PASTOR’S ANNUAL REPORT 2011

There is a sweet, sweet spirit in this place. I came roughly eight months ago to a church I loved the minute I saw it, love at first sight, back when I came to the area to do a neutral pulpit, a little over a year ago. The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC) did a job I’ve never witnessed any PNC do. I believe they did God’s bidding and worked to discern the minister for their church. While on my end, I left it to God to discern where he was calling me. And, boy, did he know! The call process in our denomination is a wonderful venue, and I am thankful for it.

But onto what I’ve learned in the short time I’ve been at First Presbyterian Church. I have learned that there is much love in this congregation for their Lord and Savior. FPC understands, in order for worship to occur in its fullest, Jesus has to show up, and that he does. I witness his love in his people—the people of this congregation. I witness his voice in the choir and in all who coordinate the music—the organist, the choral director, the hand bell choir director, all who play piano, the special soloists and the liturgists. All this wonder is wrapped up in the special gifts of the people that make a beautiful fellowship within a grand community. I have been blessed to be a part of a wonderful church with such gracious people, who touch my inner being, and my wife Tici, with their love.

Now, this is not to say that we will stop focusing on what our Lord wishes for us all to do, to continue to reach out into our community and beyond, to allow others to witness the spirit of our Lord. This sweet, sweet spirit is something that has been instilled in this congregation prior to my arrival. It is the Lord who has gifted FPC with the resilience to display their joy, and I am so thankful that I am a part of God’s design for this church’s future.

Here again, this is not to say that we don’t have a lot of work ahead of us in the coming years. We cannot say, after giving out a sigh of relief, "The pastor’s here we can relax!" We all have to continue to do our parts with excellence. But to know we will move to meet the challenges of the tomorrows, with courage and resurrected rebirth, is a tumultuous hill already overcome. I’ve learned that joy is made complete in those who love the Lord and work on His behalf to love others as themselves. FPC does this! FPC does this through their committee work, the work of the trustees, the governing of our ruling elders on session, individual volunteers, and saving the best for last, the wonderful staff I’ve been graced to work with. All these vivacious people in our midst witness the love of Christ as they witness Jesus in their beings. As a minister of word and sacrament, I can’t help but be overwhelmed with the joy of knowing, I pastor a group of hard working Christians who want to please their God.

This year, as it unfolds, we have the duty of reaching out into our community with the gifts God has given us. We are to continue, all of us, to be students amidst the Master Teacher—Jesus— and learn, learn, learn. May our year together be joyous and free. And may we please our Lord in all that we do together knowing our Savior goes before us, beside us, within us. Blessings to all, as we have been given the greatest gift to present to others. May we fulfill our Lord’s great commission even more so in the coming year.

In Christ’s Service,

Rev. Hal Shafer, Pastor

Class of 2011: Jayne Smith, Michelle White

Class of 2012: Dianna Early, Pam Purmort

Class of 2013: Rex Fortney, Christine Heizman, Mike Mooney

The year 2011 was a year of change for our congregation. Change is scary, fun, interesting, unsettling, and brings progress.

The Session met at 12 regular meetings in 2011 with one special meeting in September and a joint meeting with the Trustees in October. There were three congregational meetings held in 2011; January was a review of the annual reports; April was to vote on the candidate for pastor; and November was to elect officers and present the 2012 budget.

In January the Session approved the Covenant for Interim Pastoral Services with Pastor Tom Steensma. The Covenant provided for part time from March 9, 2011 through March 8, 2012 and it was noted that this will begin his third year.

In March the Pastor Nominating Committee made recommendation of pastor candidate to the Session, which the Session accepted. Plans were made for the trial sermon on April 17^th with a meet and greet the Saturday prior. To the joy of the congregation Rev. Harold Shafer was accepted as Pastor and head of staff.

The Session approved Communion service at Vancrest Health Care the first Sunday of each month and to any shut-ins who wish to be served.

The Session approved the election of Rex Fortney as Treasurer. Each month the church financial reports are reviewed with special notations to the income and expenses.

At the September special meeting the Session members drafted a Child Protection Policy which was approved in December. In October a Bylaws Ad Hoc Committee was formed to prepare new bylaws for congregational approval in 2012.

In other matters the Session approved the time of our Sunday church service hours during the summer months; changes to the wedding brochure; and approved the 2012 communion schedule.

In addition our membership changed by adding six new members and removing three.

Maumee Valley Presbytery met on February 15^th, May 17^th, September 20^th and November 15^th. Our serving Pastor, a congregational representative and/or Session member attended each meeting. The Session recommended and approved Ed Conover as "Commissioner" to represent our congregation at the Presbytery meetings in 2012.

Session records for the Southwest Cluster will be reviewed Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Delphos Presbyterian Church.

Respectfully submitted,

Dianna Early – Clerk of Session

 

 

STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE & BUDGET COMMITTEE

The Trustees and Treasurer along with the Session continued to keep a close watch on the income and expenses for our church in 2011. These watchful eyes made the budgeting process much easier this year.

In August the request for proposed 2012 budgets were requested from Personnel, Trustee, Mission, CCE, music, and the A/V committees. The Budget Committee and Stewardship Committee began meeting on a weekly basis in September. Many of the budgets submitted by the individual committees were detailed in line items that the committees felt were needed and line items that could be reduced or even eliminated. The committees even made suggestions as to future needs and concerns. The budgeting committee would like to thank all involved with each committee for helping with the budgeting process.

Our congregational members made the "step in faith" to give monetarily above and beyond. Members contributed to their per capita apportionment too.

We praise God and thank you for your continued pledging support.

Your servants in Christ,

Dianna Early and Jayne Smith, Stewardship Co-chairs

DAVID GLEASON FELL MEMORIAL FUND (edited for internet)

This fund is administered by a special committee set up as follows: 1 Representative elected from and by the Session for two years, 1 Representative elected from and by the Trustees for two years, 2 Representatives-at-large appointed by the Session for two years and 1 Permanent Representative for the Fell Family.

The members of the committee are: Louis Crow, Chad Crosby, Bob Gates and Pam Purmort. One Member-at-large is to be appointed.

There was no request or appliance brought to the Fell Fund Board this year. We are awaiting the new appointees from the Bodies of the Church.

Respectfully submitted,

Louie Crow, Chairperson

WORSHIP COMMITTEE

Committee Members:

Christine Heizman, chairman; Rev. Tom Steensma (January – April)and Rev. Hal Shafer (May to December); Rex Fortney, Dianna Creekmore, Harriet Schaat, Dave VanTillburg

The Worship Committee has worked the past year in maintaining and guiding the structure of our worship services. Liturgists are assigned for the month through this committee. We also set up servers for communion on a monthly basis for worship.

The Worship Committee sets the calendar for the year and determines the special Sundays and times to be set for the services for the year. The committee also makes recommendations to the Session for worship order and the duties of the liturgist during worship. We make recommendations for approval of baptisms and inform of upcoming weddings to the Session.

The church has had 4 weddings and 1 baptism in the last year.

Weddings:

June 11, 2011 Eric Putman/Alyssa Lehman

October 8, 2011 Nick Regan/Melissa Channell

November 11, 2011 Aaron Collins/Natasha Ringwald

December 10, 2011 Zach Profitt/Danielle Reynolds

Baptism:

Keiley Elizabeth Welch, born on September 7, 2011 and the daughter of Rob and Jacque Welch.

The worship committee reviews the suggestions from members of the congregation and presents those to the session .

The committee took over the job of overseeing the formation of a confirmation class this fall. The class started in October and has seven young people involved in the class. They went on a retreat in October and possibly will do another one in February. The class has been going well and will be completed Palm Sunday.

The committee organizes the Acolytes for the year. The Acolytes started in November and will continue until May. There are approximately 12 young people involved between first grade and eighth grade. It was the committee’s decision, along with discussion with CCE to have the Acolytes light the candles every Sunday. This has been working well. Along with having the Acolytes every Sunday and the involvement of older children, it has been felt by the committee that we need to get new robes for them to wear. The current robes are very old and some of the zippers do not work. They also are not large enough for our older children. We are in the process of gaining funds to support this project and order new robes in the coming future.

The committee began a campaign to gain funds to buy new pew Bibles for the church. This decision was based on discussion with two pastors (Rev. Steensma and Rev. Shafer) and the need to have a more current version. The version the committee is reviewing is the" New Revised American Standard Version" (Presbyterian). A donation of (edited for internet) was given towards this cause. The committee is currently gaining samples of possible selections and will review these selections at our next meeting in January, 2012. We will then order and replace the old Bibles in the Sanctuary and around the church. The committee will make a recommendation to Session on our selection and what we will do with our old Bibles.

The committee has added a representative from the Audio/Visual committee. This will assist the A/V committee with knowing special needs for the worship services and be part of the discussion. We hope to add other members to this committee in the future.

Report prepared by Christine Heizman

 

 

2011 Committee: Tracy Baer, Chuck Koch, Pastor Hal Shafer, Pastor Tom Steesma, Michelle White, chairman

Staffing

During the 2011 budget process, it was determined that staffing cuts were imminent. On November 9, 2010, the budget passed with all full-time support staff being cut to 50% and considered part-time.

The cuts occurred on 4/1/11.

Timeline for the transition to Part-time

January 20, 2011

Job Description submitted to Session and approved

February 6, 2011

Presented the new job descriptions to the congregation

Presented volunteer opportunities

Began filling volunteer opportunities

February 2011

Continued filling volunteer opportunities

March 2011

Volunteers trained by Susan and Rick

April 1, 2011

Employees began working part-time hours

Arlene Rentz retired after 25 years of service.

New Employees

Several new employees were welcomed to our church in 2011. Jeff Young was hired as our Custodian in May, Dave Vantilburg as our Choir Director in August, Anna Battle as the Hand Chime director in August, and Felicia as the Christian Education Director in October.

Pastor Hal Shafer was selected as our new Pastor and started with our church in May, installed on July 24, 2011.

2010 employee evaluations were all completed by March 3, 2011.

2011 employee evaluations were completed in October.

Vacation & Sick Time

The 2011 vacation and sick time were calculated and tracked using Attendance Calendars. Vacation and sick accruals were submitted to Shultz & Huber and is also tracked on the employee paychecks.

Employee Manual

The employee manual was reviewed in 2010. All the 2010 changes were added to the manual. Specific changes were given to each employee, along with the updated manual. Each employee signed a form indicating they understood the changes and received the new manual.

Other Personnel Business

The Ohio Bureau of Workman’s Compensation completed an audit of our records. No deficiencies were identified.

Employee files were reviewed to determine that all required documents were included. Several items were missing in each of the files. The missing documents were collected and added to the files.

IT4 Forms were completed and filed in the employee files

Respectfully submitted

Michelle White, Personnel Chairman 2011

This year Priscilla Circle met on a regularly scheduled basis the third Monday of March – May and September – December. Our member’s booklet was prepared by Cherrie Evans and included a calendar of meetings with program details and a roster of circle members. The membership has grown from about 20 to 25 and attendance of 12 to 15 each month. Lyn Warren served as Moderator and Bonnie Jones continued to serve as Treasurer and leader of the Read & Review Book Club.

We finished our Bible study of Joshua entitled "A Journey of Faith." A committee of 3 members, led by our new CCE Director, Felicia Quaintance, are reviewing materials to select the next Bible study topic to commence in Mach, 2012.

As our missions, we contributed to the Birthday Offering, the Thank Offering, Nickles for Nets, and Least Coin. Bonnie Jones invited the Book club to participate in our shoe box project and their dozen boxes put us over our church challenge to contribute 50 boxes, leading us to a total of 52 boxes!

In October for our guest night program Donna Grimm spoke to us about the Bread and Bowl Mission sponsored by community churches and held each Friday at the First Methodist Church. We agreed to share with other groups within our church to sponsor two meals this year.

We ended 2011 with a Christmas potluck gathering and gift exchange at which all brought food offerings that were taken to the Salvation Army.

Respectfully Submitted,

Lyn Warren, Circle Moderator

PW Treasurer’s Report by Bonnie Jones: 12/31/11: (edited for internet)

Active members:

Fred Early, Lee Sunday, Louie Crow, Lyn Warren, Rex Fortney, Pastor Hal and Pam Purmort, chairperson.

The Mission Committee had a very busy year in 2011 with local and international mission programs.

Direct Involvement Projects

Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen:

This is headed by Fred Early. It is a monthly program with 21 volunteers this year. Please see Fred’s report below for details

Christmas Shoe Box:

Lyn Warren heads this project. This year we donated 52 boxes filled with necessities and gifts for children throughout the world. The Youth Group and the Book Club contributed boxes so we could exceed our goal of 50 boxes.

Christmas Angel Tree:

With generous gifts and private donations, we were able to gift 15 children, ages 10 months to 16 years, with every gift they were wishing for. The Salvation Army provided the information for the gifts.

Garage Sale:

We participated in the 127/Lincoln Highway Garage Sale in August. Louie Crow headed the food sale and Lyn Warren coordinated the garage sale. All proceeds went to local missions.

Presbyterian Sponsored Offerings (edited for internet)

One Great Hour of Sharing

Blanket Offering

Tool Offering

Peacemaking Offering -  (25% of this offering was designated to the Salvation Army)

Christmas Joy Offering

Special Offerings

During the year we held several collections for items needed by the following organizations:

Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen

Kirkmont Center

The Gideons

YWCA

The Salvation Army

Missionaries

We continue to support Choon & Yen Lee Lim, missionaries to Taiwan through the Outreach Foundation.

The Mission Committee encourages all members to be involved with mission projects. We welcome new members to the committee. We meet on the 2^nd Tuesday of each month at 5PM in the Frantz Room.

 

Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen

The Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen on Central Avenue in Lima continues to feed both body and

spirit of people in our area. We are one of the churches that monthly help the mission with volunteers, and donations of food, clothing, and financial support. The number of daily clients served fluctuates between 150 and 300 depending on the day of the week and time of the month. Noon meals are served Mon – Fri 10:30AM – 1:00PM. In addition to serving clients hot noon meals in a warm dining hall, and in a Christian warm welcoming atmosphere, articles of donated clothing, blankets, and personal hygiene items, are available. Bible study meetings are held on Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings.

Starting in January 2012 will be "Celebrating Recovery" sessions on Tuesday afternoons 1:00PM – 3:00PM. Celebrating Recovery is a national Christian-centered support group program. Also starting in January will be on one Wednesday afternoon each month, the showing of movies with Christian, ethical, and moral messages, followed with a discussion period. The purpose is to help people work through anger and other issues.

We serve the noon meal and take supplies over to the soup kitchen on the 4^th Wednesday of each month. Also serving with us on the 4^th Wednesday are volunteers from the Lima Market Street Presbyterian Church. Five or six volunteers from Van Wert each month is the need, which has been readily met. Thank you. The monthly volunteer sign-up sheet is located on the Missions bulletin board in the south hallway.

During the year of 2011 twenty one members of our congregation served on one or more Wednesdays. The honor roll of volunteers and the number of Wednesdays they served include:

10 Days – Lois Harrow, Fred Early; 8 Days – Bonnie Jones; 6 Days – Dianna Early; 4 Days – Sue Gates; 3 Days – Beverly Saylor; 2 Days – Cherrie Evans, Rex Fortney; Trella Gause, Don Thomas; 1 Day – Jean Ringwald, Lelia Sunday, Louis Crow, Susan Darrah, Terry Dietsch, Tim Estes, Murray Gause, Barbara Presar, Mike Ragan, Nina Ragan, and Felicia Quaintance.

Clothing donations were secured and sorted by Mary Kay Purmort. We donated at total of 43 large bags of clothing and bedding, along with cans of food, kitchen supplies and personal hygiene items.

Our Missions Budget in 2011 included (edited for internet) to the Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.

Food supply needs of the Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen at this time include food items of noodles, rice, pasta, and desserts such as cookies, cake, and pies. Continuous is the need for aluminum foil, paper towels, and personal hygiene items.

Respectfully submitted,

Fred Early, Missions Committee

 

This past year was a busy one for the Board of Deacons. We provided ushers for each Sunday service, Maundy Thursday and Christmas Eve. We also prepared the elements for each Communion Service. Many cards, visits and flowers were provided for those who were ill, had special birthdays, had special needs or were in the hospital.

Our major accomplishment was realized this year when the remodeling of the kitchen was completed. With everything stripped, cleaned, painted and repaired from top to bottom with the new floor in place it was ready for many more years of use. We want to thank all of those who supported us in this project by sharing your time, talents, funds and moral support. What a pleasure it has been to share this with all of you. We hope it will be put to good use for food, fellowship and fun.

The Prayer Chain was also begun this year. When special needs of members are known the calls begin to persons on the list and prayers for healing, joy, sorrow or whatever begins. We hope this give comfort to those who ask for our help. If you have a special request please call the church office and they will contact the Prayer Chain.

Please know that we are always here to help each of you however we can. If you need a visit from one of us, need special prayers, need meals while recovering from illness or injury, a funeral meal to be provided or if you have ideas of ways that we can be of service to you, please let us know.

Our work cannot be accomplished alone. We count on each of you to help us. One way that is a big help is to volunteer to be an usher. It is a good way to get to know others in our congregation and greet visitors. It is not a hard job. It just requires a smile, a "Good Morning" and "So glad you came". Please let us know if you can help, or say "Yes" if we ask you to usher.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Ringwald, Sec

Deacons’ Treasurer Report by Sara Green: (edited for internet)

Deposits: Communion 

Expenses: Flooring

Donations-  Paint

Dinners-  4 Stools

Bake Sale - Supplies

Love Gift

Communion

Flowers

Stamps

Cards

KITCHEN

Many church members helped make this project a success. Some of the jobs that our volunteers did were – stripping off wallpaper, sanding cupboards and cabinet doors, cleaning out all the drawers and cupboards, putting down shelf paper, washing all the dishes, cups, bowls, glasses, pots, pans and silverware and then putting everything back in place.

Not only did we have workers who could donate time and energy, but many donated money and gifts for the kitchen.

With the help of our church family, we have a wonderful kitchen to be used for many years. A big thank-you to everyone!

Expenses to remodel church kitchen:

Table (2010)

Supplies (2010)

4 Stools

Paint

Shelf Paper

Utensils

Glassware

Flooring

Members Position Class

Wayne Warren Chair/Budget 2012

Ken Merkle Vice-Chair/Budget/House 2011

Bill Knoll House Chair/Interior 2011

Chad Crosby House/Improvement Plan/Nominating 2011

Mark White Budget/Memorial 2011

Brad Nicolai House 2012

Bob Gates Budget/Memorial 2012

Dave Blair Secretary 2013

Chuck Koch Personnel 2013

Activities:

Board representatives served on Memorial Endowment Fund, Personnel, Nominating, Budget Committees, and Pastor Nominating Committee. Documented joint meetings with the Session were held as required; at the joint meeting to discuss the By-Laws it was decided to appoint an Ad Hoc committee made up of Session, Trustees, Deacons, CCE and/or members at large to be moderated by Rev Shafer to review and present recommendations. Trustees hosted the Spring Awakening Supper April 13. Meetings were open to all and held the second Tuesday of each month at 7pm and minutes recorded and approved.

The Annual Financial Review was competed by Richard Sealscott CPA, Inc. and accepted with revisions in fund balances based upon 3^rd quarter fund statements made in November.

Monthly Custodial Reports were reviewed, action items completed and recorded. Church projects and issues include multiple roof leaks resolved, and repair to the Church heating system, an insurance claim due to a lighting strike that damaged a compressor, repair for water damage to the organ and repair of the leak that caused the damage, moving the storage shed, approving a snow removal agreement, and cost analysis/approval of salt and sand applications to parking lot.

The major Church improvement project plan and prioritization was worked on throughout the year with the contractor and proposal approved by the Trustees in October. Architectural needs for the South (Main) entrance including issues of drive, roofline, doorway, and signage are a separate project and were also discussed.

The Manse received a new roof with repairs made to the boiler and various drainage/leak issues resolved. A trend analysis was done to determine the annual cost of the property with projections for future expenses vs. a housing allowance for the Minister. It was determined that the issue would be reviewed annually based upon current economic factors.

Annex improvements were made by a church member and included many heating pipes repaired, shut off valves in the water supply, ceiling replaced and painted. An estimate to move the Annex to a Church lot was received and discussed. Future utilization of Annex is a continuing subject of review for potential use for the Church Mission.

The Financial Statement was under review for changes in 2012 to better define/explain cost categories. Loans and assets were reviewed to ensure best possible rates to save money and gain cash flow without increasing liability. An approved refinance plan was sent to the Session for their approval. The Budget Committee met frequently to monitor current year and project next year’s budget.

The Trustees were active in the role of coordinating volunteers with the transition to part time for the Staff. Building and internet security issues and estimates were reviewed, electric and natural gas costs and various options were also reviewed. A use agreement for people/groups using the Church was developed and approved. Tax property values for the Manse and Church are being appealed/challenged to reduce cost.

Submitted by Dave Blair, Secretary

 

 

COUNCIL OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

The Council of Christian Education provides opportunities to strengthen the foundation of our families’ Christian faith through programs and events that encourage the dynamic discovery of God’s word and love.

2011 CCE Members

2011 Activities & Programming Summary

Junior Church:

We used the revised PC-USA curriculum, "We Believe" for both age groups: Cherubs (4 years – 1^st grade) and Seraphs (2^nd – 6^th grade.) Each Sunday we collected an offering, which went into the Sunday School Account. We have been blessed with new volunteers and an eager youth group that is taking turns volunteering as junior helpers in the cherub room each Sunday.

Sunday School "Power Hour":

"Power Hour" kicked off in October and is a multi-generational program, which blends fellowship and interactive programming and always includes coffee, juice and breakfast treats. Attendance has been down from the previous year but there is still a variety of ages attending. CCE directs Power Hour, which meets the second and fourth Sunday of each month.

JAM ("Jesus & Me" Wednesday after school program):

We completed the 2010-2011 JAM program with a moving up ceremony during Spring Awakening where Bibles and certificates were presented to the 1^st grade Cherubs moving up to Seraphs: Adeline Collins, Ethan Mooney, and Christian Eberle and to the 6^th graders leaving Seraphs to participate in Youth Group: Rich Eberle, Aimee Nicolai and Olivia Wingo. We kicked off the 2011-12 JAM theme: "Fruits of the Spirit" in September. JAM continues to be one of our most popular and well-attended children’s programs that we offer. With the growing numbers, we will soon be having three age categories for the JAM kids: 3yr olds-Kindergarten; 1^st and 2^nd grade, and 3^rd-5^th. We have also been fortunate for several of our confirmation students to serve as student helpers throughout the year.

Youth Choirs/Handchimes:

Harriet Schaadt continued as our volunteer Cherub and Seraph Choir Director with Denise Nicolai volunteering to accompany her on piano. The volunteer hand chime director was Kerry Speer. On December 18, 2011 the Cherubs and Seraphs blessed the congregation with a wonderful Christmas musical led by these three talented volunteers.

Vacation Bible School:

Amazon Adventure was held June 13-16, 2012. Supper was served each night in the First Presbyterian Rainforest. After supper, the kids and volunteers explored God’s creation through cool crafts at the Rainforest Craft Area, science experiments in the Swing Vine Science Room, amazing stories about God’s love for us at the Sky-High Story Station, and had fun outside with the Go Green Games. Many volunteers gave their time and talents to bring the word of God to our kids for those special four evenings.

Children & Family Communications:

"The Parent Link": Both children’s and teen edition of "ParentLink, monthly newsletters distributed via email to our parents. The newsletters contain relevant and motivational faith formation support for parents. Additional copies are available in the South Hallway.

"Family Bulletin": This is an insert that appears monthly in our worship bulletin that contains supportive information for family relationships.

Acolytes:

Our acolyte program continued throughout 2011 with 16 acolytes for the 2011-12 church school year. This provides our youth with an opportunity to take an active role in our worship experience.

Youth Group:

The Youth Group, open to all 6^th-12^th grade youth, met January – May and August – December and is led by Michelle White. Michelle plans to move youth group to every Wednesday night come spring awakening.

Spring Awakening 2011:

Spring Awakening provides a relaxed opportunity for our church families to share a good meal and fellowship with one another. There were wonderful suppers served by the different boards, the youth and First Presbyterian Women. JAM switch to Wednesday night and the Jr./Sr. High program was led by Michelle White. The adult programming started off the first week with an Ash Wednesday Service. The following weeks’ programs were speakers from the different local missions that the church supports.

The speakers were as follows:

Jayne Smith – Habitat for Humanity; Kathy Boaz – House of Transition; Steve Jenkins – Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, Kathy Taylor – Blessings in a Back Pack (Van Wert Senior Class Project); Stacy Looser, Executive Director and Lori "Red" Becker, Summer Food Program Supervisor - YWCA and Major Barter – Salvation Army

FAMILY FELLOWSHIP EVENTS:

JAM MONTHLY FAMILY SUPPERS: Our monthly JAM family suppers continued through the year. This is a great opportunity for our younger families to get together for a casual supper and fellowship.

EASTER EGG HUNT, APRIL 17.2011 - The cherubs and seraphs hunted for Easter eggs on the second floor while the parents shared in the Welcoming Reception for Pastor Shafer.

ADVENT WREATH CRAFT PARTY: The week before Advent began, Sandy Adams organized a light lunch after church followed with the kid’s playing games and families building Advent Wreaths together.

BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR JESUS, DECEMBER 11: Party featured a breakfast, followed a special edition of Christmas BINGO.

CHRISTMAS CAROLING, DECEMBER 18: Children of all ages went Christmas caroling to our nearby Presby family members. This event was organized by Angela Crosby and Sandy Adams.

Christian Education Volunteer Recognition:

Christian Education volunteers were served an appreciation breakfast during the last Power Hour on Sunday, May 23, 2011 thanking them for their time and service to our church.

Budget:

Christian Education expenses for 2011 totaled (edited for internet).  Recycling curriculum from previous VBS themes, the transitional phase of Christian Education Directors, and stocking up on general supplies as the Spelling Bee went out of business really helped us remain significantly under budget for this year.

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION

Many volunteers joyfully gave their time and talents for our children and family ministries. Each one in their own way touched the hearts of those they helped. We are truly grateful for the dedication and service of our volunteers.

Faithfully submitted by,

Felicia Quaintance, Christian Education Director and

the Council of Christian Education Committee

The members of the audio/video committee and operators are Dewaine Johnson, Ann Ayres, Roger Neville, Chris Heizman, Murray Gause and time permitting, Stuart Jewett.

The committee met several times during the year and completed projects on an as needed basis.

Audio and/or Video Services were provided for but not limited to the following:

Sunday Morning Worship Services including Christmas Eve

Maundy-Thursday; April 21^st

Weddings; June 11^th, October 8^th, and December 10^th

Pastor Hal installation service, 7-24-11

The Audio/Video Committee produced a DVD of each worship service, which was delivered by the video operator for broadcast on cable channel 6. The service is first broadcast on Thursday at 12:00 noon and repeated again the following Sunday at 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. The Committee also saves the service on a dvd recorder hard drive and the audio portion only on a computer hard drive, which can be made into an audio CD.

The channel 6 broadcast schedule can be found at: http://hs.vanwertcougars.net/channel6/

Channel 6 invited all churches to an information/brainstorming meeting in the spring, which was attended by committee representatives.

The original audio equipment was installed in 1998. The expected lifespan of the equipment is approximately 10 years, which has been exceeded and failures began in 2010. The committee troubleshot and repaired as many problems internally as possible to save money and contacted an outside vender who will be providing a quote to retune/repair the system in early 2012. The committee completed extensive research and replaced all the wireless microphones to comply with the government regulatory frequency law and also failures due to age. The Committee completed a sanctuary noise and temperature study during the summer and made changes to help in the reduction of hvac system noise during the worship service. Additional connectors were purchased to enhance the basement audio system to enable the ability to plug a computer and projector into the system to reproduce sound through the basement speakers.

Audio/Video (general operating) Audio/Video Enhancement (Designated Fund) (edited for internet)

I would like to thank each committee member and operator for his or her dedicated work and volunteering their times and talents in service to our church in God’s work. The committee volunteered many hours in 2011. The audio/video committee welcomes anyone interested in volunteering some of your time and talents. For more information, contact Dewaine Johnson at 419 238-3194 or dljohn@wcoil.com.

Respectfully submitted,

Dewaine Johnson, A/V Committee Chairperson