Saint Mary's Church

Saint Mary's Garden--Daffodils in bloom!

2008-04-21T18:44:00.005-04:00

~Photos by Kris
~Click on any picture to enlarge it

Friday in Slidell

2008-04-21T18:40:00.001-04:00

~By Ann Canedy

It was our last day on the job and everyone worked double time to finish the roof and clean the work site for the next team. Our Americorps volunteer foremen B-Man and Brandon posed for photos, accepted Cape Cod T-shirts and a good-natured poem written by Linda Gadkowski. They told us that we are the best team they have ever had (and we believed it!). We gathered around in a group huddle with our clasped hands extended to the middle. Ernie Charette gave us instructions for the “desired response”, then asks “Are we the best darn group Habitat has ever sent to Slidell?” OHHHH Yeah!

We left the site early so we could drive into New Orleans. We wanted to tour the 9th Ward again and to work with a street preacher named Charlie. We picked up Ryan, a missionary’s son from Las Vegas who is working with the homeless through the Slidell Faith Church before he enlists in the Air Force. We stopped at a place called Carpenter 2, a multi-purpose center in transition. There is already a successful Carpenter 1 functioning in another part of the 9th Ward. The building is stuffed to the rafters with donated clothing, bedding, food and other supplies. The vision is that the center will eventually have a place for overnight stays, a kitchen, meal service, and processing and storage of goods.

We stood in an assembly line with some young student volunteers and began packing bags. The bags contain donated bread which the volunteers have to accept as pig feed because it is too old for the grocery stores to give to people for consumption. We checked each loaf for mold. If acceptable, the bread went into the bag with bottled ice tea, pudding, canned meat, peanut butter and bananas.

On the way into the center of the city, we stopped at a crumbling old church, its interior still in shambles and covered in mold. We also stopped at a house that stood alone in an area, which used to be a block of closely built bungalows. The door was open and tattered curtains hung in windows without glass. We looked in the windows and saw a crib in pieces and toddler clothes still hanging in the closet.

We drove into New Orleans to an area under the I-10. There was a literal “tent city” with rows of pitched tents and old mattresses, shopping carts, dirty clothes and linens. We handed out the bags of groceries we had packed to the people in the tents. Some people expressed appreciation: others demanded their share. There was not enough to give to everyone under the freeway.

I had mixed feelings about what I was doing. It was so blatantly wrong that any responsible city official would allow a camp like this to exist. There were people of all races and degrees of sobriety and sanity living in absolute squalor. The stench was overwhelming. It made me angry and it made me sad. Understanding that I was giving these people food they needed to last the weekend, I also felt as if I was being an enabler or putting a band-aid on a problem that the city chose to ignore. Michael Sweeney had a more optimistic view than most of us. He felt it was like one starfish among many on the shore. Throw one back into the sea and although it won’t make much difference to the starfish left behind, it may make a big difference to the starfish which has been given another chance.

We are ready to come home. I reflect on how advanced and humane the Cape is in the treatment of its homeless population. New Orleans seems to continue to lag behind neighborhoods like Slidell in rebuild efforts. I feel that our involvement in Slidell with Habitat was a positive experience. We were not offering a band-aid .We were helping people to help themselves and changing an entire neighborhood for the better.

Thursday in Slidell

2008-04-21T18:36:00.001-04:00

~By Ann Canedy

Everyone you meet here has a story to tell. Last night most of the St. Mary’s group went to a neighborhood restaurant for dinner. Some of us had on T-shirts that identified us as Habitat workers. As one of our team left the rest room, a woman who introduced herself as Gerry, approached her. “I just want to tell y’all thank you”, she said. We ended up spending part of the evening with Gerry and her husband-new friends.

Every morning our group and other volunteers meet at the local Habitat office. This morning there were two people passing through in their RV, a group from an investment company in New York, and a large contingent from Centerville, Ohio. The latter group represents their town, which pays for their travel expenses. They have formed a partnership with a local school called Our Lady of Lourdes and they are regular volunteers in the Gulf. Our volunteer coordinator Lindsay asked the group if they wanted to share their experiences. At first no one came forward. Then Judy Scarafile told the story of meeting Gerry. Other people from other groups began sharing their stories of the Gerrys they had met. Lindsay said, that if it were not for volunteers like us from outside, the 75 houses Habitat has built would not have been possible. There is just not enough local support.

Not that Habitat is not appreciated by the local population –it really is. People are just unable to give the many hours of work that rebuilding requires, because they are rebuilding their own lives. On the jobsite today we met Jessica Talamo, a young married woman with three small children originally from Chalmette. Habitat requires that in addition to a financial commitment, the potential homeowner has to put in 50 hours of “sweat equity”. Jessica earned hers today. She picked up a paintbrush and she joined me, Andie, Jane, Linda and Bruce in painting the shed. The shed was finally finished with a prime coat. We dubbed it “the petite chateau d’amour” (love shack!) and laughingly took a group photo in front of it. We exchange email addresses with Jessica and promised to send her kids Red Sox shirts.

We all worked extremely hard today –the men (and Jeannie) put up the roof and finished off the porch. The women hammered metal strips along the perimeter of the house as fortification against wind, readied the kitchen for the cabinet installation, and sprayed the floors. Our Lincoln Street house is becoming a home.

After eight hours on the job in heat and humidity and dealing with delightful creatures called fire ants (they bite!), we went to Our Lady of Lourdes to put in a couple more hours of volunteering. The church steeple had collapsed into the church building and both the school and chapel were condemned. The gymnasium still stands and houses all the supplies that have been donated. It is incredible to see cinder block walls cracked and gaping, large holes in the floors where the foundation was so undermined by the flood waters that parts of the interior collapsed from underneath and the I beam was torked. The school was completely gutted.

The facility manager told us a story about her secretary whose house was flooded. Her family retreated to the attic. Realizing that they could not get out through the attic to the roof, they had to swim under water to their front door and out into the street. Relatives in powerboats found them clinging to the sides of the house while the wind blew at 150 mph.

Symbolizing what I have found to be the spirit of Slidell, the church remained open throughout the storm and continued giving mass, even though the church was under 7 feet of water for days. The church operated initially with one round plastic table and a cell phone. Now children dressed in uniform pour out of the trailers at the end of a school day and there is a banner across the first trailer announcing “2008 Cheerleading Champions ”

Tomorrow we work a half-day at our jobsite and travel into New Orleans. We will pack and deliver 100 bags of groceries for the displaced who still live under the I-10. There are still too many houses to build.

Wednesday in Slidell

2008-04-21T18:31:00.002-04:00

~By Ann Canedy

Every one here has a Katrina story, because everyone was affected. We are told that a mandatory evacuation was called for all of St. Tammany Parish two days before the storm. Residents I have met admit that many ignored the order, having ridden out many hurricanes before. When Katrina made landfall, the Slidell Airport Weather Center recorded 200 mph gusts of wind. The storm was then classified as a Category Three, but some believe that Katrina gained momentum over Lake Pontchartrain, the large lake north of New Orleans. Slidell sits on the northeastern shore of this lake. Lake Charlotte and the Gulf lie to its east and the city is surrounded by bayous.

The eye of the storm passed directly over the city. There was a 28-foot storm surge, a tsunami, which reached up to five miles inland. Communication was immediately lost. There were no telephones, electricity or water. Cell phones did not work because the towers were down. Cell phone use was only partially restored after four days - text messaging worked after midnight. Evacuees were not allowed into the city until four days after the storm, when entry was allowed only during daylight hours. No one was admitted without identification and no one could stay overnight. Twelve days after the storm, the all clear was given for residents to move back into Slidell. Eighty five percent of the city was demolished. Only Home Depot and Sam’s Club were able to open for business. Many could not return to their jobs because their places of business no longer existed. Once grocery stores reopened many did not have money to buy food. MREs (military food packets) were handed out as food supplements for two months and many of Slidell’s residents went on Food Stamps. News was limited to out of town coverage and power did not return to parts of Slidell until a month after the storm.

We have seen Slidell’s devastation and feel a small part in its rebirth. Slidell has really gotten its act together. On Wednesday, after a full day of work, all 14 of us piled into our rented van and headed south to New Orleans. We wanted to see the rest of the story.

As I looked out the car window, I found it hard to visualize the underlying beauty of the landscape when so much of it is covered with urban sprawl and still evident scars of Katrina. We passed an abandoned Six Flags amusement park, the roller coaster stark against the horizon. In the once upscale community of Eden Isles where pre-Katrina houses were packed so tightly you could not see the canal, only bare pilings remain. These homes sustained 4-8 feet of water and thousands of pounds of debris washed in from damaged or destroyed homes. Boats, appliances, cars, seaweed and dead animal life replaced the homes. In some areas, piles of debris still remain.

The homes along Lakeshore Drive (also known as Rat’s Nest Road) felt the first impact of the storm. A 28-foot storm surge destroyed 300 houses in this area. FEMA trailers also dot the landscape. Meant to be a temporary housing solution, many families still live in them because they have not received their insurance settlements.

We crossed over the bridge between Slidell and Chalmette, located in St. Bernard’s Parish just outside New Orleans. The original twin span collapsed during the storm and it is gratifying to see that the new bridge will be 30 feet higher. Chalmette is surrounded by wetlands, including Bayou Savage, a protected sanctuary for many of Louisiana’s wildlife. Chalmette received 10-12 feet of water. Wetlands are normally a natural “speed bump” for hurricanes but 217 miles of wetlands were lost during Katrina.

We passed the Murphy’s Oil Company Refinery. During Katrina, a large barge had traveled so far inland that it ran into the storage tanks, cracking one container and leaking thousands of gallons of oil into the surging water. Only five homes survived in this area and each of those had to be gutted. Here we saw the various stages of rebuild. Some homes have been refurbished, but many are still abandoned. Some still bear the X left by responders after the storm. On the top of the X, the date the house was inspected is recorded, to the left the group that inspected, to the right the number of dead animals and at the bottom of the X, the number of dead people. Some homes bore multiple Xs indicating the number of times the home was searched for survivors.

Just before the bridge into the 9th Ward, we see evidence of the 17th Street Canal break in the levee that caused so much devastation to that area. What was once a crowded neighborhood is now a vacant green patch. New cement levees are being rebuilt by the Army Corps of Engineers.

As we crossed into the 9th Ward, we saw remnants of a former FEMA Park where many residents were forced to live if they could not tap into resources on their own property. These parks were closed last month. The trailers were pulled in order to be tested for the possibility that inhabitants were being over exposed to formaldehyde. The trailers were also removed at the request of the local government. Compared to Slidell, and I am told, Gulfport and Biloxi, New Orleans has been slow to recuperate from Katrina. I was struck by how little rebuilding there seems to be. What has been rebuilt has been built as it was before the storm-at or below sea level. Interestingly, when you ask about the local city government, the response is always how corrupt and inefficient it is and sadly, the people here seem to accept that assessment as the norm.

The 9th Ward shows little sign of progress. An evacuee told me that it is not much different there than it was before Katrina. It is a depressing area of squalor, broken windows, debris laden yards, rusting automobiles. We pass a sign reading “No Dumping”, the debris around it almost obscuring the words.

A lone bright spot is the Musician’s Village, which is a couple of blocks of brightly colored houses. This is a project sponsored by Harry Connick Jr. and others and being built by Habitat volunteers. Almost every house has an Obama sign out front. The symbolism in this simple landscape is palpable.

The business district along the river did not receive too much direct damage. However, because the city was without electricity for weeks, many of the high-rise offices became so moldy they had to be gutted.

As we went into the French Quarter I was intrigued by the contrasts. The architecture is beautiful-old iron lace grilled doors and windows, flowers hanging from balconies. There is music on every street corner and drifting from the bars .The streets were crowded with revelers. This is not appealing to me –there is an overwhelming sense of decadence. It seems so self indulgent and incongruous to the rest of our week.

A poem

2008-04-15T10:24:00.001-04:00

Habitat for Humanity

On April 6th, fourteen did arrive,
And into house building they did dive.
Michael, Pete, and Ernie built the roof and shed,
And then Ann had the big hammer on her head.
Jeff, Walter, Steve, and Bruce made sure that no nail was loose,
Jane, Jeannie, Linda and Andie became quite handy.
They nailed, sawed and drilled so every house part was filled.
Judy became the insulation queen.
And sweet Suzanne made the entire house clear.
Brandon and B-man ran the show.
They taught us very well all we know.
We are mighty proud of the site
And with God’s help we got it right.

~Linda Gadkowski, April 11, 2008

Bruce's perspective

2008-04-14T12:42:00.001-04:00

~By Bruce Johnson

April 12

The town of Slidell sits at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain some twenty miles north of New Orleans. It is also below sea level. When Hurricane Katrina hit, Slidell was inundated with a 28 foot wave of water from Lake Pontchartrain which is averagely only 12 feet deep. High watermarks on walls fifteen feet or more above the doorsills of many houses were common.

It was into this community that our 14 person church group from St. Mary’s in Barnstable came to build houses with the Habitat for Humanity organization. We were assigned to the East St. Tammany Parish where the homes of poor people were especially hard hit.

The schedule we followed for the week was rigorous. Up at 6:00 AM, on the bus at 6:30, report to the work site ready to build at 7:00 AM. Lunch at noon, clean up and back to the Holiday Inn at 3:30PM for shower and rest. On to dinner at 5:30, sometimes locally and sometimes driving 45 minutes into New Orleans for the special cuisine of that city.

The work itself was both hard and rewarding. Of the fourteen in the group we had a mix of highly skilled craftsmen and some who could barely manage a hammer. Somehow our two foremen, both young men doing tours as “paid” volunteers, sorted us out into work groups according to our abilities. Pounding nails, moving scaffolding, painting, picking up trash by itself is just hard work; building a house for a family that has lived in a trailer for almost three years is rewarding. We met several owners and prospective owners, all of whom had their stories to tell and were most grateful for the efforts of the volunteers. Hearing their stories made the work easier.

On Friday we knocked off early to do a food distribution for Katrina victims in New Orleans still homeless and living in tents under Interstate 10. Thos was followed by a tour of the most devastated part of the city, the Lower Ninth Ward. As much as I had read about it nothing prepared me for the utter destruction of those neighborhoods. Block after block of concrete pads where houses once stood. Other blocks of houses with large red X’s painted on indicating that they were condemned. Perhaps most poignantly were the red symbols painted on the front doors that showed: date of inspection, number of people found, number of dead people found, number of dead pets found. You cannot see these symbols and not be moved.

I am waiting at the New Orleans airport for our flight back to Boston and on to Cape Cod. I am tired, a bit nicked up from a misdirected hammer and with a bag full of dirty clothes; but I am also refreshed with the satisfaction of having participated in something extraordinarily worthwhile.

On the ground in Slidell~ Day 2

2008-04-14T12:27:00.006-04:00

~By Judy Walden Scarafile

We assembled at Morning Circle at 7am and were assigned to our houses on Lincoln Rd for the rest of the week. Our site supervisors, Brendan and B-Man were great to work with and we had already learned a lot about house building on Day 1.

We gathered at our “house” and formed our own circle as Brendan gave us instructions and Rev Steve led us in prayer. It was a perfect way to start the day, on this our second day on site.

Today we continued hammering and attaching the hurricane straps, this time to the base of the house. Between the straps by the ceiling and now these on the first floor, this house was certainly not going to blow down in an average storm. I asked if these straps were used “up north” and the answer was clearly, “you wouldn’t need them”.

Once the plywood walls had been nailed down, it was ready for a review of all area like filling in where nails had been missed or finding areas that needed to be done over. This involved taking out nails that were crooked, adding foam-in insulation in areas that had dead air, and patching up holes where you could see daylight through “solid” wall.

This bright orange foam insulation looked like cheese doodles and was fun to work with. But one had to remember how much it expanded…..even after several hours. In one area that required the foam insulation, I drilled holes through the two-by-four and squirted the silly foam inside. I let it expand and in an hour I added more. By afternoon I had a forgotten about it, thinking it looked pretty good and we could go to the next step. Then I heard someone roar with laughter outside the house. The foam, under pressure to find another outlet had expanded so much it squeezed through every crack and nail hole in the plywood. On the outside of the house were three huge globs of tangerine colored gook that looked like orange tennis balls stuck on the outside walls. In the meantime the trusses and plywood were going up on the back of the house to create the roof. Time to wear a hard hat with flying nails and occasional debris.

Seems like the word spread quickly to the local wasps, insects that love the rafters of a roof. Several large southern variety wasps started flying around. I knew a hard hat would not help here, so we got off the ladders in the back of the house and found another spot to do more hammering

The East St. Tammany school buses drive by at 2:55, signifying “cleanup and quitting time”. We scurried around and put things away. After a quick drive back to the hotel and a quick shower, we were in the van heading into New Orleans for a tour of Chalmette, St Bernard’s Parish and the devastated and depressed Ninth Ward.

The work goes on~more from our team in Slidell

2008-04-11T20:21:00.012-04:00

~Starting the day at the Habitat office with a circle of prayer

~The painting crew in front of the finished petite chateau d'amore (LOVE SHACK)

~Steve. "If I had a hammer..."

~Jessica, an applicant for a Habitat home, earning sweat equity

~Jeannie on the roof

~Making progress!

Tuesday in Slidell

2008-04-10T09:58:00.003-04:00

Written by Ann Canedy for the Barnstable Patriot, used by permission

In her distinctive Louisiana accent, Debbie, a Habitat for Humanity director and Katrina survivor, told us that she would never have imagined that her life would be like “some old country song”. Hurricane Katrina is a reminder to us that some of the basic things in life should not be taken for granted. Debbie had a refrigerator in her front yard and a FEMA trailer in her driveway for three months. She remembers waiting in line for ice for hours and discovering that duct tape had many uses. She has learned to be grateful for garbage trucks, electricity, Walmart, mail delivery and Habitat volunteers.

The St. Mary’s team has been assigned two houses side by side on Lincoln Street. “Our house” has the walls up, the floor in and not much else. It stands 10 feet above sea level on cinder blocks. While waiting for our assignments, I started picking up debris scattered in the periphery of the lot. It was disconcerting to find so many sea shells this far from the water. I was told by one of our foremen that Slidell experienced a tidal surge of 28 feet. Partially buried in the sandy soil, I found a silly plastic bust- the kind you buy at cheap souvenir shops. This one was inscribed “I Wuv You”. It seemed symbolic somehow that something so small and insignificant had survived such a powerful storm. At one time it must have had meaning to someone. We have placed the statue to the left of the front door; just to let the new owners, whoever they will be, know that this home will be one of love.

Ernie, Peter and Michael completed the shed today. Someone who had worked on the project before had scribbled “Love Shack” over the door. It was the first finished project on the property. Led by Walter who knows the words to every oldie, we all sang “Love Shack” to celebrate.

Ernie and Peter were dispatched to other sites to work on sheds. Andie Albies , a registered nurse, joined with Judy Scarafile, Linda, Jane and me in nailing storm brackets along the perimeter of the house and along the roof in the interior. This house is ready for wind. Michael, Jeff, and our two foremen B-Man and Brendon (Americorps volunteers) worked on the roof. Walter and Bruce Johnson, our wine connoisseur, worked on the exterior panels. Suzanne Moyer, an interior designer and commercial artist, manages to work as hard as the rest of us yet look like she stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. She swept the entire interior, getting after us all for “tracking in dirt”. We are all getting a little proprietary about “our house.

Our volunteer coordinator Lindsey Grove tells us that Lincoln Park used to be a rough neighborhood. Habitat has built quite a few houses here. The neighborhood is integrated and is starting to change in a positive way. Interestingly, the root meaning of “Katrina” is cleansing. I think the community of Slidell is on its way back.

More on Monday

2008-04-10T09:50:00.002-04:00

Written by Ann Canedy for the Barnstable Patriot, used by permission

Our first day in Slidell began in the early morning fog. The Cape contingent, outfitted in our Cape Cod T-Shirts donated by Cuffey’s, stood in a circle with volunteers from other groups and places ad learned about Habitat for Humanity’s philosophy, safety first tips and where we would spend the next week. All 14 Cape Codders decided to stay together and we were assigned a house on Lincoln Street in an area that was under 10-15 feet of water after Katrina hit. Although it has not rained here for a couple of weeks, there are standing puddles of water and mud everywhere.

Ernie Charette and Peter Scarafile are commissioned to complete the garden shed. Ernie is the Director of Facilities and services at WHOI. His wife Jane is a retired teacher and is currently a jobs coach through CapeAbilities. Both have been to New Orleans before, working in the 9th Ward and with Habitat on Cape Cod. Peter Scarafile, a pharmacist at Cape Cod Hospital, also knows what he is doing.

The rest of us are assigned to pounding in nails at 4-inch intervals across the siding of the main house. This we do from 7:45 am until 12 noon. Linda Gadkowski, a certified financial planner, juggles calls from clients and her skills as a left handed hammerer. Michael Sweeney, a surfer who works with Hyannis Assistance Corp, drifts away to help Peter and Ernie finish off the shed. Jeannie Stokinger, who I have decided must be a closet construction worker, has more energy than all of us put together. She kept me going.

The magic noon hours bring us Louisiana rice and beans and an excuse to sit down. Walter Gadkowski, a retired anesthesiologist, regales us with epic length jokes. The fog has long burned off and the Louisiana sun is hot. Someone says it is 39 degrees in Boston and we stop complaining.

By 3:00 we are ready to go. Jeff Albies, a retired collegiate baseball coach, remarks that we all have a new respect for construction workers. Muscles we never knew we had ache. I believe I will be wielding a hammer in my sleep tonight.

Tonight most of us went to the dedication of two completed Habitat for Humanity homes. This was a very special occasion, of course for the new owners, but also for the volunteers who worked on them. Habitat buys the house lot and clears the land for $15,000. The “bricks and sticks” cost $60,000 and each house may take three months to build. The new homeowner purchases the home for $75,000 and Habitat holds the mortgage. These homes are assessed at $120,000 and the money Habitat makes holding the mortgage is folded back into the funds. Habitat currently has 30 houses under construction in this area.

The first homeowner Demetrius Thornton is a single mom with three children. Her home was sponsored by a local artist Tami Ellis whose “Hope Floats” painting, depicting the Louisiana spirit after Katrina, drew $2,600 at an eBay auction. That sale, along with sales of poster prints and special events, combined to total over $25,000, which Ellis has donated to Habitat for Humanity for rebuilding efforts.

The second homeowner Jennifer Jochum, also a single parent, worked side by side earning her “sweat equity” with her partner team from Bridgeport Connecticut . We formed quite a crowd in support as the candle was lit, housewarming gifts were given and the formal incantation of the litany of dedication was given.

During the ceremony, I remembered what the Rev. Steve Smith said to me earlier on the plane: Discontent is when you see something tragic, remark something should be done, and change the channel. Holy discontent is when you watch the same event, put down the remote control and feel an urgency to respond.

It was our first day “on the job”, yet we had a glimpse of the full circle. It occurred to us that in a few months another crowd would gather in front of the house we were building. Because of our collective holy discontent, another family would be welcomed home.

Day 2~A picture is worth a thousand words

2008-04-09T11:44:00.012-04:00

~Found in the mud, this little knick knack became the group's mascot.

~Jeannie starts the day with yoga

~Suzanne

~Judy

Day 1~Hard at work with Habitat

2008-04-08T23:38:00.000-04:00

~Saint Mary's Disaster Relief Ministry Team report by Judy Walden Scarafile

We began our first full day in Louisiana bright and early. We met at 6:30 in the lobby of the Slidell Holiday Inn and then all 14 of us piled into the 15-passanger van. It was a quick drive to the First Baptist Church in Slidell where the Habitat trailer was located. Lindsay Grove, the Americore Volunteer Coordinator for East St Tammany Habitat for Humanity greeted the new crop of volunteers. There were about 40 people from all parts of the USA, but this time, mostly from the East and Midwest. Our group from St Mary’s was by far the largest.

We gathered outside, literally in a circle for what is called “Morning Circle”. This was a welcome and a time for reflection. We also had a 15-minute safety talk. It seems just like common senses, but in fact is probably where the most of minor injuries occur…not paying strict attention to the rules of “Safety First”.

Cathy Wood from Habitat read a meaningful reflection and shared her experience as a Katrina survivor in Slidell and how incredibly grateful residents are for the outpouring of help they have received from volunteers. With that warm welcome, we received our assignment for the day.

The St Mary’s team would be driving to the Lincoln Park area of Slidell to work on two houses, side -by -side on Lincoln Rd. We arrived on site to find one house with walls up and waiting for a roof and the other was rough framed.

Ernie, Peter and Michael were quickly assigned to work on a shed in the back “yard” which had a hand written sign over the doorway, “Love Shack”. They worked all day on the shed, doing siding, creating scaffolding and ultimately putting on the roof. It was the first finished project on the property and was a source of pride. Certainly the song “Love Shack” would hold a new meaning for all of us when we would next hear it on an oldies station.

The rest of the 11 of us began the long project of nailing. Everything needed to be nailed, it seemed, so with hammers selected from the tool trailer, we began. We hammered nails into plywood sides to reinforce the walls, hammered steel braces between the plates and joists to reinforce the roof. Hammer, hammer, hammer. All 11 people hammering all day long. I knew there would be some sore muscles and wrists on Day 2 but this was worth it. We could see our progress and that was really meaningful.

At 2:30 we started the clean up process to put all the tools away and pick up any scraps. Suzanne swept the rooms in the house as thought she lived here and she teased people to “take off their muddy shoes” before coming into the house.

Back into the van with lots of stories to share we drove the 5-minute ride back to the Holiday Inn, our home base. Fourteen hot showers awaited us and we could not wait …..for the showers or Day 2 on our job site.

Disaster Relief Ministry Team hard at work in Slidell

2008-04-08T12:06:00.008-04:00

Click on any picture to enlarge it

Top to bottom:
~Natasha Thornton at the dedication of her new home
~The team hard at work
~Walt
~Bruce
~Steve
~Jeannie
~The whole gang after a hard day's work

Saint Mary's Mission Trip to Slidell LA~1st report

2008-04-05T22:43:00.004-04:00

From Ann Canedy~orignally printed in the Barnstable Patriot and used
with permission

Last year. I mentioned in these pages my trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos Islands. I am about to embark on another trip of a lifetime of a different sort.

Last fall, Judy and Peter Scarafile, two members of my parish at St Mary's Episcopal Church in Barnstable, embarked on a working trip to Slidell LA. Both are enthusiastically immersed in baseball--Judy as the head of the Cape Cod Baseball League and Peter as director of the Hyannis Mets-- so one would think October would find them at the World Series cheering on our Red Sox. Instead, they spent their evenings elbow to elbow with Yankee fans watching big screen TV in a hotel bar in Slidell. Their days were spent shoulder to shoulder with workers around the country doing what they could to rebuild devastated Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.

Judy Scarafile first went to Louisiana in 2005 immediately after Katrina as a pharmacist from the local Medical Reserve Corp to work on a Mobile Medical Team. Disorganization and bureaucracy almost deep-sixed that effort as the group of 80 volunteers sat in an Army camp for threedays before being assigned. Communication was so lacking that Judy would be dispatched to the local Laundromat to do her laundry in hopes she could overhear state officials discussing the plan. It was apparent that Louisiana officials were resistant to accept help from outside. Once the work began, however, there was an obvious need and plenty to do keeping all eight mobile medical teams very busy.

Judy returned to the area with Peter last fall with the Madison, CT affiliate of Habitat for Humanity called Madison Cares. Their operation was based in Slidell. Before Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005, Slidell, was considered a quaint and thriving bedroom community of New Orleans and nearby Metaire, and was home to 35,000 people. Katrina severely damaged or destroyed 85 percent of Slidell's homes, churches and businesses. The community experienced an influx of population to 90,000, unlike other communities that experienced a decrease, largely due to evacuation from New Orleans.

The contrast in organization from the Scarafile's first trip to their second was remarkable. Their group of 12 from Connecticut and Massachusetts worked on three houses in three stages of build and became so skilled that they modestly referred to themselves as the Vinyl Siding Specialists of New England. The Scarafiles returned from that experience not only knowing that the Red Sox had prevailed but that the volunteers had been a small part of the progress that is indeed being made in Louisiana. Their enthusiasm was so contagious that St. Mary's rector. the Rev. Steve Smith, asked them to consider organizing a group of parishioners for a return trip.

So we are going-a total of 14 of us - with varying levels of skill sets, experiences and expectations to the East St. Tammany Parish and Slidell LA. It may indeed be a trip of a lifetime.

26th Presiding Bishop Elected

2006-06-18T18:12:00.000-04:00

The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of Nevada, was elected today as the 26th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church on the fifth ballot cast by the House of Bishops. Her election was confirmed by the House of Deputies, as is required by church canons.

More info about Bishop Jefferts Schori here.

General Convention Updates

2006-06-13T10:21:00.000-04:00

General Convention begins today, June13, in Columbus OH. Here are some links to keep you up to date on what is happening:

Reports from Massachusetts Delegate Becky Alden, from St. Barnabas' Blog

The officical General Convention website, updated daily

Coverage from Witness Magazine

The Daily Episcopalian, a blog by Jim Naughton, seasoned reporter and delegate from the Diocese of Washington

Preludium, a blog by Deleware delegate Mark Harris

Saint Mary's LRP--Background and Intro

2006-05-03T22:43:00.000-04:00

St. Mary's Long Range Plan
2006-2008

Background and Introduction:

In 2005 four major activities occurred leading to the development of this three year long range plan for St. Mary's Episcopal Church and its congregation:

In January Stephen V. Smith became Rector of St. Mary's after the congregation had been without a permanent rector for over two years.
The Vestry in concert with the new rector developed and adopted an updated mission statement.
The Vestry and the Rector agreed to develop and implement a three-year plan for our St. Mary's.
A comprehensive survey was conducted among all members of the congregation in concert with an Âevery memberÂ visitation program.

The Mission Statement:

St. Mary's is a community of faith striving to live intentionally as the Body of Christ in the world. We express our faith through worship, spiritual formation, care for others and responsible stewardship of all of our resources.

We base our worship on the richness and diversity of Anglican liturgy and music.
We provide opportunities and resources to guide the spiritual development of our multigenerational congregation.
We reach out to help fulfill the material needs of those in our local community and beyond.
We invite everyone to participate in the life of our community through sharing their time, talents and tangible resources.

The Parish Survey

In June 2005 St. Mary's polled 400 families in a Questionnaire designed to determine their levels of activity, areas of interest and feelings about the church, and to update our data base. From our 200 responses we determined that 60% of our parish is retired, 70% attend at least weekly, and people with a history of active involvement outnumber those seeking to serve. There was considerable interest in Dinner Groups, Current Events Forums, and Adult Bible Study. When asked about St. Mary's, most indicated that caring people, spiritual home, sense of belonging, appreciation of clergy, liturgy, sermons and music were most important to them. 95% had met Steve with enthusiasm. The survey was the foundation for a visitation program which reached families; both will help in planning going forward and the refinement of our record keeping.

The Long Range Plan

Why a Long Range Plan?

Carry out our mission as a congregation
Uncover problems and opportunities within Parish.
Set priorities for the work of the clergy, vestry and the congregation as a whole
Insure that spiritual, fiscal, and community goals are established and met
Guideline for management over three- year period. 2006-09

Parameters Used To create the plan:

With the Mission Statement in place and after reviewing the results of the Parish survey several interactive sessions were held to review and assess the current and future needs of the parish. The Vestry and Rector Smith agreed to develop plan organized around eight focal areas of development. A team leader(s) was identified for each area to manage the effort from plan to implementation.

Parish growth and participation (Marian Ferguson)

Spiritual Growth ( Phyllis Bradley and Kris Lewis)

Stewardship (Sharon Donegan)

Communications (Patrick Ramage)

Christian education (Liz Rabideau and Kris Lewis)

Outreach (Lisa Barr)

Buildings/Grounds and Property Management ( Matt Palmer)

Music (Bruce Johnson)

The Vestry recognizes the responsibility of continuing to evolve the rich spiritual life and traditions of St. MaryÂs. It also wishes to protect and improve the magnificent physical plant and gardens that are part of our heritage.

The long range plan assumes that in the next three years St. MaryÂs parish will not seek to expand in a manner that would require significant additions to the physical plant or professional staff.

The plan will insure the short and long term economic stability of the Parish.

We will establish specific and quantitative goals within each area of the plan and a process to be managed by the Vestry to insure that goals are met on a timely basis and with relevance to overall objectives.

We will make every effort to communicate this plan to our entire congregation in the hope that we will have both their support and active participation.

Long Range Plan Goals

Overall

Insure that our mission is fulfilled by making our parish a focal point in the lives of our congregation.
Create and implement the means for the Parish to be self supporting for ongoing expenses and insure that capital income is devoted to capital expenses and other special projects.
Insure that an organizational structure and process is in place to carry out and manage the goals of the strategic plan.
Insure that the elements of the strategic plan are adequately communicated, integrated, evaluated and evolved as needed.

Parish Growth and Participation

Retain and engage current membership to achieve 70% involvement in parish life-attend, pledge, church school or volunteer.
Maintain an active membership list of 400 families by 2008.
Cultivate new leadership and succession plans for all key parish activities.

Spiritual Formation

Broaden St. Mary's offerings of opportunities for spiritual formation in terms of variety, time and location so that programs meet needs of all parishioners.
More effectively communicate availability of offerings and other resources in area,

Stewardship

Increase number and level of pledges over the next three years to fund operating budget and discontinue use of capital funds and interest income for operating expenses.
Increase St. MaryÂs endowment principal and increase sources of income.
Develop a more formalized planned giving program.

Communications

Develop and implement an integrated communications plan for St. MaryÂs that reflects needs of all key constituencies and employs most effective and relevant channels of distribution.
Identify and implement means to have ongoing and effective dialogue among parish clergy, vestry and members.
Consistently reinforce mission in all communications.

Christian Formation: Children and Youth

Strengthen existing Church School program to nourish our children in faith as they grow.
Develop a comprehensive Youth program to meet educational and spiritual needs of this age segment.
Work with Spiritual formation to provide opportunities for development across life span.

Outreach

Define the mission and scope of the Outreach activities at St. Mary's
Integrate and coordinate all outreach and charitable giving within the Parish.
Increase participation in outreach activities.

Buildings, Grounds and Property Management

Identify, prioritize, and estimate costs for property and grounds projects requiring capital funding in the next three years.
Insure the continued maintenance of St. MaryÂs Garden .
Create an energy efficient physical plant and develop on-site renewable energy sources to demonstrate environmental stewardship and realize cost savings.
Develop set of policies and guidelines for use of Parish physical assets.

Music

Increase the size of the adult choir to 20 full time members and 12 additional voices for special services.
Add paid section leaders to the bass and soprano sections.
Add a part time assistant director.

Parish Growth and Development LRP

2006-05-03T22:38:00.000-04:00

Long Range Plan For Parish Growth and Development
Chair: Marian Ferguson
508-362-8225

LONG RANGE PLAN - PARISH GROWTH draft 4/24/06

I. WHERE WE ARE

A. Membership
St. Mary’s currently has about 600 resident members representing 350 separate families. In addition our rolls include 30 non-resident families and about 300 inactive members. We are considering an active resident family to be one who attends church, and/or pledges or gives, and/or has at least one family member who is active in the life of the parish and who makes the Cape their primary home.

From January 2004 – December 2005 (20 months) 38 active new families joined the parish. These are families who came to St. Mary’s in the last year of our interim and Steve’s first year; they represent about 11% of our total number of parish families. There was little or no outreach to increase membership in that period.

Our current membership has 62 families with members over 80 year of age. This represents 17% of our total resident membership. Some of these folks are not currently active due to age.

Our current families reside from Sagamore to Brewster with the following
geographic distribution.
24% Barnstable
17% Yarmouth Port
20% Hyannis/Hyannisport/Centerville
20% to the west of these areas
19% to the east of these areas

The tenure of the family membership of our current congregation is as follows
11% <> twenty years

Another measure of parish growth and development is attendance at services.
2000 - 22,138
2001 - 22,788
2002 - 20,391
2003 - 18,379
2004 - 13,130
2005 - 14,369 (Note- we dropped from four to three weekend services)

B. Congregation involvement/participation

216 families pledged to give to St. Mary’s in 2005. The pattern in years past is also significant. Our decline during interim years reached it bottom in 2004, inched up with a new rector; we hope to see continued increase in the number of pledges in our current drive for 2006.

1997 - 305 pledges
1998 - 285 pledges
1999 - 278 pledges
2000 - 279 pledges
2001 - 264 pledges
2002 - 267 pledges
2003 - 242 pledges
2004 - 205 pledges
2005 - 222 pledges (63% of resident families); an additional 38 families give without pledging, bringing our financial involvement to 74%

Another measure of congregational growth and development is participation in the life of the church. The following is based on family units, not individuals (hence a family of 4 will be counted the same as a single person household.)

204/350 or 58% of resident families attend church

119/350 or 43% of families serve in a church service related activity*

138/350 or 39% of families have at least one member who volunteers in a weekday activity.*

* There is significant overlap in these two groups. The numbers and percentages could change as we check with more group leaders and refine the lists.

73 students are enrolled in Church school representing 42 or 12% of parish families

215/380 or 55% of resident and non resident members participated in our Parish-wide Questionnaire in Summer 2005

From January 2004-September 2005, we identified 43 families as newcomers. From this group we have identified 33 new active families, of which 1/3 are involved with church school. This represents a retention rate of over 75% of those newcomers who walk in the door. Of these 28 new families:

23 are active volunteers
9 are involved with church school
23 have pledged
7 have made gifts
2 are clergy

C. Summary of where we are:

Having completed a parish wide-survey and visitation program in the spring-summer of 2005, we now have a fairly reliable sense of how many families are active within the church. There are still some issues to be resolved in record keeping, especially with regard to:

-counting active members (i.e. baptized children of inactive members who have not attended since they were baptized?)
-how do “good prospects” morph into active members?

Based on the Questionnaire returns, it’s clear that many people who had been active are no longer physically able to be. The challenge to the parish now is to develop a comparable corps of active members and leaders to build upon the efforts of those who’ve preceded us.

II. OBJECTIVES: WHERE WE WANT TO BE

GOALS
A. Retain and engage current membership – seek at least 70% to be involved parish life attend, pledge, church school, or volunteer.
B. Maintain an active membership list of about 400 families by 2008/2009. This means adding a net of 12-15 new families each year
C. Cultivate new leadership

A. Retain and Engage Current Membership

Our goals must be to focus on and organize the program and involvement desired by our current members. We have come through a long period without addressing needs in this area. The stable infrastructure will be essential to future growth in numbers and program. While some may argue that we need a larger pool of people from which to draw additional volunteers or pledges, it is not clear that we have done all we can to enlist the aid and involvement of current members. At this point, it seems wiser to spend at least a year (2006) to allocate resources in this direction while being mindful of newcomers, rather than mount a campaign to increase membership by an arbitrary percent. Note the diversity of skills the questionnaire revealed waiting to be tapped in the parish. These lists should be systematically mined for new base of volunteers, and we should develop a system of recording and tapping into skills of people new to the parish. As well we need to develop the data base capacity to keep track of these skills and interests and create a central “clearing house” for volunteers and volunteer opportunities

B. Grow to 350 Active Families by 2008-2009

Attract, welcome and incorporate new families (aim for 20 families, per year) into the life of St. Mary’s in order to sustain sufficient levels of congregation size to support both the Christian mission and practical needs of our parish (figuring attrition 20-25 individuals through death and moving each year.) In the absence of a membership drive, there is much to do to cultivate membership within those who walk in our doors; based on performance in the past 18 months, it seems reasonable to expect we may offset natural attrition in this manner. In early 2007 we should review of numbers to consider the need for a membership drive

C. Cultivate New Leadership

A third goal in parish development is the need to cultivate new leadership. Many have commented on the number of small number people who continue to carry the leadership load at St. Mary’s. We need to lighten the load on our heroes and to allow additional lights to shine. This represents a cultural shift at St. Mary’s; it won’t happen overnight. It should be discussed and modeled from the clergy, vestry, ECW on down. Aim might be to (1) identify all such leadership roles in first 6 months, (2) prepare job descriptions of each within twelve months, and (3) within the next 18 months identify second in command who will accept future leadership.

III. STRATEGIES AND TACTICS

A. Identify and recruit team to develop and execute plan over next 3-5 years; determine meeting expectations
1. Leslyn Thorne – Newcomer Events
2. Linda Hutton, Connie Phillips - Shepherds
3. Jim Cranitch – parish volunteers, data base management
4. Janis Umschlag, Evangelism committee
5. To be determined, Fellowship Committee
6. Ann Canedy, ECW
7. Link with Communications Task Force

B. Communicate to the parish the current state of membership, and goals for growth to seek their involvement in organizing increased participation,attracting new parishioners, and identifying new leadership.
1. Present overview of needs/goals to congregation via newsletter
2. Focus on responsibility of everyone to attract newcomers- “bring
a friend to church”
3. Conduct open meeting to explain status and recruit help (4/30)
4. Publish and circulate parish membership directory (done 12/05);
publish semi annual supplements of newcomers and updates
5. Publish packet for newcomers (green brochure done 10/05))

C. Identify and promote “affinity” activities within parish community to engage new and old members
1. Implement programs around movers to area, people engaged in outreach programs in general community
2. Dinners for 7 – consider making the part of a revived Fellowship Committee, responsible for church wide hospitality
3. Programs suggested by Questionnaire and visitation research (Adult bible study, current event forums, elder care, etc.)
4. Emphasize a “rebirth” leveraging new ministerial resources, re-energized commitment around Strategic Plan needs for volunteerism
5. Include targeted messages to appeal to individual needs: spiritual, educational, outreach to elderly/shut ins

D. Insure that visitors to services, church programs etc. are actively met and given information about our parish and its benefits.
1. Renew commitment to tours of facility (Russ Fales), use of pew cards, updated nametag board
2. Newcomers tri-fold to be installed at front door
3. Clergy visits with newcomers packet
4. Shepherd follow-up; program maintenance
5. Newcomer coffees/events; develop parish wide responsibility to greet newcomers every Sunday
6. Vestry greeter rotation (in place 11/05)
7. Include newcomers on dinners for 7 lists as space is available
8. Develop system to record newcomers’ interests re volunteering

E. Work with current leaders to identify second-in-command
1. Codify and publish job descriptions
2. Identify potential leaders parish-wide
3. Make volunteer lists available to leaders; update quarterly

IV. RESOURCES NEEDED

A. Clergy time for newcomer visits, program development (and leadership)
B. Data base maintenance; record keeping, identifying and thanking
volunteers
C. Shepherd program maintenance
D. Communications support: Cross Currents, Annual reports; Sunday
Bulletin; Newcomer’s packet, Directory of members
E. Volunteer time (shepherds, office, etc. etc.)
F. Parish-wide support of endeavor – “buy-in”.

V. OPEN ISSUES

A. Record keeping- Definition of “member”: How/when do you move from Good Prospect to Active Member? Related issues of member categories.

B. Optimum congregation size: 350 active resident families?

C. How to identify and enlist potential leaders? Build a climate of ownership and wider base of those taking responsibility for the parish body and programs. How to evaluate progress and feedback?

St. Mary’s Church Strategic Plan
Parish Growth and Development - Goal Tracking

A. Retain and Engage Current Membership

-Identify and Recruit Team Qrtr 1 ‘06
-Present goals/roles to in CC Qrtr 3 ’06 (Sept)
-Parish LRP meeting Qrtr 2 ’06 (Apr)
-Parish membership directory Done
-Dinners for 7 Done; update lists
- Revive Fellowship Com Qrtr 3 ’06 (August)
- Emphasize “rebirth” and Qrtr 3 ’06 (Oct)
- Introduce programs suggested by Qrtr 3 ’06 Oct)
Letters to those who expressed interest
-Target programs for individual needs Qrtr 4 ‘06

B. Grow parish to 400 active families 2009-2010

- Vestry greeters collect pew cards Done
- Update name tags Quarterly
- Newcomers’ tri-fold at front door Done
-Newcomers’ packet, clergy visits Done
-Publish newcomers names in CC Monthly
-Shepherd assignment, follow-up Monthly
-Shepherd team meeting April; Oct.
-Newcomer coffee/event; facility tours Quarterly
-Review membership list, data Quarterly
-Reconsider need for membership drive Qrtr 1 ’07, 08

C. Grow new leadership

-Generate list of current positions and teams Qrtr 2 ’06 -Maintain list of potential leaders/ workers Ongoing
-Generate job descriptions/function notebooks Qrtr 3 ’06
-All of the above to have “second in command” Qrtr 1 ’07

Communications LRP

2006-05-03T22:34:00.000-04:00

LONG RANGE PLAN FOR

PARISH COMMUNICATIONS

CHAIR: PATRICK RAMAGE
508-362-2052

LONG RANGE PLAN-COMMUNICATIONS DRAFT 3/09/06

WHERE WE ARE

St. Mary’s currently uses a number of vehicles to communicate with parishioners:
• Crosscurrents –a monthly bulletin to all active members
• Sunday Bulletin-used to communicate announcements
• Web site- has key information and church calendar
• Periodic announcements-sent to whole parish for special events, stewardship etc.
• Annual Report
• Members Directory
• Newcomers Packet
We also have channels of communication to the community at large.
• Public relations announcement
• Service advertising

While we believe we have many current vehicles for communication we believe there is an opportunity to have a more consistent and integrated process for communication. We also need to understand whether we are meeting the communication needs of the parish.
We also believe we could leverage external messaging opportunities to promote ST. Mary’s and its activities.

(Any other comments or info we received from the survey??)

Comments about change in leadership

GOALS
• . Develop and implement an integrated communications plan for St. Mary’s that reflects needs of all key constituencies and employs most effective and relevant channels of distribution.
• Consistently reinforce mission in all communications.
• Continue to promote St. Mary’s and its activities to the community at large.

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
A. Integrated Communications plan (Channels)
• Complete audit of all communications vehicles being used for internal and external audiences.
• Contact all key constituencies to assess needs for communications in and out of parish (Clergy, Vestry, Committee Heads etc)
• Develop annualized plan to detail all planned communications.
• Improve current communications tools and add others as needed to insure that effective and two-way dialogue is facilitated. Develop point of view regarding current and additional vehicles for communication.
• Develop and implement a plan to more effectively make use of our web site and e-mail as communications tools.
• Recruit communications team to support goals.

B. Consistently reinforce mission in all communications (Content)

• Insure that there is an articulated and consistent messaging throughout communications process which reinforces overall mission and our goal to engage more members in St. Mary’s.

C. Promote St. Mary’s to Community at large (Public Relations)
• Develop comprehensive PR plan
• Assess and address communication requirements for all other areas of focus in long range plan.

Building and Grounds LRP

2006-05-03T22:32:00.000-04:00

LONG RANGE PLAN

BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS

CHAIRMAN: MATT PALMER
508-362-3839

LONG RANGE PLAN: Buildings Grounds and Gardens Draft 3/10/06

Current Status:

The congregation of St. Mary’s has the blessing of a beautiful church, extensive facilities and renowned and beautiful surrounding gardens. The physical plant is valued at several million dollars and portions of this facility are over 100 years old with a new addition built in the 1960’s. We also have the burden of maintaining a facility with significant demands for upkeep and improvement:

• Our church is located in a low wet area with a stream running through the property. Drainage and periodic flooding are continual problems-particularly in the library area of the building.
• Our beautiful and extensive gardens require significant maintenance and our current volunteer base is ageing.
• Historically, we have not allocated adequate resources for ongoing maintenance of our facilities.
• We need to demonstrate environmental stewardship of our physical plant

For a number of years, little capital maintenance or improvements were performed at the church, primarily due to lack of funding. In the past ten years some of the backlog of deferred maintenance has been completed. While funding has come from the capital growth of the endowment or bequests to the church, there is no annual budget set for these needs and it has been done on an ad hoc basis. Ideally we would create an annual capital allocation for buildings and grounds so that a more structured planning process could be implemented.

In the last few years we have completed the following projects:
• Significant renovation of the rectory including a new roof.
• Replacement of roof on church
• Re-shingling of the main church and classroom wing.
• Replacement of all doors and windows in classroom wing.
• Renovation of bathrooms in basement area.

Goals

• Identify, prioritize, and estimate costs for property and grounds projects requiring capital funding in the next three years.
• Insure the continued maintenance of St. Mary’s Garden
• Create an energy efficient physical plant and develop on-site renewable energy sources to demonstrate environmental stewardship and realize cost savings.
• Insure process, personnel and funding for on-going maintenance needs.
• Engage other members of Parish to participate and utilize their talents to assist in the upkeep and improvement of buildings and grounds. This should include a succession plan for key areas such as garden maintenance.

Strategies

• Develop a prioritized list of required upgrades and maintenance for physical plant including rough cost estimates.
• Develop and implement a process to deal with drainage issues.
• Develop a plan to increase resources for grounds maintenance including the recruitment of new volunteers and use of other church organizations such as the Youth Group.
• Initiate energy audits to identify opportunities for cost savings and better environmental stewardship and implement recommendations.
• Work with Stewardship and Long-Range Planning to continue exploring opportunities for bequests and other gifts in support of major capital projects.

Tactics

(To be completed as long term planning committee for this area is established.)

OPPORTUNITIES AND RISKS

• There is a great opportunity to better leverage the talents and time of our parishioners in the maintenance and improvement of our physical plant and gardens. The recent parish survey will help us identify those who may be willing and able to assist us.
• There is a continued concern that we our able to have our available funding keep pace with the maintenance needs of our ageing plant. Our ability to be proactive in the area of capital maintenance rather than reactive will be less costly in the long run.

MILESTONES

• Work with the Finance committee to identify and retain resource for ongoing capital maintenance of physical plant (4th Qtr 06.)
• Complete prioritized list of required capital improvements with cost estimates. (4th Qtr 06)
• Complete energy audits (3rd Qtr 06)
• Actively recruit parish members for both ongoing committee participation as well as support for specific maintenance and development projects. (2nd Qtr)
• Create and implement drainage system maintenance plan (3rd Qtr 06)
• Develop and implement a plan for ongoing grounds maintenance (4th Qtr 06)
• Identify new volunteers to assist in ongoing gardens maintenance (1st Qtr 07)

Spiritual Formation LRP

2006-05-03T22:30:00.000-04:00

LONG RANGE PLAN
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT

CHAIRS: REV.DR. KRIS LEWIS 508-362-3977
PHYLLIS BRADLEY 508-385-7081

Spiritual Formation
Long Range Plan

I. Where We Are Now
The Spiritual Formation Committee was convened in Fall 2005 to expand on work previously done by the Evangelism Committee. Formation encompasses all that we do to shape our lives as Christ followers—our personal practices of prayer, our corporate worship, our study of scripture, faith and traditions. While most if not all of the activities that take place at St. Mary’s fall under the broad heading of “formation”, the Spiritual Formation Committee has as its purview oversight of a variety of programs that provide opportunities for spiritual growth and development, such as:
• Adult forums and other educational opportunities
• Catechesis and Confirmation Preparation, Inquirers’ classes
• Retreats and quiet days
• Special seasonal offerings (e.g., Lenten programs)

II. Goals
In addition to St. Mary’s Mission Statement which emphasizes spiritual formation as one way we strive to live intentionally, we have as a guiding principle that in all things, our actions are guided by prayer and by our commitment to deepening our relationship with God.
In that light, our goals are :

1. To broaden St. Mary’s offerings of opportunities for spiritual formation in terms of variety, time (frequency, days and times offered), and location so that programs are accessible to all parishioners.

2. To explore new opportunities for spiritual development for parishioners across the lifespan.

3. To more effectively communicate the availability of our offerings and other resources in the area.

III. Strategies and Tactics
1. Assess needs and interests of parishioners using data gathered in 2005 survey, and if necessary, additional questionnaires or surveys. (on-going; Spiritual Formation Committee, clergy).

2. Work with other groups in the Parish to coordinate seasonal offerings.(On-going; Spiritual Formation Committee, Children and Youth Coordinators, clergy, staff).

3. Explore new program opportunities (e.g., Via Media, DOCC, EFM, small groups, sermon discussion group). (On-going; Via Media Regional Training to be hosted at St. Mary’s March 17, 2006; will consider program for Fall 2006; Clergy, Spiritual Formation Committee).

4. With other groups plan Annual Parish Retreat beginning Fall 2007. (Spiritual Formation Committee, Christian Formation for children and youth directors, clergy, staff).

5. Inform the parish community on a regular basis about offerings at St. Mary’s and in the local community, the Deanery, and the Diocese. (on-going; Spiritual Formation Committee, Communication Committee, staff).

IV. Issues:
St. Mary’s mission statement emphasizes spiritual formation as one of four major components of our living as the Body of Christ in the world. Because formation encompasses so much of what we do at St. Mary’s, there is a great need to consider it holistically. In particular there needs to be coordination of the Spiritual Formation Committee with the directors of Christian Formation: Children and Youth, and with clergy and staff. This might be best facilitated by having in place an organizational structure that brings together these various constituencies on a regular basis. Such a structure should include the co-coordinators of programs for children and youth, members of the Spiritual Formation Committee, and clergy. It might meet quarterly (or on an as-need basis) to coordinate programming and planning.