Christ church 2017 annual report

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184 ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH Sunday, January 28, 2018 ~ 10:30 AM The Rev. Sunil Chandy, Rector The Rev. Amy Spagna, Assistant to the Rector The Rt. Rev. David B. Joslin 7 ELM STREET WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND 02891

184th Annual Meeting of the Parish of Christ Church Sunday, January 28, 2018 at 10:15 A.M. ORDER OF PROCEDURE

1. Call to Order with Prayer 2. Necrology – Deaths in 2017 [See Parochial Statistics pg. 34] 3. Explanation of Procedure and Determination of Quorum 4. Acceptance of the Minutes of the 183rd Annual Meeting 5. Rector’s Report –The Rev. Sunil Chandy 6. Treasurer’s Report – Stephanie Blanchette 7. Presentation of the 2018 Parish Budget with Discussion 8. New Business 9. Announcements for the Good of the Church 10. Adjournment with Prayer TABLE OF CONTENTS

Minutes of the 183rd Annual Meeting....................................................................... 1-3 Rector’s Report .......................................................................................................... 4-5 Senior Warden’s Remarks ............................................................................................ 6 Standing Committees Architecture and Property Committee .................................................................... 7-8 Stained Glass Committee. .......................................................................................... 8 Investment Committee ............................................................................................... 9 Finance Committee .................................................................................................... 9 Memorial Garden Committee .................................................................................. 10 Memorial Garden Treasurer’s Report ...................................................................... 10 List of Interments in the Garden .............................................................................. 11 Nominating Committee........................................................................ .................... 12 Stewardship Committee ........................................................................................... 13 Fundraising Committee ............................................................................................ 13 Parish Commissions Arts Commission ..................................................................................................... 14 Arts Commission Treasurer’s Report ...................................................................... 15 Christian Education Commission ............................................................................ 16 Pastoral Care Commission .................................................................................. 17-18 Parish Organizations and Groups Acolytes ................................................................................................................... 18 Altar Guild ............................................................................................................... 19 Altar Guild Treasurer’s Report ................................................................................ 20 Christ Church Choir ................................................................................................. 21 Choir Treasurer’s Report ......................................................................................... 21 Christmas Bazaar and Financial Report ................................................................... 22 Communications Committee ................................................................................... 23 Giving to Foster Children at Christmas and Financial Report ................................. 24 Hospitality ................................................................................................................ 25 Living Supplies Closet, Inc ...................................................................................... 26 Living Supplies Closet, Inc. Treasurer’s Report ...................................................... 27

Men’s Club............................................................................................................... 27 Navajoland Mission ................................................................................................. 28 Peace and Justice Group .......................................................................................... 29 Personnel Committee ............................................................................................... 30 Ushers and Greeters ................................................................................................. 30 Welcoming Committee ....................................................................................... 31-33 Parochial Statistics ................................................................................................... 34 Financial Reports ...................................................................................................... A-D 2018 Budget [beige] .................................................................................................... E-G CLERGY Rector – The Rev. Sunil Chandy Assistant to the Rector – The Rev. Amy Spagna RETIRED CLERGY ASSOCIATES The Rt. Rev. David B. Joslin The Rev. John H. Barrett The Rev. Sandra Haines-Murdocco The Rev. Richard Morgan The Rev. Trevor Thomas STAFF George Kent, Organist and Choirmaster Jeanne Wilks, Parish Administrator (through Jan. 2017) Diane Reynolds, Parish Administrator (through Dec. 2017) Parish Secretary, Jacquelyn Smith Barbara Whitford, Financial Administrator Walter Dugas, Sexton (through Dec. 2017) Phillip Kurk, Part Time Sexton Kristy Livingston, Children’s Ministries Coordinator Sarah Poole, Erin Breslin and Anthony Berling, Nursery Care Facilitators Seth Tulman, Sacristan George Parent, Verger OFFICERS and VESTRY Fred Allardyce, Senior Warden Betsey Rice, Junior Warden Stephanie Blanchette, Treasurer Robin Millis, Clerk Retiring end of 2017 Caswell Cooke, Jr. Jennifer Dugas Marion Leddy Betsey Rice

Retiring end of 2018 Deborah Dunham Douglas Lawrence Emily Mugge Meg Roy

Retiring end of 2019 Natalie Pukas Paul Kuhn Connie Annand Walter Pawelkiewicz

MINUTES OF THE 183rd ANNUAL MEETING Christ Church, Westerly, Rhode Island January 29, 2017 The meeting was called to order 10:29am.

Mother Amy Spagna led the opening prayer.

Father Chandy asked everyone to turn to page 36 of the bulletin as he read the Necrology for 2017 Explanation of Procedure and Determination of Quorum-The Clerk of the Vestry, Robin Millis, read Section 4 of the Christ Church Westerly By-laws, January 31, 2016 version, regarding Quorum. The Corporation is currently made up of 510 members and 5% of that is 26 people for a quorum. Having more than 26 members present, a quorum was reached.

Father Chandy asked the membership to review the minutes of the 182 nd Annual Meeting on page 1 of the bulletin. A motion was made to accept the minutes of the 2016 Annual Meeting as presented and it was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion was voted and approved.

Rector’s Report- Father Sunil Chandy read his report as well as his sermon during the service and a copy of the report was provided.

Father Chandy then thanked Jeanne Wilks for her many years of service as the Parish Administrator. A presentation to Jeanne of a paver, to be placed in the memorial garden in her honor, was given by the parish.

She was also given a star fish ceramic created by Betsey Rice in gratitude of her service to the parish.

Cheryl Leong and Natalie Pukas presented a gift from the altar guild.

Stewardship Chair- Deborah Dunham: “Love is the energy of a steadfast will, bent on creating fellowship.” This year the Stewardship campaign explored our reasoning as to why we are members of Christ Church and why we pledge. As of 1-19-2017 there were 184 pledges for a total of $323,355.00. 65 people increased their pledges and there were 25 new pledges. She thanked all who participated.

Treasurer’s Report- Stephanie Blanchette: Ms. Blanchette thanked the people who assisted and supported her in her work as Treasurer especially Barbara Whitford for her historical knowledge of the all things financial at Christ Church, and Katherine Hoxsie for her professional expertise and experience and constant support. She next referred to the Balance of Various Funds, which lists all church-related accounts. In particular, the Marshall Rice Fund, which is one of several sub-accounts held in the Escrow Account. It was originally established as a “Curate Fund” in response to the need for a second clergy position. It was designated in 2014 as a memorial to the Rev. Marshall Rice, a longtime friend, retired priest and parishioner, who died in December 2013. This was a cause that was near and dear to Marshall’s heart, and has been initially supported by a number of generous donors.

The original intent was to fund a Curate for a period of 3 years, during which we would grow and eventually be able to support this position from our operating budget. She next addressed Receipts. The Total Income ended at 94.6% of budget. Having spent less than budgeted, the net deficit was just over $2600. She continued with the Disbursements on pages C&D of the report. She explained that, in addition to the operating budgeted amount for Repairs & Maintenance (5160), a Capital Budget of $22,500 per year was approved for 2016 and 2017. This allows the Property Committee to identify and plan for ongoing major projects to keep the physical plant in good shape. These funds are drawn from the main investment account.

She noted that the Administration account, (5210) Independent Contracts, was over budget due to a midyear addition of custodial coverage. The (5297) Vanco Fees and Text-to-Give fees were over budget due to more participants using them.

CONT’D P2 1

Stephanie Blanchette report continued: She noted that online banking is a good, no-cost alternative to Vanco for anyone interested in this service. The Outreach (5430) Diocesan Apportionment account, which is set by the Diocese, is slightly under-budget due to “refund” from the Diocese of $540.56. Ms. Blanchette informed the membership that the parish received a letter last spring from Bishop Knisley regarding financial responsibilities, along with a “Fiduciary Responsibility Checklist,” listing 27 specific best practices. She was pleased to report that our office is already in compliance with most of the practices and will implement any suggested new procedures. These included such things as internal controls regarding who writes and who signs checks and the collection and counting of money. She communicated directly with everyone involved in these activities, and routines have been altered as necessary. While it may seem unnecessary to be this structured, it’s important to remember that these are safeguards not just for the church but for all the individuals involved and that the Bishop says we have to do it!

A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented. It was seconded. There was no discussion. The motion was voted and approved.

Budget for 2017– Presented by Stephanie Blanchette on behalf of Katherine Hoxsie: Ms. Hoxsie expressed her thanks to the members of the Finance Committee for their commitment.

The 2017 budget has a deficit of $24,101, which is concerning but at the same time realistic. Overall the 2017 budget represents a 2.5% raise for employees, with the exception of Parish Administrators who were just hired in December, a significant increase of $6000 in Diocesan apportionment, and revenue decreases in plate, pledge and fundraising with a slight increase in the Marshall Rice Fund drawdown. With the drawdown of net investment income for operations of $67,812, capital budget of $22,500 and deficit funding of $24,101, the Church will exceed a drawdown of $114,413, which represents 10%. Katherine wishes to stress that the budget is a realistic one, however the deficit could be reduced by revenue enhancement and careful monitoring of expenses.

Pastoral Care- Shirley Andrews: Andrews invited people to consider joining the group to assist with outreach and transporting members to church services and functions.

Communications Committee – Caswell Cooke: Cooke presented a video overview of the parish in the 21st century. The committee is encouraging people to join the Christ Church e-mail list for communications. They are promoting the use of professional posters for all events, made in house or out, and promotion on local radio. They also continue to mail postcards for some events and utilize some traditional media in local newspapers to advertise. The committee is proposing better signage on the Parish house to properly identify the church from Union Street. He noted that the best way to reach people is through Facebook. We currently have 844 followers with videos bringing the most viewers. Lido Mochetti’s video of ringing the bells was viewed by 9400 people.

Senior Warden- Fred Allardyce: Mr. Allardyce expressed his thanks for Father Chandy and his family being with us for 3 years. He highlighted the work of the Vestry which includes the spiritual, physical and financial concerns of the parish. One difficult time was when a plumbing issue rendered the undercroft and the Living Supplies Closet unusable. He thanked Doug Lawrence, Katherine Hoxsie, Stephanie Blanchette and Walter Dugas for their efforts in resolving physical, insurance and financial issues involved with this issue.

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Senior Warden- Fred Allardyce continued: Some positive events were highlighted such as the First Responders service which strengthened our standing with the community of Westerly. As a result of a Vestry retreat, a number of action items are underway. A priority is to make the Church as welcoming as possible. Jen Evering is leading a Welcoming Committee and they have plans for many new events. The Vestry is supporting the Communications efforts spearheaded by Caswell Cooke to increase our social media presence and Natalie Pukas is organizing the creation of an updated parish directory. He concluded by thanking Lucy Freitas for serving as Junior Warden. She was outstanding in her well grounded Christian beliefs, her organizational talents and her many insights into the issues and opportunities the Vestry has faced this year.

New Business Nominating Committee- Marshall Mugge presented the slate of nominees for 2017.

Junior Warden: Betsey Rice Vestry 3year term: Connie Annand, Paul Kuhn, Natalie Pukas, Walter Pawelkiewicz Vestry 1year term: Trene Galluci, to complete the term of Betsey Rice Delegates to Diocesan Convention: Sr. Warden, Kristy Livingston, Seth Tulman Alternates to the Diocesan Convention: Lucy Freitas, Mike Evering, Roger Brown Delegates to Narragansett Deanery: Junior Warden, Caswell Cooke Alternate to the Narragansett Deanery: Mark Blyker A motion was made to accept the slate of nominees and seconded. Asked for any further nominations from floor. Hearing none, the slate was voted and approved.

Gifts for retiring vestry and committee members were presented by Fr Chandy, Fred Allardyce and Lucy Freitas.

Paula Needman retired as chair of the ushers.

Susan Dowd retired from the Living Supplies Closet.

Mark Blyker and Katherine Hoxsie retired from the vestry. Both were away and their gifts will be presented upon their return.

Deb Dunham was thanked for her work for Stewardship, Terri Murach for her organization of the bazaar, Emily Mugge and Walter Pawelkiewicz for their work on the Personnel Committee and the clergy and staff of Christ Church for their guidance and assistance throughout the year.

New business George Parent made a motion to amend the bylaws so that all annual reports can be made available to the parishioners at least 1 week prior to the annual meeting. The motion was seconded and discussion ensued. It was noted that this may not always be possible as reports are not always provided early enough to process the report. It was suggested that the budget would be a priority to provide. The motion was voted on and approved. Mr. Allardyce will review this with the By-laws Committee for guidance.

No other business was determined.

Fr Barrett led a closing prayer.

Motion to adjourn made, seconded and approved.

Meeting adjourned at 11:59 am.

Respectfully Submitted, Robin D. Millis, Vestry Clerk 3

2017 CHRIST CHURCH RECTOR’S REPORT In my first Annual report I spoke about my gratefulness to God for being your priest. I told you that I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to hear your hopes for our church and wanted to understand the character of your prayer life and your relationship with God. Finally, I wanted to learn about what you thought of the verbalized mission of Christ church and what was your unstated mission as well.

In my second report, we just finished a mission and planning experience for our congregation. We found, as a community, that we wanted to “Grow” in three areas: in spirituality, in attendance and in stewardship. And this became an emphasis of our ministry. And guess what, our prayers were answered…we grew!

In my third report, I spoke of growth and the transitions it has led us to. Growth is change and it might involve difficult transitions. In the year preceding my third report, there were many of these; the test of our ministry was how our community would handle these transitions. If we handled it well; with transparency, love and resilience we would continue to grow and be vibrant. Thankfully, we have handled the transitions well! And yes we did grow! We are now the largest congregation in our Rhode Island Episcopal Diocese with an ASA of 233. Our Sunday school program did experience a dip in attendance, but under the leadership of Dr. Natalie Pukas and Kristy Livingston we now have 51 children enrolled in our Sunday school program. We have also come through a very successful Stewardship program. The success of the program is an indication that our parishioners are happily committed to the path our parish is presently on! We have an active and vibrant Young Adults program and a wonderful Sunday school Parent program as well! Yes, there is much that is growing in our church! But that begs the question “Why do we grow? Or rather “Why should we grow?” Sometimes why we do things is more important to make sure we are doing everything for the right reasons.

The “why,” for me, is that the message of Christ, or the Gospel in other words, has the potential to change the world for the better. The message of love, inclusiveness, forgiveness, reconciliation, and importantly, the message of nurturing a relationship with God that will transform a dark and violent world to a hopeful and light-filled one. The message of Jesus has changed countless of billions of lives for the better— including my own. In fact we are all here today because of the light and hope offered by that message. Through scripture we understand that Jesus requires us to pass this message to the world. In doing so, we nurture the spirit of God in ourselves and in the world.

The legacy that the members of the Church leave to our world is one of passing the light of Christ and creating the Kingdom of God. No single person is able to do this; Jesus knew that the only way to create this Kingdom was to do it through a community- the church! The church in history, even through its mistakes, still strives to be an agent of light!

As a child I would visit my home back in Mundiappulley, India. I remember one such visit as a 10 year old when we stayed with my grandfather, a sweet, quiet man of deep faith. I remember a dark night in the days following our new year’s celebrations. My grandfather took me to a church meeting. These were elaborate affairs set up on Mundiapulley’s Malayail- Malayail translates to mountain. It wasn’t much of a mountain compared to Everest or even Jeremiah hill in Rhode Island, more of a glorified hill. On top of the hill was a tent with lights that lit up the surrounding area. My aunts, uncles and cousins told me that the tent prayer meetings were filled with food, fireworks, great preachers, great music, and of course, family and friends! When we were ready to go, I was surprised how pitch-black the night was. Forty years ago there were only a few street lights in Mundiappulley and we didn’t have much ambient city lighting in our village. My grandfather gave me one flashlight and he had another. As we made our way out our gate, my grandfather pointed to the Malayail, which was filled with light in the midst of the darkness. He told me that we had to get there, but it seemed to be such a long way to go in the dark. I couldn’t understand how we’d avoid falling or getting lost. My grandfather held my hand as we walked with our flashlights and did an odd thing. He started to swing his flashlight back and forth as soon as we got on the road. By this time, I was walking carefully- so not to fall down. As we walked some of our neighbors started to come out on the road. After pleasantries, they started to either walk faster or slower. They were also swinging their flashlights. Then, I realized what my grandfather and all the others were doing - using flashlights to light the way forward, while also lighting the path for those who were coming behind. At one point on that road I looked up along the path to see a long line of flashlights harmonically swinging back and forth all the way to the top of the mountain, the pinnacle of which had a great light filled tent filled with music, prayers and joy!

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CONT’D. P5

Folks, this is what I see as our mission in the world - to carry light to dark places for ourselves as well as those who follow behind us. All of us are being led to the Kingdom of God filled with light, joy and hope! Today, I would like to put forth some goals for this coming year which will help us follow Jesus to that light filled Kingdom of God. We have had some wonderful growth over these past three years and I would like us to continue it by setting a goal of a 10% growth in church attendance. We all will have to help in making this a reality, by shining the light within us and welcoming and making room for those who are new. In particular we will have to help our Welcoming Committee headed by Jen Evering as they put forth events to help welcome new people. I would like to see us grow our Sunday school registration and attendance by 10%. Currently we have 52 children registered, but under the leadership of Dr. Natalie Pukas, our Christian Education Chair and Kristy Livingston, our Sunday school Coordinator, and with the help of our Sunday school Teachers and Youth Group advisers this is a definite reality! We must continue to be a parish that nurtures the light of the Gospel in the hearts and minds of our young people!

This past year we reinstated the 7:30 am Holy Eucharist service on Sunday. Though it was a lovely and intimate service averaging about 7 people a week, I have decided to discontinue it. I made this decision with consultation of the wardens, vestry, and the parishioners attending the service and will continue to nurture our 9am and 11 am services on Sunday. In consultation with George Kent, our goal will be to add one more Solemn Evensong throughout the year. These are ancient and lovely services that inspire the faith lives of many who attend. We will work to make this a reality. We will also be having a once a month evening Compline service- this night service is one that much cherished by our church. It is important to pass this tradition of worship to a newer generation.

My hope for our parish is to maintain our Stewardship commitments. This past year we have had amazing Stewardship growth, led by Connie Annand and the Stewardship team. Thanks to your commitments, we are funding the many programs we have. It is important that we all strive to help the church grow in this area. But as our Wardens indicated, we might need to grow by another 11-12% if we are to be a parish that supports two Clergy and a full staff to fulfill commitments and expectations of a growing Parish.

The Capital Campaign is a big project which will take every bit of your strength and courage. We must imagine how to prepare our beautiful church building for ministry not only in the present but far into the future. Our chair for this committee will be Fred Allardyce. This year, Fred is resigning as Sr. Warden and putting his full effort into helping us with the campaign. He will work closely with our Property Chair, Doug Lawrence, and our Finance Chair, Katherine Hoxsie. We have a lot of work cut out for us. The Capital campaign accompanied by our Vision for our church building must be forward thinking and financially feasible. The dream for our church must excite us and our future members as well as being practical for us today!

This is a challenging project indeed, but with Fred, Doug, Katherine, plus the combined intelligence and talents of all of us, and above all through the grace of God, I have faith that it will be done!

Finally, I must address staff transitions. Walter Dugas after 29 years of service unexpectedly retired at the end of the year due to an illness. Diane Reynolds after a year as our Parish Administrator also resigned.

Finally, Mother Amy, has chosen to resign effective Feb. 1st to pursue an Academic career. Mother Amy’s departure, though unexpected to some, was inevitable. Christ Church has historically engaged younger curates for an average of 2 years to help train priests for work in the national church. Mother Amy has served our congregation for 2 and 1/2 years. My hope is that she has learned some of the intricacies of ministry in our growing program sized church, and that she will use her experiences to spread the light of Christ to the world. We will be celebrating Mother Amy’s ministry in a sendoff next week on Sunday, Feb. 4th, after the 9am service. At which time we will send her off with best wishes and prayer.

There is much more that should be said in this report, particularly acknowledgements, but we will do that at the formal meeting. Right now let us be grateful for the gift God has given us, the gift of light and life. May we use these gifts to spread the light of Christ to our world.

Amen.

Yours Sincerely, Fr. Sunil Chandy+ Christ Church Rector

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CHRIST CHURCH ANNUAL MEETING SR. WARDEN REMARKS Don’t you love it when Father Sunil stands in front of the parish at announcements and tells us what a wonderful and spiritual church we are! We care for each other in ways big and small. We are involved with the greater Westerly community in many ways, and we are finding more members of the community coming through our doors. Our services are reaching more people. The coffee hours have been well attended, reinforcing the strength of our community. And of course, why not? The food is wonderful.

The church looks better than it has in years. We have praised them before, but it is worthy of more the property committee headed by Doug Lawrence has made many improvements, and with the unexpected retirement of our wonderful Sexton, Walter Dugas, the job took on new responsibilities. Fortunately Bob Barber and Phillip Kurk jumped in to deal with the most pressing matters, but so too have the members of the property committee and the men’s club taken up the slack.

Under the guidance of Natalie Pukas and Kristy Livingston and the many volunteers in our Sunday school, the children’s and youth programs are growing in numbers and spirit. Children’s chapel is supported by a number of parents, and isn’t it great to see the junior crucifer lead the kids to chapel at the beginning of our choral service?

Financially, we are holding our own, with a little help from the markets. But of course financial needs grow, so our individual support of the church needs to grow as well. And grow it has! Our pledges and plate income last year grew over 2016 by $20,000 and the pledges for this year are up about $45,000!

Give yourselves a big pat on the back.

One large issue remains for us to deal with - the roofs of the church are 125 years old, and are in need of replacement. We have studied this matter, concluded that we would replace the slate with slate, and in fact borrowed some money to begin replacing the most critical sections of the roof, principally the bell tower. We have other pressing needs as well - who knows how long the boiler will last, and we could probably reach more people in the summer if we were to air condition the church. We have accessibility issues that we want to address as well. I can’t tell you what our goal will be at this time, but we will need to raise considerably more than we have ever done in the past. I am very optimistic about the prospects for a successful campaign, but we will need the support not only of our parish but also of others dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings like our wonderful church. So I am stepping aside as Senior Warden today and taking on the capital campaign. You will hear more of this over the coming year, but the campaign will still be going strong when we meet next year for the 2019 Annual Meeting.

My two years as Senior Warden were very fulfilling years. Working closely with Sunil has been a wonderful challenge. He has such enthusiasm for the church and all it does. He generates new ideas at a breathtaking pace, which can be a challenge. But it is the right kind of challenge. I also had the great pleasure and privilege to work with two wonderful, spiritual women: Lucy Freitas last year, and this year, Betsey Rice.

Last year at the Annual Meeting we were asked to consider amending our bylaws to mandate early distribution of our traditional Annual Meeting materials. The Wardens met to consider this request. It was further discussed by the bylaws committee under the leadership of Paul Kuhn. Finally the idea was further discussed by the vestry. The conclusion of our consideration of this issue was that while it is clearly desirable to provide the parish with Annual Meeting materials in advance of the meeting, there are too many possible issues that could arise making it difficult to fulfill this goal, particularly as this is largely a volunteer organization. So we decided against bringing forward an amendment in this regard. We did however strive to make available one way or another as much of the Annual Report as possible. I hope you found this an improvement over last year. I would like to thank Jacquelyn Smith who has been handling the office load with a lot of volunteer help for getting the reports in our hands as well as she did.

This church is blessed with an excellent, hard working vestry and Rector, and I am looking forward to exciting growth in the years to come.

Faa1/21/18

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2017 ARCHITECTURE AND PROPERTY COMMITTEE REPORT 2017 started with a plan to begin the reconstruction of the undercroft that had been destroyed by the plumbing problem that occurred the prior August. A temporary Living Supplies Closet had to be set up to deal with this important need which was accomplished in only two weeks from the mishap. The next challenge was to assemble a team of contractors to complete the work. We were blessed to have an outstanding team complete the Undercroft work. They were: Wayne Swan: Carpenter Tommy Juslavic: Tiler John Fravesi: Painter Mike Evering: Electrician Once this work was done we were ready to open the new Undercroft. This was completed with congregation tours and a special blessing service by Bishop Knisley.

Other projects completed during this period of time were: Installation of safety railings in the altar area. This was sponsored by the Altar Guild.

Redoing the kitchen cupboard closure clasps.

Painting the Slype doors and railing.

Spring lawn and property cleanup. This involved fertilization of the lawn and mulching of the property.

The Rest Rooms on the first floor of the Parish House had their fixtures replaced and a major repair was completed.

The Administrative Office was rearranged.

A new phone system was installed.

During the second half of 2017 we completed several more projects: Education Resource Room This room, which was a mess, was emptied, the floor was retiled and new furniture was purchased. It was used for the Book Sale area for the Christmas Bazaar and now is being reestablished as the Education Storage area.

Teen Classroom This room was painted and reestablished for the older kids lounge and Sunday School.

Bell Tower Work was done to improve stair safety and the bell flooring.

Christmas Bazaar A substantial amount of work was done by the Property Committee in preparing for the Bazaar and disposing of left over goods once it was over.

CONT’D P8

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Sexton During this time period, the church lost its Sexton, Walter Dugas to a stroke. This involved a significant amount of additional work for the Property Committee and its Chair.

2018 will be another year in which the Property Committee will continue to work hard on improving all aspects of the appearance of Christ Church and the Parish House for our congregation and potential new members.

Doug Lawrence Chair, Property Committee

STAINED GLASS COMMITTEE As a subcommittee of the Property Committee, our responsibility is the impressive collection of stained glass that beautifies our church. Restoration of the windows started nearly ten years ago with a fund drive that financed the repair of those windows that needed the most attention, particularly the oldest ones from the 1890’s. The most recent window restored (2015) in the one in the priest’s sacristy, an original 1893 window that was about to collapse because of structural issues.

Since our funds have been depleted, the restoration project has unfortunately come to a halt.

The windows on both sides of the nave and narthex (5 in all) and the two lower west transept windows all need attention, but these have been placed on hold until funds are available.

For further information, please contact any of the committee members: Lido Mochetti Pam Young Dan Leonard

helenlido@yahoo.com peba121@gmail.com dleonard1@comcast.net

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE INVESTMENT COMMITTEE The committee meets periodically to review the status of the Church’s endowment portfolio. Included are discussions with our investment advisor, VanLiew Trust Company. There are several relatively small accounts, but the bulk of our money is in the eight accounts managed by VanLiew. The value of these accounts was $1,850,360 at year end – up about 12.73 percent on a time and dollar weighted basis. A part of our holdings is pledged as collateral against the line of credit needed to do some major capital improvements.

Many thanks to the members of the committee: Fred Allardyce, Stevi Blanchette, Dave Nolf, Andrea Scott-Ram, and Richard Semeraro for their wise counsel.

Respectfully submitted, Frederick P. Eaton, Chairman

2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE The Finance Committee met eleven times during 2017. Our 2017 agenda included the following matters: Review and Approve the Monthly Treasurer’s Reports including Monthly Financial Results Review Property Committee Projects and Funding Closure of the Undercroft Restoration Project Appoint Audit Subcommittee Review Audit Subcommittee Report Preparation and Approval of Annual Operating Budget Preparation and Approval of Annual Capital Budget Approve Finance Committee Reports to the Parish Review and Approve Housing Allowances for the Rector and Asst Rector Investment Review Fundraising Review We would like to thank the entire parish family for their support and assistance in making 2017 a successful year.

We would also like to thank Treasurer Stevi Blanchette and Financial Administrator Barbara Whitford for their hard work and assistance during the year.

Respectfully submitted, Katherine W. Hoxsie, Co-Chairperson

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CHRIST CHURCH MEMORIAL GARDEN ANNUAL REPORT As many of you may have noticed, the Memorial Garden is missing some large bushes and plants. The committee, along with a professional gardener, took a hard look at the garden and realized that most of the hydrangeas, Japanese iris and some other plants were taking over the ground with their ever-increasing growth. The hydrangeas needed severe pruning each spring and the iris and other plants have such tough root systems that the soil was impossible to penetrate to be able to use that area for a burial. Since the purpose of the Memorial Garden is for interment, the areas in which to place the cremains was becoming limited, as well as difficult to keep weeded. The committee decided that the removal of the overgrown plants was the only option, and this was completed by professional gardeners this past fall. The committee will be meeting over the next few months to look at plants to place in the garden this spring. We will be happy to accept suggestions should you have a particular plant you would like to see in the garden. Please let one of the committee members know of your thoughts.

The garden was the site of three burials this past year. In addition to burials, the garden is available for small weddings, in a peaceful and private setting. The committee has worked to provide a place where one can come and sit to meditate, reflect, read or just enjoy the serenity of the area. Please take the time to come and take in the peace and tranquility of the garden.

Many thanks to those who work so diligently all spring and summer to keep the garden looking lovely.

Respectfully submitted, Sally Gordon Memorial Garden Trustees: Linda Nolf and Barbara Whitford Committee Members: Shirley Andrews, Susan Kargul, and Andrea Scott-Ram Vestry Liaison: Betsey Rice

2017 ANNUAL TREASURER’S REPORT OF THE MEMORIAL GARDEN 1/1/2017 - 12/31/2017 Balance Forward: Income: Burial Fees: Interest Year to Date:

8,150.84

Total:

9,059.41

900.00 8.57 908.57

Expenses: Plaques:

212.00 212.00

Ending Balance as of December 31, 2017:

8,847.41

Respectfully Submitted, Barbara C. Whitford, Treasurer 10

Listed Below are the names of those whose ashes are buried in the Garden God, whose blessed son was laid in a sepulcher in the garden: Bless, we pray, this garden and grant those whose remains are buried here may dwell with Christ in paradise, and may come to thy heavenly kingdom; through thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Hubert Myers (‘79) and Ada Myers (‘81) Charles J. Sabukewicz III (‘80) Ernest Yeadon (‘84) and Audrey Yeadon (‘80) Anthony J. Rose (’81) and Ruth Rose (‘92) Edward C. (’82) and Emily Wood Grauel (‘91) John L. Wood (’84) and Ann D. Wood (‘93) Maurice L. Laing, Jr. (‘84) Mildred Barrett (‘85) and John Barrett (‘89) Elfride Lane Sarring (‘69) Daniel M. Farrell (‘87) and Effie “Pat” Farrell (‘02) Herman A. Verbinnen (‘87) Jay Maurice Blanchette (‘88) Philip Milner (‘90) Kenneth E. Tobin (‘90) Neal Gapit (‘91) and Irene Gapit Thorp (’14) Douglas L, Clarke Sr. (‘78) and Ernestine Clarke (‘91) Helen M. Lang (‘92) Joanne W. Pilcher (‘92) Margaret Mulligan (‘92) and James W. Mulligan (’13) William G. Egan (‘93) Lewis Dumelow (’93) and Josephine Dumelow (‘95) Arthur B. Kitchen (‘93) and Sally E. (Larkin) Kitchen (‘03) William T. Bonville (‘94) Robert E. Lowe (‘94) The Rev. Gene A. Rose (‘95) Valerie Verbinnen (‘96) Aaron Tetlow, Jr. (‘96) and Joan Clark Tetlow (’15) Norman A. Larsen (‘97) and Alice D. Larsen (‘06) Anita Downes Kerr (’97) Spencer M. Adams (‘97) and Frances C. Adams (‘04) Francis A. Driscoll (‘97) Virginia L. Wilks (‘98) Clarence E. Perrin (‘98) and Flora Perrin (‘07) Muriel Tobin Taylor (‘00) Barbara Pierson Ricci (‘00) Johanne B. Beckwith (‘01)

Barbara Chambers (‘01) and Richard Chambers (‘05) Edward J. Pukas (‘01) Carl Andrew Greene (‘02) Andrew Craig MacLaughlin (‘03) Ruth Wetzel Simons (‘04) Donald Collins (‘04) and Jean Collins (‘04) Richard R. Wolf (’04) and Elsie Sherman Wolff (‘04) Margie M. Laing (‘04) John D. Tobin (‘04) and Barbara Brown Tobin (‘08) Denise Bradburd (‘04) Sylvester “Smiley” Aiello (‘06) John A. (‘14) and Greta Wolff Moretti (‘06) The Very Rev. James E. Annand (‘06) Kenneth J. Noyce, Jr. (‘06) Bowen Minor Briggs (‘06) Dennis N. Rodd (‘06) Susan Burlingame Coy (‘07) Marvin R. Zutavern (‘08) Albert Thomas Holly (‘08) Kevin Leo Dolan (’09) John H. Beckwith (‘10) David Earle Annand (‘10) Craig Bruce MacLaughlin (‘10) John Taylor Morey (‘11) F. A. “Ted” Bonville (‘11) Theodore Franklin Goodchild (’12) and Marjorie Leete Goodchild (‘12) Gertrude Marcia Milner (‘12) Ruth Ann Lussier Palmer (‘12) George E. ‘Ned’ Tobin III (’12) Peter J. Kaschuluk (’13) The Rev. Marshall T. Rice (’13) The Rev. Deacon Jean Hickox (’14) Joan (Clark) Tetlow (’15) Katherine L. Nestrock (’16) Jeanne M. Boehm (’16) Kathrine E. Joslin (’16) Jane Young (’17) Richard Scott-Ram (’17) Carol Barrett (’17)

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE FOR 2018 POSITIONS

For Junior Warden: Caswell Cooke Vestry – 3 year term 1. Fred Allardyce 2. Mike Evering 3. Katherine Hoxsie 4. Lisa Kitchen Delegates to Diocesan Convention 1. Sr. Warden 2. Caswell Cooke 3. Frank Leddy Alternates to the Diocesan Convention 1. Dave Dunlap 2. Pam McDonald 3. Paul Kuhn Delegates to Narragansett Deanery 1. Junior Warden 2. Dan Leonard Alternate to the Narragansett Deanery 1. Roger Brown

Respectfully submitted, Marshall Mugge, Chair The Nominating Committee: Jane Barber Liz Dobson Jennifer Dugas Paul Kuhn Kristy Livingston Marshall Mugge Betsey Rice David Serra

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE STWARDSHIP COMMITTEE GRACE ~ GRATITUDE ~ GENEROSITY This year’s result of the stewardship campaign indicates that you all seriously considered our key words this year. Grace, Gratitude, Generosity. Thank you all for your wonderful response to Stewardship 2018.

2018 Stewardship pledging as of 1/28/2018 – $370,103 183 – Parishioners pledged 26 – Not yet pledged 77 – Increased their pledge 11 – Decreased their pledge 67 – Pledges stayed the same 26 - New Parishioners have pledged “Praise God in his noble acts Praise him in the Sound of Trumpet, lutes, harp Praise him in the well-tuned cymbals and dances strings and pipes Let everything that hath breath Praise the Lord” Respectfully submitted, Connie Annand, Stewardship Chair

2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE We had another great year of fun events.

Gratitude Tree $4,050 Memory Tile Wall $2,491.65 (Net - after costs of tiles/posters) Christmas Bazaar $11,801.21 Donation $47 Total Raised $18,389.86 for the church general fund.

Thank you to the wonderful, supportive and hard working committee members: Deb Dunham, Janet Kitchen, Terri Murach, Meg Roy, Caswell Cooke and Father Sunil.

Lisa Kitchen Chairperson, Fundraising Committee

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2017 ARTS COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT The Arts Commission, founded at Christ Church in 1990, presents concerts and lectures free of charge to any and all who wish to come, as part of the church’s outreach and service to the community. The Commission receives no funds from the regular church budget, but instead relies on donations from individuals interested in this project - people who appreciate the treasure we possess in our C.B. Fisk organ and want to share that treasure with the greater community - and by the Endowment for Choir and Music Series at Christ Church (in memoriam Helen Dick, Louis Arnold, Ghislaine Mailloux, the Rev. Gene Rose, and Lucy Graichen). Endowments have also been established in memory of The Very Rev. Dr. James E. Annand, Anne H. Utter, Laura Kent Hynes, daughter of George and Lynn Kent. Many thanks go to all of those who help support our programs!

Our 2016-2017 season got off to a bit of a late, but nonetheless wonderful start on Sunday, February 26, 2017 when we welcomed the MusicWorks Collective, the faculty string ensemble in residence of Community MusicWorks of Providence. Their mission is to create a cohesive urban community through music education and performance that transforms the lives of children, families, and musicians. Several of their staff as well as quite a few of their student musicians have joined us at our annual Choir Camp at Ogontz in New Hampshire, and it was wonderful to reconnect with them. This beautiful concert was offered by George and Lynn Kent in loving memory of their daughter, Laura Kent Hynes.

Our final concert of the season was an organ recital by Simon Jacobs, who is a graduate of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music and currently Director of Music and Organist at St. Thomas’s Church, New Haven.

Local audiences have heard his performances as Director of the Anglican Singers of St. James Church in New London and in the orchestra for Chorus of Westerly concerts. He is in demand as an organist, conductor, and accompanist in both the Yale community and throughout the United States, and Europe, and we were indeed fortunate to have him come and play for us. This wonderful concert was the Very Rev. Dr. James E. Annand Memorial Concert for the season and was enjoyed by all.

As the 2017-2018 began, we received word from Eden Casteel that she will no longer be able to serve on the Commission with us. She and her family have relocated to the Wakefield area, so their focus will be there. We will miss her!

On Sunday, November 5, 2017, our new season began with a performance by the New York Classical Quartet, and ensemble, which brings together four individuals with extensive experience in period-instrument performance and in chamber music of all eras. The quartet maintains a residency at the Church of the Transfiguration (the “Little Church around the Corner”) in New York City and has performed widely in the metropolitan area as well as at Museum Concerts in Providence and at the LaGrua Center in Stonington. Our audience thoroughly enjoyed their program!

Our Commission members and other volunteers continue to provide indispensable help for our efforts.

We thank all those who contribute their skills to assist us – especially, Roger Brown and Sandy Niles who work hard to promote our programs, Caswell Cooke who helps with social media promotion, Nancy Young for graphic design, Barbara Whitford who keeps careful track of our finances, Jane Barber whose artistry graces our reception tables, and Stevi Blanchette who is continues to be my right hand to help with cleanup after our receptions. Also, thanks to Diane Reynolds who prints our programs as well as special thanks to Jeannie MacLaughlin Wilks, who continues to design our programs, even in her retirement as Parish Administrator. Our heartfelt thanks to you all!

Respectfully submitted, Pamela Young, Convener 14

2017 TREASURER’S REPORT OF THE ARTS COMMISSION ARTS COMMISSION ONE ACCOUNT PLUS 1/1/2017 - 12/31/2017 Balance Forward: Income:

13,796.07

L K Hynes Endowment: Annand Endowment: Fund Raising Donations: Music Works Concert: Simon Jacobs Concert: Interest Year to Date:

50.00 250.00 5,535.00 238.00 271.00 13.54 6,357.54

Total:

20,153.61

Expenses: Jacobs Fee: Music Works Fee: Mailings & Postage: Event Signs:

1,500.00 2,000.00 1,647.23 84.20 5,231.43

Ending Balance as of December 31, 2017:

14,922.18

Anne Utter Endowment Fund: The Very Rev. James E. Annand Endowment: Laura Kent Hynes Endowment:

20,062.70 15,093.51 5,053.98

These funds are maintained in 3 separate Washington Trust CD accounts.

Respectfully Submitted, Barbara C. Whitford, Treasurer

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHRISTIAN EDUCATION COMMISSION The Christian Education Commission was reactivated by Fr. Sunil in the summer of 2017.

Dr. Natalie Pukas was appointed by Fr. Chandy to serve as the chairperson of the reactivated Christian Education Commission. Natalie had previously served in this capacity when she was the Church School Superintendent.

In late August, a spaghetti dinner, sponsored by the Men’s Club, preceded a meeting of interested church school and youth group parents as well as any member of the parish who wanted to support our efforts to increase enrollment and opportunities for our children. It was a forum for frank discussion and offering of ideas. The Commission meets quarterly.

The group agreed that a format used for many years in this parish should be brought back and that a Director of Youth Ministries should be appointed to oversee our programs. We were fortunate that Kristy Livingston was selected by Fr. Chandy to take over this position. We were also delighted in the enthusiasm shown by two other members who support the Director and assist with our Chapel and Youth Group programs, Mary Ellen Giblin and Eric Bilodeau.

By fall, we had a full complement of Church School Teachers and an increase in enrollment. Currently, the number of children registered is 52.

We also have a dedicated group of volunteers to lead our chapel program and have also changed our process. Children now go to church with their parents and are lead out after the opening hymn by a Children’s Crucifer selected each week.

In order to increase participation in our Youth Group, the programs were divided into Middle School and High School Groups with leaders for each group. Occasionally, the groups will meet together when the planned activities will be for all.

Our sincere thanks to Emily Knowles for her hard work in making a Youth Lounge in the undercroft possible. We also appreciate the work of the Property Committee and its Chair, Doug Lawrence; not only for the Youth Lounge, but also for the Chapel restoration so that the children could meet there for their worship program instead of in the Parish Hall.

In January, confirmation class will begin for the youth eligible to receive this sacrament in June during Bishop Knisley’s visit.

The past few months have been productive and hopeful for Children’s Ministries. We have grown in participation in all of our activities and we have a great leadership team and dedicated adults and older teens that support our programs. We have even been contacted by another Parish to discuss our model for Youth Ministries.

We welcome anyone who is interested in youth ministries to become a part of our programs or to join our Christian Education Commission.

Christian Education Commission Members: Natalie Pukas, Chair and Vestry Liaison, Kristy Livingston, Director of Children’s Ministries, Mary Ellen Giblin, Eric Bilodeau, Emily Knowles, Trené Galluci, Dana Pancaro, Allison Patton, Emily Howell, Lisa Kitchen, Laurie Dowdell, Stacey Fiore, Lucy Freitas, Caswell Cooke, Kim Tremblay, Fr. Sunil Chandy Church School Teachers: Allison Patton, Dana Pancaro, Laurie Dowdell, Stacey Fiore, Lisa Kitchen, Dave Cameron, Emily Knowles, Trené Galluci, Valerie Knowles Chapel Leaders: Lisa Kitchen, Emily Knowles, Trené Galluci, Laurie Dowdell, Kristy Livingston, Jen & Mike Evering, MaryEllen Giblin, Kathleen & Chris Leggett, Katie & Ryan Birmingham, Caswell Cooke Youth Group Leaders: Emily Knowles, Trené Galluci, Eric Bilodeau In Faith and In Service, Dr. Natalie J. Pukas, Chairperson Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6 16

2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE PASTORAL CARE COMMISSION The Pastoral Care Commission (PCC) gives support, understanding, encouragement, and companionship to our parishioners through a variety of ministries. Pastoral Care is essential to our life as a Christian community. The ministries include: Friendly Visitors, Flower Delivery, Lay Eucharistic Ministers & Lectors, Lay Eucharistic Visitors who bring communion to the parishioners in their homes, Card Ministry, and Meals Ministry.

The PCC meets monthly to insure programs are available to parishioners and also to explore expansion of new ways to reach folks who are able to attend church and those who are homebound.

This year we presented our first program in June. The topic was The Pastoral Care Commission- its purpose and many ministries it offers. Commission members described them while those attending ate the delicious quiche and salad luncheon prepared by the members. The title of the program was: “Keeping Busy and Spreading His Love”. It was well received. Those attending voiced desire for the PCC to provide more luncheons with topics and speakers of interest for those who attend.

In September another program entitled: “Preparing for the Future- End of Life Issues” was presented. Fr. Sunil and Mother Amy opened the program with prayer and later closed with the same.

They discussed the role of the church in offering solace to the family and loved one, planning the funeral service, and our Memorial Garden for burial of cremains. Dr. Ralph and Beverly Redding an MD and nurse team talked about their experience starting one of the first Hospice Centers in the US. They explained the value of Hospice to keep patients comfortable and free of pain as their disease progresses. Attorney Paul Kuhn discussed the legal issues – wills, trusts, etc. that allow folks the freedom from anxiety having completed the said documents. John Weeden, Director of Buckler Johnston Funeral Home discussed the care of the family and the deceased when life ends. Molly Schonenberg, PCC member offered booklets for personal description for describing your Funeral Service, Obituary, etc.

The commission is presently working on another program that will be presented sometime this winter. Stay tuned.

Our work continues with members working diligently making home visits by LEVS bringing out communion along with frozen foods, Friendly Visitors brightening the lives of homebound parishioners also bringing food to them. Many weekly flowers from the altar are brought out to homes through the wonderful leadership of Wendy Hyde. She also is in charge of all the holiday flower deliveries. Heather Kiss continues with her active Card Ministry. Her report for 2017 includes: Monthly notes - 345, Get Well cards - 69, Thinking of You - 32, Sympathy Cards - 25, Baptism Congratulations - 10, Weddings - 3, Thank You notes - 3, Special Occasions - 22. Total cards sent = 508!

We would like to especially thank Connie Annand for purchasing a new freezer to house all the donated foods for shut-ins.

The roster of church members serving in the following capacities are: Friendship Visitors- Bobbie Allardyce, Susan Dowd, Tammi Dunlap, Jan Hassel, Gary and Susan Hayes, Heather Kiss, Jane Mara, Eric and Paula Niedmann Flower Delivery- Wendy Hyde, Stevi Blanchette, Jan Hassel, Walter Kimball, Betsey Rice, Molly Schonenberg

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Lay Eucharistic Ministers-LEMS- vested, assist with communion at the altar- Denny and Shirley Andrews, Jeanne Baker, Bob Barber, Joan Bring, Ellen Dodge, David Holt, Heather Kiss, Julie Miller, Lido Mochetti, Debby Musto, George Parent, Molly Schonenberg, Seth Tulman, Jennifer Thornell, Amy York, Della Wells, Seminarian Lay Eucharistic Visitors- LEVS- bringing communion to shut-ins- Shirley Andrews, Jeanne Baker, Joan Bring, Heather Kiss, Debby Musto Lectors- (Readers)-come out of the congregation to read the first lesson- Jane Barber, Susan Dowd, Ann Johnson, Allen Lawton, Lori Pasula, Marlies Parent, Meg Roy, Dana and Richard Semeraro, D. Serra, Mary Tulman Meals Ministry-All parishioners who donate food- Expansion of this program is in progress.

Pastoral Care Commission Members: Bobbie Allardyce, Jeanne Baker, Joan Bring, Tammi Dunlap, Jan Hassel, Gary and Susan Hayes, Wendy Hyde, Heather Kiss, Marlies Parent, Molly Schonenberg, Clergy- Fr. Sunil, Mother Amy, Retired Bishop in Residence- Bishop Joslin. Thank you for all your dedicated work!

Respectfully submitted, Shirley Andrews, Chair Pastoral Care Commission

2017 REPORT OF THE CHRIST CHURCH ACOLYTES The Acolytes of Christ Church look back proudly on another year of faithfully exercising their ministry of enhancing our worship life by assisting in the Eucharist and other services. One of our goals in 2018 will be to increase our membership by reaching out to the younger members of our church family and inviting them to join us in serving God through service at the Altar.

The Acolytes are not (by choice) supported by the regular budget of Christ Church. For the money required to purchase albs, cinctures and other items we rely solely on the proceeds from our annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper (February 13th this year---save the date!) For many years carrying on with this tradition has only been possible with the assistance of our fantastic Men’s Club, and we are thankful for their ongoing support.

Those who served in 2017: Crucifers:

David Holt, Amy York Gallagher, Seth Tulman, Valerie Knowles.

Torchbearers & Servers:

Greg Holt, Valerie Knowles, Tanner Kelly, Camden Kelly, Phillip Chandy, Alexander Chandy, Daniel Chandy, Megan Quaratella, Tabitha Bisonnette.

Thurifers:

Tom Quaratella, Howard Thorp, Jason Barrs.

Respectfully submitted, Seth Tulman Acolyte Coordinator 18

2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE ALTAR GUILD This past year was a year of increased membership, and once again, a very productive and active one for the Altar Guild.

Molly Schonenberg and Sonya Barrs were installed as members of the Altar Guild and received their Altar Guild pins at our annual Recognition Sunday in June as we celebrated our 93nd Birthday. In the fall, we welcomed Sarah Starkweather as our newest member.

In an attempt to inform our parishioners about our work and encourage greater participation, we continue to submit a monthly article in the Cornerstone.

Our auxiliary member, Robin Millis along with our secretary Roberta Zutavern continue to hand craft baptismal towels that are presented to all candidates along with a note from the Altar Guild.

Using Altar Guild monies and financial gifts such as memorials, flower offerings and the sanctuary light offerings, we provide weekly altar flowers as well as the sanctuary light, palms, Easter flowers and Christmas flowers/decorations. We provide the priest hosts, wine and wafers for all services and sacraments as well as the oil for our candles. We always deeply appreciate the generosity of our parishioners and all those who donate to assist us in this work.

This year, we held a very successful fundraiser to celebrate Mothering Sunday during Lent. The response from the congregation was overwhelming and we were able to purchase and have installed handcrafted railings leading from behind the Altar up the stairs to the reredos. We also purchased materials for new cushions for the St. Nicholas Chapel downstairs. Many thanks to our member Vickie VanHorn for making the beautiful cushions.

We also refurbished the bookstands that are used in the Tobin Chapel and the St.Nicholas Chapel downstairs.

The Altar Guild has been pleased to work closely with the Property Committee and its chair, Doug Lawrence throughout the year and especially with the work in the undercroft. We were present at the rededication of the Chapel and Wednesday morning services have resumed there. . Our thanks to Wendy Hyde for overseeing flower deliveries. We appreciate the work of those parishioners who help in the weekly delivery of flowers as well as Easter and Christmas flowers to our sick and shut-ins.

We have begun this year to work with the Pastoral Care Committee and Shirley Andrews, its chair, to coordinate efforts.

It was again our pleasure to place the Nativity on the front lawn for all to admire and bring the “true meaning of Christmas� to our parishioners and the community.

The Altar Guild once again gathered for our annual picnic in June at the home of Linda and David Nolf.

We thank them for their continued opening their home to us. Our Christmas Party was held for a fifth year at Stoneridge and was hosted by Margaret Greene. This year we were joined by Father Chandy, Mother Amy, Bishop Joslin and our honorary member, Seth Tulman.

As always, we say THANK YOU to our honorary members Seth Tulman and David Holt for their continued support and help.

We are also very grateful for the many years of dedicated service of Chris Kissinger. Chris will continue her work for the Wednesday Morning Holy Communion Service but will be stepping down from her work on a team. THANK YOU CHRIS! You have been an inspiration and have mentored so many members during your over three decades of service.

We sincerely hope that our membership will continue to grow during this next year. We are a dedicated group and would welcome others to join us. Please contact Cheryl Leong at 596-3008 or Natalie Pukas at 3227540 if you are interested.

Respectfully Submitted, Cheryl Leong Dr. Natalie Pukas Members as of January 2018: Sonya Barrs, Simi Chandy, Gail Cockfield, Joan Driscoll, Wendy Hyde, Chris Kissinger, Cheryl Leong (Co-Directress), Marilyn Nardone, Linda Nolf, Natalie Pukas (CoDirectress), Molly Schonenberg, Andrea Scott- Ram, Sarah Starkweather, Vickie Van Horn, Beth Walrath (Treasurer), Roberta Zutavern (Secretary); Auxiliary Members: Lorraine Corr, Robin Millis Honorary Members: David Holt, Seth Tulman 19

ALTAR GUILD TREASURER REPORT 2017 Starting Balance:

4146.44

RECEIPTS: Flowers Easter Flowers Christmas Flowers Christmas Dinner Gifts Money

3559.00 2925.00 2150.00 440.00 335.00

Sanctuary Light Weddings Funeral Knives Votive Account TOTAL

120.00 110.00 940.00 16.75 516.85 11,112.60

DISBURSEMENTS: Altar Bread Brassworks Flowers

319.08 350.00 5,690.37

Christmas Dinner Liquid Paraffin Thavenet Machine Co. Chair Upholstery Palms

510.00 462.50 850.00 253.85 84.50

Envelopes Globes Sanctuary Light Gift Given Supplies Pizza Wine TOTAL

14.76 183.41 676.38 333.38 296.68 30.00 235.00 10,350.91

Final Balance:

4,908.13

Respectfully submitted Elizabeth Walrath

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE CHOIR Christ Church Choir provides music for all choral services here at the church. In addition to our year round Sundays we sing many extra services including weddings, funerals, Evensongs and both Advent and Christmas Lessons and Carols. Indeed, this past year was no exception and we were extremely busy with many extras. We rehearse both Thursday evenings and one hour before each service, all of which says that we have many devoted members with a large commitment to our program.

We continue to work on new music (when there is time) and are adding new repertoire as our schedule permits. This past year also saw some of our members able to be at Ogontz in New Hampshire for extra rehearsal.

Again, much thanks to our Choirmother Stephanie Blanchette and our Librarian, Pamela Young for keeping us shipshape throughout the year.

New members are welcome and interested folks should contact me (George Kent) through the Parish Office. Children need to be at least eight years old and again, the program is an excellent opportunity for musical training.

Respectfully submitted, George Kent Organist and Choirmaster 2017 Choir Members: Connie Annand, Jane Barber, Stephanie Blanchette, Mark Blycker, Myles Coatsworth, William Croasdale, Deborah Dunham, Eric Dunham, Emily Finnegan, Lucy Freitas, Michael Freitas, Lisa Gosselin, Ann Kaschuluk, Peter Kelmelis, Charles Kitchen, Janet Kitchen, Janice Marks, Leon Millis III, Robin Millis, Lesley Milton, Emily Mugge, Marshall Mugge, Sandy Niles, Dana Pancaro, Alison Patton, Franklin Patton, Meg Roy, Richard Roy, Evan Spalding, Lisa Spalding, Barbara Whitford, John Wilks, Janet York, Pamela Young, Roberta Zutavern

2017 CHRIST CHURCH CHOIR TREASURER’S REPORT Balance on Hand - January 1, 2017  Checking Account $ 3987.08  TOTAL: $ 3987.08 RECEIPTS: May Breakfast $ 1751.90 Donations $ 1547.00

DISBURSEMENTS: Christmas Eve 2016 expense May Breakfast Expense Fireworks for camp Chorus of Westerly-camp fees Total Disbursements:

$ 252.30 $ 72.00 $ 300.00 $ 1975.00 $ 2599.30

$3987.08+$3298.90 = $7285.98

$7285.98 – $2599.30 =

$4686.68

Balance on Hand - December 31, 2017  Checking Account  TOTAL

$ 4686.68

Total Receipts:

$ 3298.90

$ 4686.68

Respectfully submitted, Deborah Dunham, Choir Treasurer 21

2017 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE CHRISTMAS BAZAAR The success of our Bazaar can only be attributed to the tremendous effort, cooperation and enthusiasm of so many people working together. It’s a wonderful example of what working together and loving together can accomplish!

I send out a special thank you to The Men’s Club who came out on to move chairs and set up tables. And they were still able to make meatballs/sauce and shepherd’s pie, for the prepared food section. They had a great turnout and the task was accomplished very quickly. I am extremely grateful to all of you.

Congratulations to ALL the team leaders and the members that help whether you baked, cooked, donated books, and donated “stuff” for the Tag Sale to make this year’s Bazaar a success.

Looking at this activity reminds me that we are all blessed with talents that can be used to serve our church. I thank all of you for sharing your talents; the bazaar offered a smorgasbord of opportunities to use our talents, and we used them to help our church.

We raised $11,801.21… This is amazing!

Respectfully submitted Terri Murach, Bazaar Coordinator

Attic Treasure Bake Sale Books Boxwood/Poinsettias Children’s Room Craft Fair Trade Jewelry Knit Goods Lunch Prepared Foods Tag Sale Misc. Days after Grand Total

$1,878.00 $1,186.50 $744.30 $416.00 $54.25 $1,942.85 $106.00 $856.10 $838.00 $1,295.00 $791.00 (Donated by various groups, parishioner, restaurants) $664.96 $1,028.00 $11,801.21

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REPORT OF THE COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE This past year we continued to dramatically alter the way Christ Church promotes it's events in our community and to the larger church.

We continued using the email program called MailChimp to be able to reach over 550 people who are connected to Christ Church on a regular basis. Folks can sign up for this email list through our website or they can even text "CCW" to 313131 to be added to the list right through their phones.

We continue to develop and brand professional looking flyers for use as posters and then social media and on the website to promote events from the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper to the Lenten series to the Welcome Home Sunday right through to the Christmas Bazaar. Everything had a professional look with a consistent letterhead.

We used email, snail mail, radio, print and internet to get out our message.

We split our Westerly Sun advertising between print and web based ads. Recently the Sun released statistics showing a print circulation of less than 6000 per day while they report an online viewership of 180,000 unique viewers per month. We are changing our advertising to meet the changing marketplace.

We greatly expanded the use of social media and now have just about 1000 followers on our Facebook page alone. We are growing our Instagram and Twitter presence as well. This enables us to get our message out for free when and how we choose.

Thousands of people who did not attend Christ Church were able to get a glimpse of our parish and parish community because of social media and because of the videos that we have made. We made great use of iMovie to bring people everything from what improvements the property committee made to recording and airing all of the stewardship speakers.

Think about the fact that our average Sunday attendance is just over 200. Our average weekly reach on all forms of social media on a slow week is 1500 and on a busy holiday week over 4000. We will make strides to turn that into attendance and pledges as the years go on. And we already have.

Social Media is a new form of ministry at Christ Church. It reaches beyond our walls.

We continue to use traditional media and thanks to Roger Brown and Pam Young we had great press releases and listings in our local newspaper. Thanks to Roger we always had signs on the front lawn reflecting the next event that was coming. We also made good use of WBLQ AM 1230 with our clergy and communications personnel on the air as well as special event commercials.

Thank you to the Vestry and the finance committee for making sure that communications was wellfunded again this year. For many years communications was underfunded. It took a few years of clamoring but everyone is fully on board and all indications are that it is working. It is vitally important that we have the funds available to reach outward, and we did, and we will also for 2018.

Christ Church communications is up to 21st-century standards, and I dare say we are the leading church in the diocese in communications.

Caswell Cooke Communications Chair 23

2017 CHRIST CHURCH FOSTER GIVING Balance on hand January 1, 2017 Total

$1,454.74 $1,454.74

Receipts: Individual Donations

$2,415.00

Total Balance and Receipts

$3,869.74

Disbursements: 6 Shoppers

$1,540.00

Total Disbursements

$1,540.00

Balance on Hand December 31, 2017 Checking Account

$2,329.74

Total

$2,329.74

Respectfully Submitted, Robin Randall Coordinator of Foster Giving

We shopped for the Rhode Island South County Division for the Department of Children Youth and Families. We shopped for 50 children ages 1 months to 17.

The shoppers were: Rachel Gagnon, Grace Graber, Cheryl Leong, Jennifer Gulan, Linda Nolf, Marissa Garcia, Annie Des Los Santos, Chelsea Randall, Shauna Randall and Robin Randall.

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT FOR HOSPITALITY Over the past year there have been a few changes within the hospitality committee. Judy Kelmelis and Marion Leddy, retired as Co-Chairs and Patrick Regan and Jan Hassel have taken over the reins. Whereas things are being handled a little differently, hospitality continues to provide nourishment and fellowship to all who gather for coffee hour between the 9AM and 11AM services.

A monthly sign-up sheet to host coffee hour is on a small easel in the parish hall. Parishioners are encouraged to sign up, (along with a buddy) to host. Both bring in goodies, set-up and clean-up.

Patrick and Jan oversee the sign-up sheet, help orient and answer any questions concerning coffee hour duties, as well as the switching over to “Lemonade under the tree” during the summer months. They also organize and prepare other special events and our annual Advent and Christmas Lessons and Carols. This past year’s Lessons and Carols both again, proved to be wonderful, joyous community gatherings!

Thank you to all who have volunteered in helping to keep this afloat… Added weekly goodies, food donations for special events and monetary donations are always much appreciated as they help to defray the additional costs for food and supplies that it takes to host theses gatherings.

Anyone interested in volunteering in any capacity, please feel free to connect with Patrick and/or Jan. Respectfully submitted by, Marion Leddy

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2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE LIVING SUPPLIES CLOSET, INC. This has been another very busy and interesting year for the Living Supplies Closet. Susan Dowd retired as the Living Supply Coordinator (LSC) and was a big help along with Seth Tulman during the transfer of duties to Marion Leddy, who started as the new LSC coordinator in January of 2017.

Seth continues to guide and support when needed. Jeanne Baker continues to make up the bi-monthly schedule for our volunteers and Susan Dowd distributes it via email.

Renovations were completed in the undercroft, which the LSC financially contributed to, as we continue to operate there “rent free�! Since September of 2012, the Living Supply Closet has been operating as a federally classified 501(c3) charitable organization which has enabled us to apply for grants for which we would not otherwise qualify. Donations to The Living Supply Closet are tax deductable and the Closet is tax exempt.

In 2017, we served 1,226 individual guests with a total of 2,247 family members. We adhere to a budget and when needed, purchase non-perishable goods primarily from two distributors. Seaside Pharmacy and Westerly Packing, both locally owned businesses. Their fair pricing of items, along with their accommodating ways make them both a pleasure to conduct business with. McQuades grocery in Westerly, kindly donates paper and plastic bags. We remain grateful to our parishioners, members of other churches, organizations and individuals whose generous donations of goods and money help to significantly reduce our purchasing costs. With this support from our community and the continual dedication from our volunteers we are able to carry on with the good work Natalie Lawton started 27 years ago.

In January, additional thank you letters will be sent to those who contributed throughout the year, stating their total donations for the year.

Board of Directors: Fred Allardyce, President, Dennis Algiere, Vice President, Katherine Hoxsie, Treasurer, David Nolf, Secretary, the Reverend Sunil Chandy, Susan Dowd, Marion Leddy, William McKendree, Seth Tulman.

Volunteers: Shirley and Denny Andrews, Jeanne Baker, Shari Boanno, Caswell Cooke, Debbie Debigare, Ellen Dodge, Susan Dowd, Grace Graber, Karen Hansen, Wendy Hyde, Heather Kiss, Bob and Gail Lansing, Allen Lawton, Marion Leddy, Cathy Mason, Courtenay McKelvy, Mary Lou and George Mont, Donna Murphy, Walter Pawelkiewicz, Marlies and George Parent, Lee Serra, Frank Thacker, and Seth Tulman.

Respectfully submitted, Marion Leddy LSC Coordinator

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2017 ANNUAL TREASURER’S REPORT OF THE LIVING SUPPLIES CLOSET, INC HOLDING ACCOUNT Beginning Balance Deposits Withdrawals Ending Balance

$65,537.63 9,913.50 (19,238.02) $56,213.11

WORKING ACCOUNT Beginning Balance Deposits Withdrawals Ending Balance

$ 2,215.90 7,100.00 (7,299.54) $ 2,016.36

Respectfully submitted, Katherine W. Hoxsie, Treasurer

CHRIST CHURCH MEN’S CLUB ANNUAL REPORT 2017 The CC Men's Club has been very active this past year. We began the year with the first ever Indian Dinner which was such a success we sold out in advance through Online Sales! We attracted many non parishioners to the event and opened the church for candlelight tours. Plans are underway for a part 2 in 2018. Thanks to Fr. Sunil’s brother Iype Chandy for leading the effort.

Our second event this year was assisting the Acolyte Guild with the Shrove Tuesday pancake supper.

We lost our brother Ned Whitford who was always the cornerstone of the Men’s Club at all of our functions. We are grateful for his service and to those who donated to the Men’s Club in his name.

He will be missed.

During Lent we held a three-week breakfast series featuring community leaders for the second year. This year we welcomed Rhode Island Lt. Governor Dan McKee, Westerly Town Manager Derrik Kennedy and Police Chief Richard Silva. We attracted a good crowd at each event and were able to raise $500 that was donated to housing support in Westerly.

During the summer we hosted a week of “Lemonade Under the Tree” and as we moved into the fall we teamed up a second year in a row with the Youth Group for our well attended event called "Treats and Eats,” which brought over 100 people into our parish hall for dinner and Halloween games.

Just before the Christmas Bazaar our group of fine gentleman got together to cook meatballs and make shepherd’s pie as well as to set up for the event, and all proceeds from their sale was donated to the church.

We are looking forward to many more events in 2018. We will also be assisting in painting the ceiling in the undercroft as well as purchasing a new carpet for the first grade classroom.

I want to thank all of the guys that show up to help us but especially Brandon Dugas and Eric Dunham who are always there for every event working hard in the kitchen. We couldn't do it without them.

Caswell Cooke Men's Club President 27

2017 ANNUAL REPORT ON THE NAVAJOLAND MISSION While there were tentative plans for another VBS in 2017 with the group from St. John’s in Albuquerque, we got notice last June from Mother Catherine Plummer that conditions at St. Mary’s church and parish hall were in serious disrepair (plumbing issues, roof damage etc.) and unsafe, so the plan got cancelled. Instead, George and I were invited for a “work week” at historic St. Christopher’s in Bluff, Utah, the first church founded by Fr. Liebler in the 1940’s, and a larger parish of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland (ECN).

Before we went to Bluff, we paid a visit to St Mary’s, where we found the gates of the property locked (Sat 29 July). From our hotel, we called Mo. Catherine, who then came the next day with her daughter Cathlena (also a priest) to let us in. They said mass for just the two of us—nobody else attended – and shared their many concerns about St. Mary’s. We had a meal with them and left for Bluff on Sun afternoon, after visiting Elouise and Jim Chee, our “Bazaar jewelry suppliers” and other friends we’ve made over the years.

We stayed at the St Christopher’s community center from July 30 to Aug 4, did mostly maintenance work and got to know the people there. The priest-in-charge at Bluff is Rev. Kay Rhode, but she was out until Thursday of that week. George painted picnic tables, weeded and cleared brush with help of Mo. Catherine’s brother (Walter Shorty) who’s on staff there, and the Church’s senior warden, Bill Lincoln. Marlies cleaned the community kitchen, reorganized closets and did about 20 loads of laundry (from people who’d been on a retreat there the previous week) with help of Margaret Hardy, another local staff person. Everybody was kind and welcoming to us, and the premises quite hospitable.

On Wednesday of that week, George went back to St Mary’s with Walter and Bill L. to do some clean-up work there and to mend the fence.

Thurs evening we put on a small dinner for Mo. Catherine, Walter & his family, and Rev. Kay Rhode who had just returned. Again, conversation turned to the problems at St Mary’s.

Later last year we saw a photo of a child’s drawing left on a wall there, an open hand with the words: WE MISS VBS! We’ve since learned that at least the plumbing is fixed at the parish house (generosity of a friend from Sedona) and we are still hoping that next summer, perhaps with help from another parish, we can resurrect a program at St. Mary’s. In the meantime, please keep praying for the people and the Episcopal Church in Navajoland. Thank you!

Respectfully submitted, George and Marlies Parent.

Additional members of committee: Seth Tulman and Maureen Logan

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2017 REPORT OF THE WESTERLY AREA PEACE & JUSTICE GROUP AT CHRIST CHURCH The Westerly Area Peace & Justice Group at Christ Church has continued to meet monthly, in general at the Bean Counter coffee shop in Westerly. We have adopted the practice of “a moment of silence” at the start of our meetings.

The first sponsored event of 2017 was a guided discussion of the book “Jesus and the Disinherited” by Howard Thurman, held at Christ Church on January 15 in honor of MLK Day. It was well attended and participation lively.

On February 8, 15 and 21, we hosted a program offered by The Center for Reconciliation (Providence, RI) called “The Cross and the Lynching Tree”, facilitated by Elon Cook and Pam McDonald, looking at racial crimes through the lens of Christian symbols-- also held at Christ Church and with clergy present.

We’d talked a lot about wanting to help refugees in our group, but were not sure on what to do.

At the beginning of last year, one of our members, Madeline Labriola, took in a refugee family from Rwanda (a mother with two girls aged 2 and 6) which she housed and fostered for 11 months. During that time the young woman made huge strides towards independence and went to school and now has a job in the healthcare industry and an apartment in Providence. The children are thriving. While Madeline bore the brunt of this undertaking, members of the P & J group gave her much needed emotional and practical support, including financial.

On June 8, we helped host the opening of a photography exhibit about immigrant families to the area, called “Welcoming Rhode Island” sponsored by DORCAS, at the Westerly Public Library.

As our group has evolved, it has become a sharing (of books, films, websites etc). as well as a supporting place for members and guests involved with their individual projects. For example, some of us belong to the Raging Grannies, or the Westerly Huddle, St. Francis House, the Pax Christi movement, and various other peace-related or spiritual causes. Karen Hansen and Frank Thacker have for years sponsored the “Summer of Peace” in Westerly, which includes concerts on Misquamicut Beach and other public events. Now Frank has proposed that our group apply to obtain the title “International Cities of Peace” for the town of Westerly, apparently not an easy process and requiring long-term commitment.

In August, two women from South Kingston (Margie Bucheit and Carol Czaja) visited our meeting and shared how they succeeded in getting a resolution passed by the S.K. Town Council to make the community “safe for everyone” incl. immigrants.

Our Peace Pole project, while not abandoned, is currently on hold because the Park Committee voted down our proposal to locate it in Wilcox Park. They felt it was not “historic” in nature. We’re looking for another location to place it.

On September 17, we hosted the presentation “Just War Theory” at Christ Church, held by Deacon Ronald Steed (St. James, Poquetanuck, CT) retired submarine captain now working for the homeless. The event was so successful and thought provoking, that we decided to hold a follow-up discussion, which took place on November 19. Ron will be with us for a further program in the Spring, called “Engaging the Powers.”

At the Christmas Bazaar, we sold Fair Trade goods and Navajo jewelry.

For this year’s MLK Day event, a public reading of Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is planned at the Westerly Public Library on Tuesday January 9.

Respectfully submitted, Marlies Parent, convener Members: Ellen Dodge, Karen Hanson, Caroline Hunsson, Madeline Labriola, David Madden, Pam McDonald, George Parent, Dorothy Stumpf, Frank Thacker.

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2017 REPORT OF THE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE In this year of transitions, the Personnel Committee has worked to identify the skills and experience necessary to keep Christ Church running effectively. Once the skills and attributes for open job positions have been determined, we have worked to fill those positions with the most qualified candidates available at a cost budgeted by the Finance Committee.

We hired Sarah Poole to lead the Nursery staff following the death of beloved Susan Kenyon who had been in charge of the Nursery for years. We hired two assistants, Erin Breslin and Anthony Berling, to work with Sarah to provide a Safe Church environment for our little ones.

Following Sexton Walter Dugas’s sudden medical leave, Philip Kurk joined Christ Church as an independent contractor, and will remain as interim Sexton while the church determines the best way to handle those responsibilities in the future.

We hired Jacquelyn Smith to assist our Parish Administrator on a part time basis, and she has proven to be a valuable addition to the office staff.

Diane Reynolds, Parish Administrator, resigned in early December. In response to encouragement by Caswell Cooke, the Personnel Committee placed the Parish Administrator job description on a job website rather than in traditional media, and we have received many resumes from a wide geographical area.

At this time, the Personnel Committee has scheduled interviews with those candidates whom we felt were qualified to fill this demanding job. Caswell Cooke and Father Sunil will join the Personnel Committee to interview all candidates. The Senior and Junior Wardens will join with Sunil, Caswell, and the Committee to interview the final 3 candidates.

Although we would prefer to find a Parish Administrator as quickly as possible, we will keep the job open until we find just the right person to fill the job.

Emily Mugge Chair, Personnel Committee 2017 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE USHERS AND GREETERS It is so nice to hear from visitors and members of the public out in the community how friendly and welcoming Christ Church is. This begins with the people who serve as ushers and greeters. We have a dedicated group of parishioners who serve in this capacity.

I took over the scheduling of ushers and greeters from Wendy Walsh in September. I would like to thank her for providing me with the guidance I needed for a smooth transition. I would also like to thank Paula Niedmann for always being willing to answer any and all questions that arise!

I would like to thank the people who are currently serving as ushers and greeters not only for Sunday services but who are always willing to step up to cover special holiday services and funerals. Thank you so very much for your dedication.

Saturday 5:00 PM Sunday 7:30 AM Sunday 9:00 AM

Jean & Joe Kelly, Walter Kimball and George & Mary Lou Mont Sandra McCall, Liz Dobson, Wendy & Larry Walsh, Gary Alebeoky and Sally Gordon Marlis & George Parent, Jane & Staats Abrams, Susan & Gary Hayes, Grace Graber, Ed Brown, Derek Ferris, Paula Niedmann, Christine Terry, Roger Brown, Dan Leonard, Dana & Richard Semeraro, Walter Pawelkiewicz, Molly & Bob Schonenberg and Susan Dowd Sunday 11:00 AM Jay & Susan All, Stacey & Mason Fiore, Debbie Quaratella, Sonya Barrs and Elaine & Peter Smith Respectfully Submitted: Jane Pawelkiewicz, Coordinator 30

WELCOMING COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT

Mission The mission of the Welcoming Committee is to create an inviting, all-inclusive place of worship for both newcomers and the entire congregation and to enrich the overall hospitality of the church. The Committee assists in growing membership and providing new parishioners with the resources and support that will enable them to become active members of the church community.

Committee Members Bobbie Allardyce Caswell Cooke Gary Hayes Bob Lansing Della Wells

Fred Allardyce Jennifer Evering Susan Hayes Gail Lansing Barbara Whitford

Catherine Blanchette Michael Evering Heather Kiss Kathleen Leggitt

A special thank you to the many volunteers who are not on the committee who have helped with this year’s events! Please contact Jennifer Evering if you would like to officially join the team!

2017 Year in Review In 2017, the Welcoming Committee continued to create a presence within the church and enhance the newcomer experience. The following are highlights of the Welcoming Committee’s accomplishments in 2017: Newcomer Correspondence: The committee followed up with visitors who signed the guest book or filled out a contact card, either with an e-mail or phone call. Correspondence continued as necessary with those who had questions or needed further direction. Additionally, the committee reached out to these newcomers for events, Episcopal 101, and the Stewardship Campaign.

Welcome Announcement at all Services: An emphasis was placed on welcoming visitors to the church at all services. This announcement has now been integrated as a regular part of every service, at the beginning of announcements.

Newcomer Open Houses: Three newcomer get-togethers were hosted this year, allowing newcomers to get better acquainted with Fr. Sunil, Mo. Amy, Vestry Members, and other newcomers.  January 2017-Hosted by Bob & Gail Lansing  July 2017-Hosted by Caswell Cooke & Bob Barber at the Seafood Haven  September 2017-Hosted by Bobbie & Fred Allardyce Welcome Table: Donated to Christ Church and located in the Parish Hall. This is a table that contains church information and literature pertinent to newcomers. If you see a newcomer, please direct them to the information there. More information to be added as literature is updated!

CONT’D P32

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1st Annual Mother’s Day Shrub Sale Fundraiser: This joint fundraiser between the Welcoming Committee and Men’s club earned a profit of $3,854.40. Of those profits, the money was distributed as follows:  $1,056.00 donated to the Marshall Rice Fund  $500.00 to the Men’s Club  $2,298.40 to the Welcoming Committee Welcoming Committee funds have been used to help with the expenses of Homecoming Sunday advertising, nametags for parishioners, invitations and postage for the Newcomer Stewardship Information Session in October 2017, basket raffles at Christ Church events, and Holiday Stroll giveaways.

Raffle Baskets: Raffle baskets have been offered at events such as the Indian Dinner, Treats & Eats, Holiday Stroll, and Christmas Bazaar and have proven to be an effective way to obtain contact information. People are entered into the raffle when they simply sign up for our e-mail/mailing list to hear about future Christ Church events. This allows us to reach out to more community members each time we hold an event.

Bring a friend to Church Sunday: The committee encouraged the parish to bring friends and family to church on Homecoming Sunday in September.

Newcomer Stewardship Information Session: The Welcoming Committee assisted the Stewardship Committee in inviting newcomers to this October 2017 event.

Participation in the Westerly-Pawcatuck Downtown Holiday Stroll: The Welcoming Committee set up a table at the Stroll in order to reach out to the community “beyond the church walls.” Complementary apple cider, advent calendars, Christ Church Calendars, and information on Church programs and events we handed out. Coloring activities were provided to the children. Approximately 100 goodie bags were handed out.

2017 Newcomers Source of Contact

# of People

Guest Book-Local Visitors/Newcomers

64

Guest Book-Out of Town Visitors

25

Guest Book- Unknown Location of Residency

5

Holiday Stroll

28

Total New Contacts

122

CONT’D P33

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Note: additional e-mails were obtained at the Indian Dinner and Treats and Eats and are not accounted for in the above totals, as counts are not readily available.

2018: A Look Ahead Goals for the Welcoming Committee in 2018 include the following:  Continue Newcomer follow-ups through phone/e-mail  Host a newcomer event  Continue to have a presence at coffee hour and other church functions  Bring a friend to church day on Homecoming Weekend in September  Assist with Stewardship Campaign as needed  Participate in the Downtown Holiday Stroll 2018  Continue to update literature for newcomers and add to Welcome Table  Continue to evaluate and streamline newcomer processes  Hold meetings as needed As always, the Welcoming Committee is open to any suggestions. Thank you to everyone for making Christ Church an inviting community! We are looking forward to continuing our mission in 2018!

Respectfully Submitted, Jennifer Evering Welcoming Committee Chair

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2017 PAROCHIAL REPORT BAPTISMS 1. Teagan Dereck Johnson, January 8 2. Patrick Alba Bellows, January 8 3. Byron Henry Sanderlin, April 15 4. Hannah Lee Beauregard, April 30 5. Cole Ryan Birmingham, April 30 6. Rowan Charles Birmingham, April 30 7. Mark Stanley Melvan, June 7 8. Cohen William Brown, June 25 9. Kaia Delaney LaRico, June 25 10. Cooper Jackson Murphy, June 25 11. Madison Rae-Lyn Perkins, July 30 12. Rylee Grace Macera, August 27 13. Chase Howard McKee, October 29 14. Daniel Tyler Carlson, September 2 15. Sophia Rose Poirier, November 26

PARISH DEATHS 1. Joanne C. Poole, February 7 2. Joanne Regan, February 22 3. Edwin A. Sadowski, March 10 4. Jane C. Young, March 20 5. Lawrence Chick, March 31 6. John Don Hassel, May 1 7. Edwin S. (Ned) Whitford, April 28 8. Richard Scott-Ram, May 24 9. Janice C. Rodd, June 17 10. Susan Kenyon, August 10 11. Carol W. Barrett, September 9 12. Evelyn A. Sadowski, October 6 TRANSFER IN 1. Aurelia Catherine Bissonette

CONFIRMED ~ June 11, 2017 1. Gail Christine Eisaman Lansing 2. Mark S. Melvan 3. Thomas John Quaratella

TRANSFER OUT 1. James Lepikko

RECEIVED ~ June 11, 2017 1. Jason A. Barrs 2. David Robert Dunlap 3. Tamara Rose Bachand Dunlap 4. John J. Gentile, Jr. 5. Pamela Lee Brooks 6. Robert James Lansing, Jr. 7. Lori Harrington Padula MARRIAGES 1. April 8, 2017 ~ Carol Anne Bennett & The Rt. Rev. David B. Joslin 2. July 2, 2017 ~ Shantel Cortlyn Keeley & David Louis Antonelli 3. July 15 2017 ~ Kelly Lyn Abt & Jeffrey Hunter Morgan 4. September 30, 2017 ~ Laura Elizabeth Ruzzo & Bryan Christopher Reale 5. November 24, 2017 ~ Alessia Graeve Baker & Daniel Patrick Boreham 34

A Prayer for the Church Almighty and ever-living God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family.

Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent.

Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Christ Church 7 Elm Street, Westerly, Rhode Island 02891 Ph:(401)596-0197 ď‚Ž Fax:(401)596-6529 Email: christ-church@verizon.net ChristChurchWesterly.org

~ Rectors of Christ Church ~ The Rev. James Pratt 1834 ~1839 The Rev. William H. Newman 1841~1844 The Rev. Thomas H. Vail 1844 ~1857 The Rev. Arthur Mason 1858 ~1859 The Rev. John P. Hubbard 1860 ~1872 The Rev. Darius Richmond Brewer 1873 ~1881 The Rev. William M. Groton 1881~1898 The Rev. Norman Van Pelt Levis 1899 ~1903 The Rev. William F. Williams 1903 ~1919 The Rev. Edmund J. Cleveland 1920~1922 The Rev. G. Edgar Tobin 1922 ~1949 The Rev. William Kite 1949 ~1958 The Rev. James E. Annand 1958 ~1969 The Rev. Russell L. Deragon 1970 ~1972 The Rev. R. Truman Fudge, Acting Rector 1972 ~ 1973 The Rev. David B. Joslin 1974 ~1987 The Rev. Robert W. Anthony 1988 ~ 2006 The Rev. Frederick R. Nestrock, Interim Rector 2006 ~ 2008 The Rev. Dr. Christopher A. Pappas 2008 ~ 2010 The Rev. James R. Bocchino, Interim Rector 2010 ~ 2013 The Rev. Christine F. Purcell 2013 ~ 2014 The Rev. Sunil Chandy 2014 ~