Deacons Annual Report for 2008

2008 started for the deacons with the annual meeting in January. The major topic at that time was the water hook-up. Also, income tax that had been paid by the church by mistake was returned.

In the early part of the year Matthew conducted an adult education program focused on the Book of Luke. The focus of the January deacons meeting was a discussion of the meaning of the word “deacon” and the role of deacons in our church. This included a review of the “deacon of the month” role, which has been established in 2007. Each month a deacon is designated to arrange for ushers, readers, and greeters for each service, and to mail out bulletins to those unable to attend services.

In March, the church staged yet another successful election dinner. We also hosted a baptism for Ava Nichole. The planned Lando Tang baptism had to be postponed due to weather.

In April, the deacons held an afternoon retreat where they explored the meaning and purpose of being a deacon. The church also hosted the Lando Tang baptism in April.
In May the church hosted a memorial for Pam Bauman, and Matthew conducted the Tidd/Dyer wedding. The Memorial Day breakfast was a well-attended success.

July brought us a very exciting VBS. The theme was “friendship trek”. 41-50 kids attended, and 20 adults helped out over the course of the week.

The fall rally-day and Christian education kick-off took place in September. Also in September the deacons and trustees established a discernment committee, made up of Julia Ambrose, Joe Boehm, Sharon Vanbrimmer, Tom Dubanovich and Sally Dubanovich. This committee will meet in early 2009 to discuss an opportunity to purchase real estate in Radnor that has come up. The scope for this committee will also include discussions about how to set fund raising goals for the coming year.

The deacons joined the trustees in October for the budget meeting, where they drafted the proposed budget that will be reviewed in the January 17th Annual Meeting.

The church hosted the annual Halloween party in October, and another election dinner in November.

In December, a group of volunteers set up the Christmas decorations and had a card making party. They made “happy birthday”, “thank you”, and sympathy cards that can be used by the church in the coming year. The church also emphasized the food donations for PIN in December, and put up a very successful “Warm and Fuzzy Tree” to collect hats and gloves for the needy.

Throughout the year, the deacons have discussed conducting a by-law review for the church to see if any changes should be made. This review was not completed in 2008, but will be on our agenda for 2009.