St. Peter s Episcopal Church

Transcription

1 St. Peter s Episcopal Church 304 Kings Highway Clarksboro, NJ (856) Discernment Process Parish Profile office@stpetersclarksboro.org Our Mission St. Peter s Church is a worshipping community of Christians responding to God s call to know, love and serve Christ in our time and in this place. Our Vision Under new leadership, we envision our parish embracing openness where we strive to be a welcoming parish and a spiritual home for all sorts and conditions of humanity. We also seek to strengthen our focus on mission, especially mission to our local area as we look for ways to use our resources to assist those in need. Our History The congregation at St. Peter s Episcopal Church is very proud and excited about our church history. St. Peter s was established on November 9, 1770 and was the last Anglican Church founded in the colony of New Jersey prior to the Revolutionary War. Land was purchased on Salem-Gloucester Road, which is now Kings Highway in Berkeley, which is now Mt. Royal. The 1

2 first church was erected on this property. On April 23, 1835, the church was incorporated as St. Peter s Protestant Episcopal Church. In 1845, plans were made to build a new church in Clarksboro with the new church being dedicated on December 17, Due to changes enacted by the state legislature, the church was re-incorporated in 1919 as St. Peter s Protestant Episcopal Church of Berkeley at Clarksborough. Our historic church is located in Gloucester County situated in the southwest corner of New Jersey. The location allows easy access to Philadelphia (20 minutes), New York City (2 hours) and Washington, DC (2 hours) and is located only 60 minutes from the New Jersey coastline. Clarksboro is part of East Greenwich Township, which has a current population of 9570 residents, a 76% increase from the 2000 census total. The estimated population within a threemile radius of the church is 31,000 people with 8,200 families. St. Peter s is part of the Woodbury Convocation of the Diocese of New Jersey. There are four other Episcopal churches within a six-mile radius of our church. In 2014, St. Peter s had 62 active baptized members with an average Sunday attendance of 40. Under our interim rector and with the hard work of our vestry and members, our church continued many of the existing programs and ministries while introducing some new ones to the congregation. Our church with a multi-generational congregation has begun attracting new families looking for Eucharistic worship. We currently offer two Sunday services - Rite I with a sermon at 7:30 am and Rite II with a sermon and choir at 10:30 am. Additional services are conducted on Holy Days and our interim rector introduced daily services during Holy Week. Christian formation is offered to our children and youth members once a month. Under our interim rector, Bible study was offered between the Sunday services. A new schedule for Bible study will need to be considered by our new rector. Our church also participates in community-based Ecumenical services on Easter and Thanksgiving. Our campus encompasses five parish properties situated along Kings Highway in East Greenwich Township. In Clarksboro, this includes our 1846 church building along with an adjacent parish hall. The church was entered in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior in Next to the church is the Green House, which currently provides space for the church offices, a choir practice room and meeting areas. In front of the parish hall is a house which formerly served as the rectory/church office and later the sexton s residence. This property is now called St. Peter s Haven and has been leased to Family Promise for use by a family in transition. Our current Rectory and our colonial era cemetery are located in Mt. Royal. Upon her death in 1982, Mrs. Marion Singiser bequeathed the Rectory and surrounding 9 acres of farmland to the church. During the interim rector s time with St. Peter s, the vestry reviewed the use and purpose of the Rectory, the Green House and the former sexton s house and explored various options for each property. No changes were finalized for the properties, but this may need to be discussed further with the new rector. St. Peter s interim rector also served as interim vicar at St. James Episcopal Church in Paulsboro, which is located three miles west of Clarksboro. St. James was built in 1871 and has 26 baptized members and an average Sunday attendance of 17. The service time was changed to 9 am to better accommodate St. James parishioners. This time change affected the St. Peter s 2

3 Bible study. This arrangement will continue during the discernment period and will need to be further reviewed and discussed with the new rector, the diocese, and St. James. In our 245 th year, St. Peter s is seeking to call its next rector who will help us grow our church and celebrate 250 years of ministry in our community. Our Future Goals As we look ahead to the future of St. Peter s, we embark in a journey that will deepen relationships, reach out to others and care for our properties. We envision that the next five years will concentrate in the relationship and collaboration of our parish, our new rector and strengthening the spirit of St. Peter s and our community. We feel very strongly about certain aspects of the church that we hold very important to the continued success of St. Peter s. Looking into the future, our expectations are to grow and strengthen the spiritual life at St. Peter s. We anticipate enhancing our image and become more visible within the community through increased outreach. We have the population and potential growth in the area. As a result, we hope to attract, embrace and retain new members to our parish, which will ultimately, strengthen our ability to help new individuals find their place and voice in the church community. We believe that an engaging rector who will be involved in community activities is key to gaining visibility within our community. The guidance and leadership of the new rector will help accomplish congregational growth, increase community outreach, and improve St. Peter s financial status including possible new uses for property surrounding the rectory, which could potentially produce additional income. We would also enjoy an increase of in-reach to develop relationships within the St. Peter s community. The improved focus of refining in-reach is an aspiration to balance the emphasis on outreach, which has been a larger focus over the years. As we develop our relationships, we would also like to create and revitalize potential opportunities to engage our children and youth, who may otherwise, lose sight of their spiritual journey. We also need to continue, and if necessary, increase our pastoral care for all members of our congregation. Our Ministries The following programs at St. Peter s have evolved over the years depending on the congregation s talents and the needs of both the church and the community. Youth Programs: We currently have our acolyte program with our youth being mentored by our verger. Our Christian formation program for children and youth was scaled back due to the small number of youth in the congregation. However, due to the addition of some new families with school-aged children, discussions are underway to expand the program. 3

4 Choir/Music Program: Our current choir provides wonderful music during the 10:30 am service with guest singers and musicians joining our choir on Christmas Eve and Easter. Our music program has always been a priority of our congregation and has the church s full support. Christian Formation: In addition to the previously discussed children/youth program, our interim rector began a weekly Bible study class between the Sunday services and an educational hour following the Stations of the Cross each week during Lent. The Bible study class ended due to the St. James service time. Outreach Ministry: Many of the following programs are sponsored under the auspices of the St. Peter s Guild. The guild was formed in 2014 and filled a void left when the Episcopal Church Women (ECW) dissolved. The current guild consists of both women and men and works for the betterment of St. Peter s. Current programs include Gifts of Warmth, Gifts for Life, Adopt a Family (at Christmas), Ronald McDonald aluminum tabs, Blessing of the Animals, Box Tops for Education and the East Greenwich Food Bank. Under our interim rector, our church linked with Covenant House in Atlantic City to expand our understanding of the homeless population and their needs. In addition to Covenant House, our interim rector introduced the parish to 10,000 Villages. Our church also contributes to the diocesan fair share program as part of our outreach efforts. 4

5 Fellowship and Congregation Building: The guild sponsors an annual crab cake dinner in the spring and a pork and sauerkraut dinner in the fall. This past year under our interim rector, we had a pancake dinner on Shrove Tuesday and sponsored spiritual/educational trips to the Cloisters and St. John the Divine in New York City with additional trips being discussed. We also had a winter warmer at the rectory and a church BBQ/picnic in June. Lastly, a coffee hour follows every 10:30 am service. St. Peter s Haven: Under our interim rector, St. Peter s entered into a lease with Family Promise of Gloucester County for the use of 306 Kings Highway by a family in transition. Under the agreement, the family will have use of the house for up to six months while they save funds for their own apartment or home. St. Peter s is responsible for building maintenance while Family Promise is responsible for all the utilities and support of the family. The first family moved into the house at the end of August. 5

6 Our Worship St. Peter s style of worship is traditional and more formal using The Book of Common Prayer. Our 7:30 am service is from Rite I. At the 10:30 service, it is a Choral Eucharist using Rite II and includes heartfelt organ and choir music. Both services utilize the Sanctus Bell. The homily is linked to the readings with modern day-to-day examples interweaved into the message. Recognition of anniversaries and birthdays along with a healing prayer occur monthly. Youth and adults serve as lay ministers, lectors, acolytes and choir members. We are proud of the many traditions at St. Peter s, but are open to new ideas and changes that will strengthen the spirit of our church and congregation. Our interim rector introduced us to several new ideas including daily worship during Holy Week and a new style in the delivery of the homily. Other ideas expressed by members include involving the children and young adults in the service such as rector talks with the children and using spontaneous teachable moments. Challenges Facing Our Church While St. Peter s experienced a decline in baptized members and weekly attendance, this has been stabilized over the past couple of years. At the end of 2014, we had 62 baptized members and a weekly average attendance of 40. Attracting new families and retaining both our current members and any new members are critical to making our church a viable center of worship in Clarksboro for years to come. This has to be through the efforts of our congregation, vestry and interim rector occurring not only within the doors of St. Peter s, but also in our homes and community. Budget management is another challenge facing our church. St. Peter s is a beneficiary of income produced from three different trusts. The vestry and interim rector reviewed the management of the trusts including the fees and investments. This work will continue under the 6

7 new rector. The goals are to reduce the management fees and increase the income produced from the investments. While St. Peter s has been very blessed by the actions of our benefactors, we need our members to increase their giving of both time and money. This past year has seen an increase in both areas and we need to continue promoting stewardship. As previously discussed, property management and general upkeep of our various properties and buildings are challenges. While we are very blessed to have the various properties, they require our attention from both a fiscal and time perspective. We need to improve our stewardship of the properties. This will allow us to continue the success of St. Peter s for generations to come. With the anticipated growth of our congregation, we need to be prepared to address the Christian Formation of the children, youth and adults. This will include the need for people to lead formation classes and activities. Both the congregation and our new rector can play significant roles with Christian Formation. This was clearly demonstrated by our interim rector when he started the weekly Bible study between the two morning services and led a weekly Stations of the Cross forum during Lent. To help us address some of the challenges and accomplish the various goals and plans set in place by our vestry and interim rector, we need a rector who can provide energetic spiritual leadership. We are seeking a rector who is committed to a traditional style of worship, but who is not afraid to introduce new ideas, services and programs. Through a partnership between our congregation, vestry and new rector, St. Peter s can effectively address the challenges before us and move ahead to serve God and his people. Housing Arrangements Our rectory is located at 200 Kings Highway, Mt. Royal approximately one mile north of the church complex. The two-story house was built in the early1900 s and was bequeath to the church by Marion Singiser. The house with a two car detached garage sits on one acre surrounded by nine acres of land currently rented for farming. Elementary age students in grades kindergarten through 6th attend the East Greenwich Township Public Schools located in Mickleton with grades 7 through 12 attending the Kingsway Regional High School located in Woolwich Township. 7

8 Financial Information Calendar Year 2014 Total Income $ 167,742* Clergy and Personnel Expenses $ 60,469 Operations Expenses $ 28,528 Outreach Expenses $ 7,738 Building Expenses $ 79,747 Other Expenses $ 8,627 Total Expenses $ 185,110 Excess Income $ (17,363) *includes income produced from the three restricted trust funds where St. Peter s is either the sole beneficiary or a shared beneficiary Calendar Year 2015 Total Income $ 203,115** Clergy and Personnel Expenses $ 99,438 Operations Expenses $ 28,470 Outreach Expenses $ 6,800 Building Expenses $ 48,400 Other Expenses $ 14,000 Total Expenses $ 197,108 Excess Income $ 6,007 **includes estimated income produced from the three restricted trust funds Financial Notes for 2014 In 2014 we utilized Supply Clergy for the first ½ of the year, which is reflected in the lower personnel expenses. Financial Notes for 2015 We expected to have full-time clergy for the entire year in 2015 and that estimate is reflected in the personnel expense. However, our interim rector left at the end of August so we will be utilizing Supply Clergy until a new rector is called. The significant reduction in building expenses are the result of eliminating building management fees, negotiating better landscaping and snow removal contracts, and placing 306 Kings Hwy. into tax exempt status reducing our property tax burden. The increase in the budgeted income reflects increased pledging, reorganization of our trust portfolio, and an additional bequest. 8