FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH PETALUMA, CALIFORNIA ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2021
CONTENT Pastor John
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Budget & Finance
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Bookkeeper & Office Coordinator
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Facilities
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Mission
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Personnel
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Student & Family Ministries & Student Ministries Coordinator
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Worship
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Music Director
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Deacons
25
Nominating Committee
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Session & Statistical Report
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An Altar in the World JOHN CHASE, PASTOR My dear friends, Nimble. That was the Redwood Presbytery’s word of the year, and probably will be for the next several. Presbyterians are known for having their polity set, their ducks in a row, doing everything decent and in order. So as the COVID-19 pandemic continued on, and on, and on, it became clear that our ability to be nimble would be crucial to our journey forward. The “normal” we knew was not the “normal” that we were learning and discovering. Maybe that’s good for us. Good for the church. Forcing us out of our familiar comfort zones and onto a new path with Jesus, not knowing where it will lead. That is what we did in 2021, and much of that adventure, that nimbleness, is recorded and celebrated in the pages of this Annual Report. In a season when it can feel like nothing is happening, like God isn’t anywhere to be found, I hope you will be encouraged by what you read here, and discover that, as with those Emmaus Road pilgrims, Jesus was right beside us the whole time. Jesus was right beside you as you cared for one another and extended that love into the community. You prayed through hardship and celebration, delivered meals, and gave rides. You planted, weeded, harvested and delivered vegetables. You celebrated mile-marker birthdays, anniversaries, and newborns, shared meals, helped children navigate the school year, and welcomed a preschool to our campus. This year you connected with our local homeless community, donated blankets and tents and socks, made and delivered 3
sandwiches and water, met new friends and enjoyed fascinating conversations. And no matter how difficult things got, you stuck with it—in the worship you led in person and online, the Bible studies you facilitated, and the patience you had for folks (like me) every time they forgot to unmute. In and through you, God’s presence was visible. This year I enjoyed bolstering our social media and video presence. I Babbled-On with folks in our virtual cafe, and invested time in a new website design (coming soon). I joined some Honest Conversations on race and racism, continued my term on the Presbytery Council, this year taking on the role of CoChair of the Personnel Committee, and also accepting an invitation to lead one of the monthly pastor cohort groups. In the broader community, I started building relationships with members of Petaluma’s homeless community, with Petaluma’s SAFE Team, and with our friends down at Grand Central Cafe, where some of our church folks have led the Friday children’s story time. It really is a blessing to be a part of this congregation, and to encourage you to pay attention to the world and people around you, to make every place an altar in the world, and to find God there. And finally, I am so grateful for our wonderful staff, who day in and day out, remained nimble in their ministry to this congregation. Thank you Roger, Grete, Jane and Jenny. I couldn’t have done it without you. And then there is all you, the members of this congregation, the faithful members of Session, Deacons, and all with whom I count it a privilege to minister. You constantly amaze me with your faithfulness, nimbleness and love. What is the adventure that God will reveal to us in 2022? Step onto the path, dear friend, and let’s find out together. Your pastor, servant leader and friend, John Chase 4
Wherever we are on our journey of faith, when we come together, God meets us.
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Budget & Finance SHAWN DOOLEY, ELDER Commission members: Shawn Dooley, (Chair, Treasurer), Dan Ellecamp, Eric Goodrich, Dan Mulkey, Pastor John Chase (ex-officio) Staff: Roger Johnson (Bookkeeper). General fund: 2021 experience and 2021 budget: The table below presents the line by line detail of the general fund budget and actual experience for 2021. The Budget and Finance Commission recommended a 2022 budget to Session. The budget will be presented to the congregation at the January 2022 Annual Meeting. Actual pledge giving and non-pledge giving came in above budget, leading to a surplus in actual giving versus the budget. Due to the opening of Open Arms Preschool, we saw an increase in rental income of approximately $18,400. On the expense side, we started with reduced hours for non-ordained staff, but were able to go back to regular hours for the latter part of 2021. BFC again commends the commissions for managing expenditures. Overall, the finances of the church are in great shape thanks to the faithful giving of the congregation! We continued to pay down the mortgage principal associated with the reconstruction of the sanctuary in 2003 as part of the loan renewal with Synod. The principle balance is now at approximately $17,000! The plan is to have this loan paid off in the first quarter of 2022!
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Ray Swain Building Fund (RSBF): Giving to the RSBF in 2021 totaled $30,940, which funded mortgage payments and will help toward paying for the upcoming AVL upgrades in the sanctuary! Accomplishments/actions during the year: • Bookkeeper Roger Johnson continued to maintain high standards of accounting. • This year per capita giving covered approximately 80% of our members who actually participate in church activities. • Eric Goodrich continued to organize and manage the banking deposits. He collected, counted and deposited the weekly giving. Great job, Eric! • Conducted a detailed analysis of pledge giving during the year. • Completed and delivered employee performance review for Bookkeeper. Respectfully prepared and submitted, Shawn Dooley, Chair 2021 Budget and Finance Commission
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First Presbyterian Church of Petaluma General Fund Income
2021 Budget
Pledge O ering
2022 Actual
Budget
109,680
112, 645
135,200
15,000
19, 270
10,000
Plate O ering
1,000
319
1,000
Other O ering
0
0
0
125,680
132,234
146,200
32,625
85,488
79,445
158,305
217,722
225,645
Pastor
89,464
89,168
90,900
Personnel (non ordained)
34,335
34,958
64,874
Facilities
32,009
45,805
51,500
O ce
3,250
3,601
2,750
Per Capita (PCUSA)
3,901
3,901
3,400
Mission Pledge (PCUSA)
1,000
1,000
1,500
250
108
250
0
392
200
164,209
178,933
215,373
Worship
2,350
781
2,350
Congregational Life
1,200
158
1,250
Student & Family Ministries
500
74
500
Outreach
870
158
870
3,000
3,066
2,500
0
0
500
200
0
200
Total Ministries
8,120
4,237
8,170
Miscellaneous
254
1,391
0
Total Expense
172,583
184,561
223,543
Excess (De cit)
-14,278
33,161
-2,102
Non-pledge O ering
Total O ering Other Total Income
Expense Overhead
Budget & Finance Session Total Overhead Ministries
Missions Local Adult Ministry Stewardship
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The Office Maestro ROGER JOHNSON, BOOKKEEPER & OFFICE COORDINATOR
What we expected to be a short-term need became a long-term experience, as COVID changed the way we operate and deal with the ‘business’ of running the church. We found that it isn’t necessary to be on-site 4 days a week, and so I have reduced my on-site days to Wednesday and Friday, while continuing to work from home in both the bookkeeper and office coordinator capacity. In the first quarter of 2021, we applied for and received a PPP Loan from the Small Business Administration, which was later forgiven by the government’s PPP program. This was a significant financial boost through the pandemic surge. We returned to in-person, modified worship during 2021, and realized that our audio-visual infrastructure was lacking. We continued to do hybrid in-person/online worship services using laptops, cell phones, and directional microphones. Thanks to Jane Shelly’s involvement, the online aspects of worship, I believe, have met the needs of those who have attended in-person during the Delta and Omicron surges plus those who have needed to be safe at home. Because of the hybrid service I now produce an electronic and a paper version of the bulletin each week. Because there have been fewer folks in the sanctuary, we have had difficulty in recruiting volunteers to help with the audio/visual aspects of worship. Need to upgrade our infrastructure to accommodate the hybrid model of worship, we started working with a vendor who will install cameras, improved lighting, and digital audio. Hopefully, once this project is completed, we will have a more professional and seamless worship experience, both in-house and online. We were able to successfully apply for a grant to assist with this upgrade through the 9
Synod of the Pacific, which we greatly appreciated. Like so many other things, we have been delayed by the pandemic’s supply chain issues, but are hoping to have the project finished in the 1st Quarter, 2022. There is something I would like to suggest to the congregation that will assist us. If you are an Amazon Prime member, we encourage you to sign-up for the Amazon Smile program at smile.amazon.com and select the church as your beneficiary. The church will receive a donation from Amazon for all your purchases – at no cost to you. This program replaces the old SCRIP program that we were connected with in the past. And finally, Eric Goodrich has continued throughout this pandemic to be a mainstay in processing offerings and payments. It makes bookkeeping tasks so much simpler. Thanks again Eric. Also, thanks to Troy West for his diligence each Sunday, for setting up the A/V in the Sanctuary (along with the much-needed coffee). I appreciate that everything is ready to go on Sunday mornings.
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Facilities STEVE CROOK, ELDER Facilities Commission Members Steve Crook (Chair), Pastor John Chase (exo cio), At-Large Members - Karyl Crook, Dan Ellecamp, Chris Olson, Mike Roberts, Wayne Roberts, Mark Sturges and Jack Schipper. Your Facility Commission Members work continuously behind the scenes to maintain and improve our church campus. At various days and times members of your team shown up to take care of the mundane and challenging tasks this church facility requires. With a limited budget, this amazing group of volunteers with their awesome dedication of service to this church was able to accomplish the following projects:
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2020 Project Achievements Performed all the janitorial work including cleaning and sanitizing the church facility in compliance with Covid-19 requirements. This year we undertook a concentrated effort to ready our facility to accommodate the Open Arms Playgarden preschool. There was a lot of effort put into removal of furniture, relocating Christian education materials, making improvements, upgrading and cleaning by August 1st. The Mow Team of Dan Ellecamp, Dan Mulkey, Wayne Roberts, Jack Schipper, Andrew Schipper, Mark Sturges and Troy West kept the lawns edged and mowed throughout the year. Thank you! Performed the following:
Facilitated removal of three dead redwood trees on playground
Updated contracts with facility users
Repaired and replaced various signs around the church
Purchased church and janitorial supplies
Cleaned gutters
Cleaned up behind Koinonia Hall, the Fireside and Discovery Room
Facilitated replacement of the playground fence
Rototilled and removed tree roots from the playground
Spread 15 yards of bark on the playground
Repaired the fence and gates to Reworked the gated locking the playground system to the garden
Replaced the light for the cross in the Sanctuary
Gave the sanctuary a general cleaning and sanitizing
Facilitated repair of the playground boat
Cleaned and straightened up Sanctuary closets
Beautified the two doors at the garden end of Koinonia Hall
Changeover to a new fire extinguisher equipment company
Scrubbed and sanitized kitchen stainless steel table, and all the carts
Made improvements to Sonic Wi-Fi system in the church sanctuary
Worked with staff to facilitate the installation of the AV System
Repaired a leaking water pipe and valve on the playground
Waxed and sealed floors in CE Room
Installed new hoses and hose systems
Met with the City Fire Marshal Inspector
Cleaned and sanitized all garbage cans
Met with Recology Waste & Recycling representative
Replaced lightbulbs in kitchen & sanctuary
Repaired and replaced exterior walkway lights
Disposed of florescent lights
Disposed of used batteries
Arranged for removal of debris/ damaged material from Agape basement
Improved sanctuary and Koinonia Hall door’s ability to close
Used the leaf blower to clean walkways and main patio
Unclogged sinks and toilets
Repaired & replaced several toilet tanks “guts”
Installed a panic bar on one of the Koinonia Hall doors
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Repaired fences
Pumped water out of the sanctuary ducting
Performed various general handyman jobs.
Reset walkway timers and thermostats
Repaired several white folding chairs
Weeded and removed vegetation around church o ce and Peace Garden
Met with neighbors and contractors regarding fence replacement
Hired out work under Agape to install a vapor barrier and motorized venting
Rebuilt Koinonia hallway’s backdoor and installed new door trim
Repainted door and installed kickplates on the Koinonia hallway backdoor.
Installed a canopy over the Koinonia hallway backdoor to prevent rain intrusion
Installed bathroom utilization signage
Worked with various repair companies for plumbing & heating issues
Repaired and cleaned church vacuum cleaners
Hauled landscape debris to the dump
Facility members helped with Christmas decorations
Pruned trees and shrubs around the church.
Changed sanctuary furnace lters
Worked to prevent a mouse/rat issue
Removed the redwood trees stumps the front lawn
Installed new soap dispensers in all the bathrooms
Installed touchless paper towel dispensers in the outside bathrooms
Repaired and replaced timed watering system for the garden
Replaced several door handles with keyless entry handles
Set up drip hoses to water front redwood trees
Monitor the B Street front bench for unwanted “free” items
Held playground cleanup day with school and church
Worked with local plumber on sewer blockage problem
Arranged for cleaning of the kitchen grease trap
Emptied cupboards in CE and nursery
Set up storage space for Godly play (Koinonia entry hall)
And a few other I can’t recall at this time
2022 Facilities Commission Goals Replace all the windows in the church o ce. Re-establish the rose garden in the front of the sanctuary. Install an exterior support post at the end of Koinonia Hall. Power wash and paint the exterior of the sanctuary. Paint the church o ce exterior. Make temporary repairs to the parking lot and driveway asphalt. Employ tree service trim and remove trees. Develop a strong volunteer team to help maintain, with limited funds, our aging facility. The Facilities Commission welcomes input to any physical plant issues as well as volunteers to help accomplish them. Please feel free to contact any member of the Facilities Commission.
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Steve Crook I Facilities Commission Elder
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Performed various general handyman jobs.
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We are a Christ-centered community, committed to encountering God through— • Scripture, prayer, sacrament and song • Welcoming all • Breaking bread together • Caring for creation • Serving the community • Offering our lives as a witness to God’s love and justice in the world (FPCP Mission Statement adopted by Session April 25, 2019)
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LEDRA BRADY, ELDER The Mission Commission had a second slow year due to COVID, quarantines and drought (like so many in Sonoma County)…But we made the best of it! We had four meetings, two in person, and emailed in between. We (Jack and Joyce Schipper and their team) kept the garden going strong, and we were able to deliver more fresh produce to families. The Veggie Table brought in $1,368 this year, and we look forward to another strong crop and more garden-to-door deliveries in 2022. We also donated money to build a well in the village of Mtapa, Tanzania that will provide fresh water to 60 people, and alleviate health problems for the village. We donated a bit to the homeless cause, paying for a lunch for the group camped by the river, and for a tent to replace one lost in the rainstorms. We participated in fundraising for Pedal 4 Protein and the Alzheimer’s Association Walk, and our congregation supported participants nancially through member contributions. We continued our Honest Conversations on Race and Racism discussion group by reading the book Native, by Kaitlin Curtice, and by hosting a series titled, “An Indigenous Experience.” The ve-part series included a session on the Doctrine of Discovery, discussion of the short lms Grandmother’s Prayer, Dawnland and Dear Georgina, with guest presenters Jeannette Anglin and Rev. Nancy Wiens. In addition, we also spent ve weeks reading and discussing the book Reconstructing the
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Mission Commission
Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion, By Jonathan WilsonHartgrove. The series continues this February with the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, by acclaimed author Isabel Wilkerson. Mid-year the Finance Committee was able to give additional money to Mission as our financials were looking better. Mission met and decided to use the bulk of it at the end of the year for the Advent Matching Gifts Program. That worked out well for everyone. We were able to match $2,907.08 from Mission to give a total of $5,022.38 from the Church as a whole. Finally, we would like to extend an invitation to members of the congregation to join us if you feel inspired. We’d love to welcome you! Matching Gifts Recipients for 2021 Agency
Member Gifts
Matching Gift
Total Giving
Hope Counseling
2,185.00
1,515.77
3,700.77
Meema’s House
123.73
89.48
213.21
Community Matters
75.00
83.78
158.78
COTS
170.45
119.95
290.40
Rebuilding Together
75
83.78
158.78
Redwood Gospel Mission
46.75
15.47
62.22
Petaluma Kitchen
30
13.51
43.51
Salvation Army
98.70
96.55
195.25
Redwood Empire Foodbank
27.45
13.21
40.66
Una Vida
75.00
83.78
158.78
Totals
2,907.08
2,115.30
5,022.38
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Personnel Commission MARK STURGES, ELDER During this very challenging year of Covid resurgence we managed to reinstate all staff back to full work hours in hopes that all staff would soon be back to normal campus work schedules and responsibilities. Our small team of three insured that each supervising elder and Pastor John, who is head of staff, followed proper procedure to complete and file the annual reviews required for each staff member. During the fourth quarter we had preliminary discussions with session members and the pastor about our future need for a contractor to assist with the setup and operation of new audio visual technology during the spring of 2022. We are grateful for each member of our church staff, and for all that they were able to accomplish during a difficult pandemic season. Respectfully submitted, Mark Sturges (chair) Eric Goodrich Mike Glose 17
Student & Family Ministries GRETE HANSEN, STUDENT AND FAMILY MINISTRIES COORDINATOR & DIANE OLSON, ELDER Oh 2021…another year of learning to adapt, adjust, and test the limits of our resiliency. We once again found ourselves worshiping together through Zoom and when the weather permitted, out in the courtyard. We quickly learned (and are still learning) how to create a service that is accessible and meaningful for both our in person and online members. Here are a few of the highlights from our Children and Family Ministry: In February, we still held our Souper Bowl Sunday fundraiser and raised over $600 for Una Vida, a local organization that helps feed families in our community. 18
In April, we were all able to have our Easter service in the church courtyard and the annual Egg Hunt actually took place in person!
We enjoyed learning about what our kids have been up to. Timmy has been doing a great job on his travel soccer team. Lorelei and Kayleigh love their teachers and getting to see their cousins who live in Southern California. Savannah and I got to share some one-on-one time creating star akes during Advent. And Lucy and Sophie have been spending several days a week together as they both now compete for Redwood Empire Gymnastics! A highlight from 2021 was the return to in person worship in our beloved Sanctuary and the opportunity to restart Godly Play with our Sunday School children. The Fireside Room is the perfect, cozy spot for our worship time. 2021 ended with a beautiful Christmas Eve service in the Sanctuary. We have no way of knowing what the future holds for us but we can continue to love and support one another as a church family throughout 2022 and beyond. I continue to be thankful for each and every one of you.
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Worship JOHN CHASE, PASTOR The Directory for Worship in the Presbyterian Book of Order includes three paragraphs under the heading “Space” (W-1.0203), and it starts like this: “Because heaven and earth belong to God, we may worship in any place.” The Old Testament describes worship at stone altars, tabernacles, temples and other places where people gathered. “The Gospels tell us that Jesus worshiped at the synagogue and temple, but he also worshiped in the wilderness, on hillsides, and at lakeshores, demonstrating that God cannot be confined to any one place…The first Christians worshiped at the temple and in synagogues, homes, catacombs, and prisons. It wasn’t until much later that the church started to build special places to meet for worship.” Basically, wherever God is present, that is a suitable place for worship. We can’t think about worship this year without thinking about space. In the past we’ve had to think about the whys and hows and whens of worship, but these 20
past couple of years we’ve also had to think about the where of worship. Where will we be this Sunday? Online? In person? Both? On the phone? At home? While on vacation or visiting family halfway across the country? It really forced us to consider how we engage with one another as the Body of Christ. Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our worship continued. Folks like Jane, Jenny, Roger and Grete worked hard to prepare, rehearse, recored, edit, mute and unmute, screen share, prepare paper and online bulletins, “admit guests” on Zoom, lead Discovery Time and welcome each person with a smile. Online and in person we worshiped on Sunday mornings, special holy days like Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Easter, Pentecost, World Communion, All Saints, Longest Night, and Christmas Eve. We could not have done it without our Choir and Worship Ensemble, soloists, quartets, trios, ushers, greeters, Worship leaders and Roger Johnson navigating the complexities of our A/V system from the back of the sanctuary. This year we also ordered a brand new A/V system to provide a better experience for those in the sanctuary and at home. We have to see that installed by March. I’d like to give a special shout out to Marcille Roth, who took on the responsibility of changing the paraments to coincide with the liturgical 21
season or holy day, set out beautiful arrangements on the Communion Table, and all-around enhanced the aesthetic appeal of our worship space. Irene Rowley was a huge help preparing Communion bread and juice for the rst Sunday of each month, especially tricky during a pandemic season. Thank you also to those who hung stars and banners, lights and garlands, set up, straightened and socially distanced chairs, and provided rose buds to celebrate the birth of a child. We’re incredibly blessed by the leadership of our Music Director, Jane Shelly, who shepherds our many musicians, and sometimes challenged us to venture out and try something new. Thank you, Jane! We cannot say enough about our talented accompanist, Jenny Smith. Beyond sharing her musical gifts with us on Sunday morning, Jenny was also behind the piano for some of our memorial and special services. Thank you Jenny! Of course none of this would matter if it weren’t for all of you, those named and those unnamed, who serve and worship alongside one another. What a joy it is to worship Jesus together, giving thanks for his faithfulness. I’m so grateful that God has given us this time and space to worship together. We’ve had folks Zoom into worship from places like New York, Texas, Idaho, Colorado and Mexico. It’s a reminder to me that space does matter, that we have the space of the sanctuary, we have our Zoom space, and perhaps most important of all is this lesson that we have been learning, that we will nd an altar in the world no matter where we nd ourselves on this big blue planet. Where you are is where God will meet you, and where worship happens.
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Music Ministry JANE SHELLY, MUSIC DIRECTOR 2021 saw the music ministry navigating all the ins and outs of Covid protocols as we continued to provide service music for the congregation. We started the year hopeful that “in no time at all”, we would be back in person able to sing in church, perhaps even maskless…… right….. My underlying mantra for 2021 has been gratitude that we developed the hybrid service model and did not let it go even when it looked like we would be back. Under Pastor John’s leadership, we navigated the waters while allowing everyone to gauge their own comfort level and following county guidelines. The Choir continued to make Acapella recordings. We performed anthems during Lent and for Easter and then one more in April. We reconvened in the fall, hoping to be able to sing in person. The first couple of rehearsals, we met outside – many thanks to Homer for donating the keyboard. Then it got too cold and too dark so we moved indoors. We sang live on a monthly basis until Advent, at which time we sang weekly through Christmas Eve. We have six stalwart members to whom I am extremely grateful. The Worship Ensemble sang each week that enough of us were available. Many thanks to Shawn Dooley, Dan Ellecamp and Grete Hansen for stepping up and performing with us when you were available or needed. Jenny and I continued to make recordings of the hymns to be sung. Even when Jenny was back in the church playing the hymns live, we continued to pre23
record and broadcast to the folks on zoom since the sound quality of the screen share is far superior to the live broadcast. Looking forward – so now what? What can we look forward to in 2022. We of course do not know what 2022 has in store for us but we are determined that we will continue moving forward. Choir – Our small but mighty cohort will continue rehearsing with the plan to perform once a month during regular seasons and weekly during Lent and Easter, Advent and Christmas. Jenny records the parts for the anthems for choristers to rehearse on their own. We have shorter rehearsals (about an hour) on Wednesday evenings and a quick run through in the morning of the days we sing. We are hoping that if and when the protocols allow for maskless singing that our numbers will grow! Worship Ensemble – We will continue to sing as many Sundays as we can/are needed. We rehearse for about 15 minutes on the Sundays we are singing. Bell Choir – we are going to restart the bell choir. We have 9 people signed up as of January 23 and could use one more. We will start rehearsing in February, meeting for about 30 minutes after church twice a month. If you would like to be a regular member or a substitute player, please let me know! Special Music – To help the music ministry provide music when the choir is not singing, we will be establishing a special music o ering during the anthem time. We have also been using the prelude time to o er special music – many thanks to Bob Heyman for his steel drum performances. 2021 has been a year of much struggle and joy in music making. We shall see what 2022 shall bring!
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Deacons JOYCE SCHIPPER, DEACON MODERATOR The Deacons are active in so many areas of the church and are so e ective that you may not realize how much they do even during the pandemic! During 2021 we coordinated four memorial services. The Deacons are responsible for the following: Communion: Irene Rowley, at all designated services, recruited and instructed servers and saw that it all took place smoothly in coordination with Pastor John. Communion is generally served on the rst Sunday of every month, in addition to Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day(when it falls on a Sunday.) Prayer Chain: Jeannette Anglin led this ministry during 2021. There were 101 prayer requests, 8 follow-ups and 394 ecards sent. Transportation: There were 4 rides given in 2021 as well as 12 rides/support for shut-ins who needed help with errands. Rides were coordinated for church as well as other activities and appointments.
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Kitchen: Dianne Trumpy worked to keep the kitchen clean and tidy, often cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer, cleaned the coffee pots and kept our supplies well stocked. Visitation/Connections: Victoria Ellecamp led her team including Cretia Horn, Carol Goodrich and Doreen Dias during 2021 and they accomplished the following: Calls – 109 Cards – 72 Benevolence: Joyce Schipper oversaw our benevolence ministry, helping provide basic areas of service and financial assistance for those in need. 10$50 gift cards were given to the office to share with those in need. Support Services: Nelda Roberts took charge of this position which includes the medical supply lending closet, meals to families and helping provide for other needs as they arise. 7 meals were delivered in 2021 Treasurer: Dan Ellecamp kept our finances up to date. Moderator/Secretary: Joyce Schipper filled these positions during 2021. She planned and facilitated Deacons’ meetings, distributed the minutes, coordinated the memorial services with the deacons’ team and families, attended session meetings and offered support as needs arose for our congregation.
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Nominating Committee DIANE OLSON AND STEVE CROOK, ELDERS The Nominating Committee represents the congregation in selecting candidates for the of ces of elder and deacon, as well as at-large members on this committee. FPCP members then vote on the candidates in the fall.
The 2021 Nominating Committee consisted of: Elder representatives: Diane Olson and Steve Crook (co-chairs) Deacon representative: Nelda Roberts Members at Large: Marcille Roth Mark Hale Wayne Roberts Pastor John Chase (ex-of cio)
Our goal as a committee revolves around prayerfully considering open positions on Session and Deacons to nominate a diverse, capable and energetic cross-section of the congregation. We do this through being ever more purposeful in consulting with a wide variety of members, seeking input, and taking time to listen. The pandemic this year again forced us to adapt. After assessing congregational needs, the general consensus among church leadership was to keep current Elders and Deacons in place as much as possible. This was to provide continuity and stability through an unusual time. With that being said, we were excited to present two o cer candidates to the congregation at the Congregational Meeting in November 2021: Pam Sommer will be taking over the role of Worship Elder and Marcille Roth has joined the Deacons and will help with Communion set up on the rst Sunday of the month. We are also excited to present Troy West at the 2022 Annual Meeting as a candidate to join the Deacons. We’re so grateful for their willingness to answer the call to serve this congregation in this next season.
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Session & Statistical Report SHAWN DOOLEY, CLERK OF SESSION
Session Meetings
Statistical Information
January 19 February 27 March 30 April 29 May 20 June 10
Membership — 12/31/21
July (no mtng) August 24 September (no mtng) October 13 November 21 December 8
Congregational Meetings January 24, November 28
Those preaching the Word of God during worship in 2021 Rev. John Chase: January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; February 7, 14, 21, 28; March 7, 21, 28; April 1, 4, 11, 18, 25; May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; June 6, 20, 27; July 4, 11, 18, 25; August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; September 5, 12, 19, 26; October 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; November 7, 14, 28; December 5, 12, 19, 20, 24
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Additions: Confirmation of Faith Reaffirmation of Faith Certificate of Transfer Total
0 0 0 0
Subtractions: Deceased Certificate of Transfer Removal of Membership Total
5 0 10 15
Membership — 12/31/20
85
Infant/Child Baptisms Teen/Adult Baptisms
0 0
Holy Communion was served times: Weddings
16 0
Linda Dragoo (children’s Christmas story): December 26 Rev. Bob Conover: March 14 Rev. Nancy Martin Vincent: June 13, November 21
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FROM WHERE WE ARE TO WHERE YOU NEED US…FROM THE SECURITY OF WHAT WE KNOW TO THE ADVENTURE OF WHAT YOU WILL REVEAL…TO REFASHION THE FABRIC OF THIS WORLD UNTIL IT RESEMBLES THE SHAPE OF YOUR REIGN…
JESUS, NOW LEAD ON.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF PETALUMA 939 B STREET, PETALUMA, CA 94952 I 707.762.8269 I PETALUMAFIRST.COM
