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PASTOR'S ANNUAL REPORT January 2010 Dear People of God, I greet you in the name of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. As I reflect upon the year 2009 and write my annual report for the year, my heart overwhelms with joy and gratitude for all the blessings God has showered upon us during this past year. It has been a good year for Redeemer not only in terms of programs and its ministry, but also in terms of finances. Fifth year in a row we were able to end the financial year in black. That is a great accomplishment! Your faithful commitment has brought this church to where it is today; 105 years old and still making a difference in the lives of people in its own community and in our world. I thank each one of you for your continued support and your faithful service to Redeemer. I hope and pray that God continues to grant us yet another good year here at Redeemer. The congregation has continued its steady growth in terms of new members, new activities, programs and projects under the leadership of its president Don Solt and the council members; Denise Goccia, Gail Blinstrub, Charles Olson, Helen Susko, Phil Herrington, Marty Ditcher, Michael Dunn, Lori Meola, Patricia Gallagher, Jeanne Vitale, and Marian Hemphill. My sincere thanks to Gail Blinstrub, Charles Olson, Helen Susko, Phil Herrington, who have faithfully completed their 6/3 year terms and are stepping out of Council and I thank them for their contribution to Church Council during the time they served; to all Council members and their respective committees which have worked hard this past year in shaping the ministry of this congregation with new initiatives. Since each committee has given a detailed report about their programs, in my report I will talk about joys and concerns that I have seen during this past year and also to talk about future aspirations for Redeemer this coming year. JOYS Membership Growth: Redeemer’s family received through baptism 3 new members(infants); 12 new members were received into the Redeemer family through transfers from other congregations, reaffirmation of baptism or through reactivation of membership, and 3 children were confirmed as adult members, bringing our total to 18. Counting our losses - 1 member moved away to another location and transferred to another church; 7 members died this past year bringing our total net growth to 10. I have also visited/communed 164 times, with our members at various locations/hospitals this year. Besides conducting worship services and preaching on Sundays, my time was also spent in teaching Adult/ Confirmation / 1st Communion classes, Baptism & New member classes, Pre-marital Counseling, Counseling individuals and couples; time with the dying, their families and conducting funerals; creating new programs, writing letters, newsletter articles, phone calls, and preparing bulletins; attending meetings of Council, Committees, Synod meetings, Lower Bucks Conference & Ministerium meetings. Music: Our Organist/Music Director, Dan Richards left us in August after completing his education and finding a new job in Boston. Since November Will Powell has been working as our Organist/Music Director. He is a joy to work with as well as to listen to his singing. He has done a wonderful job so far with the adult and children’s choirs. Thank you Will! Bell Choir: Under the leadership of Marty Ditcher, our Bell choir continues to sound great. Unfortunately their Concert scheduled for December of 2009 had to be postponed to December 2010 due to unforeseeable circumstances. Marty has also started a new Bell Choir for Children. They performed well on Christmas Eve. We have also purchased 3 Chimes for the Bell Choir from the memorial of Hazel Tobias & Mercedes Weber. Thank you Marty and the members of Bell Choir for great presentations! Big Heart Events: Once again this year, through the efforts of Stewardship and Finance Committees, different events were organized in order to raise money for the current fund and in each of those events; this congregation came through with Committee to donate to Redeemer, the cost of one meal which they normally eat in a restaurant or the cost of a movie which they normally see with their family in a movie theater. Approximately, $618.00 was donated by members toward the current fund through such events. Through your efforts as well as the hard work of Katherine Patelunas $ 1169.93 was raised through grocery receipts for the current fund! WELCA through the Flea market also raised $ 1212.35 for the current fund, and Thrivent matched it with another $322.25 making the total $1534.60. Men’s Dinner for the Congregation: Another spectacular kindness that we as a congregation witness every year around Reformation is a group of men in the congregation namely, Tony Yepello, Don Solt, Gary Overbagh, John Schwenk, Ron Thomas, Scott Ditcher, Jim & Michael Parker and Andy Martinsen who cook a wonderful meal for the congregation. This year it was spectacular in the sense everyone came in the 1920’s costumes and the money raised ($1000) went to the current fund so that we can end the year in black. Jocelyn Yepello also made beautiful flower baskets which were given out as raffle gifts. Thrivent also gave $800 toward ‘Care abounds in Congregation’ activities and the amount was added to current fund. Sunday school- As you can see from the report written by Denise Robinson, teachers, helpers and the Sunday school children are having a good time learning the Bible stories through a Rotation system, which not only includes stories but they also learn through different activities, such as cooking, and drama. They have also begun a service project where students are encouraged to earn points (feet) by helping out. Thank you Denise, teachers and helpers who are volunteering happily to make a difference in those children’s lives! Confirmation class has also been raising money faithfully for the Heifer project through the monthly Bake sale so that the money they raised can buy animals for poor people in different parts of the world. They raised $177.28 this past year. Besides collecting money for World Hunger, Sunday school children have also been financially supporting a child from Guatemala by the name of Yessica and this year the Vacation Bible School also raised $47 and donated it toward supporting Yessica. They also had a good time creating dog pillows & dog biscuits as part of their service project, and they were donated to an animal shelter. Adult Education: During the year, adult members of Redeemer had the opportunity to attend various adult Bible studies on different topics. One change this year for the Sunday morning class was that besides Mr. Lynn Leppo teaching the first three Sundays of the month, I have also been teaching on the last Sunday of each month. We have begun studying each Gospel. I give an outline for the Gospel at the beginning of each month and on the last Sunday I meet with the class to talk about the issues that come from their reading of the Gospel. So, far we have covered the first three Gospels. Monday night and Wednesday morning classes continue. When there are so many opportunities available, I urge you to take advantage of them and grow in your knowledge of the scripture. Benevolence : As you are aware, part of our Sunday income goes to the Synod as our benevolence. In 2009, our Partnership support to the Synod was $7,037.00. $ 747.80 was raised for World Hunger and the Lutheran Charities received $139.00 bringing our total benevolence to the Synod: $ 7,923.80. I thank you for your generosity. We were also able to raise $1038.00 through our Mission Festival auction to which Thrivent gave a matching fund of $519, bringing the total to $1557. This amount was divided between two projects; 1. To support a Seminary student at LTSP. 2. Doctors without Borders. Besides these projects, Social Ministry also continues to help locally those who are in need through your generous efforts. This year was one of the best for Redeemer in reaching out to those in need. The total out-reach amount that was given out or spent for those in need was $ 4299.43 (read Arlene’s report). New Initiatives: Stitching Angels: This new ministry started by the Evangelism Committee completed one year last week. This group was formed with members who like to knit, crochet and sew items that are donated to the NICU and maternity units of local hospitals. They meet at Panera Bread at 7pm each Thursday during the year. So far assorted blankets, hats, booties, mittens, burial sets for boys and girls, kimonos, chemo hats, and sweaters for a total of 425 have been completed, blessed in our worship service and donated to St. Mary’s Hospital, Lower Bucks Hospital and Abington Memorial Hospital. Stitching Angels have also knitted prayer shawls that were given to few members who needed healing. "Sharing our Bounty" is another new initiative that was started this year by the WELCA members to help Redeemer's members and the community when they are in hospitals or if they are Shut-ins who live at home and are unable to cook for themselves. Members prepare and freeze meals and donate to the freezer which is run by WELCA. WELCA members have also prepared 100 dinners for this service project. This program has helped many members in this past year. Community Fair: A Fall Festival, a new initiative was organized in October in collaboration with the Penndel Borough. Antique Car show, Moon Bounce, a D.J. were among other things along with the Christmas Bazaar of WELCA. $ 365.75 was raised for the current fund through selling great hamburgers & the Flea market. Antique Appraisal Show: The Stewardship Committee organized a new initiative by asking an appraiser to appraise antique items that members and the general public brought in. It was well attended and raised $213.50 for the current fund. Other Joyous occasions- Thank Offering Service led by women, Church Picnic, Redeemer Youth Halloween Party & Easter Egg Hunt, Bingo Nights, Brunch prepared by the Youth Group for the whole congregation, Helping Hands of Redeemer’s Sunday school, Blessing of Animals, Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service at the Methodist Church, “Burying Alleluias” at Redeemer, Learning one new Liturgy from the new Hymnal, Youth–led Worship service once a month, Power of Prayer Group meeting once a month to pray on members’ concerns & requests, and a new Photo Directory just to name a few. CONCERN: Worship Attendance and membership growth: This year we did slightly better than last year in bringing new members. Our total new growth was 10. In order for the church to grow and keep its doors open, we need to bring in more new members. Keep inviting the people you know to come to worship. Worship attendance still concerns me because not everyone comes every Sunday. Try and spend one hour for God and make it a habit to come with your family. I would like to see children regularly attending, not only Sunday school but also worship services and that happens only when their parents come to the service. FUTURE ASPIRATIONS FOR 2010: Another Community Fair hopefully in June Each One Bring One to Worship so we can bring in 20 new members A Cook Book created by Members’ Recipes Lastly, I thank Holly Rogerson, our efficient office secretary who runs the church office smoothly. She has been a God-send to us. She also had other helping hands in the office during this past year. Ruth Schwartz and Christina Jackson help every week by folding bulletins. Ruth Schwartz, Emma Boyer, Joanne Waldkoenig, Lenore Miller and Christina Jackson help in assembling the monthly newsletter and I thank all of them for helping us. Our sincere thanks to Ruth Schwartz, Betty Frick and Helen Susko who have looked after the church office when Holly was away. I also thank John & Edna Schwenk for keeping our Sign Board up-dated regularly. Finally, I thank God for giving me an opportunity to serve you. I pray that God continues to guide us and strengthen us as we do ministry here at Redeemer. Sincerely, Pastor Esther Rajashekar |