Bishop Dena Harrison has gotten to know St. John’s quite well recently, given that she was here for Confirmation on January 17^th and then again for Rohani Weger’s priestly ordination on January 23^rd.  One of the key questions she asked the Vestry during her Confirmation visit was, “Tell me, what’s going well here at St. John’s?  This was a serious question posed following a discussion on some of the statistics of the parish through the year 2008: Average Sunday Attendance, the number of pledges, average pledge compared to the diocesan average, number of adult confirmations and baptisms, etc.

Our answer to her and her own analysis based on the statistics kept by the diocese can be summarized as follows:

·        Our average Sunday attendance for all worship services has been steadily going up through 2008, except for 2009, which took a 16 percent drop.

·        The number of pledges also rose steadily, with a 20 percent increase in pledges from 2008 to 2009, although the average dollar pledge per household has not changed appreciably.

·        There has been a very healthy and steady increase in what St. John’s spends for social outreach and missionary ministries through 2008, which is about 18 percent of our budget.

·        The Hispanic component of the parish is now averaging 40 to 45 persons per service, which accounts for about 25 to 28 percent of the parish’s Average Sunday Attendance.  These core groups of families are those who feel like they are part of the St. John’s parish.  During 2009, we purposely have gone through a “shake-out” phase with this Hispanic service to discourage those families who are only seeking quick baptisms for their children and who have no intention of becoming part of the church rolls.

·        St. John’s continues to attract a respectable number of visitors on Sundays, and we are attempting to engage these visitors so they might consider the parish as a church home.  This is one of the reasons we brought on staff a part-time Membership Coordinator, Fay Jones.

·        St. John’s is meeting quite well the annual mortgage on the “new” church.  The number of households committed to pledging specifically for the mortgage is quite faithful in meeting and completing their pledges.

Bishop Harrison did gently point out to us, though that some of the statistics did not fare so well.  For example, we are not up to par on having a good ratio of adults confirmed and baptized, in relation to the Average Sunday Attendance.  We have to at least double our number of adult confirmations and baptisms to meet the expectations set by the diocese.

Secondly, our average dollar pledge at St. John’s has been fairly flat for the last number of years, in spite of the higher number of pledges submitted for 2009.

Although we expect 2010 to be quite tight financially, we are going to work specifically on increasing the missionary and evangelistic side of the parish’s ministry.  These are the challenges ahead for the rector, the Vestry and the church leadership at large.

Father Al †

Recession Crunch:

Why St. John’s Needs Money

As Father Al stated in his January message, we are expecting a possible $20,000 deficit for our 2010 budget. So, how do we rebound from the recession crunch that is stretching out across our communities and our church?  Well, one of the ways that St John’s can begin to recover is through fundraising.  With some “out of the box” brainstorming and several volunteers, we can have two fundraisers and set a goal for a revenue amount between $5,000 and $10,000 for each fundraiser.  This will not be an easy task, by any means, because some of us will have to step outside of our comfort zone and it will be time consuming; nevertheless, this endeavor will benefit the family of St. John’s.

Remember that church fundraisers do more than just make money for the church; they also bring people and communities together.  After all, churches need the community and the communities need the churches.  So with the right fundraisers, St John’s can bring the community together and get more people involved in the church.  HOLD ON there’s even more to this picture….holding successful fundraisers will enable us to make St. John’s a household name; while sending our message out to the community and to those we have not been able to reach in the past.

So, I am asking you, my St. John’s family to join me in turning this deficit into a surplus.

Katherine D. Lilly
Senior Warden

You are invited to join us for the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Tuesday, February 16 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  The Vestry will continue the tradition of cooking pancakes and sausage for us.  Bring your family and friends to share in the fun.  Suggested donation is $3.50 for adults, $2.00 for children.  We will have sugar free syrup available and also a limited amount of gluten free pancakes.  Please call the church office (836-3974) to let us know if you need these.

North Central Caregivers

Sign Up To Drive an elderly person to doctor or grocery store, or be a “friendly” visitor to homebound thru visits, and/or telephone contact.  Contact North Central Caregivers at 453-2273 (Office open 9AM-12:00 M-F).  At same time, please do sign-up with RSVP for mileage reimbursement.  Also, if you have a need for the services of North Central Caregivers, please call 453-2273 and ask for the Executive Director.  (See brochures located in Church Narthex.)

Some statistics for 2009:
   Total care receivers- 327
    Total volunteer caregivers – 241
    Total point-to-point rides provided – 3,986
    Total volunteer hours during 2009 – 10,913

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SHARDS OF LOVE

A play to benefit North Central Caregivers will be held on Thursday, February 18, 8PM at First Unitarian Universalist Church of Austin, 4700 Grover Ave., Admission donation at door: $15.00  (See flyer in Narthex).

Thanks for your continued support of North Central Caregivers.

Sadie Stewart

The following is excerpted from two sermons by The Rev. Georgette Wonders.  As we move into the New Year and new decade, perhaps we need to spend some time praying for and considering our St John’s community.  As The Rev. Wonders points out, “You will change because of this promise—we all will.  We will shape ourselves according to it and live differently because of it—and we will enlarge the limits of human possibilities.”  The reward is great—”you can’t keep people away, because that is what most of us are looking for: purpose and practice worthy of our lives and spirits”—are you ready for it?

“When we talk about growth we mean more than numbers.  As a matter of fact, of the four kinds of church growth we are considering, numerical growth is number four, not because it is unimportant, but because it is a result of the others.  More central to who we are and why we exist is what we call maturational growth, or how we share the ‘free and responsible search for truth and meaning’ to discover, strengthen and nurture those ‘worthiest loves’ Alice Wesley talks about, as well as incarnation growth, or how we act upon and practice what we have discovered and most deeply value.  Then there is also organic growth, which is about how we organize ourselves to be a church.  All of these are important and when they are flowing, well you can’t keep people away, because that is what most of us are looking for: purpose and practice worthy of our lives and spirits.

Such a lofty enterprise must always be built—and maintained and restored and rebuilt over time.  So come!  This journey we share—and the company we share along the way—is worthy of our energies and commitment.  Here we are free to grow and to stretch because we promise one another to live in community.  We have promised to listen to one another with open hearts and minds and to speak our truths with courage and love that we might grow toward our own greatest potential: to be more justice-seeking, with a wider view, renewed strength, and ever-deepening awareness of the bonds that bind each to all.  You will change because of this promise—we all will. We will shape ourselves according to it and live differently because of it—and we will enlarge the limits of human possibilities.  So come—let us covenant together.  Let us ‘find, over and over again, what our worthiest loves are, and therefore, what our own love may now require of us…’

We have dreams and plans about becoming a great church, a place to grow our souls, enlarge our minds and hearts, teach our children, and from which to do good and make a difference according to our religious principles and values in the community and in the world.  But we have to be connected in order to do any of these things.  And that means when we are invited to the banquet, we need to show up.  Not because you don’t have food at home, but because when you break bread—or animal crackers—with others, you make community and the community is the source and the foundation for all the rest.

We need you here—to welcome and be welcomed.”

Fay Jones
Membership Coordinator

Your Humble Servant has been feloniously absent from these pages due to no justifiable reason except that, with the coldest winter since the last Ice Age, little on the grounds has required attention thus making for a skimpy news column.  Paul Villarreal has prudently placed protective insulation covers over the outdoor water faucets.  Two new groundskeepers have come forward to assist with edging, Steve and Tammy Munoz whose late fall efforts at leaf raking is the reason we can even find the walkways around the Parish Administration Building. 

The project of parceling out the care of our flowerbeds has drawn the attention of several members of the parish and the combined effect on our grounds of well-dressed beds should be noticeable by April of this year. 

Aided by the venerable Roger Hall, your humble servant and Paul Villarreal accomplished a sorely needed task of sawing and bagging the accumulated tree trimmings in the week before the Bishop arrived for confirmation on Sunday, January 17.  Unfortunately, weather and mere human frailty led us to conceal a great deal of the old branches and limbs from the dead hackberry trees along Braker Lane behind the resurgent line of shrubs at the turnaround of the new parking lot.  Your humble servant suggests that these gray, scraggly remains of the once noble trees that, in a time long past, marked a farmer’s property line should be carted off to become mulch. 

Investigation into grinding down stumps left from the tree felling is under way.  A large section of the trunk of one tree was lying casually at the intersection of Parkfield and Braker when a kind soul stopped and proposed to cut it up and haul it away with the intention of using it for firewood.  The Lord provides.  And just in time for the confirmation. 

The sharply colder weather is a blessing for the groundskeepers because it causes a dieback of the all too prolific weeds that proliferate on our property lines.  The cold snap also helps keep the fire ants in check. 

Many thanks for the labor of the grounds keepers and others who contributed their efforts in 2009.  Spring is nearly here so all the saints will have another opportunity to offer their work in the care of our grounds.  This is a very important service, which provides a direct benefit to our bottom line.   

Mike Davis

YOUR PRAYERS ARE REQUESTED FOR:

Healing and Guidance: Jack, Barbara, J.J., Moselle, Beverly, Mike, Mallory, Rebecca, Mary, Pat, Janet, Margaret, Sandy, Harris, Mary Lou, Helen, Trish, Anita, Ron, Judy, Betsy, Bob, Louise, Greg

The 2010 Rummage Sale for the St. John’s Community Food Pantry will be held on February 6 from 8 AM to 3 PM at Resurrection Episcopal Church, 2206 Justin Lane.  We will be accepting all of your donations of clothing, furniture, toys, house wares, etc., in the Parish Hall at Resurrection beginning Monday night, February 1 through Friday, February 5 from 6 PM to 8 PM.  We hope when you bring your donations that you will have some time to help in pricing that night or any of the other nights.  We will also need help on that Saturday.  If you have any questions contact Bill Beare.

Bill Beare
Outreach Coordinator

Stations of the Cross on Fridays during Lent: Our lay servers will offer the devotional Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings at 7 p.m. in the church.