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2015

ANNUAL REPORT

St. Luke’s Episcopal

Church

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ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH “St. Luke’s is a comforting and accepting community,

open to God’s love, rooted in tradition, on a journey of service to others.”

The Episcopal Diocese of Idaho

The Rt. Rev. Brian Thom, Bishop

The Rev. Susan Elizabeth Speir, Rector

Senior Warden

Misty Martinell

Junior Warden

Ginger Wright

Vestry Members

Kim Farnes Joe Cash

Jane Papi Jerry Coolidge

Susan Mills

Vestry Clerk

Loretta Moses

Parish Administrator/Treasurer

Suzanne Buchan

Administrative Assistant

Sara Jensen

270 No. Placer (208) 522-8465

Idaho Falls, Idaho 83402 stlukes@qwestoffice.net

http://stlukes.episcopalidaho.org

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ST. LUKES ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES January 25, 2015

In Attendance

The annual meeting of St. Luke’s was called to order at 10:52am by Pastor Susan following a prayer.

Brunch was served prior to opening the meeting.

Appointments made were: Tellers - Susie Smith, Cher Stone, and Moira Solle

Parliamentarian – Suzanne Buchan

Clerk – Sara Jensen

All were counted to make sure there was a quorum. There were 35 were needed and 37 present.

Pastor Susan recognized the outgoing Vestry members: Moira Solle, Janice Jemtrud, Nancy Jones, and

Todd DeVries. They were presented with gifts and applause from the congregation.

Nominations for new Vestry members were announced by Janice Jemtrud. The nominees were Joe Cash

and Jerry Coolidge. A question was asked about how many members should be on the Vestry. There were

no nominations for the floor. A motion to accept the nominees was moved and seconded. Nominations were

closed.

Suzanne Buchan explained the voting procedure for Vestry and for delegates to convention in 2015. The

location of the convention has not yet been determined. Misty Martinell told us about her trip to the 2014

convention and recommended attending to all present!

Nominations for delegates to convention were: Cher Stone, Carolyn Robertson, Nancy Jones, Suzanne

Buchan, and Janice Jemtrud. Ballots were filled out with vestry and convention delegates. Susie Smith and

her team counted the ballots and reported back to the meeting.

The treasurer’s report was given by Suzanne Buchan. Budget sheets and finance reports were passed out.

Suzanne explained the report and took questions. Pastor Susan explained that the Vestry had already

approved the budget so no vote was needed.

Dan Sanow reported on the Soup Kitchen. He explained that there are cash and donations that provide the

food for the meals. Year end numbers will be reported in the newsletter.

Carolyn Robertson reported on the Community Outreach Center.

Minutes of the last meeting held January 26, 2014 were approved and accepted. Patti Sherlock made the

motion and Carolyn Neblett seconded.

Virginia Wright Christina Pavlock Ray Fury Debbie Fury

Dan Sanow Kelli Marshall Janice Seargent Craig Riché

Lydia Cash Joe Cash Ruth Dean Nancy Jones

Mary Leberknight Susan Mills Paul Menser Larry Speir

Susan Smith Carolyn Neblett Celia Lyon Brian Humeckey

Patti Sherlock Cher Stone Carolyn Robertson Jane Papi

Denise Papi Buddy Hall Kim Farnes Mark Farnes

Bill Koester Kathy Koester Joan Abbott Roland Smith

Frances Teske Misty Martinell Kris Smith Suzanne Buchan

Brian Grant Sara Jensen

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Pastor Susan and Cher Stone presented the “Table Questions” for the meeting. The topic was tending the

front door, and tending the back door.

The first question was: How can we welcome people in?

Mary Leberknight was recognized for her job as greeter and for escorting guests to their seats and

inviting them to coffee after the service. We should have ushers besides the VPOD to help with this job.

Suggestions were made for reserved parking spaces for visitors, signs to direct guests to Sunday

School, nursery, coffee hour, etc. Inviting friends to church was recommended. It was also suggested that

an announcement be made during the service to fill out visitor cards.

The second question was: How do we mind the back door?

We should have someone at the back door (front door, too!) to say good bye and invite people back.

Follow-up was stressed. Again, making sure visitor cards are available. A suggestion was made to have

attendance sheets to see who was absent. We should check up on those who are absent and let them know

they haven’t been forgotten.

Pastor Susan presented gifts to Betty Clark and Sue Hacker for reading the whole bible in a year. Carolyn

Neblett was honored with a gift and standing ovation for service as the music director for so many years.

She is resigning.

The St. Luke’s Cross was given to Kelli Marshall for her leadership in the Turkey Box Outreach.

Denise Papi was recognized for her help with the music program as substitute piano player. She and Jane

announced their wedding plans on February 14th and invited the congregation.

At this point the election results were announced. Jerry Coolidge and Joe Cash were confirmed as the new

members to the Vestry. The delegates to convention were announced in order: Cher Stone, Carolyn

Robertson, Nancy Jones, and alternates: Suzanne Buchan and Janice Jemtrud.

Pastor Susan announced that Misty Martinell would be the new Senior Warden.

Shrove Tuesday was announced by Buddy Hall and friends. They danced around and handed out beads to

let us know that there would be a Mardi Gras theme to the evening with a kings cake from Louisiana. The

Mission Haiti team will donate the food, cook, serve, and cleanup afterward. No tickets will be sold this

year. Donations will be accepted for the trip.

Pastor Susan announced that Suzanne Buchan will represent the Diocese at a workshop in New Mexico for

disaster preparedness. She will learn how to coordinate disaster relief resources in an interfaith system in

the community and share that information locally and with the Diocese.

Pastor Susan thanked Senior Warden, Kim Farnes, and Junior Warden, Moira Solle for their service to St.

Luke’s in 2014.

A closing prayer was given by Deacon Larry Speir and the meeting was adjourned.

The new vestry met with Pastor Susan in the office for a short meeting.

NECROLOGY Todd Hicks

Gabrielle Janibagian

MaryAnn Whitham

Helen Theis

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RECTORS ANNUAL REPORT 2015 The Rev. Susan Elizabeth Speir

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church continues to thrive in Idaho Falls. Although some members have either

moved from the area or passed away, we have welcomed new members to our numbers. Two Sunday

morning services are attended by most parishioners, and we also offer a regular midweek service on

Wednesdays which is a small but vibrant bunch.

This past summer and fall, we also piloted a service on Friday evenings entitled “Friday 6:06” named for

the time of the service. This was an opportunity for trying out some variations of Rite III worship styles

including Celtic Eucharists. A number of musicians volunteered to play guitar, auto harp and piano adding

to the joy. While attendance declined as the nights grew shorter and colder, we made the decision to stop

for the winter and resume our Friday 6:06 services post Easter 2016.

Music has been a challenge for St. Luke’s this year. With the departing of our organist in September, we

made the decision to hire an interim pianist, Denise Papi. Denise has fit the bill and while not an organist,

we have certainly enjoyed her happy willingness to coach the choir and play hymns and some anthems. As

a member of our church, Denise deserves all of our praise for stepping up to this ministry.

Eric Archibald, a classically trained pianist, has joined St. Luke’s. He has been available for voluntaries

and extra music from time to time and we feel blessed by his contributions.

Faith ‘n Harmony, our contemporary music group, plays once a month adding guitars, fiddle and other

instruments; Angie Lee facilitates leadership for this group making certain that music is coordinated with

lectionary readings.

We are grateful for the bell choir (Tintinnabulation), led by the talents of Marilyn Taylor. We are happily

graced by bell anthems during the program year. Many of the members of this ministry are members of

other churches; however they make the effort to be at St. Luke’s when necessary which is truly appreciated.

While a new organist is still being sought, we do not feel deprived of good music at St. Luke’s. We hope

that with the addition of a new organist in the future, the above mentioned variety of music groups will

continue to actively participate in our worship services.

St. Luke’s is a joy to lead as Priest and Rector, this being my 8th year at St. Luke’s. Together with a more

than capable vestry, we have accomplished a lot in 2015. This year, serving in this leadership ministry was

Misty Martinell, Sr. Warden, Ginger Wright, Jr. Warden, Joe Cash, Jane Papi, Susan Mills, Kim Farnes and

Jerry Coolidge. Loretta Moses served as Clerk and Suzanne Buchan has been treasurer.

Coordinating with the vestry has been a strong finance committee led by Johanna Grant. Carolyn Robertson

serves as bookkeeper, and Suzanne Buchan as treasurer. This team also includes Susie Smith and Holly

Crawley with Misty Martinell as vestry liaison. They are a highly valued group since they meet regularly

making recommendations to the vestry (who makes final financial decisions), for budget and expenditures

throughout the year.

Our building, while aging, is cared for by the Building and Grounds Committee, led by our Jr. Warden,

Ginger Wright. Overseeing all of our building and grounds on a nearly daily basis is our Superintendent,

Roland Smith. Roland makes recommendations to the larger committee but also spends a great deal of time

replacing equipment as needed and finding ways to keep our facility in good shape. Not only does this

committee keep our facility in good shape, they also work creatively to suggest updates and improvements

that enhance our worship space and other spaces throughout the building and grounds.

Special services create times at St. Luke’s when we come together for celebrations. This year, February

14th, we enjoyed the first same-sex marriage ceremony between Jane and Denise Papi. The service was

beautiful and was followed by a lovely reception in the parish hall.

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In June, Transitional Deacons Joseph Farnes and Larry Speir were ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests

by the Rt. Reverend Brian Thom, diocesan bishop. Joseph answered a Call to a church in the Diocese of

Western Massachusetts as an Assistant Rector and Larry Speir remains in the Diocese of Idaho as a regional

priest serving several eastern deanery churches.

Ministry teams and committees throughout the church satisfy the needs of our congregation and provide

volunteer opportunities for all who are able to participate. Pastoral Care Team has risen to a larger number

of participants who provide meals for those as needed, visits to the shut-ins and elderly in our congregation.

The Rector is especially thankful for the efforts of this group, led by Susan Mills, along with those of the

Eucharistic Visitors, since not only do these ministries keep us all connected but provide information for

needed clergy visits.

Cher Stone, certified Spiritual Director at St. Luke’s serves as a reminder that our personal spiritual lives

are to be attended to as well as corporate worship. Cher makes herself available for private appointments,

leads dream workshops, provides occasional retreats and hosts the contemplative (centering) prayer service

each week.

Outreach mission and ministry remain areas of high focus at St. Luke’s. Ongoing ministries of soup

kitchen, food bank, collection of gloves and socks, Christmas angel tree giving are some of the ways our

church reaches out to the larger community. Personal assistance (through the discretionary account of the

rector), is provided as needed and as funds are available. Monthly donations to various outreach needs are

also made by parishioners’ personal contributions.

Beyond the borders of the United States, a Mission Trip to Haiti was organized and led by Buddy Hall. All

of those youth and adults who participated reported incredible stories of enriched lives as they gave of their

time, talents and treasures providing for needy children and adults this past year. Buddy reports that their

help was welcomed and that much need remains so that Haiti will be the destination for another mission

trip. A highlight with the Haiti trip in mind was the photo award given to Buddy hall as she held a Haitian

child in her arms for the child’s need for comfort.

It was necessary for our current vestry to lead the Stewardship Campaign this past year and I must

congratulate them on their ability to not only drive the campaign, finding people to speak on Sunday

mornings about giving, but also for their creative talents in shortening the campaign time and for stirring

the congregation in such a way that pledges were brought forward quickly, most of which came forth on

Commitment Sunday, when Bishop Brian was with us for his annual visit, and was able to bless the pledge

cards.

Following nearly all our celebrations, including every Sunday morning after church, receptions and

hospitality times with refreshments take place. This is not by magic, but by the coordination and direction

of the Hospitality Ministry, under the positive leadership of Jacquie Janibagian. Everybody in the parish

ought to be recognized here since everyone pitches in at one time or another to bring food, wash and dry the

dishes, sweep the floors and wipe down tables and counters.

I am always moved by the experience of watching members bring forth their yearly pledge estimate to the

altar knowing that much prayer and thought has been put into determining how much each person and

family is able to give.

Our biggest challenge as we look forward in 2016 are our Ministries for Children. While Gretchen Wright

has overseen the Sunday School program for children this past year, and taught much of the program along

with a couple of other parents, there remains a deep need from the parish for more regular commitment of

time and teaching.

The rector enjoys continuing to lead Kid’s Club, with meals provided by Ray and Debbie Fury, and the

newly formed Jr. Youth Group. However there is need for more involvement here as well. All children’s

ministries are experiencing cutbacks in time because the people needed to volunteer to teach and lead has

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fallen.

St. Luke’s is fortunate to have a wonderful children, children’s curriculum (easily understood), and helpers

to manage kids, we still lack people to teach (other than parents). If you feel called to this ministry and

would like to be trained to teach our kids, please let that be known. And if you have been one of our helpers

or teachers this past year, you are to be congratulated.

When we think about the effect that St. Luke’s has had on the community of Idaho Falls, we know that our

church has played a large part in making life better for many. While we look beyond ourselves and serve in

the way of Jesus, we cannot ignore that if we want to go on in this way of our Lord, we need to build a

vibrant group of people to serve. Our theme this year has be the Call. We enjoyed a teaching for adults by

Mark Gilchrist on this topic; we understood the Call as our way of understanding our stewardship

campaign; and we heard the word Call as we considered ministry opportunities. The question continues to

be asked of all of us through our relationship with God: What is our Call?

My hope for 2016 is that we continue to find creative ways to be life-long learners and worshipers, that we

continue to welcome the stranger, and that we make time to participate in the life of our wonderful church

in as many ways as possible.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve you.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Susan+

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SENIOR WARDEN’S REPORT Misty Martinell

Wow! What a year! As I look back upon the past year at St. Luke's, it would be a bit of a blur if I hadn't just

attended five Listening Groups with you all recently. We sat in groups expressing our joys, our fears, our

successes and some frustrations. It was so special to me to hear the things that had happened at St. Luke's

that had touched your hearts. These could be simple things like feeling welcomed as a newcomer. Or it

could be something more complex like the beautiful ordinations we witnessed this past year. A theme I

noticed in these groups was how our church is its people. We are the church. We bring snacks for Sunday

School (healthy ones of course). We bake cupcakes for coffee hour. We feed the hungry. We help the poor.

We make art together. We visit the sick and the elderly. We sing together. We comfort one another during

times of grief. We welcome those who are often ostracized. We pray together. We worship together. We are

St. Luke's Episcopal Church. I am so grateful to get to worship with so many people who do wonderful

things for our church community as well as our world community at large. I am humbled by your

generosity and the love you so freely give. Thank you all for all that you do for St. Luke's. Let us continue

to be a shining light in this often dark world.

JUNIOR WARDEN’S REPORT/BUILDINGS & GROUNDS Ginger Wright

The Buildings and Grounds Committee in 2015 included Roland Smith -- Church Sexton, Mark Farnes, Bill

Koester, Ginger Wright – Jr. Warden, Suzanne Buchan, Cher Stone, and Pastor Susan Speir +. We

appreciate new member Keith Shilling joining our team.

First, we thank all of the members of the committee and the other volunteers who aided in improving and

maintaining our sanctuary, building, and grounds for today’s needs and those in our future. During 2015,

the committee focused on multiple renovations to maximize use of the building and to make the building a

more hospitable space for all.

The following improvements were accomplished:

Downstairs bathroom remodel

Sunday school room renovations to regulate the temperature

Pew accessibility project in the sanctuary

Installing a railing in the choir loft

Installing a new columbarium unit and wooden encasement

Replacing toilets with low-flow versions

Installing emergency lighting

Installing LED lighting in the nave

Protecting the emergency exit ramp in the basement with a wall and gate

The following maintenance activities were accomplished:

Clean and wax parish hall floors

Multiple church clean-up events

Multiple maintenance and repair activities

In 2016, the committee plans to focus on:

Creating a formal agreement for columbarium niches

Cabinetry for storage in new bathroom areas

Office upgrade

Shelving for the basement

Outside lettering replacement

Other needs as assigned

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PASTORAL CARE Susan Mills

Pastoral Care : Supporting each other through the ups and downs of life.

At St. Luke's Pastoral Care consists of :

The Book Study -- meets every Wednesday at 11:00 a.m.

Funeral Receptions -- arranged by Buddy Hall with help from volunteers within and from outside of the

church

Home Visits -- made by members of the Pastoral Care Committee to those who are in care facilities or

who are home bound. The ministry which has 14 members has doubled in participation enabling us to

reach more people in new ways. The committee meets the first Wednesday of the month at 2:00 p.m.

Meal Ministry -- provides dinners to church members when a need arises

Prayer Chain -- offers prayers for those in need

Postcard Ministry -- sends hand written greetings to members of St. Luke's in recognition of

anniversaries and birthdays

Shawl Ministry -- provides hand made shawls to those who are in the hospital as well as to those who

have an emotional/spiritual need.

If you would like further information, would like to be involved in any of the above, or know of someone

who could use a little help, please call the church office, Buddy Hall (351-9376) or Susan Mills (522-0378)

PRAYER CHAIN Buddy Hall

We are all given spiritual gifts. St. Luke’s has a group of women (although men are welcome) dedicated to

prayer for their fellow parishioners. It’s a chain of prayer. Anyone listed on the chain may be called with a

brief and confidential prayer request. Some prefer morning calls or afternoon calls, so that is specified.

Your prayer request passes along the chain until it comes back to the one who received the call. In 2015,

prayer requests were down. We are guessing that prayers were still needed, but the chain was not utilized

to it’s full potential. We hope that more parishioners will use this powerful ministry in 2016. See the list

below.

THE ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH PRAYER CHAIN

The St. Luke’s Prayer Chain is a ministry of church members who feel called to pray for others. Any member of the

Prayer Chain may be called to initiate a “prayer request.” This request is then passed along the chain until it returns

to the member who received the call. (If one member is unavailable to receive the call, Prayer Chain members will call the following person on the list.) The Prayer Chain members will keep all prayer requests brief and confidential. Who to call in the Morning: Emergency Prayer Chain: Mary Leberknight 529-9357 Mary Leberknight 529-9357 Nancy Jones 200-3708 Pastor Susan Speir 521-3889 Debbie Fury 524-0392 Who to call in the Afternoon or Evening: Nancy Smith 522-9549 Caroline Filby 524-3868 Karen Hague 270-4030 Juanita Borror 523-2028

THE ST. LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH PRAYER LIST

This is an ongoing list of people whose names appear in the weekly Church Bulletin. To initiate a name on the Prayer List, please call the church office at 522-8465. Names will be kept on the Prayer List and said aloud during the Prayers of the People. The office staff updates and edits the list each month. Please note, the St. Luke’s Prayer Chain and The St. Luke’s Prayer List are mutually exclusive. To have a name

in both places, please call each one. QUESTIONS? Call the church office at 522-8465.

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MONTHLY OUTREACH REPORT Dan Sanow

The purpose of the monthly outreach program adopted by St. Luke’s is to support those ministries whose

purpose is to reach out to specific needs within our local community and the activities within our

congregation that strengthen the faith and ministry of our own membership. During 2015, the members of

St. Luke’s provided monetary donations to several church activities and to organizations within the

community totaling $18,487. In addition to the monetary donations, members also donated turkey boxes

and gifts for the Angel Tree.

The selection of monthly recipients has been collected into like categories with each category being

assigned a quarter of the year. Each individual ministry has an assigned chairperson who shall act as the

“go to” person and be asked to promote the ministry during the assigned month. Dan and Marilyn Sanow

function as the Outreach Coordinators for the program and will coordinate the promotion of the program in

the Link detailing the upcoming individual ministries.

2016 Monthly Outreach Schedule

Month Program Chairperson

1st Quarter – Mission Ministries

January Regional Council for Christian Ministry-RCCM Suzanne Buchan

February Maintaining God’s Ministry Program-MGM Roland Smith

March Lillian Vallely School-Fort Hall, Idaho Cher Stone

2nd Quarter – Social Services

April Eastern Idaho Technical Center-EITC Roland Smith

May Community Outreach Center-COC Cher Stone

June Interfaith Community Service Project Dan Sanow

3rd Quarter – Hunger and Housing

July Food Bank Suzanne Buchan

August Emergency Housing Exchange-EHE Cher Stone

September Soup Kitchen Kaaren Parsons

4th Quarter – Seasonal Ministries

October United Thank Offering-UTO Johannah Grant

November Turkey Boxes Kelli Marshall

December Angel Tree Angie Lee

Annually Millennium Development Goals Sr. Warden

Special Donations & Collections Pastor Susan+

FROM THE OFFICE Sara Jensen

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has volunteered to help this past year! St. Luke’s is a

warm and welcoming community of people who are willing to take on projects as big as the ordination of

two priests and as small as sharpening the pencils in the pews. Every job is important and appreciated!

As we look forward to the New Year, I hope to be able to meet more of you as we work together to share

the vision of St. Luke’s.

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WORSHIP COMMITTEE Cher Stone

Our Worship Committee is comprised of representatives from various ministries. Sandy Price from Altar

Guild who also trains our Lectors; Jacquie Janibagian from Hospitality; Pageant Jones who schedules Altar

ministers and Acolytes; Cher Stone from Spiritual Direction, along with our Rector, the Rev. Susan Speir.

Together we plan, review and create meaningful worship for our St. Luke's community.

This past year has seen some challenges with the retirement of Carolyn Neblett, choir director, and the

departure of the organist. However, when God closes a door, she/he opens a window. We have been blessed

with the skills of Denise Papi on our beautiful piano as she accompanies the choirs, and we have also

enjoyed the classical ability of Eric Archibald during pre-service prayer time. Both of these pianists fill the

nave with holy listening music.

We continue to search for alternate ways to worship God while at the same time hoping that it can be

convenient to most. This is a great challenge. Our summer schedule of one service seemed to work well and

it is so nice to have us all at one service.

One new idea that came to fruition is the 'Friday 606' service which is casual and yet filled with the spirit.

This service will begin again after Easter.

We have welcomed new Worship leaders, Eucharistic Ministers, Eucharistic Visitors, Lectors and Acolytes.

There is always room for more and it is a very special ministry in which to serve.

SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR'S REPORT Cher Stone

I have seen an increase of people seeking peace and a deeper relationship with God. Our Centering Prayer

Service on Wednesdays at 11:45 has seen an addition of regular prayers. I hope that is the result of an

Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop that was offered last October. Over 20 people attended to learn

the practice and hopefully continue the praying at least once a day. Donna Kreiensieck led the workshop

and says she will return when asked. I would love to offer another day of prayer. After attending an intro

workshop you may want to sign up for an extended Centering Prayer Retreat at St. Gertrude's Spirit Center

in cottonwood, Idaho. Patti Sherlock and I attended such a week last May and were so grateful and

enlightened by the experience.

I also have been blessed with a very active and delving Dream Group that has been meeting for a couple

years. Our numbers and faces may change but the purpose of exploring our dreams as unopened letters from

God is always present as is the Holy Spirit. I would never have guessed that Spiritual Direction would lead

me in this direction, but listening to God in prayer and in dreams has opened up whole new worlds for me. I

am planning on attending the Dream Conference in Kanuga, NC in May and I can't wait to hear what Spirit

is up to now.

I am always available for one on one holy listening sessions, please talk to me if you are seeking an ear.

UTO

St. Luke’s 2015 UTO ingathering came to $272

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FAITH and HARMONY Angie Lee

“Sing a New Song unto the Lord…..”

Faith and Harmony is a “contemporary/gospel/open to new styles” music group that leads the congregation

in music once a month – typically the third Sunday of the month. The group also offers their music

leadership for special occasions and services such as Maundy Thursday, special outdoor summer services,

Chapel in the Pines in Island Park, and Advent Lessons and Carols. The group has debuted original songs

written by members, but we remain humble. Membership in the group averages 6-8 musicians sharing

nearly professional talents on keyboard, guitars, drum, percussion, violin, voice, and occasional special

instruments (banjo, autoharp, harmonica, spoons, and washboard.)

Faith and Harmony typically practices Monday evenings from 7 pm to 8 pm in the Sanctuary. We have a

lot of fun and welcome those interested in sharing our spirited approach to musical worship. For more

information, please contact Angie Lee, who respectfully submitted this report!

ANNUAL REPORT FOR LAY LITURGICAL MINISTRIES AND ACOLYTES Pageant Jones

First of all, I would like to extend a thank you to everyone who serves at St. Luke’s in this ministry. You

are an important aspect of the worship service and I appreciate your service. The lay ministries include

Worship Leaders, Eucharistic Ministers, Eucharistic Visitors and Lectors. This year, two new Eucharistic

Ministers were trained – Zoe Creed and Mark Gilchrist. We currently have 6 Worship Leaders, 5

Eucharistic Ministers, 3 Eucharistic Visitors and 13 Lectors. Many of these people serve in multiple

ministries, such as Worship Leaders also serving as Eucharistic Ministers and Eucharistic Visitors. In the

area of acolytes, we have had two training sessions, one in the spring by the former Acolyte Director

Pageant Jones and one in the Fall by the current Acolyte Director, Gretchen Grant. Currently, St. Luke’s

has 2 acolytes that are currently serving on a regular basis (once a month), and 4 others who serve when

able. There is a definite need for additional service in all of the areas.

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Virginia L. Wright, Christian Education Coordinator

We have a very vibrant Christian education program, serving between seven and ten students each Sunday.

In addition, our Kid’s Coffee Hour at 10 AM allows the children to enjoy social time and helps make sure

they can stay focused on the lessons. Our Seasons of the Spirit curriculum combines a solid biblical

foundation, an appreciation for Episcopal philosophy, and art to make the weekly lessons memorable and

provide an opportunity for students to share a rich and varied learning experience.

Buddy Hall and I have alternated as the primary instructors, however, we would love to have your help in

the classroom. Like the commercials say, you don’t have to be perfect to be the perfect teacher. No prior

training is needed, only a sincere appreciation of helping our young parishioners develop an appreciation

for the bible. Our curriculum is easy to work with and offers opportunities to explore art and music in

addition to solid religious principles.

Contact the Church office or Ginger Wright (ginger@thought.net) to volunteer.

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ALTAR GUILD Sandy Price, Altar Guild Mistress

The Altar Guild is a ministry of men and women who work “behind the scenes”. Altar Guild members

work each week on a rotating basis to clean and prepare the altar and sanctuary for each service on Sunday

and other days as needed. We have four teams, most consisting of four members. We are pleased to

welcome Mark Gilchrist and Edwin Skilling as new team members this year. Ray and Debbie Fury have

also joined to help with the vacuuming and polishing of the silver and brass items.

Members meet the first Sunday of each month generally after the Worship Committee meeting for

information and updates concerning upcoming Altar Guild activities. There are many other church related

activities that Altar Guild members participate in that are too lengthy to be mentioned here. We are always

interested in adding new members so if you are interested in this particular ministry, please let us know.

Altar Guild is also responsible for procurement and arranging altar flowers each week. Flowers are $35.00

and more than one donor may sign the altar flower chart noting any special dedications. There are no

flowers during the Lenten Season. Sanctus candles are $6.00-a sign-up sheet is next to the altar flower

chart. Please make checks payable to St. Luke’s and designate either flowers or candles on the memo line.

Charts have been posted in the hallway downstairs by the Parish Hall, so please sign up for your special

intentions!

Altar wine, wafers, linens etc. are purchased with designated Altar Guild funds from budgeted funds.

We wish to also thank Mary Leberknight for her continued help and any others who assist in the set up and

cleanup after the Wednesday service. A special thank you also goes out to Brian Grant and Mark Farnes for

their diligence in changing the large hangings in the Sanctuary and helping whenever needed even if it is

not their Altar Guild week.

Thanks to all the men and women who serve so faithfully each week in this ministry.

MISSION HAITI Buddy Hall

Three adults and eight college students traveled to Leogane, Haiti in July. Leogane was the epicenter of the

2010 earthquake and half the population was lost within moments after the earthquake occurred. We were

the first group to work with the Amoveo Group, a ministry partner based in Pennsylvania. Amoveo leaders

had just helped the leaders of Leogane to conduct a self assessment of their community needs. Now they

wanted to introduce themselves to the wider community and asked our group (along with youth and adults

from Texas and Massachusetts) to be the “face” of Amoveo during the week we were in Haiti. Half of us

went to different sections of town, including an orphanage, and provided a Vacation Bible School-type

program with music, a skit, games, and a craft. The other half offered community soccer and basketball

camps and did health-related skits. We donated many soccer balls, basketballs, craft materials, and a

parachute. It was great fun for us, the Amoveo people were pleased, and the children and adults of Leogane

loved it. At one village, it reminded me of Oprah Winfrey in South Africa. We had the parachute games

going on outside and rousing music going on inside a local church. Children and parents came running

from all directions to join. The Mission Haiti Team is profoundly grateful to Pastor Susan and the

congregation at St. Luke’s for not only giving us fundraising opportunities, but supporting those fundraisers

as well. A large group from St. Luke’s came to pray and see us off as we left on the Salt Lake Express.

And we felt your prayers while we were gone. The next Mission Trip to Haiti is scheduled for Summer,

2017. Talk to me if you are interested.

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PARADISE POINT CAMP (McCall, Idaho)

Buddy Hall

In 2015, we sent four youth campers to Paradise Point Camp in McCall, Idaho from St. Luke’s. Mea and

Jackson Burrows attended Ultimate Adventure Camp, where they had the opportunities to fish, rock climb,

mountain bike, and ride horses. Anya and Eden Smith attended Beginner's Camp with their dad, Kris, and

can’t wait to go back. I know that they especially enjoyed the climbing wall and waterfront. I served as

Camp Nurse during Ultimate Adventure Camp and this is my fourth year serving on the diocesan Paradise

Point Committee. In November, Bishop Thom appointed me to be chairman of the diocesan Paradise Point

Committee. Lots more will be shared on Paradise Point Sunday, February 14, 2016.

HOSPITALITY Jacquie Janibagian

As usual, this has been an amazing year of hospitality at St. Luke’s! We are blessed in our congregation to

be able to enjoy the company of one another every Sunday and all of the other occasions we celebrated

during 2015. One of the comments I most commonly hear is, “I feel so welcome at St. Luke’s!” It is due

to the dedication we all have to making St. Luke’s an inviting and comforting place through fellowship and

food.

The Hospitality Committee has been meeting on the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30pm in the Parish

Hall. All are welcome to join us! Lonnie Martinell and Denise Papi are doing a fabulous job of helping

me organize each month, assign tasks, and report to Sara and Joe Cash. With each month that passes, I

appreciate you both more and more!

Thank you to all of the hospitality teams that bake treats, serve coffee and other drinks, and clean the

kitchen after each coffee hour on Sundays. This is the foundation of our service on the Hospitality

Committee.

During this past year hospitality has been given during many events, including birthday cupcakes the first

Sunday of every month, numerous pot lucks, and the Ordination celebration for Larry Spier and Joseph

Farnes.

It is my hope that hospitality in 2016 is as joyous and fun as 2015 and I look forward to serving you and

assisting the hospitality teams in any way I can to make St. Luke’s even more inviting!

GREETERS COMMITTEE

Jane Papi

The Greeters Committee has fairly recently rejuvenated. The committee is made up of some very special

hand picked members from our parish. To date we have had great success with welcoming members &

visitors to our worship service by greeting them at both the front & back door with a warm smile and a

bulletin to offer them. We will be holding a monthly meeting (TBD) to discuss ideas on how to improve

upon the functionality of the committee.

A special thank you to our greeters: Linda DeLia, Mary Leberknight, Ray & Debbie Fury and Lonnie

Martinell always so willing to serve. If anyone would like to become a part of the greeters committee,

please feel free to contact me.

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POSTCARD MINISTRY Buddy Hall

Many thanks to Joanne Galbraith for starting the Postcard Ministry several years ago. The idea is that each

month a volunteer sends postcards to our parishioners who have birthdays, anniversaries, and who are on

our parish cycle of prayer. Health issues made it necessary for Joanne to retire from this ministry in 2015,

but it is still going strong! Thank you to Susan Smith, Carolyn Neblett, and Buddy Hall for each taking on

the three months that Joanne was covering. And thank you to the rest of the 2015 team, who continue to

serve in 2016…Kathy Koester, Melanie Edwards, Nancy Jones, Debbie Fury, Nancy Smith, and Kelli

Marshall. Wish to join? Call me at 208-351-9376.

FINANCE COMMITTEE Johannah Grant, Committee Chair

The Finance Committee members during 2015 were Johannah Grant (chairman); Susan Smith, Holly

Crawley, Carolyn Robertson and Misty Martinell (who does double-duty in her Sr. Warden position).

Suzanne Buchan serves on the committee in her capacity as Treasurer, and Pastor Susan is also notified and

invited to our meetings. Thank you to all the members of the Finance Committee. Each member continues

to bring a different talent and/or expertise in their knowledge of bookkeeping, accounting, “money-

crunching” and church finances. The committee continues to work well together.

In 2015, the committee met as needed, but at least quarterly. Johannah also checks in with Suzanne monthly

to see how we are doing financially. If there is an abnormality or something seems amiss, we research the

issue and resolve it. By doing this at least on a quarterly basis, we have found that the financial aspect of

the church is running smoothly and we are on track. Over the course of the past few years, we have had

line-item categories added and deleted as needed. This has helped us keep the current budget informative

instead of bulking several items into one category that doesn’t offer the transparency we strive to have.

We work from two financial reports: The Profit and Loss (year-to-date) and the Balance Sheet. One thing

the Balance Sheet tells us how much money is set aside in “Dedicated Funds.” Dedicated funds are those

monies which were received for a specific reason, such as monthly outreach causes, the organ fund, payroll

taxes, etc. The Finance Committee makes sure we have enough money to “cover” these amounts at any

given time – in other words, if the checkbook balance shows that we have $10,000, but the balance sheet

shows that $9000 of that is "dedicated” to various funds, the checkbook balance that we can use is actually

$1000.

The Profit and Loss informs us where we are in comparison to our proposed budget. When we notice that

something is showing at a higher or lower percentage for that year-to-date report, we find out why and if

there is anything we need to do to adjust the next budget.

The Finance Committee met on January 5, 2016, to set the budget for the upcoming 2016 fiscal year. The

first thing we do is copy the budget and actual amounts for the prior year. Then we updated the line item

for pledges ($160,000 is anticipated as of January 5, 2016). Other steps include going through the budget

line-by-line looking at the actual costs for the prior year and anticipating costs for the upcoming year. The

budget we sent to the Vestry has a bottom line of ($1492.99). Those ( ) translates to a negative number,

meaning we are roughly $1500 short of a balanced budget. At the annual meeting, we will talk about this

deficit and a few solutions the finance committee has talked about. The Finance Committee would also like

to thank all the tellers (Clyde Toole (chairman), Lani Landon, Betty Benjamin, Susan Mills, Buddy Hall,

Kim Farnes, Cindy Gentillon, Marcy Nigg and Johannah Grant) for their time and timeliness in tellering

each week. We appreciate their efforts.

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LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE REPORT Kristoffer Smith

I like to think of this committee as a guiding coalition. This committee focuses on helping St. Luke’s

answer the question, “Where are we going?” We are a committee that is leading and supporting

collaborative actions focused on the future. One action from 2015 was our suggestion that St. Luke’s try a

Rite III liturgy. Rite I is considered traditional, RiteII contemporary, and Rite III “not intended for use at the

principal Sunday or weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist" (BCP, p. 400). Pastor Susan created the

Friday 6:06 service. These were very compelling services! This committee is currently waiting to review

the feedback from the “Listening Groups,” which were conducted by The Rev. Canon Lucinda Ashby.

Your feedback from those Listening Groups will help us provide guidance to further shape our shared

vision for St. Luke’s. Your feedback will help steer collaborative change efforts. And, your feedback will

help develop the strategic initiatives to achieve our vision.

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