, frontals for the pulpit, lectern, high altar, free standing altar and chalice veil of variable colors are changed in accordance to the liturgical rubric, i.e. violet for Advent and Lent; white for Christmastide, the Easter season, Trinity Sun-

day, All Saints Sunday, Christ the King, weddings and funerals; red for Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Pentecost; green for Epiphany season and ‘Ordinary time’ that follows Trinity Sunday through the end of No-vember. Clean-up begins after each service and includes returning the leftover consecrated wafers and wine to the tabernacle in the chapel as well as cleaning and storing the silver chalices, patens, tankards, glassware. Linen cleaning/ironing and silver polishing are part of the guild’s responsibility in addition to checking inven-tory and purchasing stock for candles, oil, wafers and wine from various vendors. Our supplier of altar wine, James Moroney, has been inconsistent recently with blends as their inventory on Angelica blush has completely run out due to a wholesale purchase by China! We have been exploring various flavors and types of altar wine and at some point will decide on an acceptable alternative. Other changes include the acquisition back in Sep-tember of a pair of glass tankards for wine and water which are now used for the 8 and 9 am services. In De-cember we were very grateful to be able to purchase a large set of 1” brass followers for the special aisle candles used during Christmas, Easter and Evensongs. Our heartfelt thanks go out to both Barbie Kimberly and Ara-bella Pope for their wonderful generosity. Discussions will continue regarding a new green liturgical set which Diana Moro has offered to design and implement. Donors for this endeavor are being sought and are most wel-comed. Finally, anyone who is interested in being a part of the Altar Guild, please contact me at

Jonathan2n@aol.com.

St. Alban, Barbie Kimberly, Eggs Benedict St. Barnabas, John Zimmermann, Creamed Chipped Beef St. Bede, Alix Jones, Sausage & Egg Casserole St. Chad, Pat & Fred Voigt, Shirred Eggs & Biscuits St. Monica, Carole Tippet, French Toast St. Perpetua, Ned Smith, Scrambled Eggs & Bacon

Every Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m.

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St. Paul’s Annual Christmas Pageant is an extravaganza with more than 120 participants, spanning all genera-tions in our church. Rehearsing between Thanksgiving and December 23, this team effort brings together young

and old from all three services. This year, approximately 600 people attended the December 24 Pageant. A free will offering netted several hundred dollars for St. Paul’s. Directed by Diana Moro and David Peterson, the 2012 Pageant featured our older choristers (5th grade and up) as the gallery choir, singing pieces they had re-hearsed and performed during Advent and at Lessons and Carols. They were ably conducted by our organ scholar, Caroline Robinson. Zach Hemenway provided musical guidance and accompaniment and was a tre-mendous asset for the new directors to rely on in their first outing. New families to St. Paul’s participated this year as Royal Couples, townspeople and pages. We had angels who were not part of our congregation, partici-pating as well. A true community effort, members of the Chestnut Hill community assisted behind the scenes as well, including make-up and stage crew. This fall, a committee will work on updating the script for the pageant and the stage crew will work on building our own stage so we no longer have to borrow risers and platforms from CHA/Springside. A big thank you to Communications Assistant, Sarah Punderson, for her tremendously creative video tribute which is on the St. Paul’s You Tube channel.

We have a faithful core of money counters, and we need more! We are very grateful to Babbie Brock, Tom Ev-ans, Charlie Head, Joe Martinez, Jim McCarthy, Ed Sheffield, Arthur Stokes and Dudley Warwick for their ser-vice. These folks show up every time, without complaint. If you can spare 1-2 hours on the first business day af-ter Sunday and holiday services please join us. With the addition of new scanning equipment for depositing checks, our task is not difficult and we often have a little fun. And you do not need to be an accountant. After all it has been said that an accountant is someone who does not have the personality to be a money counter. Please help.

Did you ever wonder, as you knelt at the communion rail, how the altar flowers got there each week? How will the church look on Easter morning or Christmas Eve? Who does all this? It is the Flower Committee! We are responsible for arranging the memorial flowers for the altar each Sunday, as well as festive Christmas and Easter altar and church decorations.

All parishioners have the opportunity to donate $75 in memory of a loved one, in celebration of an event, or in thanksgiving for something special that has occurred in your life. There is frequently more than one memorial on any given Sunday. The donations are put into a separate flower fund for use during the year. You will notice there is no line item in the Saint Paul’s budget for flowers. This is paid for solely by the donations of parishion-ers. Those who are being remembered are included in the Sunday Service Sheet as well as the Prayers of the Peo-ple.

The committee is divided into teams. Each team is responsible for assigned Sundays throughout the year. Flow-ers are selected by the team – generally in the amount of $75 – from various suppliers with whom Saint Paul’s has an account. The arranging is usually done on Saturday mornings and placed on the altar for the Sunday ser-vices.

All team members are encouraged to come the mornings of Christmas Eve and the Saturday before Easter to help decorate the church for those occasions. This can complicate schedules for families at such busy times of the

year, but we have very dedicated members who are committed to this ministry and are willing to contribute a few hours.

We encourage those who wish to learn and those who are already experienced to join our group. If a member has little or no flower arranging experience, she or he is teamed up with veteran arrangers. We have wonderful talented members who are ready share their expertise.

The committee members are: Anne Coste, Leslie Filippi, Heather Glendinning, Janna Grigger, John Grigger, Sally Humphreys, Alix Jones, Bright Judson, Anne Martinez, Hildy Montaigne, Lyn Montgomery, Allison Romig, Carol Sagendorph, Nancy Shepard, Anne Standish. Please speak to any one of us if you are interested in learning more! Alix Jones

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Each Monday morning, several volunteers take down the Sunday altar flowers and make small arrangements to be delivered that day to members and friends of St. Paul’s who might be ill or unable to get about. We also like

to thank those members of the congregation who have worked hard on a special project. At Christmas and Easter we have a larger group of volunteers to distribute the 35 or so plants which have so beautifully decorated the church. Anyone interested in this ministry would be most welcome. Jodyorourke@gmail.com Jody O’Rourke

Since Jesus commands us to be hospitable without complaint, hospitality is not a specialized ministry or gift that only a few people possess, we at Saint Paul’s are ALL part of hospitality.

Several women and men actually plan and carry out the various hospitality events. Anne Martinez, along with her husband Joe oversees Coffee Hour after the 10:30 a.m. service each Sunday. One Sunday during the service, Anne realized there wasn’t anyone signed up to host the coffee hour and she sent Joe to the market to purchase the snacks and beverages that were needed. That’s what I call dedication. The Coffee hour needs support and we will be asking everyone to consider being a host after the 10:30 a.m. service.

The Inaugural Twelfth night was a great success with the soup recipes from that night being included in our

Lenten Booklet. The Shrove Tuesday dinner, the Agape meal on Holy Thursday, a reception after the Easter Vigil, a dinner and a reception or two after Evensong, are just a few of the many events that the Hospitality com-mittee planned this year.

Although we encourage parents and children to attend all of our activities, the Parent’s Exchange and the Church School teachers are committed to many special children’s events at Saint Paul’s.

Our Hospitality committee members are supported by family members who do everything from shopping, bak-ing bread, set-up, clean-up, and carrying heavy soup pots from the car to the Parish Hall. We thank them pro-fusely for their gracious help and encouragement.

We also appreciate the help of many parishioners who, when asked, support our activities and encourage every one to be “hospitable without complaint.” Jill Wemple

The problem of family homelessness is complex and often out of our control. Any one night in the year, there are more than 1000 to 1300 are children and their families, homeless in Philadelphia. In this economy, rent and mortgages for some have become impossible to pay, and the Philadelphia shelter system is stretched!

Ending homelessness requires a holistic approach that begins with immediate needs, extending further to allevi-ate the root causes and help families to achieve lasting independence.

This is what IHN does 92% of its families have succeeded in permanently overcoming homelessness. IHN pro-vides professional human services for families in need. It accepts families of all configurations and works to keep families together and supports them as they move toward permanent housing. In addition, it helps families con-nect to resources that will expand their world of opportunity. Guests participate in life skills workshops, support groups, individual therapy, financial literacy, etc. Through Art Reach, the guests can visit museums, and scholar-ships are provided for academic and extracurricular programs.

Guests families are provided a private room in a quiet, nurturing setting of a host congregation and receive meals and hospitality from congregational volunteers. Presently, Saint Paul’s is hosting four families, with children ranging in ages 1 to 18 years old, for three weeks. The eighteen year old is about to graduate from high school and go to college; the 15 year old is a big football player and his sister a successful student and competitive cheer-leader. Another came in second place in the Philadelphia spelling bee. The families are housed in 4 large rooms in the crypt of the Church. A nutritious dinner was prepared and served every night by a wonderful group of gen-erous volunteers and then a member of the church kindly spent the night to provide security to our guests. With out the help of every volunteer, this important program would not be possible. St. Paul’s was responsible for the first week, OMC for the second week and Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church for the third week. Betsy & Jake Roak

Currently 47 individuals offer their services as readers of the appointed lessons and intercessions at the 8 and 10:30 a.m. services, at Evensongs and other occasional services. Of these, seven are young people. We are

deeply grateful to all of them for their reliable service, careful preparation, and thoughtful delivery of their read-ings. As we move towards online scheduling and linking to appointed passages, our lectors are gamely adapting to these new routines, which save considerable staff time and effort. The lessons appointed for each Sunday are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary, published in 1992 and officially adopted by The Episcopal Church in 2006. The readings are used ecumenically and like the 1979 Prayer Book lectionary, are a three-year cycle of Sunday Eucharistic readings in which Matthew, Mark, and Luke are read in successive years with some material from John read in each year. In the 9 a.m. worship only the Gospel reading is used and is always read by the Deacon. Arabella Pope

Parent’s Exchange is a group of parents with children of all ages who meet each Sunday morning 9:40-10:20 a.m. while their children are in church school. It is a wonderful and collaborative effort to help master the most difficult job of all, … parenting! We openly discuss the latest parenting book, educational dilemma, or current

headline, then often divert to a specific topic an individual would like some advice with. The forum is always open! It is so very comforting to know that most other parents are confronting the exact same difficulties at home. For example, “how do I get my little guy to eat?”, or “does anyone have a good recommendation for a party”, and most common, “how do I motivate my child to do…….?” It is beautiful to see how much the circle of Saint Paul’s families has grown over the past few years. Along with families from the immediate local areas, we now have regular families from Norristown, the Art Museum Area, Plymouth Meeting, Center City and fur-ther. As parents, the benefit of this widened circle is immeasurable!! It now gives us personal insight to over 20 schools. In addition, we gain so much knowledge from EACH of our extended professional careers. Our parents work as teachers, social workers, attorneys, doctors and stay at home moms, just to name just a few! As the cir-cle grows, our resources grow.

All are welcome to stop in on any Sunday to share a topic or just a cup of coffee. We often have the pleasure of a visiting Grandparent or Aunt who remind us how wonderful our little ones are! Cathy Davis

The annual rummage sale broke its all-time high by raising more than $45,000 gross before expenses. We attrib-ute some of the success of this year to several factors: there was a plethora of early donations, some goods were sold online to gain a higher profit, and the pre-sale continues to gain a larger following each year bringing in $18,000 alone before the day of the sale. The proceeds from the sale are used to further Saint Paul’s outreach to organizations which support homelessness and hunger throughout the Philadelphia region. The outreach com-mittee screens applications and makes recommendations for funding of organizations such as Northwest Inter-faith Hospitality Network, Face to Face Germantown, Aid for Friends, just to name a few. More than one hundred volunteers donned new red aprons bearing the Saint Paul’s logo on the day of the sale but also participated throughout the hot summer to make this event a huge success. Judy Smith chaired the rum-mage sale for the fourth year, aided by all of the department chairs: Bright Judson, antiques; Nancy Shepard, books; Ginny Raynor-Smith, boutique; Libba Affel, Karen Richter & Kay Wisniewski, Chic Boutique; Cathy Davis, Jill Wemple, Barbie Kimberly, children’s; Joe & Jean Bower, large & small electronics; Trudy Roman, French Room; Betsy Roak, sweaters, hats, and bags; Christine Kindler, holiday room; Irene Watson, jewelry;

Chesley Lightsey & Sherrie Hamilton, Anibal and Rich, linens; Stewart Graham, men’s; Francie Hannafin, op-portunity; Anne Martinez, Friday night food and Cathy Glazer, Saturday food. Continued thanks to Josh & Ben Sehnert who provided continuity of a labor force on Wednesday mornings. During the collection period, which began at the end of June, clothing and shoes that do not make the cut of the department chairs are bagged for pick-up by the Salvation Army, an effort coordinated by Sue Dure. Our long-standing relationship with Liberty Thrift Stores, a prison ministry that provides jobs and housing for those who have been incarcerated and are starting anew, was compromised when they could not come to pick up the left-overs in a timely fashion. A last minute plan was made to rent a truck which was loaded with books, linens, fur-niture, household goods, children’s items and driven to Impact, Montgomeryville. A later load from the an-

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tiques room was dropped off also later in the following week. Many thanks to Libba Affel for donating the cost of the truck rental and to Bob Busser, Tim Kiser and Gil Hahn for driving the leftovers to Impact. The leftover clothing went to Whosoever Gospel Mission. Teen Challenge, one of our grant recipients, continues to come at the end of the sale to take away electronics for resale in their “New to You” shop. The rummage

clean-up crew is extremely grateful for their assistance at the end of a long day. The Career Center has come three years in a row to harvest business clothing from the French Room for their “wardrobe closets” for those who are preparing to enter the workforce on limited budgets. Each year contributions of hats, shirts, belts are made to the Morris Arboretum for their fall scarecrow event. Karen Richter

Welcoming is like “Love at first sight”, the first impression of a visitor determines whether they will consider St. Paul’s as a community to which they can belong or not. To grow our church then depends on our ability to have those who walk through our doors for the very first time feel like they have always been a part of this wonderful community of faith. Our Welcoming teams have been very strong in helping visitors to St. Paul’s find their place in the church and in our worship. It is important to share with you that previously visitors who fill a welcome card receive an email on Monday, a welcome packet in the mail and a later visit by a priest. We have now designed systematic steps geared towards incorporating visitors into our common life. In view of the fact that the 9:00 a.m. service has registered significant growth in the past year, we are very fortunate to have Lynn Carroll and Chesley Lightsey join Tracy Piawtowski on the 9:00am Welcome Team. Part of their mission is to help out new families with the service and to also walk with them to the Church School wing for Godly Play and Parents Exchange. We are appreciative for all the efforts, attention and time the entire Welcoming Ministry volunteers (ushers, greeters, and team captains) undertake each Sunday and throughout the year. Their smiles, and friendly ac-tions assist everyone who enters our parish doors on any given worship service. Our teams are a great start to help get the welcome mat rolled out. We remind parishioners to support our efforts by taking time to in-troduce yourselves to individuals we may not know. Quite simply, the parish can’t be too friendly. One of the best things we can hear, “I am considering joining this church; it is so welcoming.”

Faithfully Submitted- Manny Mercer and Charlie Head

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Chorister Fun 2012

Lucy Margaret Williamson—4.15.12 Lola Margaret Drayton—4.29.12 Genevieve Alexa Belfi—5.13.12 Katherine Hazel Kopp—5.20.12

Christian Meletios Fikioris—6.3.12 Jesse Dimes Robinson—7.1.12

Esmee Annette Gagne—7.29.12 Avely Rhodes Gagne—7.29.12 Isabel Storm Salmen—8.26.12

Lawson Oliver Coleman—11.4.12 James Gray Gillan—1.6.13

Ava Hamilton Lightsey—4.7.13 Jackson Hamilton Lightsey—4.7.13

Sarah Elizabeth Dyke—4.21.13 Abigail Elizabeth Green—4.21.13

Henry McCue Kopp—5.12.13

Suzanne Elizabeth King to Jason Zachary Amrich—5.27.2012 Courtney Fox to Brian Peters—-6.23.12 Kerinne Hartin to Ryan Gill—8.17.2012

Elizabeth Finucane to David Wilson—8.18.2012 Jasmine Thomas to Sam George—9.1.2012

Sharon Pervez to Anthony Andrew Kahn—9.15.2012 Helene Lorraine Halstuch to Jonathan Nidock—2.11.2012

Jo Lindseth Busser Edward Biddle Clay, Jr. Eleanor Matlack Davis

Madeleine Newbold Fleitas Edward H. McGehee

Frederick Robeson Miller Hope Knowles Rawls

Stuart McMillan Skinner Judith Johnson Thompson Elizabeth G. Stout Vogdes

Ann Stookey

Henry S. Zawilla

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31

2012

Brian, Juliana & Haven Ames Ann Beatus

Matthew & Kimberly Belfi Stephen & Cynthia Clowery Elizabeth & David Wilson

Sherri Hamilton & Chesley Lightsey Mark & Gemma Magnusson

Charles Schrader Brian Shaffer & Ed Wicks

Elizabeth O. & Richard Smith Ben & Emily Traino

Lisa Miller

Jeff Lew

2013

Obi Abara Sarah & Charlie Adams

Keith Abrahamsen & Allie Williams Charlie & Sarah Adams

Chester & Eugenie John, Kara & Jack Gaghan

Kassy Heckard & Chip O ‘Neil Molly & Nick Liska

Rachel & Mario Munroe Wanda Munroe

Jay & Jennifer Pearcy Valerie Jamison

VESTRY 2012-2013

Dale Lower, Rector’s Warden;

Pam Prior, Accounting Warden; Linda Boggs, Secretary;

Stephen Camp-Landis, Mark Duckett, Betsy Evans, Joe Fafara, John Faggotti,

Rod Gagné, Steve Heimann, Tom O’ Rourke, Allison Romig, Paul Sehnert, Arthur Stokes, Becky Southwell, Jill Wemple

Photo by Van Williams