2015 ANNUAL REPORTfiles.ctctcdn.com/393ab88a101/495ef4a3-07d8-4d30-a0cb-da... · 2016. 1. 28. ·...

2015 ANNUAL REPORT

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING

JANUARY 31, 2016 11:30 A.M.

715 North Carlton Avenue Wheaton, Illinois 60187 Phone: 630-668-5147 Fax: 630-668-5187 www.firstpreswheaton.org

Together we Celebrate, Journey & Serve

http://www.firstpreswheaton.org/

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH WHEATON, ILLINOIS

ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING JANUARY 31, 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS Submitted by Page

Annual Congregational Meeting Agenda Pastor – Interim Pastor/Head of Staff David Handley 1 Pastor - Pastoral Care Coordinator Kyle Roggenbuck 2 2016 Budget Jan Buscher 3 Year End Results Michael Rohl 4 Balance Sheet Michael Rohl 5 2015 Minutes of Congregational Meetings Matt Stremel 6 Adult Education David Handley 15 A-V Ministry Joe Kyle-Di Pietropaolo 16 Buildings and Grounds Randy Foster 18 Career Ministry Jim Carr & Angela Stephenson 19 Caritas Ministry Anne Flansburg 20 Children's Ministries Lynne Nuzzo 22 Church Administrator Jan Buscher 24 Clerk of Session Matt Stremel 26 Communications Ministry Jon Wylie 27 Communion Preparation Maryanne Kyle-Di Pietropaolo 28 Communion Servers Cerena Fischer 29 Congregational Nominating Committee John Keating 30 Connections Committee Emily Schmitz 31 Deacons Rosanne Houle 32 Genesis Ministry Mary Kinsey 34 Gifts and Memorials Scott Slate 37 Human Resources Committee Cindy Bass & Steve Van Oss 38 JUST Correspondence Committee Barabara Huszagh 39

Membership Secretary Agnes Kenton & Sue Hartman 40 Mission Outreach Committee Justin Mead 41 Music Director Search Committee Stephen Van Oss 42 Music Ministry David A. Lincoln 43 Nan Montgomery Library Marilyn Wagner 45 Office and Finance Mike Rohl 46 Office and Finance / Investment Committee Phil Slocum 47 Pastor Nominating Committee Richard Lauber 48 Presbyterian Preschool Chandra Gravit 49 Stephen Ministry Henrieta Ribeiro 51 Stewardship Mike Weatherred 52 Visual Arts Ruth Lundy 54 Wedding Coordinating Committee Tanya Downing & Kim Van Oss 55 Women’s Ministry Alice Lechiara & Angela Stephenson 56

Worship Committee Kim Van Oss 59 Worship Flowers Mary Burge 60 Youth Ministries Nancy Goodwin 61 Youth Director Search Committee Scott Slate 64

Annual Congregational Meeting First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton

January 31, 2016 – 11:30 a.m.

AGENDA

I. Declaration of Quorum and Opening Prayer, Interim Pastor Dave Handley, Moderator

II. Open the Corporate Meeting with prayer, Gary Kovanda, President of congregation

III. Motion to receive the Annual Report for 2015

1) Church Ministry & Program Staff Reports

2) Financial Report, Mike Rohl, Office & Finance Chairperson

IV. Ecclesiastical Meeting

Approval of Minutes

January 04, 2015

January 25, 2015

March 1, 2015

May 17, 2015

August 16, 2015

October 11, 2015

V. Reports

1) Congregational Nominating Committee, John Keating, Moderator

A. Nominations

1. Elders

2. Deacons

3. At-Large Members to the Congregational Nominating

Committee

B. Nominations from the floor, if applicable

C. Vote (by unanimous consent, if no nominations from the floor)

D. Vote to dismiss with thanks the 2015 Congregational

Nominating Committee

2) Session’s Report of the 2016 Operating Budget, Gary Kovanda

3) Human Resources Committee, Steve Van Oss, Moderator

A. Approval of the Pastors’ Terms of Call

VI. State of the Congregation, Interim Pastor Dave Handley

VII. Closing Prayer, Pastor Kyle

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SENIOR PASTOR

ANNUAL REPORT 2015

I am about to do a new thing, says the Lord. Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)

I was called to be your interim pastor beginning June 1, and have been grateful for this opportunity ever

since. Consequently, this is a semi-annual report; the other half of which could be written by Pastor Jay

Moses, now shepherding our sister congregation, Hope Presbyterian. So perhaps the first thing that

needs to be said in this 2015 retrospective is a warm thank you to Jay for his leadership and dedication

to First Pres in the difficult first half of 2015 following the departure of Pastor Paul Kirbas.

My next observation is how fortunate First Pres is to have such a dedicated and gifted staff. Each

Tuesday we gather for lunch together at 11:30, go around the table sharing personal joys and concerns,

pray for one another and for our congregation, and then plan together for the coming weeks.

Receptionists Janet Rynne and Lisa Linebarger, Scott Rice (building), Scott Slate (financial assistant),

John Norton (communications, replacing Susan McNeill who followed another calling in ministry), Jan

Buscher (business administrator), Lynn Nuzzo (children’s ministry, replacing Shelley Iliff retiring after

more than 20 years of fruitful service), Mary Kinsey (middle school), Allison Kunz (high school,

replaced in the interim by Derrick Rohl and then Nancy Goodwin as Allison accepted a call in

California near her family), David Lincoln (who completed 12 years of service at the end of 2015 as

Director of Music and now serves St. John’s Lutheran in LaGrange), and Pastor Kyle Roggenbuck

(whose title and ministry have expanded from Pastor of Pastoral Care to Associate Pastor)—this is the

team that gathers each Tuesday, gives their all to lead our programs and volunteers, supports the

infrastructure of our incredible facilities, and prays for individual members.

The work of the Church Officer Nominating Committee began early this year when Session decided to

go through the full interim process in searching for the next Senior Pastor. On top of their important

work of recommending persons to serve as Deacons, Elders, and the At Large members of the 2016

Nominating Committee, they were given the highly important task of recommending names for the

Pastor Nominating Committee. Many prayerful hours went into this process during July and August by

the 2015 Church Officer Nominating Committee: Co-chairs John Keating and Jim Carr, Dave Chiesa,

Nate Goodwin, Rosanne Houle, Agnes Kenton, Jeanne Kovanda, Kerry Weatherred, and Megan Zorn.

The PNC they recommended for the congregation’s approval were the following: Sharon Carroll, Nancy

Goodwin, Doug Houle, Shelley Iliff, Richard Lauber (chair), Justin Mead, Charles Scouten, Robbie

Spehr, Mike Sires, and Angela Stephenson. May we all keep the PNC continually in our prayers as they

begin to interview candidates, beginning in January.

Respectfully submitted,

Dave Handley, Interim Pastor

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Associate Pastor, Pastoral Care

2015 Report

2015 was a challenging year both personally and professionally as our church went through many

changes and transitions and loss. I felt that a big part of my role this year was to keep the church on an

even keel as we said goodbye to so many of our ministers and leaders—Paul, Jay, Shelley, Allison, and

David. There are many rays of light and hope that have shone through, though and I’m looking forward

to meeting many new colleagues in 2016.

One thing that didn’t change, though, was our wonderful Pastoral Care teams that we have in place here

at First Pres! The Deacons have done a wonderful job of providing hospitality, and leadership, of

collecting for the Food Pantry, and receptions for the bereaved, of visiting with and praying for their

parish families. I feel blessed and humbled to work among such a great group.

Our Stephen Ministers continue to deliver quiet care and support to folks in our congregation who are

experiencing a difficult time. And our Caritas ministry delivered dozens of meals and care as well as

making important connections to those who are shut in or could use a friendly visitor.

This year I’ve enjoyed teaching the PW Bible Study was “Come to the Waters” and participating in

several Women’s Ministry events.

Lent was a wonderful season again this year as we 40 or 50 parishioners participated in writing

devotions for our 2015 Lenten Devotional, and we gathered each Wednesday evening for Soup Supper,

worship and study. It was a great way to prepare our hearts for Easter.

One of the highlights of my year was handing out 100 hundred dollar bills as we kicked off our

Kingdom assignment and invited folks of all ages to ‘pay it forward’ in many inspiring and creative

ways. We also were able to publish a guide capturing their many experiences, called “Changing Lives:

Making a Difference in God’s World.”

I also feel blessed by the ever deepening relationship we have begun to build with our Zomi brothers and

sisters in Christ, as we had several gatherings of our two communities and Mary Kinsey was able to use

her Kingdom Assignment funds to help several Zomi college students. We also gathered school

supplies and provided Christmas gifts for the children. We hope to continue this wonderful connection.

As always, the most rewarding part of my ministry this year has been the wonderful privilege of visiting

many of you in the hospital, care facilities and homes, as well as officiating at many memorial services.

It truly is a gift to be invited into peoples’ lives at such times.

Yours in Christ,

Kyle Roggenbuck

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First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton

2016 Budget

2016 Operating Budget

Operating Income

Contributions:

Pledge Receipts $945,000 Unpledged Receipts 90,000 Initial Offering (Per Capita) 9,000 Loose Plate Offering 9,000

Special Offerings 6,000 Designated/Benevolence 5,000 Session Challenge 33,248

Total Contributions 1,097,248

TOTAL $1,097,248

Operating Expenses:

Staff Personnel $718,198

Mission Outreach 75,000 Worship 12,100 Administrative 87,100 Youth Ministry 13,000 Christian Education 6,100 Member Life 9,550 Utilities & Maintenance 201,600

TOTAL $1,122,648

Net Results From Operations -$25,400

Other Receipts and Disbursements:

Investment Income 9,000 Building Use fees 8,200

Misc. & Other 10,200 Gain (Loss) on Investments (tentative) 0 Repair & Replacement Fund 0 Stock/Bank/Online fees (2,000)

Net $0

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December 31, 2015 Operating Results

2015 2015 Budget Variance

Results

Operating Income

Contributions:

Pledge Receipts $989,687 $951,385 $38,302

Unpledged Receipts $90,262 100,000 ($9,738)

Initial Offering (Per Capita) $8,613 15,000 ($6,387)

Loose Plate Offering $9,650 5,000 $4,650

Special Offerings/Gifts $9,650 4,569 $5,081

Use of Designated & Restricted Funds $10,000 10,000 $0

Session Challenge 74,046

Total Contributions $1,117,862 1,160,000 ($42,138)

TOTAL $1,117,862 $1,160,000 ($42,138)

Operating Expenses:

Staff Personnel $701,869 $791,747 ($89,878)

Mission Outreach $70,000 70,000 $0

Worship $9,926 11,999 ($2,073)

Administrative $79,092 95,804 ($16,712)

Youth Ministry $9,535 13,090 ($3,555)

Christian Education $4,894 7,705 ($2,811)

Member Life $2,903 7,450 ($4,547)

Utilities & Maintenance $202,235 215,804 ($13,569)

TOTAL $1,080,453 $1,213,600 ($133,146)

Net Results From Operations $37,409 (53,599) $91,008

Other Receipts and Disbursements:

Investment Income $11,528 7,500 $4,028

Building Use fees $7,593 8,000 ($407)

Misc. & Other $12,109 11,600 $509

Gain (Loss) on Investments (tentative) $97 0 $97

Repair & Replacement Fund $36 0 $36

Stock/Bank/Online fees -$1,595 (2,000) $405

Loan Forgiveness -$30,000

Pastor Nominating Committee Expenses -$25,000

$12,176 ($28,499) $95,675

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Balance Sheet

12/31/2015

Cash & Investments:

Operating Cash $290,702

Other Cash $100

PW Funds & Transitional Housing Funds $7,810

$298,612

Fidelity Mutual Funds $404,415

Fidelity Stock $5,476

Fidelity Bond Funds $165,524

Fidelity Money Market Fund $85,623

$661,038

Pastor/Staff Housing

Assistance Loans $18,327

Total Cash & Investments $977,977

Property & Equipment:

Land $240,000

Buildings $1,834,129

Building Addition $5,141,988

Furniture & Equipment $218,154

Total Property & Equipment $7,434,271

Accounts Receivable

Prepaid Expenses

Total Assets $8,412,248

Liabilities:

Loan Payable - Community Bank $0

Prepaid 2014 Pledges $41,382

Other $2,254

Total Liabilities $43,636

Fund Balances:

Operations Fund $152,676

Benevolence (Missions) Fund $14,737

Preschool Fund $44,029

Equity in Property & Equipment $7,451,874

Total Fund Balances $7,663,315

Restricted Funds:

Temporarily Restricted $194,111

General Endowment $423,909

Permanently Restricted $87,277

Total Restricted Funds $705,297

Total Liabilities, Fund Principal

& Restricted Funds $8,412,248

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First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, Illinois

Congregational Meeting

Sunday, January 4, 2015

A Called Meeting of the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was brought to order

by Moderator Rev. Robert Reynolds, Executive Presbyter of the Presbytery of Chicago at 12:04 p.m. on

Sunday, January 4, 2015 following the benediction of the 11:00 a.m. worship service. As Rev. Kirbas and

his family were excusing themselves from the sanctuary, Rev. Reynolds offered an opening prayer. He

then sought and gained confirmation of a quorum. He then stated that the purpose of the short meeting

was to dissolve the pastoral relationship with Rev. Dr. Paul J. Kirbas as Senior Pastor / Head of Staff of

the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, Illinois. He offered a few comments about the ministry of Rev.

Kirbas.

Rev. Reynolds then sought and gained a MOTION to dissolve the pastor relationship with Rev. Paul J.

Kirbas, effective January 4, 2015, with concurrence by the Presbytery of Chicago if the way be clear and

to dismiss him to the Indian Nations Presbytery, so he may become the pastor of the Westminster

Presbyterian Church of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The motion was seconded and he asked for any

discussion. Hearing none, the called for the vote and the motion carried.

Rev. Reynolds then invited Elder Randy Johnson, Presbytery of Chicago Commission on Ministry

Representative for Wheaton First, to come forward. Elder Johnson provided a short explanation on the

Covenant of Closure and asked the congregation if there were any questions. As there were none, Rev.

Reynolds thanked Elder Johnson and sought a MOTION to close the meeting. The motion duly carried

and the meeting was closed with a blessing and applause at 12:15 p.m.

The signed Covenant of Closure document follows.


Elder D. Matthew Stremel, Clerk of Session

Concurred by:

Rev. Jay Moses, Moderator

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Sunday, January 25, 2015

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was called to order

by Acting Moderator Dr. Jay Moses. The meeting took place in the Ministry Center on Sunday, January

25, 2015 and was called to order by Rev. Moses at 9:58 a.m. following the 8:30 a.m. worship service.

Moderator Moses sought and gained validation that a quorum was present. He opened the meeting with

a prayer, a song, and recognition of the paid professional staff of the church who have provided immediate

leadership to support the faith community during the transition as a result of the departure of Rev. Paul J.

Kirbas as Senior Pastor / Head of Staff.

Rev. Moses then invited Elder Stuart MacDonald, President of the Corporation, to begin the meeting of

the corporation. Elder MacDonald presented the 2014 Annual Report calling the attention to assembled

body to the electronic version as well as the printed copies available in the room. He sought and gained a

MOTION to receive the 2014 Annual Report and the motion was approved. He then invited Mr. Mike

Rohl, Chair of the Office and Finance Committee to come forward to present the 2014 Financial Report.

Mr. Rohl called attention to the balance sheet noting that the 2014 financials were positive with the church

remaining debt free. He attributed much of the success to the responsiveness of the congregation and the

prudent expense management of the staff. He also pointed out that the balance sheet reflected that overall

giving was $6K greater than budgeted which, along with the use of designated savings of $62K, provided

the platform for the year-end income of $35K. Additionally, he explained that Wheaton First had once

again not met its commitment to the connected church through per capita assessment. There was a

question regarding the terms of the loans made to the pastor including the $25K outstanding on the loan

to Rev. Kirbas and his family. Mr. Rohl reminded the assembled body that this information addressed

2014 results and that the 2015 Operating Budget would be addressed later in the meeting. Hearing no

other business of the corporation, Mr. MacDonald returned to the podium and sought a MOTION to close

the meeting of the corporation. It was seconded and the motion carried closing the meeting of the

corporation. Moderator Moses returned to the podium.

Moderator Moses then called the Ecclesiastical Meeting to order. He sought and gained a MOTION to

dispense with the reading of the minutes from the congregational meeting of January 26, 2014 and to

approve said minutes. The motion was seconded and duly approved. Moderator Moses then invited Elder

Bill Blake to present the Nominating Committee Report. After recognizing the work of the Nominating

Committee and presented the slate of candidates for the office of Elder (Class of 2018), he presented the

following candidates:

Sue Hervey Denny Lawson

Richard Lauber Mike Mast

Elder Blake sought nominations from the floor and hearing none, requested a MOTION to elect the

candidates to the Office of Elder which was made, seconded, and approved.

He then moved on to the slate of candidates for the office of Deacon (Class of 2018). Elder Blake

explained that there one remaining open spot on the slate. The following candidates were presented:

Alice Ayers Lorrie Leahigh

Margie Burgess Mike Price

Jane Fussner Beth Spiegel

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Doug Johnston Steve Stephenson

Alan Konfirst Doug Zimmer

After again seeking nominations from the floor and as there were none, Elder Blake encouraged anyone

who might be interested to see him after the meeting and he explained that would need to be a short Called

Congregational Meeting in the future to fill the open spot. He then sought and gained a MOTION to elect

the slated candidates to the Office of Deacon. The motion was seconded and carried.

Elder Blake then presented the following candidates for the 2015-16 Congregational Nominating

Committee. He reminded the group that the committee consists of two Elders appointed by Session, two

Deacons appointed by the Board of Deacons, and five At Large members elected by the congregation. He

also added that this nominating committee could possibly be called upon to recommend a slate of potential

candidates to serve as a Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) during the term. He presented the slate for

the four of the five At-Large members to the 2015-16 Nominating Committee:

Donna Beering Bryan Sanzotti

Jeanne Kovanda Kerry Weathered

He also announced that the Elder and Deacon appointments were as follows:

John Keating (Elder and Chair) Roseanne Houle (Deacon)

Jim Carr (Elder and Co-Chair) David Chiesar(Deacon)

Elder Blake again sought nominations from the floor and hearing none, accepted a MOTION and second

to elect the proposed candidates to the 2015 Nominating Committee was made, seconded, and approved.

Then he sought and gained a MOTION to dissolve the outgoing committee with gratitude. The motion

was duly approved and carried.

Moderator Moses then invited Mr. Mike Rohl, Chair of the Office and Finance Committee, to return to

the microphone. Mr. Rohl presented the highlights of the 2015 Operating Budget. He called attention to

the details presented in the distributed report. He reminded the congregation that Session had approved

the budget at the called meeting of January 20, 2015. He also offered some perspective on the budget

calling attention to the 86 pledging units from 2014 that have not given in 2015 thus impacting the ability

of Session to accurately forecast 2015 income. Session is working directly on receiving those pledges and

the budget assumes that $75K will be realized through those efforts. He also explained that the Session

needed to make an assumption regarding pastor staffing models during the transition in order to build a

2015 budget calling attention to the assumption that Rev. Moses would be extended as Acting Head of

Staff and that Rev. Roggenbuck would remain as full-time through the end of June 2015 with an Interim

Pastor or equivalent joining the staff on July 1, 2015. He also pointed out that the Session was able to

restore staff salaries to the level prior to last year’s annual meeting of the congregation and to address

some areas of concern including mission giving to $70K and per capita allocation compliance to $15K.

He expressed confidence that that working within the budget was possible but would continue to require

management by Session and staff in order to avoid borrowing.

Elder Steve VanOss as co-chair of the Human Resources Committee (HRC) moved to the podium where

he asked the pastors and families to excuse themselves. Once completed, he reviewed the 2015 Terms of

Call for the pastors. After presenting the report, he entertained some questions which included expressed

concerns that additionally compensation was not being offered to Rev. Moses as the Acting Head of Staff.

He responded that he was aware that Session had considered potential options but felt that for the initial

period of transition with the financial constraints in place that no additional compensation could be

offered. He noted that Session still might recommend changes in compensation based upon transition

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options selected. After suitable time, a MOTION to accept the terms of call was made, seconded, and

approved by verbal vote. Rev. Moses and Rev. Roggenbuck returned to applause.

As Rev. Moses returned, he offered a perspective on the State of the Church. He offered encouragement

about the stability and reputation of Wheaton First in this time of transition. He challenged the assembled

body to consider four specific actions:

1.) Give faithfully and sacrificially

2.) Serve – Step up, volunteer, become engaged

3.) Be Present – Attend and be faithful to the community

4.) Pray – If anxious about the future, pray and trust God.

He closed his remarks with a modified version of “The Serenity Prayer” ending with the message to trust

and God and know the wisdom to prepare.

He then invited Elder Laurie Harrington to offer some prepared comments from Session and to entertain

questions. She explained that Session is working diligently to discern God’s will and to carefully consider

various options to lead the church into the future. She committed to ongoing communication to the

congregation and promised a shared Session commitment to restore vision, trust, and accountability to the

path forward. During the question period, there were a variety of questions representing the diversity of

perspectives and opinions. Concerns about considering all options were expressed and the comments

from the podium were intended to demonstrate a strong commitment to prayerful discernment and

thoughtful, transparent decision making. There were also some clarifying questions regarding estimated

timeframes and available options. It was announced that an all-church gathering is being planned for

Sunday, March 1, 2015 were additional updates will be provided.

As Rev. Moses needed to excuse himself to participate in the 11:00 a.m. worship service, Rev.

Roggenbuck entertained a MOTION to close the meeting with prayer. The motion was duly approved

and she offered a closing prayer at 10:58 a.m.



Concurred by:


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Sunday, March 1, 2015

A brief Called Meeting of the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was called to

order by Acting Moderator Dr. Jay Moses immediately following worship at 11:14 a.m. The meeting took

place in the sanctuary and Rev. Moses offered a short opening prayer as he moved to the front of the

sanctuary to call the meeting to order. He sought and gained verification that a quorum was present. Rev.

Moses reminded the congregation that the purpose of the meeting was to complete the election of two

open positions that were not filled at the time of the annual meeting held on Sunday, January 25, 2015.

He invited Elder Bill Blake as Moderator of the 2014 Nominating Committee to the podium. Elder Blake

reported that there was one open position for the Deacon Class of 2018 and that Margaret Hersey has

agreed to serve if elected. He sought nominations from the floor and hearing none, he sought and gained

a MOTION to elect Ms. Margaret Hersey as Deacon. The motion was duly approved and carried.

Elder Blake then explained that the nominating committee consists of two Elders, two Deacons, and five

members of the congregation elected at large. There is one open at large position on the 2015 Nominating

Committee and Nathan Goodwin has agreed to serve if elected. Elder Blake sought additional nominations

from the floor and hearing none, sought a MOTION to elect Nathan Goodwin to the 2015 Nominating

Committee as a Member At Large. The motion was made, seconded, and approved.

Rev. Moses received a MOTION to adjourn the called meeting of the congregation at 11:18 a.m. and the

meeting was closed.



Concurred by:


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Sunday, May 17, 2015

A Called Meeting of the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was brought to order by Rev.

Kyle Roggenbuck, Designated Associate Pastor. She introduced Rev. Eric Heinekamp, Director of Business Affairs

at the Presbytery of Chicago. He was provided by the Commission on Ministry (COM) to serve as Moderator for

the meeting. The meeting began immediately after the 11:00 a.m. worship service at 11:52:a.m.

Upon reaching the pulpit, Rev. Heinekamp validated quorum with this clerk. He reminded the assembled body that

the agenda had been distributed electronically and asked the ushers to provide written copies to anyone who wanted

one. He then sought and gained a MOTION to approve the agenda as submitted. The motion carried by simple

voice majority. There were two business items to be considered.

Item 1 – Consider and Take Action on Changes to the Terms of Call for Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck:

Moderator Heinekamp asked Rev. Roggenbuck to leave the room and invited this clerk to read the motion presented

and approved by Session. The following information was presented to the congregation.

As acted upon by Session at the stated meeting held on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 the following MOTION

is presented to the congregation for consideration and action:

A MOTION has been made by Session to change the Terms of Call for Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck

retroactively to May 1, 2015 to full-time Designated Associate Pastor from part-time Designated

Associate Pastor and to increase her study leave allowance from $1,000 annually to $2,000 annually

consistent with what is provided to other full-time pastor positions.

Rev. Heinekamp sought and gained the motion as presented by Session and a second was recognized. Hearing no

questions, the MOTION carried and Rev. Roggenbuck returned to the meeting.

Item 2 – Consider and Take Action on Outstanding Loan to Rev. Jay Moses:

Moderator Heinekamp invited Elder Carol Brcka to come to the lectern to present some background information

on behalf of Session. During her remarks, she provided background information to level set the congregation noting

that numerous hours had been invested by individuals, members of the Office and Finance Committee and Human

Resources Committee, and Session to prepare for this discussion. She highlighted the facts that had been considered

by Session and the elements of the various options that had been evaluated in reaching a recommendation. She also

provided a chronological review of the activities completed and she noted three primary objectives that Session

used when discussing the various options:

Responsibility to the congregation for sound fiscal management,

Responsibility to the pastors to be fair and faithful, and

Responsibility to effectively sever the debt relationship between Rev. Moses and Wheaton First in an effort

to fully support the Covenant of Closure.

Elder Brcka then delineated several points that Session weighed in reaching the recommendation being presented

to the congregation.

Moderator Heinekamp thanked Elder Brcka and asked this clerk to come forward to read the MOTION presented

by Session to the congregation for consideration. The following information was presented:

As acted upon by Session at the stated meeting held on Tuesday, May 5, 2015 the following MOTION is

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presented to the congregation for consideration and action:

A MOTION has been made by Session to adopt the recommendation of HRC and OFC of the “Blended

Alternative” recommendation which includes forgiveness of $30,000 of the original loan, converting the

remaining $30,000 into an amortized twenty-year (20 year) note with a five-year (5 year) balloon

payment, and providing a $10,000 cash bonus for services rendered as Acting Head of Staff.

Rev. Heinekamp sought and gained the motion as presented by Session and a second was received. As he was

beginning to open the floor to questions and discussion, a MOTION was made to limit comments and questions

during discussion to three (3) minutes per speaker. He explained to the group that the as a subsidiary motion, this

would require a second, would not be debatable, and would require a two-thirds majority to pass. The motion was

seconded. He then called for a voice vote and the motion clearly carried.

Moderator Heinekamp then proceeded to recognize and receive comments and questions from the floor. A handheld

microphone was used to identify the recognized speaker and this clerk timed each person who spoke. The comments

reflected the diversity of opinions from the faith community and, in many ways, mirrored the variety of perspectives

within Session itself. While some speakers advocated for full forgiveness of the loan, others passionately offered

the opinion that no changes to the original agreement should be entertained. There were also several questions

raised during the discussion. They were addressed as best as possible by the individuals closest to the information

who were present at the meeting. When an individual proffered a motion to called the question, the moderator

explained this required a second and a 2/3 majority vote to terminate discussion, received the second, and received

sufficient confirming vote, the motion passed and therefore ceased the comments from the floor. Another

MOTION was made from the floor to conduct the vote by ballot. The moderator explained that as an incidental

motion, the motion would require a second, was not debatable, and would carry with a simple majority. A second

was received and the motion was approved by simple voice majority. Rev. Heinekamp then asked the ushers to

distribute ballots. While the ballots were being passed to the assembled body, Rev. Heinekamp explained the

process for voting. He asked this clerk to read the motion again for the group. Each eligible member was to select

“for”, “against”, or “abstain” on the ballot. A hymn sing was provided while a group of Elders and ushers collected

and counted the ballots.

When the votes were tallied, Moderator Heinekamp announced that the motion had carried (122 for = 71%, 50

against, 4 abstain). The ballots were sealed and stored in the church safe. He sought and gained a MOTION to

close the meeting. The motion carried. He offered a closing prayer and the meeting was adjourned at 12:37 p.m.



Concurred by:

Rev. Eric Heinekamp, Acting Moderator

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Sunday, August 16, 2015

A brief Called Meeting of the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was brought to order

by Rev. Dave Handley, Interim Senior Pastor / Head of Staff immediately following the worship service

benediction lead by Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck, Designated Associate Pastor. Moderator Handley asked this clerk

to provide an opening prayer after confirming quorum. The meeting was held in the sanctuary and began at

11:47:a.m.

Rev. Handley explained that the purpose of the meeting was to consider and take action on three leadership

positions within the church. The three positions had previously been filled but were currently open due to

resignations. He reported that the open positions were as follows:

Deacon for the Class of 2018 – open when Deacon Barbara Hersey resigned as she moved from the

Wheaton area.

Congregation Member At-Large of the 2015-16 Nominating Committee – open when Donna Beering

needed to resign for personal reasons due to time constraints.

Congregation Member At-Large of the 2015-16 Nominating Committee – open when Bryan Sanzotti

needed to resign for personal reasons due to time constraints.

Moderator Handley reported that the Nominating Committee had been meeting and working to fill the open

positions.

Regarding the open Deacon position, he reported on behalf of the Nominating Committee, that Lisa Blake has

agreed to serve if elected as Deacon for the Class of 2018. He sought and gained a MOTION to elect Lisa

Blake to fill the open, uncompleted term for the Deacon position. He asked for other nominations from the

floor and hearing none, he called the question and the motion carried. It was affirmed by the congregation

through applause.

In regards to the open positions on the 2015-16 Nominating Committee, Rev. Handley announced Agnes

Kenton and Megan Zorn had agreed to serve if elected as Congregation Members At-Large. He sought and

gained a MOTION to elect Agnes Kenton and Megan Zorn to fill the two open, uncompleted terms for the

Congregation Members At-Large of the 2015-16 Nominating Committee. After seeking nominations from the

floor, he asked for approval and the motion carried. It was also affirmed by the congregation through applause.

After seeking a MOTION to adjourn the meeting, Rev. Handley offered a closing prayer and the meeting was

completed at 11:51 a.m.



Concurred by:

Rev. David Handley, Moderator

14



Sunday, October 11, 2015

A Called Meeting of the Congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton was held immediately following

the 8:45 a.m. worship service on Sunday, October 11, 2015 in the sanctuary. The meeting was called to order by

Rev. Dave Handley, Interim Senior Pastor / Head of Staff who opened with prayer at 9:45 a.m. The meeting was

originally called for Sunday, September 20, 2015 immediately after the 11:00 a.m. worship service but a quorum

was not present. Moderator Handley announced that Clerk of Session, Elder Matt Stremel, was unable to attend

the meeting as he was at the Confirmation Retreat so Clerk Emeritus, Elder Agnes Kenton, has agreed to serve a

Pro Tem Clerk. He sought and gained a MOTION to approve such and the motion was duly approved by the

assembled body. A quorum was validated.

Moderator Handley invited Elder Jim Carr representing the Church Nominating Committee, to the podium. Elder

Carr read a MOTION to elect the following individuals to serve as the Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) for

the open Senior Pastor / Head of Staff position:

Sharon Carroll

Nancy Goodwin

Doug Houle

Shelley Iliff

Richard Lauber

Justin Mead

Charles Scouten

Robbie Spehr

Mike Spires

Angela Stephenson

The moderator sought and gained a second to the motion and then asked for nominations from the floor. Hearing

none, the vote was called and the motion carried unanimously. Elder Carr recognized the members of the Church

Nominating Committee for their dedication and service.

Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck left the meeting and the Clerk presented a MOTION from Session to call Rev. Kyle

Roggenbuck as Called Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, having served well in the

Designated Associate Pastor position for eighteen months. The motion was seconded. There was no discussion

and the motion easily carried. Rev. Roggenbuck returned to receive a standing ovation.

The Clerk was then asked to present a MOTION from Session to request that the Presbytery of Chicago eliminate

the open Associate Pastor position recognizing that Wheaton First may request that it be reinstated in the future if

necessary. The motion was seconded. There being no discussion, the vote was taken and the motion was passed.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:57 a.m. with the closing prayer offered by Associate Pastor, Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck.



Concurred by:

Rev. David Handley, Moderator

15

ADULT EDUCATION

2015 Annual Report

The Adult Education Committee in 2015 was led by Lynne Danekas, chair, Richard Lauber, Denny

Lawson, Andy Leonard, Karen Parkinson, Mike Price, Peter Richey.

Sunday morning offerings included:

Prison/Jail Ministry, led by Peter Lawson

Jesus’ Final Words from the Cross, led by Ron Brushwyler

Our Pastor Said Whaat?!, led by Denny Lawson

Effectively Navigating Our Changing Family Roles, led by the counselors

From the Central DuPage Pastoral Care Counseling Center

Embracing Spiritual Awakening, led by Pastor Kyle

Joy for the Journey: a study in Philippians, led by Dr. Lynn Cohick (Wheaton

College)

NOOMA, a Rob Bell video series of Biblical principals in difficult life situations,

led by Richard Lauber and Andy Leonard.

Meeting Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, led by Pastor Dave Handley

Kingdom Assignment Reports: planting seeds of $100 and watching the Kingdom

grow, Coordinated by Fred Rosen and Paul Burgess

When God Came Down, led by Agnes Kenton.

Koinonia Coffees included:

How First Pres Supports Members Feeling Called to Pursue Seminary Education,

led by Rev. Ericka Parkinson (Pastor, FPC Michigan City, IN)

Church Growth in Asia, led by Rev. Dr. Greg Anderson pastor of the International

Church of Hong Kong.

Midweek Offerings included:

“Never Too Late: Building Better Relationships with Adult Children,”

led by Dr. Rob Rienow

“Living Christ’s Cross: a Vision for Life,” led by Pastor Dave Handley

Many thanks to Lynn Danekas who served as chairperson for Adult Education in the first half of 2015

and to committee member Richard Lauber who had to leave the AEC in order to chair the Pastor

Nominating Committee.

The Adult Education Committee is looking for new members to join their team as they plan classes that

will bring depth to members’ Christian lives and witness.

16

Audio/Video Ministry Team

2015 Annual Report

2015 was the fifteenth full year of operation for the A/V Ministry Team. The purpose of the team is to

provide technology support for church infrastructure and functions. This includes consultation,

installation, setup, testing, operation and storage of audio/video equipment. The team also acts as an

advocate for enhancements to systems in response to changing church needs and direction. The team

functions as a “small group” and normally meets once or twice per month depending on the volume of

support required for church activities. Meetings begin with check-in and prayer followed by a business

meeting, training and hands-on exercises.

This year, the team continued to support regularly scheduled church services on Sundays, adapting as

required to support the evolving church schedule. The team also produces a recording for at least one

service each Sunday, and it provides the audio sermon for the Church’s web site. The recording is

placed in the church library, can be checked out by church members and for use by Deacons in home

visits. Live audio and video of each Service in the Sanctuary is made available in the “Overflow Room”

in Sanctuary Hall. A/V support has also been provided to Pathways Classes as needed (often for more

than one class at a time) throughout the year. During the year, support was provided for a number of

special events and Easter and Christmas services including overflow (video and audio) where required.

A number of memorial services and weddings were also supported, including both audio and video

support in the Sanctuary. Services and costs associated with weddings were re-evaluated, and the

appropriate changes as approved by session have been phased in over 2015.

Those who have served primarily in an A/V capacity this year are Ed Ballard, Joe Kyle (facilitator), Bob

Stevens, Bill Wetteroth, Patrick Goodwin and John Herndon. A number of additional people have also

provided support for A/V and computer operation during both traditional and contemporary services,

special thanks to Gail Bolin-Kaenel, Nathan Goodwin and Nancy Goodwin for their contribution in this

area.

The AV team continues to also support and maintain the secure, church-wide wireless networking

system to provide Internet access throughout the building to support staff and all functions conducted

within the facility. The AV team also supports the digital signage provided in the Rotunda, this year the

Rotunda digital signage display in the Rotunda failed and was repaired. Thanks to Scott Rice for

facilitating that repair.

The general age and suitability of the audio equipment in the Sanctuary and elsewhere in the facility

remains a concern. While our digital sound board is new, and some failed equipment in the Ministry

Center and the Sanctuary has been replaced this year, in general the remaining AV systems components

are at or beyond end-of-life. Overall concerns with the remainder of the Sanctuary system performance

remains an issue. When originally conceived and installed, the Sanctuary system was designed only for

the reinforcement of speech. The installation of the digital sound board has provided additional

capabilities to help support current service needs, however a re-design of the system and Sanctuary

audio treatment is still required to take advantage of more current technology to allow improved speech

intelligibility and provide significantly improved fidelity in vocal and instrument sound reinforcement.

It was anticipated that an examination of the needs in both the Ministry Center and the Sanctuary could

17

be undertaken in 2014, however that effort was put on hold. This issue must be addressed as part of

setting the overall mission, vision and leadership direction during the upcoming leadership transitions.

The cost of an overall system upgrade will likely require a significant fundraising effort.

As a small volunteer group we make every effort to provide for all of the A/V needs of the church.

Please note that ample advance notice is a necessity for the scheduling of our team members. The office

has A/V request forms which should be submitted three weeks in advance of an event. Forms are

available through the church office.

The team would welcome anyone interested in becoming a part of the A/V Ministry. No technical

experience is needed, training will be provided.


Joe Kyle

A/V Ministry Team Facilitator

18

Buildings and Grounds

2015 Annual Report

Committee Members: Roger Benson, Brian Elliott, Chuck Gaw, Tim Gravit, Fred Hutson, Ralph

Martin, Kathy Young, and Randy Foster.

First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton remains in excellent condition due to the hard work of Scott Rice,

our Facilities Manager, and Miguel Barrera who represents Buck Services.

2015 B&G Major Projects

The broken lock on the Ministry Center was fixed and brass kick plates were added to both

doors.

Scott replaced a bad pump on a Parish House boiler.

The Sanctuary sconce lights have all been replaced with LED bulbs.

The Rotunda elevator was brought into compliance with the new state rules.

Scott fixed the heat exchanger on one of the Stewart Hall boilers.

Scott installed three new windows in the Parish House, two in the office and one in the living

room.

The roof leak above the Narthex coat room has been fixed.

The new Courtyard sprinkler system was installed.

New more efficient faucets were installed in the Madison Street bathrooms.

LL104 has been changed into a Preschool room.

Parish House Basement: An asbestos removal crew removed the old carpet, tile and mastic. Scott

tiled, edged, and painted the area to make the space usable.

Heat tape was added on the roof above the kitchen door to prevent dangerous ice buildup.

As we enter 2016, we are addressing our security problems, and adding new windows. We still have to

think about replacing the carpet in the Rotunda and on the steps leading to the Ministry Center.

Randy Foster, Chairman

19

Career Ministry

2015 Annual Report Career Ministries completed its 8th year of ministry in 2015. The program has touched over 250 people who are/were

unemployed, in voluntary career transition or seeking a higher level of employment. The ministry is a unique ecumenical

outreach program to the Wheaton community. Participants in the program are often pleasantly surprised that our ministry

is open to all faith traditions and we don’t charge a fee.

Every one of us will go through career transition at some point in life and it can be stressful, frustrating and emotionally

challenging. It can also be a great opportunity for spiritual growth, as we realize that we are not in complete

control of our lives (the first “Aha”!). God is in control and he desires that we walk with Him and seek his guidance

throughout our job search campaign.

We continue to work with Gary United Methodist Church, Dave Cox at Wheaton Bible and Our Savior’s Lutheran church

leveraging resources, classes, events and networking meetings. At First Pres, we began a personal approach to our Career

Ministries services in 2013, which has continued in 2015.

People who desire career ministry support, simply call Angela Stephenson or Jim Carr and we meet with them at church

or a local coffee shop. This provides an opportunity for individuals to introduce themselves, share their current situation

and their career aspirations. We encourage each person to pause and reflect upon a few critical questions:

What talents and skills are God’s gifts to me?

How may God want to use these gifts and my passion in a new role or career?

How do I submit my career’s work and my job search to God?

How have I seen God walking with me or guiding me in the past?

Career transition opens up huge opportunities for a deeper connection with God and a more mindful approach to work.

Job seekers learn how to create a holistic job search campaign strategy through individual consulting, job search services

available in the community, job clubs and networking opportunities. Most importantly, we share Christ’s love, prayer and

spiritual support during the emotionally difficult time of career transition.

We provide a gift for each participant, Jesus Calling for Kids (or adults). The book is a daily devotional written as if Jesus

is speaking to you at the start of each day. Participants have found the book to be inspiring and uplifting. The funds to

purchase the books were donated by Bob Hutchinson at Wheaton Bank. Our utmost thanks go out to Bob for his faithful

support of the ministry.

We are especially thankful for the networking contacts and mentors who have shared their time, talents and wisdom with

our ministry over the years. We are always looking for more career ministry volunteers who have a heart for supporting

people during career transition.

We consider it a blessing to have worked with so many wonderful people at First Pres, Gary United Methodist, Wheaton

Bible, Our Savior’s Church and the amazing job seekers we’ve met through this ministry. We look forward to continuing

the ministry in 2015.


Angela Stephenson and Jim Carr

20

Caritas Team Ministry

2015 Annual Report

Caritas is a caring, flexible group meeting the needs and helping to build connectivity with the First

Pres community, in a timely manner.

CaritasTeam Ministry at First Pres continued our focus on the Meal Team Ministry and the Visitors

Team Ministry.

Caritas is a Latin word which means “charity”. The Greek word means “giving of the heart.” There is a

Latin phrase “Ubi Caritas et amor deus ebi” which means “Where there is loving care, there also is

God”.

Caritas continues to provide much needed support, friendship and encouragement to members of our

church family. We depend heavily from the referrals from our dedicated group of Deacons, pastors,

staff and members of the congregation to get news of the needs in our congregation.

Meal Team Ministry continues to thrive and grow. We currently have about 45 church members who

have volunteered to furnish meals to families in need. When our Meal Team receives a request for a

meal, an e-mail is sent out to all of the Meal Team volunteers. We give the volunteer cooks information

about dates, dietary needs and addresses. If they are able to furnish a meal for that family they respond

to the requesting email signing up for a particular date. It is so gratifying to see how quickly folks

respond with great willingness to prepare and deliver meals to church members who expressed needs for

a meal. We have been able to offer over 100 meals to church members and families this year.

Visitors Team Ministry Working with the Deacons and church staff we have offered a visitor to many of our members. If a

visitor is requested we attempt to match up the individual with a Visitor Volunteer. We ask that the

Visitor Volunteer visits once a month with the church member for about an hour. Some of our members

live in care facilities or in their homes. The requests from members and their families for the Visiting

Team continues to increase. In December we had a brainstorming educational coffee to help us get

more visitors. We have a great need for volunteer visitors.

Care Team Groups

A small group of dedicated members offer to work together to meet the needs of a congregational

member who has continuing needs. The group determines if this will be a weekly check in, a trip to the

library, grocery store helping to arrange appointments.

The Caritas Steering Committee meets monthly to discuss the existing teams, review any new referrals,

plan training dates, meetings, etc.

The Caritas Ministry is always looking for new opportunities to serve our congregation and looking for

more volunteers to allow us to respond to the needs.

21

We thank all the members of the congregation who have helped this ministry in 2015… WON’T YOU

JOIN US!?

The Caritas Steering Committee

Ann Flansburg, Facilitator

Robbie Spehr, Referral Coordinator

Dianne Lambert

Rae Kocinski

Jeanne Kovanda

Marge Stevens

22

Children’s Ministry

2015 Annual Report

What a blessing it has been to get to know everyone at First Pres Wheaton over the last six months! Here

I have found a wonderful family of faith, actively growing together in God’s love. There is so much

love and support here for each other as well as the surrounding community. I truly believe what Pastor

Dave tells us each week when he says “we go nowhere by mistake….” I thank God all of the time for

sending me here to join you and work with the children and their families!

Before my arrival the school year programs had just wrapped up and I heard it had been another

successful year for Sunday School and the LOGOS program. LOGOS had just completed its 20th year

here at the church! Shelley Iliff retired at the end of April and Mary Kinsey stepped in until I arrived.

On my arrival in June I jumped right into Vacation Bible School. We had a fantastic week full of

energy and fun as we experienced God’s love in action at the G-Force VBS. 37 children (K – 4th grade)

and 35 adult and teen volunteers learned how to show God’s love in their lives by moving, acting,

caring, following and sharing with others. The children had a wonderful surprise as the music was led by

the Liebenow family from Wheaton. What a treat it was to have live music as their family band played

for us and taught us all of the VBS songs. We concluded the week with the children singing songs they

learned for their parents and enjoyed some refreshments. The children also had an opportunity to share a

few songs with the congregation in worship on Sunday.

Over the summer Children’s Ministry focused on children in worship. A new and permanent space was

found and decorated for the Children’s Worship program that takes place during the sermon on Sundays.

The age range was expanded to include the preschool children through 3rd grade. Worship Bags for the

children were created and are now located on a rack right outside the two entrances to the Sanctuary.

Childcare is lovingly provided for our infant, toddler and preschool children in the church each Sunday

morning. Several new teens were trained and joined the team to round out the list. Care is provided by

Heather Bormann, Sarah Mayer, Adriana Barrera, Jacqueline Bienduga, Marc DaVall, Anna Ensing,

Claire Fleming, Morgan Gagnon, Joey Kyle and Lauren Musleh.

What a wonderful group of dedicated teachers we have here to serve the children during Sunday School!

A brand new curriculum called Deep Blue, A Weekly Adventure Through the Bible was introduced this

fall. The curriculum uses the Deep Blue Kids Bible that the children receive at the beginning of 3rd grade

each year. So far it has been very well received! The children are led each week by the following team

of teachers.

2 year olds: Sarah Mayer and Heather Bormann

Preschool: Megan Zorn and Alesha Wilson

K & 1st Grade: Jessica Mead, Cathy Nelson, Mary Schroeder and Janice Zeuch

2nd Grade: Elizabeth Manning, Kathryn Pinto, Marc McKay and Margaret Bucholz

3rd Grade: Sharon Carroll, Kate Hinson, Julee Lockard, Cathy Nelson, Margit Spires and Margie

Burgess

4th & 5th Grade: Michelle Lange, Darren Lange, Lisa Vliek and Karen Arakawa

23

This fall the children had a special visitor during the church’s Stewardship campaign. A giant teddy bear

named Stu Bear came to visit during the worship service, Children’s Worship and Sunday School to

help teach the children about stewardship and how they too can serve. We spent time during Children’s

Worship to explore what stewardship is all about.

LOGOS is a vibrant midweek program for children in K – 5th grade. From October through March the

children meet each Wednesday for Bible Study, Recreation, Family Dinner and Worship. LOGOS is…..

Authentic Relationships, Christ Centered, Serving Together, Worship, Pastor Participation, Weekly

Connections and a Family Investment. The program brings generations together to learn and grow in

faith. There are 58 children participating in LOGOS led by 67 adult and teen volunteers and Victory

Sports Ministry staff members. This year music was added as a component to the program and the

children had the opportunity to sing for the congregation a few times this fall.

Children’s Ministries concluded the year with a wonderful child - led Christmas Eve service. What a

delight it was to serve with the many children who offered up their talents to be readers, play music and

share their artistic skills to help decorate the bulletin. Several teens assisted as well to help greet, usher

and assist the children. Special thanks to David Lincoln and Dan Spiegel for leading the music.

Special thanks to the members of the Children’s Ministry team for a wonderful year! What a dedicated

group this is who share their creative ideas and assistance to help ensure that the children and their

family’s needs are met. The Children’s Ministry Team includes: Sharon Carroll, Beth Pomatto, Tara

Schreiner, Elizabeth Manning, Megan Zorn, Sue Hervey (Elder Liason) and Lynn Nuzzo (Staff).

I want to thank the entire congregation for the warm and loving welcome you gave me when I arrived

and the continuous support and love you have shown me ever since. It is my pleasure and honor to serve

and be a part of such a wonderful community!

Blessings,

Lynn Nuzzo

Children’s Ministry Coordinator

24

Church Administrator

2015 Annual Report

The administrative staff of First Presbyterian work primarily behind the scenes to support all of the staff,

ministry leaders and congregation in the daily work of the church. They are an exceptional,

hardworking and faithful team, committed to accomplishing the ministry and mission of First Pres.

These staff who serve faithfully each day are: Janet Rynne & Lisa Linebarger, Administrative

Assistants (shared); Scott Slate, Financial Assistant; John Norton, our newest Communications

Coordinator; & Scott Rice, Facility Manager.

Nancy Gambaiani retired from her role as Wedding Coordinator after twelve years. We are so grateful

for the countless ways she served couples and their families, making their day special. Tanya Downing

continues as Wedding Coordinator, and we are pleased to welcome Kim Van Oss, who has joined the

team this year. Preschool Director, Chandra Gravit continues her effective leadership and this year, an

expansion of the First Pres Preschool. Make sure to check the Preschool Report to hear about the

wonderful things happening in our preschool.

Stewardship, Office and Finance, Human Resources, Membership, Communications, Investments,

Building and Grounds, Gifts and Memorials, Wedding Coordinators, and the Preschool are the various

ministry areas I serve as staff liaison. John Norton serves as staff liaison to the Communications

Ministry Team and Scott Rice serves as staff liaison to Buildings and Grounds. Each of these ministries

provides an Annual Report with their many undertakings – be sure to take a look and see all that these

teams have accomplished throughout 2015.

After launching our new website in early 2014, we have continued to work to keep the look and feel of

the site fresh and current, engaging to visitors and church members alike. The

marketing/communications team that includes Jon Wylie and Bryan Sanzotti, the communications

coordinator and me continues to meet periodically to evaluate our Web presence and needs.

The Security Team that was initiated in 2014 will once again be revisiting security in 2016. Although

we have not met recently, at the heart of our planning is keeping in mind the goal of working to better

protect our most precious assets; our children, along with members, friends and staff who are in the

church each day. As we progress, we will be providing more information about church security and

emergency preparedness initiatives. We want to be proactive about being safe and secure and make sure

we are in a solid position to prevent rather than react. This team includes

Mike Price, Mike McKee, Randy Foster, Scott Rice, Chandra Gravit and we will be getting technology

assistance from our AV Chair, Joe Kyle.

Other initiatives in 2015 that will continue into 2016 are reviews and revision of our Child Protection

and HR policies.

I continue to serve as the President of the Chicago Chapter of NACBA along with a committee of five

other Church Administrators from the area. We plan and participate in the bi monthly local chapter

meetings of NACBA which provide excellent education and essential tools for our work in Church

Administration. I was thrilled once again to be able to attend the National Conference for Church

25

Business Administrators. As the President of the Chicago Chapter I am awarded a $500 scholarship

which helps defray the costs of the conference. The classes and networking are integral to being

relevant and current in all areas of church administration, especially with changes in tax law, health care

initiatives, best practices communication, social media and technology.

Thank you for all the ways you support our entire administrative staff and encourage us to faithfully

serve God and this congregation each day.

May God’s richest blessings be yours in 2016,

Jan Buscher

Church Administrator

26

Clerk of Session

2015 Annual Report

Total Membership as of 1/1/2015 1216

Additions:

Profession of Faith-17 and under 23

Profession of Faith-18 and over 2

Reaffirmation of Faith 6

Certificate of Transfer 2

Reinstatement 3

Total Gains 36

Removals

Certificate of Transfer 10

Deletions from Active Rolls 7

Moved from Active to Inactive 2

Deaths 17

Total Losses 36

Total Membership as of 12/31/2015 1216

Baptisms:

Adult 1

Youth 3

Infant 4

Total Baptisms 8

Weddings: 12

Communion Served: 4555

Memorial Services & Funerals:

Member 12

Non-Member 4

Total Memorial Services & Funerals 16


D. Matthew Stremel, Clerk of Session

27

Communications Committee

2015 Annual Report

The mission of this committee is to facilitate the flow of communication of all First Presbyterian of

Wheaton activities, internal and external, using any and all media possible and within budget. In that

role the communications committee will ensure that said communications are consistent with the Church

Vision and Brand Promise. The committee will act as a communications resource for Church

leadership, including Session, Board of Deacons, Staff, and Committee Chairs as well as the general

membership.

Most of our internal communications are managed by the staff Communications Coordinator, and this

year we welcome our new representative John Norton to the Communications Team...

The rest of us work on spreading the good news of First Pres activities and events to the world outside of

our Church Community. Our primary vehicle is (no surprise) the World Wide Web. Each of our team

members (and Web Associates) has been assigned one local website where they post event news. This is

because each of the sites seems to have its own posting protocol (and they seem to change frequently).

These include: Wheaton Patch, My Suburban Life/Wheaton Leader, Wheaton Chamber of Commerce,

The Daily Herald, TribLocal, Local.com and the Chicago Presbytery site. If you have other suggestions

for places to post please let us know.

We’ve also expanded and updated our list of media contacts for press release distribution.

Anyone is welcome to help us with writing and/or posting. You don’t have to join our committee or

attend any meetings.

Communications Committee Members:

John Norton (staff)

Mike Mast

Stuart McDonald

Susan Miller

Jon Wylie (Chair)

Web Associates:

Ann Flansburg

Beth Gustafson

Harold Crittenden

Mike Price

28

Communion Preparation

2015 Annual Report

Dr. Keith A. Mathison shared the following interpretation of John Calvin’s view on communion.

“According to Calvin, the Lord’s Supper is also “a bond of love” intended to produce mutual love

among believers. It is to inspire thanksgiving and gratitude.” “Calvin considered the Lord’s Supper to be

a divine gift given by Christ himself to His people to nourish and strengthen their faith. As such, it is not

to be neglected, but rather celebrated often and with joy.”

At First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton, communion was served at 24 services this year.

We are blessed by the giving of those that prepare the communion table. Not only do they give their

time, they also cover all of the costs associated with communion.

I want to personally thank Mary Breitzke for her many years of service as the coordinator and as a

member of the Communion committee.

In 2015 the committee consists of Mary Breitzke, Tanya and Scott Downing and the Kyle-Dipietropaolo

family. For 2016 we welcome, Nancy Loda and Donna Laidlaw.


Maryanne Kyle-Di Pietropaolo,

29

Communion Servers

2015 Annual Report

We had 28 Communions Services at First Presbyterian Church Wheaton with a total of 126 Elders

and/or Deacons serving communion.

The Deacons served communion to the shut-ins. See Deacon report.

The expenses were envelopes, postage, paper, printer ink (all of which were donated). In an attempt to

stay “green”, except for Easter and Christmas, most of the volunteers were notified by email.

I would like to thank everyone who volunteered their time and service to our Lord and savior in serving

communion in 2015.

Cerena Fischer

30

Nominating Committee

2015 Annual Report Members: John Keating – Elder Chair, Jim Carr –Elder Co-Chair, Rosanne Houle –Deacon Rep, Dave Chiesa -

Deacon Rep, Agnes Kenton, Megan Zorn, Nathan Goodwin, Jeanne Kovanda, Kerry Weatherred

Committee Objectives: Identify and call congregational members to the positions of Deacon, Elder and

2016 Nominating Committee Members.

Deacon and Elder terms are three year terms beginning in June of the following year (2016). Nominating

Committee Members have a one year term.

Methods of Discernment: Congregational nominations were received via bulleting inserts, email address and

nomination boxes. Committee members also provided additional candidates. Nominees were then vetted by

church office and reviewed by committee during scheduled meeting times. Viable candidates were then asked to

serve in the particular position.

Current Status of Committee Objectives: Nine of the required twelve Deacon Nominees have been identified.

Four of the required four Elder Nominees have been identified. The 2016 Nominating Committee nominees have

been identified.

We will continue our work toward identifying the remaining three Deacon Nominees prior to the 2016

Annual Congregational Meeting.

Nominees for Deacons:

Deb Beccasio

Rudy Fischer

Marsha Geddes

Fred Hutson

Steve Johnson

Janice Zuech

Kris Mast Linda Stephenson Mary Stollberg

Nominees for Elders:

Bev Cheairs

Bob Cherry

Beth Trumpy

Mike Weatherred

Nominees for the 2016 Nominating Committee:

Jim Carr Elder -Chair

Sue Hervey Elder – Co -Chair

Dave Chiesa Deacon Representative

Margie Burgess Deacon Representative

Cerena Fischer Member At Large

Gwen Henry Member At Large

John Keating Member At Large

Karen Parkinson Member At Large

Gail Bolin-Kaenel Member At Large

Respectfully submitted, John Keating

31

CONNECTIONS COMMITTEE

2015 Annual Report

The Connection’s Committee covenant, in representation of First Presbyterian and its congregation,

has been to provide a sense of welcome to all visitors.

The Committee also assists the pastors with new member classes and guides visitors and new members

in learning about and becoming involved in the many activities, programs and groups available within

the First Pres community. In that sense, the committee attempts to connect with visitors and to also

connect visitors to others in the congregation, which accounts for the committee’s name—Connections.

The Committee’s Mission is to Welcome Everyone as We Would Welcome Christ Himself.

During the year the committee supported an Inquirers and New Members Classes, upon which a total of

eight persons joined First Presbyterian of Wheaton. In the summer of 2015 a report was made to the

Interim Pastor and to the Session on the status of visitors and new members. The Session endorsed a

program which intends to create “Ambassadors” whose role it is to seek out and greet visitors on a

personal basis.

The Welcome Desk is a part of the Committee and has been ably run by committee members who

enthusiastically greet visitors, answer questions and insure follow-up to inquiries.

The Committee closed the year with a sense of adaptability as the First Presbyterian community seeks to

reflect on its vision and to fill leadership positions.

We Welcome Everyone as We Would Welcome Christ Himself ______________________________________________________________________

Respectfully Submitted,

Emily H. Schmitz, Facilitator

Committee Members: Mary Burge, Stacy Chojnacki, Kris and Mike Mast, Emily Schmitz

32

Board of Deacons

2015 Annual Report

Mission

Deacons provide an assertive ministry of sympathy, witness, service and prayer following the example of

Jesus Christ. To do this, we respond to individual needs, joys and concerns, seek to strengthen the bond of

Christian community within this congregation, and extend the hand of Christian fellowship to our

community and the world.

Areas of Ministry •Parish Families - To promote a spirit of belonging and respond to individual needs, the Deacons were

responsible for reaching out to their assigned parish families throughout the year via phone calls, visits, care

cards, letters, e-mails and/or celebration cards (e.g., birthday, anniversary, confirmation). As a part of those

connections, parish members were reminded of and invited to participate in church activities.

Deacons pray for their parish families on an ongoing basis. The Board of Deacons also prayed for each

parish family on a rotating basis during our board meetings. Parish families were contacted to solicit any

special prayer requests, both joys and concerns.

•Parish Units - The Deacons encouraged individuals and families to connect with and minister to others

within their parish unit by calls, visits, preparing meals, or other activities to build community within the

church family. We continue to seek new ways to build community within our parish units and the church

family.

•Prayer for Others - In each meeting, joys and concerns of the Deacons and others known to them were

lifted in prayer as a part of our ongoing worship and fellowship. Prayer concerns were also shared real-time

via e-mail and calls throughout the year so we could respond effectively to care for one another within and

outside of our community of faith.

•Homebound Members - The Deacons regularly contacted our members who are unable to worship with us.

Deacons were part of a group at church who served home communion to homebound members on October

4th during World Communion Sunday. Deacons also serve home communion when requested throughout the

year.

•Holiday Remembrances - The Deacons coordinated the delivery of Easter lilies and Christmas poinsettias

to our homebound members and others we wanted to reach out to with special care. Elizabeth Circle

provided cookies that were delivered with the poinsettias for an extra Christmas treat.

•New Members - Deacons reached out to new members by attending their reception on the Sundays they are

presented to the congregation. Deacons are encouraged to periodically contact their new members to see

how they are doing and welcome them to events and small groups.

•All-Church Picnic - Deacons hosted the all-church picnic on September 13th (Start Up Sunday). This year’s

event was held outside on the southwest lawn of the church property. The weather was perfect and the

outdoor venue was well received. Activities included a shared meal of grilled burgers, chicken and brats,

potluck side dishes & desserts, which include a return appearance of the soft serve ice cream bar. Special

events included carnival games, cake walk and a moon jump. This year the Boy Scout Troop 23 was not

able to provide assistance to the set up and running of the games, however, a few of the scouts were able to

help with set up. Numerous families from the Zomi Community attended as well.

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•Senior Luncheons - Deacons hosted a Senior Soup Luncheon in October and will be hosting a Senior

Dessert luncheon in April. These events provided an excellent opportunity for fellowship and fun for our

older members of our congregation. The program in October was a presentation on the history of Wheaton

and included some facts regarding First Presbyterian. The April luncheon program is going to be on

healthcare.

•Memorial Receptions - Memorial receptions continued to be a vital ministry offered to grieving families.

As hosts, the Deacons offered baked goods and beverages (coffee, tea, and punch.) When more substantial

food was desired, Deacons coordinated planning with the family and the party responsible for the catering.

This past year, the Deacons served at 13 memorial receptions.

•Blood Drives – This year in the Ministry Center, we hosted one blood drive on October 18th during Sunday

morning worship and education time. At total of 28 pints of blood were donated on that day. Another blood

drive is planned for January 24th.

•Food Pantry - Food Pantry Sunday has now been designated on the Sunday prior to communion being

served in an effort to be more liturgical: we will give and then we will receive. As part of the worship

service, a Deacon leads the congregation in a litany that reminds us of our responsibility to care for those in

need. Following the litany, Deacon members of this committee push shopping carts up the aisle collecting

the specific donation items. Congregational contributions of non-perishable food items were delivered to the

People’s Resource Center (PRC) and Interfaith Food Pantry. In an effort to step up donations, the Deacons

are visibly collecting food for the entire month, with the grocery cart and monthly poster designating what

the food for the month is.

•Fellowship and Flowers - Each Sunday, Deacons greeted worshippers, offered coffee and lemonade for the

fellowship gathering following the early service. This coffee service is usually held in the Rotunda.

Following the conclusion of the 2nd service, the Deacons deliver the chancel flowers to 1-2 members who

were in need of prayer and a visit. Handmade cards accompany the flowers.

•Committee Participation – A second year and a third year Deacons serve on the all-church Nominating

Committee. A Deacon Rep now attends the Session meeting to report on Deacon activities. During this year

of transition the Deacons have been asked to help with the farewell luncheons for Pastor Paul Kirbas, Pastor

Jay Moses and Music Director David Lincoln. Deacons were also called upon to help with the listening

sessions to assist the PNC and to help with the Zomi Christmas gathering.

The Board of Deacons are humbled and blessed to join you in serving this church as we seek to grow in the

knowledge and love of Christ.


Rosanne Houle, Moderator

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2015 Annual Report

Genesis

6th – 8th Grade Ministries

“Each one of us has a body with many parts, and these parts all have different uses. In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body. Each one is a part of that body, and each part belongs to all the other parts.”—Romans 12: 4-8

The purpose of our Genesis Ministry is to continue with the nurturing of Christian relationships begun

in the elementary grades, further the youth’s biblical education and to encourage a developing

relationship with Christ in order to prepare them for confirmation and to cross the bridge into the

fellowship of our High School youth group, WF. During this process, we encourage our youth to look

beyond their middle school world to areas where they may be able to help and love others.

Our goal is to bring the middle school youth together in a fun, loving, Christian environment to form

and nurture lasting friendships with fellow lovers of Jesus Christ through participation in Sunday school,

LOGOS, retreats, BLAST, VBS, off site outings and mission work.

Currently we have 66 youth listed on our three middle school rosters: 22 sixth graders, 19 seventh

graders and 25 eighth graders. Of these youth, 28 participate in our mid-week LOGOS program. We are

a mighty group that fully participates in all our areas.

The Genesis Ministry Team: Tammy Brokaw, Gail DaVall, Jerry Meyer-our token male, Laurie

Meissner and Erin Schnack have continued to provide insightful and supportive leadership for our

Middle School program, but most especially for me. We meet once a month to coordinate activities,

review our budget and discuss any issues affecting our Middle Schoolers.

In Sunday school we are using The Covenant People by Presbyterians, for Presbyterians as our

curriculum, published by the PCUSA. Sixth grade is studying the Old Testament, seventh grade the

New Testament and eighth grade “I Know My Bible,” an overview of both testaments. Our education

“hour” begins with a “donut smorgasbord board” outside the classrooms at 9:45 and then class at 10:00.

It is a great time for socializing, getting to know each other better and “feeding the body” before the

spirit. We are blessed with loving, dedicated Sunday school teachers that want to teach year after year.

Jerry Meyer and Karen McKee returned to 8th grade for their sixteenth year in a row, assisted by Jeff

and Tammy Brokaw. This year marks Jerry’s 41st year as a Sunday school/confirmation teacher. Karen

Oltman returns for the seventh year in a row teaching our 7th graders assisted by Laura Seymour. Sarah

Crum and Joanne Harper assist Mary Kinsey in 6th grade. Following an intense Bible review the first

half of the year, Confirmation began in March for our 8th graders taught by Jerry and Karen and joined

by High School leaders Allison Kunz, and Matt and Beth Stremel.

On February 21, 22 youth and 5 adults joined 346 others up at East Troy Wisconsin at the Timber-lee

Christian Retreat Center for their winter Xtreme retreat. The theme was based on the scripture

Philippians 3: 12-16 “……but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid

hold of me. Our speaker was Jonathan McKee and the music was led by timber-lees own band Arbor

Vitae.

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This year our Genesis LOGOS attendance is 32 youth; 8 sixth graders, 9 seventh graders and 15 eighth

graders. Our small group Bible study continues to be the favorite of the youth. We continue to use the

David C. Cook curriculum and this year our title is “Would Jesus Really Do That.? We are blessed with

devoted Bible study teachers, many returning for another year, willing to dedicate their Wednesday

evenings to our middle school youth, encouraging them in the development of their understanding of

Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him and each other. I am especially grateful and filled with

admiration of Bob Young and Mike Pomatto, no finer mentors could we find for our middle school

boys, Carol Brushwyler, Sharon Carroll and Sandy Nielsen, all returnees for our girls!

Our “Giving Back to God” time after dinner continues to provide our youth with many mission

opportunities both at church and out in the community. We started the year with get to know you

activities as we pull from 4 different middle schools in the area. We continue to “change-up” this time

between speakers, activities, outings and mission projects. New this year was incorporating a few times

with Victory Sports, playing games with them is super fun!! Our annual church neighborhood food

drive for Christmas Sharing produced 97 bags of food, and then we shopped for, wrapped and filled 60

shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Our visits to our seniors at Christmas and Valentine’s Day

and our participation in Christmas Sharing are probably highlights of our LOGOS program. Both events

included special dinners along with many adults assisting in driving and organizing. Our other big

project is putting together the 200 luminaria for around the church on Christmas Eve.

Overall our Genesis LOGOS is staffed by 25 committed adults willing to share their gifts, love, time and

spirituality, with our lively middle school youth.

BLAST is led this year by Erin Schnack. Her committee has taken us to many places to have a BLAST!

Our annual outdoor movie was the Pat Schriener’s house, the haunted hayride at Sonny Acres, ice

skating, bowling, and March Madness night of games continues to make BLAST the preferred venue

where our Middle Schoolers can bring their non-FPC friends to enjoy good Christian fun.

Fall is always highlighted by our retreat to Timber-lee Christian Retreat Center.

This past year we had 23 youth and 5 adults “Jump Start” our program worship, singing, team building

and a campus wide scavenger hunt.

We continue to try to emphasize Mission opportunities for our youth. With rising retreat costs and

many scholarships needed, we look for ways to raise money too. We recycle cell phones, inkjet

cartridges, and Christmas lights. We went to the Northern Illinois Food Bank to sort huge bins of

potatoes during Thanksgiving break. June brings my favorite, our VBS-Service Squad with 18 youth

along with 7 adult helpers. Each day after a brief devotion, we went into the community for a service

project. We made lunches for PADS and baked cookies, sorted food at the Humanitarian Service

Project , visited 4 FPC members to do jobs around their houses, sorted crayons at SCARCE and finished

off the week helping to set up for Relay For Life. What a great week and how wonderful to see the joy

in the youth’s faces serving others!

This is my 13th year. Thank you for letting me stay so long!! I love working with our Middle School

youth, it allows me to be silly, and share my love of Jesus and our church. I enjoy getting to know the

Middle school parents too. Every year is different, new youth, families and experiences. But God’s love

is always constant and is here among us. FPC is so blessed and what an opportunity to build the

Kingdom of God. I could not do this ministry, and enjoy it so much, without the out-pouring of support

from so many dedicated parents, adults, and our church family.

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Thank you for giving me the opportunity to fulfill God’s calling. I continue to be God’s instrument for

our church and its youth.


Mary H. Kinsey

37

Gifts and Memorials Committee

2015 Annual Report

The Gifts and Memorials Committee administers funds and gifts given in memory of deceased members,

or in honor of someone in gratitude of our church’s work.

Our guidelines for usage are:

Does it augment worship?

Does it enhance study?

Does it aid in our mission outreach commitment?

Will the gift add beauty, or greater function in our facilities?

The Gifts and Memorials Committee makes all decisions to determine the expenditures of these funds.

In 2015 Gifts and Memorials continued to add brass name plates to the Gifts and Memorials Plaque in the

Cloister. We had no additional requests for use of the Gifts and memorials funds in 2015. We will continue

to seek opportunities inform the congregation about Gifts and Memorials both through written church

publications and a Minute for G & M during a worship service.

The committee generally is scheduled to meet quarterly, and meets at other times as necessary.

The following members serve on the Gifts and Memorials Committee: Dee Hicks, Jane Mitchell, Peter

Richey, Dick Yanney and Kathy Young. Scott Slate is the staff liaison to the committee.


Scott Slate

Financial Asst.

Committee Staff Liaison

38

Human Resources Committee

2015 Annual Report

The Human Resources Committee (HRC) has the responsibility to provide advice and make

recommendations to Session on employee benefits, personnel policies, conflict resolution, staffing plans,

salaries, personnel budgets, and other personnel matters. In conducting its work, the HRC reports to

Session. HRC members are Cindy Bass, Bruce Garner, Doug Houle, Anthony Lechiara, Mark Spehr,

and Steve Van Oss. The Session liaison is Carol Brcka. The staff ex-officio members are Jan Buscher,

Church Administrator, and Pastor Dave Handley, Interim Senior Pastor/Head of Staff.

The pastors’ terms of call as proposed by the HRC were presented to the congregation in January 2015

and approved by the congregation. The personnel budget for 2016 was developed and recommended.

The HRC also recommended appropriate modifications to employee Healthcare plans, employee

handbook and organizational changes.

In 2015, HRC has been actively involved with the following nominating committees to support the

staffing changes that occurred this past year with human resource guidance.

1. Interim Pastor/Head of Staff

2. Senior Pastor/Head of Staff

3. Director Children’s Ministry

4. Director Youth/High School Ministry

5. Interim Music Director

HRC members conducted annual “Joys and Concerns” interviews with church staff members. The

committee also discussed performance reviews with the Pastor/Head of Staff and Church Administrator.


Cindy Bass, Co-Chair

Steve Van Oss, Co-Chair

Human Resources Committee

First Presbyterian Church, Wheaton

Annual Report 2015

39

JUST Correspondence Committee

Report, 2015

In 1989, a few years after the JUST (Justice, Understanding, Service, Teaching) social services office

was created at the DuPage County Jail, a group of First Pres members asked them if they needed or

wanted a Bible correspondence program for the inmates. They told us that such a program would be

very welcome, so we started searching for appropriate materials. We found a series of six booklets

published by Navpres that explored both Old and New Testaments and encouraged the student to relate

to Bible truths to their own lives. We have continued with this series, “Studies in Christian Living”,

through the years and found it to be satisfactory for our students. If a committee member starts with a

Book One, we try to continue with that student as he or she moves through the series.

Our first exchanges started in 1990, with a once-a-week exchange of materials at the “booking” desk at

the jail, picking up the newly completed books and bringing back the ones that had been reviewed. We

keep records of each student’s progress on a master sheet and award them a certificate when they

complete all six books. Sometimes this is the first time they feel that they have done something

successful, and they are often proud of their achievement, as are we. First Pres has supported our work

generously since the beginning. Believing that inmates will eventually come back into the community

as our neighbors, it makes good sense to prepare them as fully as possible to be productive members of

society.

Our program is only one of many that JUST offers to everyone at the jail. In addition to numerous Bible

studies and addiction recovery programs, inmates can get involved with classes in Parenting, Anger

Management, English as a Second Language, the GED and Adult Basic Education and more, all in all

more than sixty classes a week for both men and women. Most of these classes are made possible by

volunteers. Pastor Mary Ann holds four services a week.

None of her salary comes from the funds from the jail. Many of these programs are dependent on

private gifts from individuals and churches, especially now that the State of Illinois is in such financial

difficulties.

At the Volunteer Appreciation breakfast recently, a story was told of a man who was taking the GED

program and asked the judge if he could prolong his stay at the jail so he could finish the course! The

judge agreed. And frequently the members of our committee get comments from our students that show

how much our comments and encouragement mean to them.

It has been interesting that in all these years, we never were able to deliver the books on time. Our

members currently include Marilyn Gebhardt, Lorrie Leahigh, and myself, Barbara Huszagh. Marilyn

and I have been with the program since its beginning and have been joined by others through the years.

If I am not available to do the “jail run”, Marilyn has been there. If she is out of town, I pick up the

books. But we’ve never both been away at the same time! We decided that maybe Someone was

watching out for our schedules.


Barabara Huszagh, chair

40

Membership Committee

2015 Annual Report

The Membership Committee continues to maintain the hard copy records of those who have joined this

congregation over the years. There are changes that occur yearly when members die, move or choose to

move on to another church family and these changes must be recorded. Keeping the records current and

accurate is important to identify the active members so that the church can maintain contact with and

serve each one of them.

The Committee relies on the church staff, the Board of Deacons, friends and family to share information

about members who may need personal contact or may need to be removed from our rolls. Removing

names from the rolls is not done lightly and is referred to the Session for their review and vote.

Membership changes are not and cannot be made without Session action.

The continuing responsibility of the committee is to record names of new members (including the

communicant class), names of members who are removed from the active rolls, baptisms, weddings,

deaths and the elected officers (deacons and elders) as well as the pastors.

Because the Presbyterian Church is a connectional church, an annual report of an accounting of

members from each church in the Presbytery is required. The numbers for this report need to reflect the

agreement between the hard copy and the computer records.

Agnes Kenton

Sue Hartman

41

Mission Outreach Committee

2015 Annual Report

The Mission Outreach Committee, for another year, was able to do more with less. The Committee still

is committed to proclaim that God’s mission in Jesus Christ remains alive and well at First Presbyterian

Church and is demonstrated in all that we do as the body of Christ.

Our congregation lives out its commitment to “hands on mission.” PADS is still a focus of a number of

“shepherds” as they minister to the homeless in our community. We have committed mentors for our

families in Transition, helping them move from hopelessness to self-sufficiency. Tutors for Outreach

Community members have a significant impact on the lives of the children in South Carol Stream. The

older members of the community benefit from “friendly visitors” from our church. Our members

provided a wonderful Christmas luncheon for approximately 150 seniors. Miss Pearl and Roseland

Daycare are a special ministry for our church.

The Zomi church is an important part of our mission outreach. We have shared meals and worship

services. This year we were able, with the generosity of our church family, to provide tuition assistance

to the Zomi college students. We won’t stopping on our efforts to improve our Christian relationship

with the Zomi family.

The Christmas season is a wonderful sharing time for First Presbyterian Church. We participated in the

Wheaton Christmas Sharing program with over 200 families being served. Our church family

participated in four Christmas sharing trees, Markland Charities, Convalescent Center, Midwest

Homeless Veterans, and the Zomi children. The gifts brought much happiness and joy to the gift

recipients.

This year our congregation, through the generosity of an anonymous donor, was again able to participate

in a Kingdom Assignment. One hundred members stepped forward to identify projects that provided

additional resources for mission in excess of $50,000.

We are blessed with a church that witnesses to the grace of God in so many ways. Additional ministry

was shared with Abraham’s Children, Peoples Resource Center, Interfaith Food Pantry, CASA, Just of

DuPage, Central DuPage Pastoral Counseling Center, ESSE, and Exodus World Service to name just

some of our mission partners.

It is a joy to see our younger members, WF and Genesis “do” mission. Part of our responsibility as

witnesses to God’s grace is to share mission commitments with our younger members as they grow in

the faith.

Thank you all for your faithfulness to God’s work among us.

42

Interim Director of Music Search Committee

2015 Annual Report

When David Lincoln announced his plans to accept a new position in LaGrange beginning January 1,

the Human Resources Committee met to make plans for a smooth transition. In consultation with Pastor

Dave, we agreed a search should commence as soon as possible for a part time Interim Director of

Music.

The search for a new permanent Director will wait for the new Head Pastor to be called. Our committee

is comprised of Cindy Bass, Beth Burgess, Paul Burgess, Nancy Cinatl, Georgia Hamilton, Dan

Spiegel, Steve Van Oss, chair; Pastor Dave, staff advisor. Since early December we have been meeting.

Two candidates have been interviewed, and plans for a Westminster Choir rehearsal “audition” are

being scheduled for early in January. We are hopeful an interim director will be in place by the annual

church meeting.

Georgia Hamilton has agreed to direct the choir for a few rehearsals and services until an interim is

selected. Doug Zimmer has agreed to fulfill the organ responsibilities for three months. Paul Burgess

will continue as accompanist for Westminster Choir and be the point person to assure the pieces are in

place for each service, until an interim is selected.

Many thanks to all those who are working together in this major transition in our music program. Our

best wishes and prayers continue to be with David Lincoln as he brings his considerable gifts to St.

John’s Lutheran Church and School in LaGrange.

43

Music Ministry

2015 Annual Report

2015 marks my twelfth and final year to serve First Presbyterian Church as Director of Music Ministries

and Organist. It was a great pleasure to be a part of several Special Events and Worship Services this past

year. First Presbyterian is alive and full of the Lord’s blessings.

We had several exciting Worship Service experiences in 2015.

o Our Pentecost Celebration on May 24 once again brought the Holy Spirit into our Worship

Service experience with Processions, Singing and Dancing.

o We celebrated Worship with the Annual Festival of Carols Service on Sunday, December

6. This included several ensembles of First Presbyterian Church musicians.

The Westminster Choir started their program year in September. The Westminster Choir rehearses

weekly on Thursday evenings and sings almost every Sunday at the 8:45 AM Worship Service.

Westminster Choir also sang at both Worship Services on many occasions, and also once a month

at the 11:00 AM Worship Service.

Over 50 children, youth, and adults provided the music and leadership for the Christmas Eve Worship

Services. We also continued to offer a fourth Worship Service on Christmas Eve that occurred at 6:00

P.M. This additional Worship Service provided another option for families to choose a Worship time

for this very important day of our church year.

I am also happy to report that there is progress being made on having our Children and Youth

participate in Sunday Morning Worship on a much more regular basis. My hope is this becomes

a regular part of weekly Worship in the future at First Pres.

A special thanks to Paul Burgess for serving as a primary keyboard player at First Presbyterian

Church. I would also like to thank Doug Zimmer who has served as organist for us on many

occasions.

I wanted to share a blog written by Richard J. Clark who wrote an amazing statement of what occurs every

year when we celebrate Holy Week and Easter when we sing and pray together in the Christian Church:

THE NEXT FOUR DAYS IS SOMETHING WE DO TOGETHER AS A CHURCH:

While individuals may be experiencing different things in their personal lives, we are united in the Body of Christ.

We are not only part of our local parish, but part of the Universal Church. This unity and universality is, in part,

why our worship is ritualized. We are connected not only with our neighbors beside us, but with our brothers and

sisters around the world. We are connected not only in the present day, but with the old Covenant with Abraham

to the new covenant mediated by Christ, so that we “may receive the promise of an eternal inheritance” (Hebrews

9:15) in the future. In part this unity is why our sacred music ideally conveys a sense of timelessness and

universality. Christ yesterday and today… All time belongs to Him…

http://www.ccwatershed.org/blog/2015/mar/27/five-things-directors-and-choirs-must-remember-wee/

In conclusion, I want to thank the instrumentalists, vocalists, and all of the ensembles that volunteer their

time, week after week, month after month. Without them the wonderful musical expression heard on

Sundays and other times simply would not be possible. I also need to thank the many people that make

Worship possible every Sunday by serving as an usher, communion server, greeter, pulpit associate, our

http://www.ccwatershed.org/blog/2015/mar/27/five-things-directors-and-choirs-must-remember-wee/

44

flower preparations, our visual arts, audio visual support, drama, and any additional element that brings

Worship to life!

God’s Peace,

David A. Lincoln

Director of Music Ministries (2003-2015)

45

Nan Montgomerie Library

2015 Annual Report

Homage and thanks must be given to Helen White, who served as church librarian for many, many

years. Her passing this year left a major void in the management of the libraries. Over the years those

assisting Helen must also be recognized, namely, Millie Birkemeier, Luanne Brennan, Janet Cederquist,

Betsy Fikejs, Anne White Michalski, and Marge Stevens. Arlyne Clacher and Marilynn Wagner are

now managing the adult and children’s libraries. Without all of the aforementioned volunteers, the

daunting task of maintaining this operation would not have been possible in providing a valuable

resource to our members.

The Children’s Library received much needed renovation as well. New bright flooring was installed

along with new shelving. The bright, cheery atmosphere makes visiting this location a welcome

experience for our children.

Many new titles of print and non-print items have been added to both the adult and children’s libraries

during the year with budgeted funds, and also with many very welcome gifts. Books continue to be

checked out from these libraries. The adult library has added titles mentioned in sermons, adult

education classes, and in the study guide of the Presbyterian Women. The library also works closely

with study groups in recommending titles and in adding these titles to the collection. Although

sporadic, new acquisitions are reviewed in the “Library Notes” in the monthly newsletter. Thanks are

extended to church members who provided book reviews for the monthly newsletter

The AV team must be recognized for providing CD’s of the Sunday morning services which continue to

be popular for checkout.

The Children’s Library has also moved many VHS tapes and a VCR to the Zomi congregation to be

used by their younger children.

The long-term goals of the library include more space and a comprehensive inventory in order to better

serve the members of the church.

The Library Committee:

Arlyne Clacher

Marilynn Wagner

46

Office and Finance Committee

2015 Annual Report

To the Members of the First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton:

2015 has been a year of transition for our church and financially we are better off as we exit the

year. We are better off with our strongest cash position of the past several years. We are better off as

our cost structure is coming in line with our revenues. With cash balances stronger and as we attain a

sustainable cost structure we are better positioned to move successfully forward into the next chapter of

our church. This is all made possible due to the ongoing support of the congregation as the year closed

out. Without strong financial support in December we could not be making these statements. Thank

you!

In January 2015 the Session adopted a financial budget anticipating the uncertainty of a transition

process to a new senior pastor. The interim pastor hadn’t been selected and the starting date was yet to

be determined. Pledge receipts during times of transition are historically inconsistent, often declining.

What wasn’t anticipated was Pastor Jay’s departure, Allison Kunz’ departure as youth director or

resolving an outstanding pastor loan. Thankfully, giving was quite strong early in the year however then

declined for a number of months. And then in the month of December revenue finished at over

$200,000.

In 2015 giving from members for general operations was $1,107,862 and approved designated funds

were utilized in the amount of $10,000 for total revenue of $1,117,862. The church incurred $1,010,453

of ministry and administrative expenses, supported Mission with $70,000, absorbed $30,000 of loan

forgiveness and fully expensed & funded the anticipated Pastor Nominating Committee costs of

$25,000. Even with these additional costs 2015 results show a surplus of $12,176. Unrestricted cash &

money market balances are approximately $152,000 at year-end compared to $73,000 and $42,000 at

December 2014 and December 2013 respectively.

The church has proven to be resilient thus far through the transition process. A key to our financial

stability in 2015 was a strong start to the year with strong pledge receipts which allowed us to weather

softer giving during the summer and fall months. There is still much work to be done by our Session

and the congregation to support our operations and provide leadership for the next senior pastor. We are

dependent upon your continued support as we prepare the church for a new senior pastor.

My sincere thanks to a dedicated group of committee members: Beth Spiegel, Karen Stadtlander, Lisa

Vliek and Dick Yanney. The Committee welcomes the participation and involvement of Gary Kovanda

as our Session Liaison. As always, thank you to our Church Administrator, Jan Buscher, and our

Financial Assistant, Scott Slate, for their dedicated efforts on behalf of our congregation and committee.


Michael Rohl, Chair

Office and Finance Committee

47

Investment Committee

Annual Report 2015

As of December 31, 2015, First Presbyterian Church of W heaton had $980,000 of invested

f u n d s . It was comprised of $392,000 (40%) in cash and equivalents, $404,000 in stock and

equity securities (41%), $166,000 (17%) in bond instruments and $18,000 (2%) in a mortgage.

These f u n d s a r e d i v i d ed i n t o long-term assets $506,000 (52%) and the balance $475,000

(48%) in short-term holdings.

The funds are invested in broad, low cost equity and bond mutual funds as well as cash

in our checking account and the money markets. As of December 31, 2015 the five year return

ranged from 0% to 14%. The one year return was -2% for the bond funds and up to 1% for the

stock funds.

Our committee members are Bob Gagnon, Anthony Lechiara, Mike Rohl, Phil Slocum

and Jan Buscher serves as an ex-officio member.

Phil Slocum, Investment Committee Facilitator

48

Pastor Nominating Committee Report

2015 Annual Meeting

The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) was formed in October 2015 and has been meeting frequently

since then, working on the steps necessary to call a Senior Pastor/Head of Staff. The PNC consists of the

following members.

Richard Lauber (Chair)

Shelley Iliff (Assistant Chair)

Sharon Carroll

Nancy Goodwin

Doug Houle

Justin Mead

Charles Scouten

Robbie Spehr

Mike Spires

Angela Stephenson

The first step in this process was to develop a Job Description for the Senior Pastor/Head of Staff and a

First Pres specific Ministry Information Form (MIF). Utilizing input from the two listening sessions

where the entire congregation was invited to participate as well as other forms of congregational

feedback, the PNC completed these documents and they were approved by Session at its November

meeting.

During the Adult Education hour on December 6, 2015 the PNC provided an update to the members of

the congregation, fielding questions and receiving additional input. Also in December 2015, the church’s

MIF was officially posted on the Church Leadership Connection website, which is the Call System for

the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This has allowed the PNC to begin receiving Personal Information

Forms (PIF) from potential candidates which it has begun to review.

The PNC feels encouraged by support from the congregation and welcomes continued prayer, that it will

be sensitive to the Holy Spirit as it continues on this journey of finding the right person to become our

church’s Senior Pastor.

49

First Pres Preschool & Pre-K

2015 Annual Meeting

The 2015-2016 school year is the preschool’s 48th year of mission and outreach in early education to the

church and local community. We are honored to continue this tradition. We could not operate without the

support and encouragement of the Church congregation, leaders and staff. We feel blessed in countless

ways to be a part of this amazing supportive congregation. Thank you!

This school year we have one hundred and fifty students enrolled in our program; our largest enrollment

ever. Our preschool continues to serve children from the ages of 2 ½ to 6 years with ten different classes;

ranging from our Terrific Twos to our Kindergarten Enrichment class.

This school year we added a new classroom, room LL104, and we are now licensed for four classrooms.

This room now serves as a classroom for our four and five year old students. The addition of the new

classroom provided us with space for a third three year old class and a third four year old class; allowing

us to maximize the use of all of our classrooms every day of the week. This makes the downstairs

classrooms one busy place Monday through Friday!

With full enrollment this school year and enrollment for the 2016-17 school year well underway, the

preschool budget supports its own operating expenses and contributes to the Church’s operating expenses.

One of our Church and Alumni preschool families contributes an ongoing donation to our Scholarship

Fund annually. Our Scholarship Fund helps us to support multiple families each year who would otherwise

not be able to afford to send their children to our preschool or perhaps to any preschool. This year alone

our scholarship fund is helping five families to send their children to our preschool. We are grateful to this

family and many others who have stepped forward over the years to help us continue our tradition of

supporting early childhood education for our families in need.

This year I continue my work with the Wheaton-Warrenville Early Childhood Collaboration (WWECC)

as Co-Chair of the Executive Committee that oversees the Collaboration. I work closely with D200 and

the Collaboration to bring events to our preschool families as well as working within the community to

raise awareness of the importance of preschool and Kindergarten readiness.

This year we are contributing to a state-wide survey conducted by Excelrate. The survey is being funded

by a grant under the Race To The Top money earmarked by the Obama administration for education funds.

The survey is designed to provide data on the quality of early education in Illinois. Preschools were

selected at random and we were asked to participate. Children are being assessed from several of our

classrooms and four of our classrooms are being observed. The assessments are being conducted once in

the fall and once in the spring.

We also continue to work closely with Westminster Preschool at First Presbyterian of Glen Ellyn and to

share in continuing education opportunities. This will be the fourth year that we co-host a Kindergarten

Readiness Panel for the Wheaton and Glen Ellyn communities. The panel is made up of Kindergarten

teachers from D200, Glen Ellyn public school districts, and private schools in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn.

It is has become a valuable annual event for both our staff and preschool families.

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Every day, I am grateful for my dedicated and loyal preschool staff whose love for the children and the

mission of this preschool is evident in everything they do daily in their work here. Our preschool

classrooms are full because of the amazing staff who work in those classrooms. This fall we welcomed

two new teachers into our team. Mary Kinsey joined our teaching team after being one of our full-time

substitute teachers last year. Mary is a former elementary school teacher and she is back in her element in

the classroom. She is teaching our three year olds. Mary needs little introduction here at the Church but

somehow she is managing teaching at the preschool, middle school ministry, and her role as a Mom. We

are also happy to have Kristin McCoyd on our teaching team. Kristin, who was teaching two year olds

before she came to us, is teaching our two year olds. She is a gifted teacher with an affinity for the little

ones. She is also a busy mother of four. She and her husband live in Wheaton where Kristin juggles many

volunteer responsibilities on top of her teaching.

On behalf of myself and my staff, we would like to thank…

Scott and Miguel for keeping our rooms safe & clean and for keeping everything running smoothly

all school year for us. A special thank you to Scott for putting up cabinets, coat hooks, and helping

to get LL104 up to code for us.

Jan, Janet, Lisa, Susan and Scott for all the behind the scenes help every day all school year.

Jill McCann for being our permanent substitute and for always being available to help us out.

David Lincoln for taking the time to come into our classrooms and share the gift of music – We

will miss you!

Lynn for coming into our classrooms and sharing your Bible stories with us each month.

Pastor Dave for taking your time to welcome our parents at our Fall Curriculum Night & praying

for our children, families & staff.

It continues to be my honor and blessing to serve in this position.

Chandra Gravit, Director, First Pres Preschool

51

Stephen Ministry

2015 Annual Report

Stephen Ministry continued to serve and minister to members of our congregation this year.

The following goals were identified for this program year and their status:

1. Promote awareness of Stephen Ministry at First Presbyterian church:

• Stephen ministry has a regular contribution to the church bulletin and monthly newsletter.

• Stephen ministry brochure is available at the information desk.

• Stephen ministry information is available on the church web site.

2. Nurture, encourage, and support St. Ministers at the First Presbyterian church for growth

in their ministry:

• We hold supervision meetings every first and third Monday of the month.

• Continuing education is provided at all supervision meetings to educate, support, and nurture

• Stephen ministers.

• Stephen Leaders conduct monthly meetings in order to nurture one another and work towards our goals.

• We had our annual Spring Party at Bob and Kathy Young's house with refreshments and program to

support the work of Stephen ministers.

• Our annual Winter retreat is planned for February 2016 and Pastor David Handley will be our speaker.

• Pastor Kyle Roggenbuck and Diane Easter will be attending the week-long Leadership Training

Course provided by the Stephen Ministry in 2016. Diane Easter will be joining the Stephen Ministry

Leadership team.

Respectfully submitted, Henrieta Ribeiro, Facilitator

52

Stewardship

2015 Annual Report

In 2015 your Stewardship committee active members were Karen Parkinson, Monica Wylie, Julia

Stephenson, Mark Spehr, Jack Wilson and Fred Hutson. Mike Weatherred remained the Committee Chair.

Staff representatives on Stewardship were Acting Head of Staff, Dave Handley, Children’s Ministries

Leader, Lynn Nuzzo and Church Business Administrator, Jan Buscher. Denny Lawson was our Session

representative.

We very much appreciate the support we received from Pastor Dave Handley – he actively pursued and

recruited 3 additional members (Mark Spehr, Jack Wilson and Fred Hutson) for the committee and his

leadership and guidance were fantastic. We also were fortunate enough to add a member from our Youth

Group (Julia Stephenson) and Lynn Nuzzo joined us and introduced “Stu Bear” to our congregation and

children’s ministries. The Stewardship committee also received excellent support from Session (Denny

Lawson) in 2015. We also want to thank Bryan Sanzotti who provided marketing support by designing

the Be Courageous logo and designing and providing the amazing posters for the Church for the

campaign.

In 2015, your committee continued to focus on providing the congregation with meaningful information

about the personal relationship we have with God as it relates to our Stewardship. Our hope is that our

members and friends will see stewardship as a component of their spiritual life and path of discipleship -

not as a way to meet a church budget. Indeed, the Church budget is set as a result of giving. While the

majority of our work is done from July to December, we continue to communicate Stewardship principles

throughout the year by providing biblical inserts and individual comments in written communication.

The Theme/overview for 2015 was - “BE COURAGEOUS and Find the Delight in Giving”

The theme was derived from the following Bible verses -2 Corinthians 7:9 – “God loves it when the

giver delights in the giving.” And Ephesians 6:10 – “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in

the power of his might” We strongly encouraged the congregation to be courageous and follow God’s

will in being faithful givers. In doing so hoping they would will find the delight in Giving. We also

emphasized in all our communication Pastor Dave’s early message of “Your generous participation on

Stewardship Sunday is directly related to the successful search for your next Senior Pastor/Head of

Staff. The candidates whom the Pastor Nominating Committee seeks to attract will want to see an

enthusiastic congregation, eager to grow, willing to give, and ready to serve”, which he mentioned in his

sermon in early October. We all felt this was a very important year for Stewardship after a bit of a soft

campaign in 2014 (at this time last year commitments in responses were 75% and 85% in dollars of what

they were at the same time in 2013).

We tried hard to communicate the theme and create awareness of the campaign and its importance by:

Having 5 “minutes for ministry” – Mike Weatherred (2), Mark Spehr and 2 appearances from Lynn

Nuzzo and Stu Bear

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We sent 3 letter communications – 2 from the Stewardship Committee and one from Pastor Dave

We sent weekly 7 e-mail communications on Courage/Delight – stories from the bible on those who

took a step of courage and followed their faith, finding delight

Pledge commitments received to date for 2016 are 89% of what they were for 2015 and 97% in dollars.

We plan to spend the beginning of 2016 focused on two important initiatives:

1. The first is to thank all those who have made a giving commitment for 2016. We will be following

up with personal calls from the Stewardship Committee and thank-you cards mailed to all who

pledged.

2. We will be following up with phone calls to all those who pledged for 2015 and we have not received

cards from for 2016. During these calls we will thank them for previous pledging and encourage a

commitment for 2016 if they are able.

At the moment we feel we are adequately staffed on the committee, including staff and Session support. If

you have any additional questions or comments, please contact Mike Weatherred or Jan Buscher

Here is the pledging history since 2013 through 2016:

Campaign FormatPledge Box Pledge Box

Time Talent

Treasure Letter

Be Courageous,

Delight in Giving

2013 2014 2015 2016

# Pledge Cards Rec'd

# Pledge Commitments in $$ 363 333 293 262

Amount Pledged $1,073,807 $986,909 $937,611 $909,825

Income Budget $1,286,726 $1,220,324 $1,160,000

Other Receipts budgeted $29,100 $23,900 $25,000

Expense Budget $1,315,826 $1,285,444 $1,209,769

mortgage expenses

Over/Under $0 -$41,220 -$24,769

Giving Receipts $1,200,066 $1,214,308 $1,117,862

Average Pledge $2,958 $2,964 $3,200 $3,473

1/19/2016

Pledging History

54

Visual Arts Committee

2015 Annual Report

The Visual Arts Committee provides visual enhancements for worship services as well as throughout the

church with different art forms.

We strive to have the entrances to the church visually pleasing to members and visitors when they come

to worship God. Decorating in the Sanctuary and Rotunda are tied in with Sunday’s sermons and theme

if possible.

Special banners and displays at the front of the Sanctuary occur when there are Baptisms, Communions,

weddings, and special music programs.

Liturgical services of Lent, Easter, Pentecost, Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas are enhanced with

flowers and other forms of displays.

Along the wall in the Rotunda going to Stewart Hall you may see displays of religious art and church

activities provided by Margaret Bucholz and Kathy Suhr.

If you have an interest in participating on the Visual Arts Committee please contact Ruth Lundy or one

of the members. Current members are Phyllis Martillaro, Beth Burgess, Kim Van Oss, and Kathy

Young.


Ruth Lundy, Chairperson

55

Weddings

2015 Annual Report

Committee Members: Tanya Downing, Nancy Gambaiani, Kim Van Oss

(Kim is new as of November and Nancy resigning)

Below is a breakdown of the weddings at 1st Pres of Wheaton for 2015.

there were a total of 12 weddings: all of them in the sanctuary

9 were member weddings, 3 were non-member weddings

Months when the weddings took place:

April - 2

June - 2

July - 2

August - 1

September - 3

November - 1

December - 1

Days of the week the weddings took place:

Friday - 1

Saturday - 9

Sunday - 2

Submitted by,

Tanya Downing

56

Women’s Ministry

2015 Annual Report

This Annual Report describes the Women’s Ministry activities for the Annual Year 2015, and specific

details relevant to the 2015-2016 Program year. The Woman’s Ministry at First Presbyterian Church of

Wheaton (First Pres) is comprised of all adult female members of the First Pres congregation, and is an

active part of Presbyterian Women U.S.A.

Our Vision:

We are women of faith, forgiven and freed by God in Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy

Spirit.

We are nurturers. As Caregivers, we care for and nourish individuals, our families, our church,

our community, and our world.

We have a passion for mission and Service. We reach out to give special service to those in need.

Many women at First Pres. choose to join a small group known as Circles. Members of the Circle are a

dedicated group of women within our church that value fellowship, local and world wide service

opportunities and personal spiritual growth. Circles offer opportunities for members to build strong

relationships with women of the church, strengthen their faith through bible and book studies, and serve

the church, local and world community through various mission opportunities.

Our current Circles are: Elizabeth/Rebecca Circle, Grace Circle, Hannah Circle, Joy Circle, Ruth

Circle, and Sarah Circle. These Circles meet regularly September through May and offer meetings

during the day and evening to accommodate everyone’s schedules.

The 2015-2016 Horizons Bible study (Come to the Waters) is being lead by Pastor Kyle Roggenbuck.

All women of the church are invited to come to this monthly study. Additionally, bible study leaders

from the circles can attend this study to gain insight to be shared with their individual circles.

The Women’s Ministry at First Pres engages the entire congregation to participate in the following

mission opportunities:

Collecting labels with UPC codes with Box Tops for Education and Labels for Education that are

sent to Kemmerer Village.

Collecting pop top tabs for Ronald McDonald House who receives funds based on their weight.

Collecting children's clothing, diapers and wipes for Roseland Community Good News

Daycare Center.

Selling pecans during with the proceeds supporting Erie House in Chicago.

Circles are involved with numerous mission opportunities. Below are a few of the many missions in

which Circle members participate:

Supporting the new Women's Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans (Tammy's Trace) with

gifts of gardening, weeding, decorating a Christmas tree and the donation of clothes and gift

cards

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Preparing and serving lunch to approximately 80 older adults at Outreach Community Center's

monthly Lunch and Learn programs

Making boxes of homemade cookies to be delivered by the deacons along with a poinsettia to the

homebound every December

Assisting at the Share the Spirit holiday shopping opportunity for the clients of People's

Resource Center at hosted by First Presbyterian Church of Wheaton in December

Making "pillowcase" dresses which will be sent to young women and children overseas

Following are some of the events undertaken by Women's Ministry in the past year:

Author, Joanne Zienty, presented a talk about her book The Things We Save, followed by a light

lunch and fellowship.

Our annual Strawberry Breakfast was held in May. Members of the 2015-2016 Leadership

Team were installed. We also honored Dianne Lambert and Shelley Illiff with the Lifetime

Membership Award.

We started a new care outreach activity of sending greeting cards to women of our congregation

to let them know that they are cared for, thought about and prayed for by Women's Ministry.

In October, we held a Women's Health and Fitness Retreat lead by Rachel McKay. Women

enjoyed a morning of healthy food, light exercise, motivational encouragement and most

important...wonderful fellowship.

We held two Bake Sales in 2015, providing delicious home prepared foods and raising money

for our many mission partners.

We enjoyed a Christmas Gathering social event at Adelle’s.

All proceeds raised from the bake sale ($850) were given to WF for their mission trip to Guatemala in

May 2015. In 2016, we will be giving all money to local mission partners.

The Women’s Ministry Leadership Team is comprised of circle leaders and other women that choose to

be an active member in the leadership of the women at First Pres. This group of women provides

leadership and support for all women’s activities including Circles. The Women’s Ministry Leadership

Team consists of:

Co-Moderators: Alice Lechiara & Angela Stephenson

Secretary: Gail DaVall

Treasurer: Tanya Downing

Programs: Sharon Carol

Devotions: Jean Rosen

Service: Lisa Linebarger & Carol Molino

Publications: Kate Hinson

Sunshine: Bea Grabowski

Rush University Medical Center: Phyllis Josephson

Good News Daycare: Jan Foster

Box Tops for Education (Kemmerer Village): Grace Circle

Pecans (Erie House): Joy Circle

Presbyterian Women – Chicago and National: Nina Koelpin and Karen Scouten

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Staff Advisor and Study Leader: Pastor Kyle Roggenbuck

The Women’s Ministry at Firs Pres is a vital contributing component of First Presbyterian Church of

Wheaton. We are forward thinking and consistently looking for new ways to engage women to grow in

their faith and build Christian community.

Respectively submitted by,

Alice Lechiara and Angela Stephenson

Co-Moderators of the Women’s Ministry Leadership Team

January 2016

59

Worship Committee

2015 Annual Report

The Worship Committee met four times in 2015 with the purpose of having everyone who is responsible

for a part of Sunday morning worship come together to lend support to each other and see how the big

picture comes together. Our meetings open and close with prayer, we have a devotion and do a check

in.

This past year has been challenging with all the changes in church leadership. At our first meeting in

February, Pastor Jay Moses shared his vision of Sunday morning worship with us and we worked

together to help make the feeling of community come together while he was acting as Senior Pastor. In

June, we welcomed Pastor Dave Handley as Interim Senior Pastor and he shared Psalm 100 with us as a

vision for worship. In November we thanked Dani Marquardt for her many years of coordinating and

scheduling of the pulpit associates. We also thanked and wished David Lincoln well as he leaves FPC

after 12 years as Music Director and moves onto his new journey.

In 2016, this committee welcomes Julie Kaufman to our committee as coordinator of the Pulpit

Associates.

Sincerely,

Kim Van Oss,

Chair

2015 Worship Committee members

Pastor Dave Handley

Kim Van Oss, Chair

Mary Burge, Worship Flowers

Cerena Fischer, Communion Servers

Nancy Cinatl, Session Representative

Maryanne Kyle-DiPietropaolo, Communion Preparation

Joe Kyle-DiPietropaolo, Audio/Visual Ministry

David Lincoln, Music Ministry Coordinator

Ruth Lundy, Visual Arts, Deacons

Dani Marquardt, Pulpit Associates

Anthony Lechiara, Ushers

Dennis Bass, Ushers

Bob Stevens

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2015 Annual Report

Worship Flower Committee

A small and gracious way to thank the Lord for his creation is adding a bit of beauty to our worship

services through chancel flowers. The Worship Flower Committee placed 55 arrangements in 2015

which is down from 58 arrangements in 2014. The majority of these arrangements are “standing “orders

from members who request the same dates annually.

Amlings/Expressions Florist on Front Street in Wheaton is the florist that is used for the Sunday

flowers and the white carnations for All Saints Sunday. Arrangements continue to be priced at $45 and

$60 with no delivery charge.

The 200 palm strips used for Palm Sunday 2015 were again purchased from Wheaton Religious Gifts

& Church Supply. Their palm supplier adheres to a high standard of environmental stewardship and

social responsibility. The supplier donates a portion of their sales to several not-for-profit organizations

benefitting environmental and humanitarian efforts.

Flower arrangements from funerals and weddings are not used in the church following the event.

However, these types of arrangements can be displayed in the Son-Light Rotunda and an announcement

can be placed in the bulletin if desired. There is only room for two arrangements in the chancel on

Sunday, but the Son-Light Rotunda is a beautiful spot to display arrangements if the need arises.

Procedurally, on a monthly basis, the committee notifies the florist of the church’s floral needs for

each Sunday in that month. The bulletin announcements, usually a celebratory or memorial note, are

confirmed with the donors and then sent to the Communications Coordinator for inclusion in the

bulletin.

The committee is extremely grateful for the pool of volunteers who help place arrangements in the

Sanctuary on those occasions when committee members are unavailable to it themselves.

Finally, the worship flower ministry continues to be successful with most Sundays in 2016 already

filled. This ministry allows the congregation one additional way to express praise and thanksgiving to

the glory of God.


Mary Burge

61

WF: High School Ministries

2015 Annual Report

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him, and He will direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

WF exists to help high school youth 1) Love God, 2) Serve Others, & 3) Fellowship Together!

WF Ministries offers weekly opportunities for youth to worship, pray, learn, fellowship, and serve as

disciples of Christ:

At Sunday AM, youth study the Life of Jesus and cook hot breakfast once a month. Youth Group

games, snacks, service projects, announcements, prayer, devotion, worship and small groups are led by

our fabulous team of Student Leaders & Musicians. Girls & guys dig into Scripture with peers at

Adelphoi & Agape Bible Studies. Mid-week Praise Band practices and SALT Leadership meetings

provide leadership training & experience using gifts to serve God. The Praise Band also occasionally

provides music leadership for Sunday morning worship services. Adult Mentors serve tirelessly to

support ministry events and guide youth. Many of these mentoring relationships continue into college

and beyond!

WF Ministries also hosts special events throughout the year:

Winter: A high point every year is the Winter Retreat at Camp Timber-lee. Youth enjoyed

worshipping with band Arbor Vitae and speaker Geoff Safford who challenged youth to “Press On”

toward the goal of life in Jesus Christ. Despite several regular events being cancelled due to the cold

weather this year, we managed to get in a lock-in at church, complete with laser tag, and we prepared a

meal for the residents of the new Ronald McDonald House in Winfield. WFers continued to serve

dinner to guests at PADS events.

Spring: First Pres. family & friends stepped up in a big way this year in support of our mission trip to

Guatemala! Through our fundraising events we raised over $26,000! I want to extend a huge THANK

YOU to the Mission Committee, 112 “backers”, 522 event attendees, and 277 checkbook purchasers for

your generosity! This amount exceeded our fundraising goal, and allowed us to be able to purchase ECO

stoves and beds for our residents in Guatemala. Thanks be to God! A new Confirmation class of 23

students began the journey to believe, learn, live out, & share their growing faith supported by teachers

& youth sponsors. “Refuge” was the theme for Youth Sunday services. Seniors shared sermons &

youth led music and liturgy at both services. Adult mentors took students on the annual Senior

“Camping” Trip which ended up being a romp through a very wet Starved Rock State Park, pitching a

tent on the 3rd floor of the Parish house and a visit from some alums to discuss some tough college

topics.

Summer: A team of 31 youth and adults went on a transformational Mission Trip to San Raymundo,

Guatemala to construct homes from start to finish, for two families in need. We were also blessed to be

able to meet our Compassion International child, Louisa! Here are a few ways the trip was surprising:

62

How hard making cement and pouring a foundation by hand is; How quickly we could come to love the

Guatemalan people we met; How a tiny, stubborn nail could humble even the strongest human; How we

have so much, and hold on to it so tightly, but the people we met had so little, and gave it away freely;

How working hard, side by side with your friends is a deep and meaningful way to share God’s love;

and How truly amazing it is to trust in our Lord to give us strength! Then, WFers shared mission trip

“God sightings” at a Bonfire Celebration and enjoyed a Starved Rock Hike, and a special Archery

Tag event! The youth do not like being apart from each other all summer long, so new this summer was

a regular Youth Group meeting every other Wednesday night!

Fall: The school year began with a special Mission Trip Report for the congregation and the annual

Senior-led Road Rally. Student Leaders wrote a new Mission Statement; “WF strives to be an

accepting, fun, humble, and intentional group inspiring others to grow in faith & community. ” We had a

Labor Day Cookout, and another fun filled Lock-In. We were excited to welcome a wonderful new

class of confirmands on Confirmation Sunday. A Fall Retreat at Stronghold Castle explored the topic

of Jesus as our superhero, and the superpowers God has given to us through prayer, learning, fellowship,

service and worship. This was a particularly meaningful, spirit-filled, retreat with a spontaneous hour

long worship and prayer time on Saturday night! A fun time was had by the students and the many

parents that participated in youth group games, worship & small groups at Parent Night. Over

Thanksgiving break, High School and college students reconnected at the Alumni Pie Reunion. Youth

supported Christmas Sharing by baking cookies, folding/loading goods, and helping guests keep track

of their bags. Then, 41 youth and 12 adults participated in a festive Progressive Dinner, ending with a

quick visit from Santa Claus. We also presented gifts to Derrick Rohl in thanks for his excellent

leadership this year, and offered our best wishes and prayers for his new adventure in Nashville.

2015 began with much excitement and hope with strong weekly WF events and the anticipation and

planning of our international mission trip. The trip to Guatemala was an amazing experience for all

involved, and it was a joy to share our trip with the congregation at a special education hour

presentation. The second half of the year was rocked a bit by the news of Allison’s resignation, and

move back to California. The depth of human emotion is amazing: how it is possible to be

simultaneously gripped by joy and happiness for Allison in her hopeful, new adventure, while at the

same time being deeply saddened at our loss of her presence and amazing guidance. But! God is

faithful! And under Derrick’s interim leadership, and with the support of the other adult leaders, the

High School Program has ended the year in a very strong place! We are faced again, at the end of 2015,

with the emotions of Derrick’s departure, but have learned through this experience so far to trust God,

and keep the faith. We have recently heard the exciting news that the search committee has a potential

candidate for the position for us to meet! God is good! I am so blessed to work with the amazing adult

leaders and wonderful youth in this ministry. It is a truly loving and caring, Christ-filled community.

Please pray for our youth to continue to know God’s love in their hearts & share it generously.

God Bless,

Nancy Goodwin

Interim High School Youth Ministries Coordinator

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A Special Thanks to...

Adult Mentors: Hannah Fuster, Chris Murray, Chris Nickell, Doug Reinhart, Derrick Rohl, Mike Rohl,

Bryan Sanzotti, Ryan Schultz, Lisa Shine, Beth Stremel & Matt Stremel

and Student Leaders: Jacob Brokaw, Liam Carroll, Tyler Carroll, Julia Den Uyl, Kara Fontana, Morgan

Gagnon, Nate Goodwin, Ryan Larsen, Ryan Murray, Spencer Nunn, Justin Ostrem, Peter Reinhart,

Kristen Richter, Julia Shine, Julia Stephenson, Kristin Sweem, & Nathan Zeuch

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Youth Director Search Committee

2015 Annual Report

Charged with finding a new full time Director of High School Ministry, the committee began meeting

weekly (with some exceptions) in mid-September. We worked together to finalize a comprehensive job

description that included responsibilities, expectations, relationships, and qualifications. We posted our

search on a variety of sites, including Youth Specialty Services, Linked-In and a number of Presbytery

home pages. We began receiving and reviewing resumes by mid-October.

We have received and reviewed nearly 30 resumes, conducted telephone interviews with five applicants

and have had three in-person interviews. The Committee is encouraged and is moving forward in hopes

to find the best candidate for the important work of leading the youth of First Pres in a Christ filled life.

We will enlist our Pastors, volunteer leaders and youth as necessary to find the best candidate for the

position.

The committee is ongoing and the hopes to identify a candidate soon.

Thank you,

The Youth Director Search Committee

Chris Murray

Morgan Gagnon, Youth

Lisa Shine

Carol Brcka

Tyler Carroll, Youth

Ira DaVall

Scott Slate, Chair

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