| “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” Most of you know that on annual Meeting Sunday, I use the sermon time to present my Annual Address to the congregation. It’s a kind of state of the church report. And you showed up, anyway. Thank you. After our Eucharistic celebration, we will adjourn to the Parish Hall for coffee, sweet rolls, fellowship and our brief business session. Please stay and be a part of that as well. Each year early in January we receive from the National Episcopal Church Center a Parochial Report Form that needs to be filled out and returned. The information asked for is financial, as well as all kinds of statistics including membership and attendance at worship. The report form comes every year. But never-the-less those of us who have to take responsibility for the Parochial Report usually groan just a little when it arrives. This year however, after the groan , I opened it up and found something that had never before been included with the report. For the first time, a graph was included showing the attendance trend at St. Alban’s during the last 10 years. There is good news. According to the graph our attendance in the last few years has been on the increase. Since you are the church attendees, I commend you for making this happen. Here’s some additional good news about Church attendance which I recently came across. It begins:. “Life is full of risks. Injury reports indicate that 17 % of all fatal accidents occur at home. Pedestrian accidents account for 14 % of all deadly mishaps. All transportation accidents including airplanes, trains and boats result in another 16% of the deaths. It turns out that one of the safest places to be is in church. Only 001 % of all deaths occur during a worship service. If you want to play it safe, then go to church!” So, be safe. Come to Church. Every group and committee that functions within the parish has good leadership and hard workers that keep the parish operating in an effective and successful manner. We may be small in numbers but we are significant in terms of what we accomplish in the name of Jesus Christ. I am aware of what you all do in terms of your ministries and I give thanks to God for each and every one of you. One of the ways that we serve Christ and His people is through the Monday Suppers “for everyone who needs a meal”. This is a ministry of our parish. A Christian ministry to which our Lord responds, “as you have done it onto the least of these my brothers and sisters you have done it unto me.” This ministry is well supported by our own members. Making it even an greater adventure, is the fact that other “faith communities” send us workers as well as financial support. This kind of ecumenical cooperation is what I believe our Lord expects from us. I rejoice that we have found such a meaningful way to make it happen. We are serving more and more meals all the time. Given the state of the economy the unhappy projection is that there will be an increase in the number of people who need to be served through this ministry. Just so you know, Donna is the Monday Night Supper chairperson, and Lucille is the chief cook. They are there every Monday to make the supper happen. Swede and Chuck are also every Monday workers at the supper. These 4 plus the other workers and contributors make this ministry happen. Scheduling the workers is coordinated by Joan. All of you involved in this ministry are appreciated by the entire parish. I want to thank Susan for encouraging us to be more intentional about our coffee hour and for providing suggestions to make it special. Lots of us have signed up to make the coffee hour happen so it doesn’t just get left to chance. I am pleased to announce that Nancy is the coffee hour coordinator for this year. Please remember to sign up. St. Alban’s is continuing to make our facility more user friendly to those with mobility challenges. We have the “lift” to conquer the stairs separating the Church and Parish Hall. Now we are focusing on the Parish Hall restrooms. New toilets and sinks have been installed to meet ADA specifications as well as support bars on the walls to assist with leverage. One particular person single handedly did the research, ordered and picked up the equipment and installed it. St. Alban’s is indebted to Bill Br., an amazing man who often responds to our facility needs, by saying, “Here am I, Lord; send me.” And we praise God for that. There are some additional needs associated with the restrooms. The doors need to be widened, new lights need to be installed, new paint needs to be applied and maybe the floor tiled. We hope to accomplish these things soon. Navigating the door from the parish hall to the restroom hallway along with the restroom door itself is awkward, and if using a walker is nearly impossible. The plan is to eliminate the outer door. A month ago, I was hosting a community meeting here at the church. On the way up the stairs following the meeting, someone asked, “how long have you had the elevator?” I said, “Oh, about a year.” She then asked, “Does it ever get used?” I said, “yes, it get used frequently.” It gets used for meetings, church functions, wedding receptions, funeral lunches, and by our own church members who find the stairs a challenge. The elevator, more correctly called the “Lift” is one of the better things we have done for our members and all who come here with mobility challenges. During last year’s annual address, I announced that the Lift was in place and would be operational soon. This year, I am happy to announce that the Lift is operational. Let’s not ever forget, that the Lift was made possible by a Grant from the United Thank Offering of the Episcopal Church. Every Year we have two United Thank Offering Ingatherings. One in the Fall and another in the Spring. Connie is St. Alban’s United Thank Offering Chair person. Here’s another Miracle. In my wildest dreams, I never expected that St. Alban’s and I would be blessed with a retired Episcopal Priest moving into the area and affiliating with our parish. So, I was pleased when about 16 years ago, The Rev. John S. came to our parish. Though not yet a priest, it was good to have another ordained person amongst us, and we are blessed. But God does answer prayer. About six years ago, Fr. Ted and Betty came amongst us, and again we are blessed. Six months ago, Fr. Ken and Joan came amongst us, and again, we are blessed. Three months ago, Fr. Jim and Anne came amongst us and again we are blessed. My prayer is that everything falls into place that will keep them with us. A friend asked me is it harder to preach with 4 ordained ministers in the congregation? I said, “no, the toughest thing about preaching is knowing Jesus Christ is among the listeners, and hearing everything you say.” For me, that’s what makes preaching tough. Talking about tough. One of the really fun things I do is the Children’s talk on Sunday morning. The Children’s talk is not meant to be the minister talking to the children but the children talking to the minister. It’s designed for the children to talk and for us to listen. Most of the time it works that way. Once in a while, I ask questions to begin their talk. On occasion I do the talking. The kids are the greatest. They know their stuff. I never cease to be amazed. And once in a while I am overwhelmed. Blessings on Priscilla, Nancy and Carolyn, our Sunday School teachers who do so well sharing the faith with our children. And, Blessings on the Children who have now provided a goat, which is their second animal donated to a Third World Country through Heifer International. And a big thank you to Kay, a member of this Parish who lives in Portland, and begs pennies from all of her friends, relatives, and almost everyone else she comes in contact with. The Sunday School Children will be pleased to know that over the Holidays, Kay provided another large jar of pennies which we will soon present to the Sunday School. We had a work party at the church in October. Lots of things both inside and outside were accomplished, including the installation of the new side door which matches the style of the Church’s front doors. This is a wonderful upgrade to our building. Thanks to everyone who helped. If you want a key to the side door, please check with Joan in the church office. There are only a few people in Tillamook without a key. If you are one of them, and would like a key, please don’t hesitate to ask. The only reason we lock the Church at all is to satisfy our insurance company. Ash Wednesday is March 5th, this year, the beginning of Lent. That means Shrove Tuesday is the 4th of March, and St. Alban’s, under the direction of P. Joan, will put on our Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper. Each member of the parish is encouraged to do 3 things: 1. sell tickets and promote the pancake supper 2. help put on the pancake supper, and 3. buy a ticket and come and eat the Pancake Supper. St. Alban’s will again this year participate with Tillamook Ecumenical Community in the weekly Lenten services held at different member churches. If you haven’t participated in this Lenten expression of our Faith, I encourage you to do so this year. It adds significantly to our spiritual journey to the cross and resurrection beginning with Ash Wednesday. The schedule for these services will be determined by Tillamook Ecumenical Community at it’s February Meeting. The schedule will be in the March issue of the Grapevine as well as in our Sunday bulletins. While we are on the subject of Tillamook Ecumenical Community, known as TEC, please be aware that St. Alban’s needs another TEC representative. We meet on the first Thursday of each month at 7:00pm until about 8:30. Marilyn R. is one of our reps, and we need another. If you are interested and/or want more information please contact Marilyn or me. Tuesdays during Lent we will continue the tradition of Soup Suppers. Any family, couple or individuals, will be invited to sign up to furnish and prepare Soup and bread. After the meal we enjoy a brief lay led service of Compline, Evening Prayer, Order of Service for the Evening, or the Great Litany. Soup is served at 6:00pm and our worship is concluded by 7:15 This is a fun and informal time for us to break bread and worship as part of our journey through Lent. During the years I was serving at Triangle Lake, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church came into communion with one another. In the spirit of that new bond, St. Peter Lutheran Church and St. Alban’s Episcopal Church entered into an agreement of a joint celebration of the Eucharist on Palm Sunday. The agreement specified that we would alternate the site of the service each year. At one of our Parish Retreats some of our members expressed an interest in having the combined Lutheran and Episcopal Eucharist on a Sunday other than Palm Sunday. In the light of this, an alternative Sunday that came to my mind was the Sunday that fell during “the week of Prayer for Christian Unity.” Our members seemed to like that idea. So, the question is, are we making that change for this year? The answer is no. Why not? Because today is the Sunday that falls during the Week of Prayer For Christian Unity. It’s always the third Sunday of January. But since I never got around to discussing this with Pastor Jerry at St. Peter Lutheran, it didn’t happen. So this year on Palm Sunday, if the tradition contnues, St. Alban’s will go to St. Peter Lutheran for the Eucharist, and I am scheduled to preach. In 2004 I will arrange for St. Peter Lutheran to come to St. Alban’s on the 3rd Sunday of January, the Sunday in the Week of Prayer For Christian Unity. The Annual Meeting Sunday, therefore, will be the 4th Sunday of January, and we are already scheduled for a Visitation from our new Bishop, whoever that might be, on the first Sunday in January. Let’s talk a little bit about the whole Bishop thing. Bishop Laddehoff retires in June of this year. Three gatherings have been scheduled to wish him well in retirement. The first is a High Tea at the Bishop’s Close on August 16th, The second is a picnic at Indian Mary Park in Josephine County on August 23rd. The final event is another picnic at Triangle Lake on September 6th. A fund raiser has been established for the Laddehoff Triangle Lake fund which will be presented at the September 6th event. The new Bishop will be elected at a special diocesan convention held at Trinity Cathedral on May 17th. The clergy of the diocese and elected delegates from each congregation will elect the new bishop. The vestry in March will elect 2 people from the Parish to be delegates to the diocesan convention in November, and the same two people will attend the electing convention in May. If any of you are interested in being selected a delegate for these 2 conventions, please let me know before the March vestry meeting. Who will be the leaders of the Parish this year? The three vestry members rotating off this year are Laurie, Larry, and P. Joan. I thank them for their service over the last 3 years. Those nominated for election to the vestry at our business session today are: Connie, John and Bill B. Nominations may be made from the floor but will only be received if the person has been asked and is willing to serve. I want to thank the honorable Ev, Mayor of Garibaldi for serving this past year as Senior Warden. His leadership has been much appreciated. Senior Warden for the year 2003 will again be Ev and I am looking forward to working with him for another year. The new vestry will elect the Junior Warden, Clerk of the Vestry, and Treasurer at a meeting called to order at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting. Jeff is presently serving as Junior Warden, Larry as Clerk and Walt as Treasurer. These three people have served with sincere dedication, and we all benefit from their high level of service. I am pleased that Marilyn R. has agreed to accept the appointment of Administrative Assistant again this year. This volunteer position was created by me last year, and proved to be of tremendous value to the parish and to me. The administrative assistant carries out the responsibilities I delegate to that position, and reports directly to me. She is exceptional at dealing with detail and keeping the rector on course Early this month a new parish list was published. A quick glance suggested a closer look was needed. I went through the list and I removed 17 names from the parish list, and transferred them to the Grapevine List. I don’t know how some of the names got on the membership list in the first place. Some names were legitimate a few years ago, but not now. I’m pretty liberal about membership, but I feel it’s important not to fool ourselves into thinking we have more members than we do, and its also important not to let people think they are members in good standing when they are not. To be a member in good standing requires that the Christian in question be actively involved in the life of the parish by working, praying and giving for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom, and receiving communion at least three times a year at this church. Some more purging of the parish list could be done and may be done in the future. I wanted you to know this because I thought you might wonder what happened when the new list comes out and you notice names have been deleted. When your rector, who has been back since October of 1999, does not know who a person on the parish list is, maybe its time to put them on a different list than the membership list. We are living in tough economic times for a lot of people. With even tougher times ahead, there are going to be more and more people who are forced to seek out assistance from the churches and other agencies. The mandate from our Lord is, as you have done it unto the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done it unto me. St. Alban’s can’t do it all and St. Alban’s can’t do it alone. I am proud to be the priest of a church that cares about community outreach. St. Alban’s is recognized as a church that cares. We cooperate with CARE, St. Vincent De Paul, and government and social service agencies to meet the needs of the have nots in our community. But even so, people are still evicted, utilities are still turned off, people still go without lifesaving medicine, and we still have a significant population of poor, homeless, hungry, sick, unemployed people. This has been a tough year for people who have been working and supporting their families and all of a sudden find that they have been laid off, let go, or their job discontinued. They were getting by, but barely. All of a sudden they have no job, They have a car, a place to live, appliances, but they don’t have money for food, rent, medical needs utilities and other necessities. Many are having to ask for help for the first time in their lives. They are humbled and afraid. Our parish through the discretionary account spent nearly $4,000 to help people in need. About $1500 came from the Lenten appeal to support the discretionary account plus some other contributions. Close to $1680 came from honorariums I received throughout the year. The other $800 was the balance on hand when we began the year 2002. Earlier this month we were down to just a few dollars which I was holding back for small emergencies. Thanks to a donation from TLC Federal Credit Union we have been able to continue a more consistent level of assistance. Your Lenten discretionary account offering won’t be forthcoming until the end of April. I have no events scheduled any time soon that will provide an honorarium. So, I am inviting all of us to make an extra contribution if we are in a position to do so. I want to thank Larry and Auslaug for again handling St. Allban’s Christmas Boxes. They purchased all of the food, supplies and presents for two large families. You were generous with your donations for this purpose. Without knowing how much our treasurer recived in donations for the Christmas boxes, Larry and Auslaug made all the purchases for $375.15. When they brought their report to Walt our treasurer, it was discovered that the donations amounted to $375.00. Thank you Larry and Aslaug, and thanks to the members of the parish for your donations that made this project possible. I mentioned earlier that our new, still unknown Bishop will come to St. Alban’s on the first Sunday in January 2004. My hope is that we will have a group of people prepared to be presented to him for Confirmation. So if you would like to be confirmed or want to know what it is and what it means, please let me know. During this year, I will arrange for Confirmation instruction, along with other opportunities for adult education. It was our great pleasure to present Donita and Mike for Confirmation when Bishop Ladehoff made his last official visitation to St. Alban’s. Lets not miss the opportunity to present confirmation candidates when the new Bishop makes his first official visitation to St. Alban’s. Mike, the CEO at TLC Federal Credit Union, and I are in discussion about the feasibility of developing our East lawn into a parking lot which would be shared by both the church and the credit union. The vestry authorized me to begin discussions on such a project. A favorable vote by the whole parish will be required before the project can happen. Why are we talking about it? Because parking is a major problem at the church during the week. We are right on the edge of the open parking for downtown business people and their employees. Since they are not allowed to park in the business district, they use our streets for on street parking. TLC can use more parking, and the plan eventually is to enlarge the credit union building which would eliminate the one row of spaces closest to the East side of their building. Our lawn is nice, and Lyle does a great job of keeping it mowed and looking nice. But Lyle won’t always be able to to do it. We need to think ahead. We desperately need to provide some off street parking. We need a drop off place near our East door and our ramp. Our present parking situation will never get better, it will only get worse. I will ask today for your authorization to take the talks further and come up with a plan with costs to be voted on by a special Parish Meeting at a later date. I want to remind everyone that the office is officially open from 9:15 am to 12:00 Noon. These are Joan established hours. Except for meetings and appointments outside of the office, I am usually there during these same hours. And sometimes I am here in the afternoon. I want to remind everyone, that I am available in a number of different ways. You can call me at the office, you can call me at home, and you can reach me through my message pager. The number is at the end of the office answering machine message. If you need me or want to make an appointment with me, please contact me in one of the ways described. I am happy to meet with you at a place and time convenient for you. I am never too busy to set an appointment with you. If you are sick or injured, I also want to know that. If you go to the Hospital please let me know, or tell the Hospital Chaplain that Fr. Ray is your priest and you want him notified that you are in the Hospital. Because of new confidentiality laws, hospital personnel cannot tell me you are there unless you request them to notify me. I want to end my Annual Address with a challenge to the parish In the Gospel for today, Jesus finds Philip and said to him “Follow Me” As a follower of Jesus, Philip found Nathaniel, and invited him to “come and see.” The most important invitation that we might ever make is the same one that Philip makes to Nathaniel: "Come and see.” Come and see the Lord." Using the words of Fr. Chris Gary we are reminded that there must be countless people that you and I know or encounter on a daily basis who are looking for the love, joy, peace, hope, forgiveness, and salvation of the Christian Gospel. People who are looking for some Good News in the midst of all the bad news. We all have neighbors, friends, co-workers, and family members who are awaiting the invitation or our recommendation to "come and see!" Just as Nathaniel had been eagerly awaiting the same invitation, there are those around us, people in our lives, who are awaiting our invitation. Who are the Nathaniels in our lives? Who might be awaiting just such a recommendation from us? Who are our Nathaniels? Seek them out, as Philip did, and invite them to "come and see." I want to do something a little different this year. I want to adopt a “watch word” for our life together at St. Alban’s . I want our ‘watch word” to be “Come and See.” We are here today because we are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. As good and as wonderful as this is, it isn’t enough. We are all commanded to commend the Faith that is in us. We must invite others to come and see. Some will accept the invitation and some won’t. But if we don’t offer the invitation there is nothing for others to accept . And the ones who do accept our invitation to Come and See, some will see and some won’t. But our responsibility is to invite. We must take the risk of being turned down. Here’s a poem for us to consider: There was a very cautious man Who never laughed or played; He never risked, he never tried, He never sang or prayed. And when one day he passed away His insurance was denied; For since he never really lived, They claimed he never died. St. Alban’s has something to offer to people in this community who do not have a church home, people who do not have a sustaining Faith. We owe these people an invitation to come and see. No matter what else we do this year, we need to include the invitation “Come and See” You will hear and see the words “Come and See” often during this year. It will be a reminder to us, as followers of Jesus Christ, to issue to others the invitation to come and see. The responsibility is given to us by Christ himself We must not let him down. AMEN. |
| Father Ray's Annual Address SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003 |