St. James's Episcopal Church
Not to be served, but to serve.
Annual Report 2015
1991 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge MA 02140
617-547-4070
www.stjames-cambridge.org
January 2016
Table of Contents
Rector’s Report ............................................................................................................................... 1
Associate Rector’s Report .............................................................................................................. 4
Senior Warden’s Report ................................................................................................................. 5
Hospitality Committee ................................................................................................................... 6
St. Nicholas Festival ........................................................................................................................ 6
Bible Study Group........................................................................................................................... 8
20’s & 30’s Group ............................................................................................................................ 9
Sunday Book Club .......................................................................................................................... 9
Education for Ministry ................................................................................................................... 10
Church School & Nursery .............................................................................................................. 11
Parish Retreat................................................................................................................................... 13
Welcomers ........................................................................................................................................ 14
Ushers ............................................................................................................................................... 15
Finance Ministry.............................................................................................................................. 15
Missions Committee ....................................................................................................................... 16
Prison Ministry ................................................................................................................................ 18
Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).......................................................................... 20
Anti-Oppression Team ................................................................................................................... 22
Outdoor Church .............................................................................................................................. 24
Helping Hand Food Pantry ........................................................................................................... 25
Women’s Meal ................................................................................................................................. 26
Scouts ................................................................................................................................................ 27
Redevelopment Committee ........................................................................................................... 28
Property Report ............................................................................................................................... 30
Currency of Money ......................................................................................................................... 30
Worship Commission ..................................................................................................................... 30
Music Ministry ................................................................................................................................ 31
Altar Guild Report & Budget ........................................................................................................ 34
Baptisms, Confirmation, Marriages, Burials ............................................................................... 34
Minutes of the 2015 Annual Meeting ........................................................................................... 35
RECTOR’S REPORT – the Rev. Holly Lyman Antolini
As we have journeyed through our 151st year at St. James’s in the service to God’s
Mission in Porter Square Cambridge, there is much to be grateful for, even in the midst
of the world’s struggle and anxiety. The year has been a painful one in our nation and
in the wider world, full of gratuitous violence of the worst kind, a year in which our
attention has been riveted on the persecution of people of color here in the U.S. and on
the prospect of people cast out from their homes by war, terrorism and poverty and
wandering the world in search of economic or political asylum and a viable future for
themselves and their families, all in the context of a palpable experience of global
warming.
So I have been especially grateful, over and over, to be part of the faith community of St.
James’s that out of a long tradition embraces its diversity and commits itself to the work
of social justice in the world, a community that gathers in prayer and joyous, heartfelt
worship and fellowship in the power of the Holy Spirit weekly, that holds each other
tenderly through thick and thin, that offers both hope and challenge to work for
transformation wherever God’s beloved children suffer.
It seems fitting, somehow, to celebrate this year of social challenge and congregational
warmth in our life together as framed by some powerful high points in worship,
beginning at the year’s beginning with our Anti-Oppression Lessons & Carols for
Epiphany last January, and continuing in June with our Trinity Sunday “Liturgy of
Freedom,” celebrating in reading and song both the legacy of oppression and the hope
and achievement of freedom for people of color in America, which in the strange and
wondrous imagination of God, we offered on the Sunday before the shootings at
Mother Emmanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston South Carolina,
as if we were anticipating yet another eruption of inhumanity and arming ourselves
beforehand. Then on the heels of that travesty, another worship that stands out was the
Parish Retreat Eucharist at the Barbara C. Harris Camp the very next June Sunday, as
we gathered in close community, children and adults together, some 90 of us, allowing
that beautiful place to hold us in God’s love as we grieved together, to share with each
other our desire to respond to the shootings as a congregation.
The whole panoply of worship that marks our Holy Week observances at St. James’s is
always a high point, from the sobriety of Palm-&-Passion Sunday to the impromptu
ebullience and warmth of our footwashing, family dinner and Eucharist on Maundy
Thursday, the preaching in seven different voices of the Seven Last Words on Good
Friday to the light-in-the-darkness of the Easter Vigil. This year, it was the preaching of
our young adults and confirmands on the Seven Last Words that seemed to capture the
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extraordinary gifts of spiritual insight and wisdom that infuse our congregation. We
dare not take this richness for granted!
Next, of course, comes our exuberant and informal 150th St. James’s Day on July 26th,
celebrated with our new Bishop Alan Gates presiding, and accompanied by eyeopening presentations from Cambridge Historical Commission Executive Director
Charlie Sullivan on the history of Porter Square and from congregation member Sarah
Forrester and her husband Ric Dumont, our Redevelopment Co-Chair (along with Jeff
Zinsmeyer) on our transformative redevelopment project with Oaktree Development,
capped off with a fabulous picnic in our garden, provided for as always by our GrillChefs Tom & Susan Harris and John & Barbara Butler, assisted by Ginger CarterGarner.
A quieter but equally important “moment” in worship was our Anti-Oppression
Team’s visit with the Beloved Community team at St. Stephen’s in Lynn, MA, during
which we heard testimony that wrenched opened our minds and hearts from
congregation members who experience oppressive and belittling treatment in their
daily lives, a revelation of how deeply racism and oppression penetrate the fabric of our
own local communities at every level. We could have left it there, with “the wound of
knowledge,” as our former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams calls it, still
open and bleeding. But after our searing conversation, we gathered for dinner and
Eucharist, listening to a recording of the great Nina Simone singing about (and
embodying) the freedom to be ourselves, hearing St. Stephen’s Beloved Community
team member Helen Patmon preach powerfully on her experience as an AfricanAmerican woman of calling, pain, healing and patience in the work of anti-racism, and
dancing to music of a live jazz band made up of young people of color manifesting
exactly the freedom and self-possession Nina Simone’s song named. The AntiOppression Team longs to return the invitation and have St. Stephen’s at our church so
that our congregation can experience that blessed Eucharistic community with them.
Then, right on the heels of our always-powerful commemorative candle-lighting for the
Feast of All Saints, there was the somber “moment” in the wake of the devastating and
gratuitous killings in Paris and Beirut in November when we abandoned the planned
liturgy and instead, formed one great circle of candles around our nave, singing
“Precious Lord” and “A Mighty Fortress,” and praying the names as if in litany of ALL
the places in our nation and world fraught by violence and injustice in the past year,
affirming in each others’ comforting and supporting presence our commitment to live
not in defensive antagonism but in vulnerable love.
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As environmental biologist the Rev. Eric Litman brought his gifts to us in June as our
one-third-time Assistant Rector for Church School & Family Ministry, newly ordained
to the transitional diaconate, together with his wife Emily and children Myles & Fiona –
kudos to our Search Committee of Cynthia Joseph, Liz McNerney, Sam Zimmerman &
Rachel Evans, invaluable collaborators in making this excellent call – it seems fitting to
bracket this “year in worship” with the joyous Christmas Pageant Eric oversaw together
with our wonderful tribe of Church School teachers – our largest Pageant ever, with
some 160 in attendance – and staffed by kids of all ages and stages presenting the
timeless story of the little couple delivering their first-born child – a savior invested in
our humanity - in a manger because there was no room in the inn.
Threaded throughout the year were our monthly Healing Liturgies, led by our adjunct
priest the Rev. Reed Carlson, offering laying-on of hands and prayer for healing in the
context of a simple Eucharist every Last Sunday of the month. Each liturgy was focused
on a presenter addressing a different dimension of our longing for healing, from the
simple immediacy of intercessory prayer – thank you, J.T. Kittredge! – to the witness of
Keora Mcgill, the woman our Prison Ministers accompanied in Partakers’ “College
Behind Bars” program, now paroled and sharing the power of the prison ministry in
her life – thank you, Keora! – to Nicholas’ Hayes’ presentation on healing as the work of
economic justice or the Rev. Britta Meiers-Carlson’s presentation on healing in the
support of immigrants in East Boston or Rachel Guaraldi’s presentation on healing as
spiritual support for frail and economically marginalized elders or the Rev. Katie
Rimer’s presentation on palliative and end-of-life care as a healing ministry. These have
not attracted large crowds, but they tie St. James’s long tradition of healing ministry
together with our commitment to addressing systemic social ills in a way that honors
the whole of our calling as a congregation.
Of course, at St. James’s, all this worship is never disconnected from action in the world,
whether it be the adaptation of the Helping Hand Food Pantry to its new dual-purpose
space at 364 Rindge Ave. (and the re-staffing of the volunteer teams with St. James’s
members, a first step in the renewal of our leadership structure for the Pantry) or the
mighty assembly of Greater Boston Interfaith Organization members at Trinity Copley
Square in May – including some 40 St. James’s members – to witness to our political
leaders our commitment to fight gun violence, reform our prisons, re-animate our
inner-city schools, keep health care affordable, and provide sorely-needed affordable
housing. We said “goodbye” to our long-faithful Women’s Meal as a ministry of St.
James’s, but find our Prison Ministry staffed with eager new “educational mentors”
from within the congregation. And our Vestry has spent the year in dedicated
exploration of “shared leadership” in an initiative that assumes that the Holy Currency
of Gracious Leadership flows best when all are supporting each other.
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In addition to welcoming the Rev. Eric Litman – What a gift he is! A more willing,
generous and committed heart you could not find, and with a head and soul to match!
And engaged not just in our Church School & Family Ministry but also with our
chartered and lively Scout Collective 56, connecting them with our community service
ministries and fellowship activities in ways that provide benefit all ‘round – we have
also welcomed back Olivia Hamilton and her partner Molly McHenry from Olivia’s
internship last year at Good Shepherd Watertown as she completed her MDiv at
Harvard Divinity School. This year, Olivia, in addition to being the Kellogg Fellow with
the Harvard Chaplaincy, is helping to lead Sunday morning Bible Study at St. James’s,
and has begun the initial stages of discernment of a possible call to the priesthood, a
discernment with which the parish will be involved in the coming spring. This fall, also,
after some devoted service by Eric’s wife Emily Litman, we called Mary Matthews,
MDiv student at Episcopal Divinity School, to be our Nursery Coordinator.
Finally, I cannot end this year’s appreciation without noting the devoted collaboration
of our remarkable Church School staff – all volunteer, all ages and stages, full of
imagination and generous hospitality to our smallest members. A special shout-out to
Liz McNerney, who makes her home and her time a central “organizing space” for the
Church School as she has, year upon year, and to Jules Bertaut, who worked closely
with Eric to select a fine new curriculum for our middle Church School class. And with
delight, we welcome back Anne Read from her sabbatical and leading an upper Church
School class on Sunday mornings.
ASSISTANT RECTOR’S REPORT – the Rev. Eric Litman
I am grateful to have joined the St. James’s community in June of 2015 as a transitional
deacon serving as the assistant rector for Church School and family ministry. During
the second half of the year I was privileged to partner in several ministries with
members of the St. James’s parish community. My efforts were largely focused on the
Church School, planning Church School and family events, the nursery ministry,
working with the Troop/Crew 56, collaborating with the liturgy committee,
participating in weekly liturgy planning, joining with the anti-oppression team,
preaching and assisting in worship. I want to thank all of the members of the St.
James’s community for welcoming my family to the parish, we are grateful to be a part
of this community!
Preaching/Worship
I have had the opportunity to preach monthly since arriving this past June. This has
been a helpful developmental opportunity for me. I have also been assisting in worship
about twice a month, mostly serving as deacon. I look forward to continued
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participation in worship as needed.
Parish Events
In 2015 we organized and/or assisted with a series of Church school, family and
community events; the St. James’s Day picnic, communion class, youth liturgy on Christ
the King Sunday, the St. Nicholas fair, decorating the parish Christmas tree and the
Christmas Eve pageant. We look forward to these upcoming events in 2016: Shrove
Tuesday Pancakes, a Church school social outing, youth confirmation class and the
spring parish retreat.
Anti-Oppression Team
It has been a great privilege to work with the Anti-Oppression Team this past fall. I
have learned so much from this group of brave, transformational people! In 2016 we
hope to find ways to engage the youth of the parish with opportunities to think about
and participate in anti-oppression work.
Scouts
St. James’s is incredibly blessed to be the host and charter organization for Scouting
Collective Troop/Crew 56. This group of young scouts is truly amazing. The Scouts are
always eager to help serve the community and the parish. This year the Scouts have
worked on several service projects for the parish. They have hosted coffee hour, made
sandwiches for the Outdoor Church, served at the food pantry, hosted games at the St.
Nicholas fair and canvased the neighborhood hanging doorknob fliers advertising our
Christmas caroling event. A huge thank you to the Scouts!
SENIOR WARDEN'S REPORT – Sylvia Weston
"Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee…” Deuteronomy 8:2
2015 has been a vibrant year. With so many lively and successful ministries at St.
James's, the Spirit of God is surely evident in this place with continuous times of
Worship, Praise and Prayer as well as Learning times, Listening times and Quiet
moments. There have been challenging moments as well, and the St. James's Family
have responded with love and care for one another. United in a common goal of Love
for neighbor, brother, sister, members of the community have lent a Helping Hand to
address various needs. We have also met to celebrate and be thankful. One-Hundred
& Fifty years is indeed a cause for celebration and remembrance!
Challenges have come our way, however we know and trust in a God who will see us
through and bring us through.
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We have grown in so many ways and continue to do so. St. James's is also a Mission
Station where we welcome many new families and individuals into our community,
who are with us for a Season, and then we Send Them Out to various places, in this
country – and beyond (Australia, China etc.) to carry on the Mission of the Church in
the country - and abroad.
God is good. May He continue to walk with us on our journey at St. James's.
HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE – Elaine Agard
The Hospitality Committee continues to grow in serving God through our
Ministry. The coffee hour continues in the back of the church due to the redevelopment
of our Parish House and kitchen. We eagerly anticipate the completion and the moving
into our brand new facility. In spite of not having a Parish House, we continues to
maintain a wonderful coffee hour every Sunday after the 10:30 am service. During the
summer the coffee hour is hosted by volunteers who serve light refreshments. Besides
hosting our weekly coffee hour, the committee host special events including; The
Annual Meeting, International Sunday, Wedding Receptions, Funeral Repast and
whenever there is a need for a celebrations. Committee Members are Elaine Agard,
Chair; Joan Jordan, Co-chair; Sara Forrester, Laverne Agard-Lynch, Marietta Sbraccia,
Carol and Leonard Youens. Although we are growing in service, we are desperately in
need of volunteers to host the coffee hour. Volunteers will be reimbursed for their
expenses, just save and submit your receipts. Weekly donations are always welcomed,
always needed and no contribution is too small. When money is collected it goes
directly to the church general fund.
The Hospitality Committee also wants to thank everyone who supports the coffee hour
by generously giving each week. Special thanks to the various groups and ministries
that host a Sunday throughout the year including; Judy Beers & friends for Easter, Anne
Read & the church school for Earth Day, Eric Maynard & the church men for Mother’s
Day, Isaac Martinez & the 20s /30s group, Tom Tufts & The Prison Ministry and the
Rev. Eric Litman & Boy Scout Troop & Crew 56 . If your Ministry would like to host a
Sunday, just let any member of the committee know. Special thanks to Hong Chin our
Sexton, Vida Carrington, Mary Caufield, Carol Hillard, John Hixson, Janet
Hobbs, Mabel Moore-Pollard, Gloria Pingue, Susan Rice, Anne Shumway and Sylvia
Weston for their generous contributions. In addition, I would like to extend my
appreciation to committee members for their participation, dedication and faithfulness.
ST. NICHOLAS FESTIVAL – Nancy McArdle
Following the 2014 success of our first St. Nicholas Festival, we tinkered around the
edges and held our second annual Festival on Friday evening, December 4th from 56
8pm. New this year was wonderful outside lighting, provided and installed by Anne
Tate, Anne Read, and Peter Merrill, which greatly increased our visibility and drew a
very positive response. Thanks to Marian King, Olivia Hamilton, and Hong Chin for
their hard work on set-up and decoration. Bill Taylor provided wondrous dining table
centerpieces, focusing on Boston-area composers of Christmas music. In response to
requests, we added a small gifts table (staffed by Mabel Moore-Pollard and Cynthia
Joseph), which was very popular. We also expanded our range of live music, with
terrific performances by Margot Chamberlain, Matthew and Beth Abbate, and Nicholas
Hayes, and recorded music overseen by Eric Litman. Once again, Anne Read designed
exceptional promotional materials. Thanks also to Jane Hirschi for flyer posting and
distribution.
Other activities included:
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The always popular Silent Auction (excellently coordinated by Judy Beers, with
help from Mark Agard, Mary Caulfield, Carol Hilliard, and others), with a wide
variety of items and services donated by local businesses and parishioners. A list
of the items auctioned and contributors can be found here:
https://goo.gl/wauAVC This year we continued to feature the work of various
St. James’s artists/authors/other creative types. The Auction raised
approximately $4,400.
A delicious hot meal, coordinated, prepared and served by Sarah Forrester,
Elaine Agard, and Laverne Agard with help from Joan Jordan, and cashier help
from Isaac Martinez, David Bliss, Emilee Butler, and Becky Bjork.
A variety of children’s games, facilitated by Scout Troop and Crew 56, with
important liaison work from Eric Litman.
Exceptionally popular facepainting by Kate Hornstein and Janet Hobbs.
Holiday card-making, coordinated by Mary Shetterly, with Anne Shumway and
Katherine Gilliland.
A wreath table staffed by Seng Tufts, Mary Beth Mills-Curran, Jason and
Carolyn Sparapani, Emilee Butler, Tom Marsan, with help from Sarah Forrester
and Anne Read.
A free cookie table, coordinated by Hannah Reeves and Yvette Verdieu and
staffed by Barbara Butler and Iselma Carrington. Thanks especially to the many
people who baked and donated the free cookies.
A popular craft table, coordinated by Anne Read, with help from Deb Gustafson
and Amelia Gustafson Bronfman.
And of course the extremely important clean-up crew—led by Dave Clark, Peter
Merrell, JT Kittredge, Jason Sparapani, Andrew Rohm, and Sarah Borgatti.
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Apologies and thanks to those whose names were inadvertently omitted.
The Festival was well attended and received, providing a wide range of activities for all
ages, promoting fellowship, welcoming visitors, raising funds for the parish (over
$5,000), and providing a variety of volunteer opportunities for parishioners to work
together. Families with young children seemed especially appreciative. We were also
happy to pair our promotional work with that for the Hildebrand House gift collection
which occurred on December 6th.
BIBLE STUDY GROUP – Judy Gay
This group meets on Sunday’s from 9:15 to 10:15 in the vestry/nursery room.
Shared leadership: Olivia Hamilton, Reed Carlson and Judy Gay
MINISTRY DESCRIPTION
This ministry provides a time between the two services for people to reflect on the
scripture lessons appointed for each Sunday. We discuss the readings in context, relate
them to what is happening in the Church Year and discuss how we believe that God is
speaking through the passages to us in our present situations. Sometimes we try to
touch on all of the readings. At other times we just focus on just one to explore it in
depth. We try to get to know each other and our individual concerns, especially when
there are newcomers. We take turns reading aloud and beginning and ending with
prayer.
During the week before each Sunday a note is sent out to remind people what the
lessons will be and to give a few background notes and questions to help them prepare.
PARTICIPANTS
The group is open to anyone who wishes to participate either occasionally or on a
regular basis. There is a core group who come regularly and others come when they are
able. This group also provides an opportunity for international visiting scholars and
others for whom English is a second language, to work slowly through a Bible reading
and ask questions about words, context and meaning.
THANKSGIVINGS AND INNOVATIONS
We have been blessed this year by having Olivia Hamilton, Rev Reed Carlson, and Judy
Gay share the leadership of the discussions.
We are grateful that Holly has brought us together to plan ways to establish the Bible
Study Group on a firm basis so it can continue no matter who is available to lead on a
particular Sunday. For example, we now have access to the Episcopal Church’s
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Lectionary Study Guide called SYNTHESIS which helps both leaders and participants
to understand the background, themes and implications of each reading. The person
who sends out the weekly reminders also sends the relevant SYNTHESIS sections.
We give thanks for the rich diversity of insights and experience which each participant
brings, for what they give to each other and for the working of God’s Spirit among us.
20’s & 30’s GROUP – Andrew Rohm
Over the past year, the 20’s & 30’s group has continued to host events on a monthly
basis while expanding our more frequent, informal chances to strengthen the
community. On the monthly side, the 20’s & 30’s group hosted the Rev. Dr. Cameron
Partridge of BU, who spoke on theology of the body, and Keith Nelson, a novice at
SSJE, who led the group in a discussion of what it means to be Christian in our daily
lives. In addition to those events, the group was well-represented on the Parish Retreat
in June and welcomed by Holly for dinner in her home, which we split across two
nights to accommodate additional participants.
This year saw the regular participation in Sunday Brunch rise, which serves as an
informal fellowship opportunity for our group. We now average about 10 attendees per
week, sometimes stretching the space at Christopher's in Porter Square with as many as
20! We also started a weekly Bible Study, reading the Old Testament under some
guidance from Reed Carlson. This group concluded Genesis in mid-2015 before moving
on to Exodus, which they will continue to study in the new year.
In leadership news, we bid farewell to Kathrine Farrior after her long tenure on our
team this year. Suzanne Miller joined the team in her place for part of the year, but
ultimately found it was not a good fit. Towards the end of the year, we welcomed Emily
Griggs onto the team, and are now looking forward to help grow our group and
strengthen our participation in the broader ministries of St. James's.
SUNDAY BOOK CLUB – Tom Tufts
The Sunday Book Club meets the fourth Sunday of each month following the Coffee
Hour. It is a small group of 3 – 4 faithful members. Parishioners who have read the
books on their own often share comments on them with us in Coffee Hour. The books
we have read or are currently reading are:
A History of God by Karen Armstrong – a powerful and brilliant 3,000 year interfaith
history of God and theological ideas.
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Can’t Catch a Break by Susan Sered – A masterful five-year study of 40 marginal women
in the Boston area vividly telling some of their stories, each of which represents aspects
of marginalization. It is a strong critique of our narrowly individual approach to poverty
and the terrible cost of our inability to deal with social problems effectively through a
holistic, coherent, thoughtful and compassionate vision.
Pastrix by Nadia Bolz-Weber – This beautifully written narrative is an honest,
courageous, and deeply moving self-portrayal of the author’s long journey to God and to
spiritual and life-giving service to the community that nearly destroyed her along the
way.
Come join us!
EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY – the Rev. Louise Forrest, Thomas Tufts
EfM is a remarkable four-year long program of theological study and reflection that is
conducted in small groups. It is coordinated from the University of the South in
Tennessee; it has been around for about 40 years and has trained about 80,000 people
worldwide. The four years focus on Old Testament (Year 1); New Testament (Year 2);
(Year 3) Christian history (Year 3); and theology, ethics, and interfaith encounter (Year
4).
In June 2015 we reached a milestone. We had our first graduates! The Reverend Louise
Forrest, Bernetta Morton, Saskia Grunberger and Thomas Tufts completed their fourth
year of EfM and graduated. Congratulations to all and especially to EfM and its host,
CGS.
Our local group at CGS is in its fifth year. We now have 8 students, the mentor
(Reverend Louise), and an assistant mentor (Tom Tufts of Saint James Porter Square).
This group has been the most stable group of the five years. No one has had to drop
out. All members consistently participate. As a result it has been a very productive
year for all of us in terms of our feeling that our faith is growing. New students have
felt that the program added depth and mystery to the challenge of faith.
For this year the overall theme for all EfM groups everywhere is “Living as Spiritually
Mature Christians” – an important choice for our group in particular, since it is
amazingly diverse: by religious background; age; gender; sexual orientation;
racial/ethnic background; country of origin; disability; and socioeconomic status. What
each member of the group has in common is a real commitment and a willingness to
engage with the material and with each other. Early in the year we all shared spiritual
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autobiographies through the lens of spiritual maturity, a process that encouraged us to
deepen and intensify our spiritual practice and to view EfM itself as a spiritual practice.
EfM is structured so that participants meet together no matter what year they are in.
Maybe the best way to bring this to life is to describe a recent meeting. Year 1 students
had read Exodus 16 – 40 on the Mosaic covenant and shared their perspectives on how
the covenant contributed to Israel’s maturing faith. Year Two students had read the
Gospel of Luke and discussed characters in that Gospel, such as the prodigal son, and
how they matured in faith and in what context. Finally, Year Three students, who had
read a chapter of MacCulloch’s book, Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, on
“The Imperial Church,” discussed how the church was maturing in faith at that point in
history and who or what contributed to that.
After a break for snacks we then engaged in 50 minutes of theological reflection (TR) on
an experience that resonated at the micro, meso and macro levels. One person
remembered her distress at hearing classmates in college talk of fleeing to Canada
rather than facing the draft. When she told her parents in an emotional phone call, all
her father said was, “I fought in World War II.” She was shocked and felt abandoned.
Another remembers hearing Martin Luther King, Jr. speak to thousands at the
Washington mall while war was raging in Southeast Asia and thinking there is
something wrong with the world. For both students their experiences were a shock and
an awakening to their connections to their community and to the diverse members of
global community. As applications of what we learned we spoke of the emerging
church, the radical welcome church, the contemplative movement and EfM itself as
responses to individual, community and global concerns today. As is our custom we
ended with prayer.
Support from CGS has allowed this EfM group to thrive. We are enjoying the intimacy
of using the church office this year. Thank you CGS. Next year we look forward to other
CGSers joining us.
CHURCH SCHOOL AND NURSERY – the Rev. Eric Litman
Church School
Young Church School-Godly Play (3 – 8 year olds)
The young Church School is blessed with a growing community of pre-school and
elementary aged children! The class continues to meet at the Pine Village nursery
school, which considering our building situation, is a great space to host our Godly play
program. This class is led by Liz McNerney, Aletha Musser, Mike Salib, Kate Sackton
and Samuel Zimmerman. I am very grateful to this team of extremely talented and
patient teachers. These folks thoughtfully prepare a weekly Church School experience
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that provides a safe space for our children to wonder and learn about faith and
community. Over the course of the Fall we’ve seen this class grow together, as spiritual
curiosities, friendships and fun are nurtured on Sunday mornings. The young Church
School teachers communicate well during the week and gather for planning and
encouragement over the course of each semester.
Godly Play Training
In September, Aletha Musser, Michelle Torres and I spent the day at All Saints
Episcopal Church in Belmont attending “A Day of Godly Play.” This training provided
an opportunity to learn more about the Godly Play curriculum and teaching techniques.
There is a Godly Play training being offered by the Diocese in April 2016 that we hope
to attend with a group of our teachers.
Upper Church School (10-13 year olds)
The upper Church School class is comprised of a very bright and gifted group of young
parishioners. The class continues to meet over at the Church offices on Sunday
mornings. The class is led by Jules Bertaut, Benazeer Noorani, Mary Beth Mills-Curran,
Tammy Ryan, Jason Sparapani, Tom Marsan and Lauren Zook. These young folks are
working through the intersection of faith and life and, together with their thoughtful
teachers, approach scripture, theology, prayer and liturgy, asking weekly how God and
the Church are relevant to their lives here in the city. I am very excited about the work
this group is doing, and I am looking forward to this spring semester of upper Church
School. This group of teachers is a real pleasure to work with. We gather to check in on
process and content Sunday mornings as needed, and we gather once during each
semester to connect and plan.
New Upper Church School Curriculum
Early this fall the upper Church School teachers decided to pursue a new Church School
curriculum for the upper class. Jules Bertaut and I, in conversation with Amy Cook at
the Diocesan Resource Center, initiated a search process to identify a new Church
School curriculum. After reviewing several options we selected a curriculum called
“Shine.” Shine thoughtfully joins together spiritual practice, scripture study, conflict
resolution, prayer, mission/outreach and community – all to the tune of the weekly
lectionary readings. We are excited to have this new curriculum in place and practice.
It is appropriately rigorous, being respectful of the minds and spiritualties of these
students. A huge thank you to Jules for helping lead this process!
Nursery
Our nursery continues to be blessed with lots of wonderful little ones who are growing
in our midst! What a wonderful part of our community. This fall Mary Mathews
joined us from Melbourne Australia. Mary is a student at EDS and has taken on the
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role of Nursery coordinator. Mary brings a wide breath of experience, energy and
nurture to our nursery. The nursery families meet every few months for in-home social
gatherings. These have been great times for connecting outside of Church.
Safe Church
In 2015 St. James’s has continued our strong commitment to keeping good Safe Church
practices in place. We added our Safe Church policies and information to the St.
James’s website making these important resources easily available to parish. We
continue to offer Safe Church training opportunities to support our ministries to
children as needed.
PARISH RETREAT – Liz McNerney
Eighty-seven St James’s parishoners and Scouting Collective 56 scouts & adults were
together at the Barbara C Harris Camp & Conference Center in Greenfield, NH from
June 19-21, 2015.
Throughout Extra-Ordinary 2.0, a shared leadership endeavor, we enjoyed plenty of
social time at each and every meal and the special events including: meeting/greeting
on Friday evening hosted by Andrew Rohm and Iselma Carrington, English tea at the
beach on Saturday afternoon hosted by Vida Carrington and Carol Folkes-Youen and
Happy Hour Saturday evening hosted by Isaac Martinez. Our worship time and space
was enhanced by the several leaders who generously donated their time to hold
Compline (Monte Tugwete & Nancy McArdle), Terce (Tammy Ryan), Sext (James
Weiss) and many of us, with guests from the family reunion also happening at BCHC,
gathered for a cozy circular Sunday service (Holly Antolini & guest musician Ivan
Stephanov) in the Doran Center with the rain falling outside. Carol Hilliard again
provided care for the youngest of us so that parents could participate more fully in the
sessions and activities. Our sessions included a youngest children’s program of
exploring and seeking evidence of miracles – this included a GREAT deal of stone
skipping at the lake masterfully taught by Tom Marsan. The older kids, with Anne
Read and Jules Bertaut, put together a play about Lazarus – with a dancing chorus and
plenty of toilet paper mummification. Anne Read debuted on the flute with a lovely
musical addition. For the adults Nick Read provided space & materials for tile painting
– getting ready to adorn the sink backsplash in the new parish kitchen back at 1991
Mass Ave. John Hixson provided a history lesson so we all knew more about where we
were coming from as we sort out where we are going. James Weiss guided people
through some discernment around work – career or calling. Tammy Ryan offered Vocal
Play – stretching w/singing! And Janet Hobbs patiently taught the small and vital skills
of looking carefully in order to draw. In the afternoon we hiked and swam and played
games on the field. The SC56 scouts were available to assist and teach in the spaces
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between meals and activities and they set up a terrific pre-dinner scavenger hunt – won
by Mary & Michelle Holmes – experience counts! And, in the background, Miles
Thomas-Moore was capturing some of our activities and some of our thoughts on film
as a project to support our redevelopment efforts. Our evening included the infamous
Hootenanny – emceed and generally kept rolling by Jean Clark. A crackling bonfire
capped the night and s’mores were consumed even w/a bit of drizzle which limited our
musical adventures.
Our lodging check-in was facilitated by Becky Bjork & Jean Clark with Hannah Reeves
ensuring a complete check out. We used cabins on the lower road this year (with just
one on the upper road) in addition to all of St Mark’s lodge and a room or two in St
John’s.
And, our meals were hosted by many of us beautifully coordinated by Katherine
Gilliland.
The total cost was $8,821.50 – paid by individuals and families attending.
In 2016 we hope to again offer extra-ordinary workshops, seminars, discussion groups,
activities and events as we move to “Extra-Ordinary 3.0” and continue sharing the
leadership as we prepare to return to BCHCC on June 17-19, 2016.
Errors and oversights are mine.
WELCOMERS – Kate Hornstein
In 2015, we had three Newcomer Dinners 1. At the home of Bill and Carolyn Taylor 2.
At Sylvia Weston’s home and 3. at the home of Jeff and Shanti Zinsmeyer under the
able leadership of Mary Matthews.
In the second half of the year, we welcomed 61 visitors.
In October, the Welcomers gathered together with members of the Vestry and those
from other ministries to explore the idea of “shared leadership.” At the moment we are
transitioning to being a ministry that is self-sufficient and without a Team
Leader/Welcomer Chair. At the Shared Leadership meeting, we also briefly discussed
ideas to implement for the future and to improve the team's ability to welcome and
incorporate visitors in the life of the church.
We have continued to struggle a bit with streamlining the process of contacting visitors
and sending contact information to the office. We recently resolved to go back to an all14
paper format where we’ll ask people to fill out the form on the back of the bulletin, and
then place it in the mailbox outside the church.
This year, after greeting a number of new visitors who were Spanish-speaking, we
started providing some materials in Spanish on our Welcomers Table and are looking to
develop a brief Welcome Flyer in Spanish. We are thankful to Deacon Ema RoseroNordalm from the Diocese who worked with us to think about how best to welcome
those who are Spanish-speaking.
Thank you, St. James's for being such a friendly church!
USHERS – Nancy McArdle
The Ushering Ministry continues to provide welcome, assistance and information to all
who enter the church on Sunday Mornings. Usher coordinators include Mark Yoder,
Nancy McArdle, Cynthia Joseph, David Bliss, and Tom Tufts. This year we said goodbye to faithful fellow usher coordinator Didi Millien as she moved on to another parish,
related to her training for ministry. The usher coordinators, working in pairs, welcome
parishioners and visitors, hand out bulletins, make and record an accurate count of
worshippers, answer questions, and recruit weekly usher volunteers who bring up the
Eucharistic elements to the altar, take up the Offertory, and usher during communion.
We invite the participation of a variety of volunteers on Sundays, and we were
especially happy this year for Judy Beers’ ministry of greeting people and assuring their
safety on the stairs near the baptistery following communion. We continue to endeavor
to make the ushering ministry as open to as many people as possible, while maintaining
flexibility and respecting those parishioners who might choose not to participate. We
welcome any who would like to join the usher coordinator team or assist in any other
way.
FINANCE MINISTRY – Lucas Sanders, John Irvine
Pledging and Budget Management
The 2013 and 2014 budgets show a general improvement in financial picture for St.
James (table 1). An important caveat in these numbers is the continued payments from
Oaktree related to redevelopment. Specifically, the budget surplus in 2013 rests on the
continued monthly payments of $10,000 per month until the start of construction. The
2015 budget projected a deficit. However, through generous contributions from the
congregation and careful management of expenses, we are operating within budget for
2015. The total balance across all checking and savings accounts on December 31, 2015
was $671,135.82. The balance in the General Fund on that date was $ 348,494.69.
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Table 1. Budget Summary for 2013, 2014, and 2015
2013 Budget
2014 Budget
Income
$ 558,279
$ 508,097
Expense
$ 500,283
$ 506,838
2015 Budget
$ 447,928
$ 466,782
A number of efforts have been made over the past two years to improve the management
of the records and production regular statements. We now strive for regular quarterly
statements to all donors.
PayPal addition
Use of PayPal for regular giving to St. James has increased since it was introduced two
years ago. The current functionality supports both one-time and repeated donations.
Outlook for the Future
We are hopeful that redevelopment will move ahead soon. This will cause a significant
change in our financial management in that we will no longer receive the monthly
payments from Oaktree and there will be some additional expenses related to the
construction. In preparation for this event, we have worked to build a cash reserve to
see us through the construction period.
MISSIONS COMMITTEE – Nancy McArdle
During 2015, St. James’s parishioners continued involvement in a number of local
ministries funded through the Missions Fund. Parishioners continued to make
sandwiches for the Outdoor Church each month, with the Scouts stepping into an
increasingly important role. Thanks to Mardi Moran for the important coordinating
role she played over the past many years. The Outdoor Church has taken on important
new activities, including a bail fund to make sure that members who commit minor
offenses do not languish in jail for want of a small amount of money. A number of
parishioners are active in the St. James’ Prison Ministry, led by Tom Tufts, which
celebrated the release of their mentee, Keora, who they have been visiting over the past
several years. One of the highlights of the year was hearing Keora speak at one of the
monthly healing liturgies about her experience with the prison ministry and College
Behind Bars. The Prison Ministry has now taken on a new mentee, Nichole, and look
forward to working with her. Further info can be found in the Prison Ministry section
of the Annual Report.
We were pleased to welcome the Rev. Britta Meiers Carlson, Pastor Developer in the
New England Synod, ELCA (the Lutheran Church) and leader of the newest ministry
we support, Christian Base Communities in East Boston. Britta preached at our Sunday
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service and also spoke at a forum after church and at the healing liturgy about this new
initiative which seeks to create a network of base communities among the largely
Latino, immigrant community of East Boston (and potentially Lynn, MA). The
communities will gather at least twice a month for worship, discipleship, and planning
for their social justice engagement. There will also be a monthly worship service for all
of the base communities to share in the Eucharist and in fellowship with one another.
Part of the work of the communities will be to discern a particular justice issue on
which they will focus their efforts. In addition to basic discipleship practices such as
prayer, hospitality, and reflection on scripture, members will be trained in community
organizing skills like one to one conversations and asset mapping in order that they
might better engage with their neighbors and the challenges they face in daily life.
Britta is now assisted in this work by her husband, the Rev. Reed Carlson, who has
served at St. James’s over the last several years.
We were blessed with the unique opportunity of having a parishioner, Mary Beth MillsCurran, travel to Africa to visit two of the ministries we support: Tatua—Kenya, which
is empowering young Kenyans and supporting local organizations to eradicate child
poverty in Nairobi, while also raising up new leaders and strengthening community.
Tatua was started by former parishioner, Natalie Finstad. Mary Beth also visited the
Bishop Masereka Christian Foundation (now the Kasese Community Health &
Education Foundation), which we have supported with our Lenten AIDs offerings for
many years. It was tremendously helpful to hear Mary Beth’s experiences with these
ministries and to forge another point of connection with them. We were happy to be
able to help support her trip through the Missions Special Fund.
In addition to providing educational opportunities and supporting our missionaries in a
variety of ways, the Missions Committee administers the Missions Fund. For over thirty
years our parish has supported dedicated people and organizations who, in the name of
Christ, work in such areas as theological education, community development, housing,
medical care, and church planting. We believe that support for and involvement in
missions is our response to God's grace and love for us. God calls us to care for the
spiritual, physical, and social needs of others and to join in the restoration of all people
to God's self.
The Mission Fund is allocated a percentage (5.5%) of the parish’s total overall pledge
income. In 2015 we funded the following ministries:



Christian Base Communities in East Boston, MA (new)
Lay Ministers Education in Lesotho
The Crossing
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






Ruth and Jim Padilla DeBorst, St. James’s Missionaries in Costa Rica
Good Samaritan School in Haiti
The Outdoor Church
Kenya Self-Help (Girls empowerment)
Ministries of Aides International (Haiti)
St. James’s Prison Ministry
Tatua--Kenya (founded by St. James’s missionary Natalie Finstad)
You can read much more about the missions we support on the missions page of the
parish web page: http://www.stjames-cambridge.org/missions-committee/ . Several of
our longer-term missionaries also have their own blogs available from the St. James’s
website. As always, we encourage parishioners who want to undertake missions
activities to speak with us about support. We also welcome members who would like
to serve on the Committee.
Members:
Nancy McArdle (chair)
Anne Shumway
John Gay
Mary Caulfield
Yvette Verdieu
PRISON MINISTRY – Tom Tufts
The members of Prison Ministry Team at St. James’s serve as academic mentors
to Nichole, a degree student at Framingham State Prison. Nichole is enrolled in Boston
University’s Prison Education Program (PEP), which offers Bachelor of Arts degrees to
those who complete the 4-year program. The academic mentoring portion of the
program is organized and managed by Partakers, Inc. as the College Behind Bars
program. Partakers organizes, recruits, trains, and manages the mentoring program
under the leadership of its gifted Executive Director Arthur Bembury. It currently has
63 volunteer mentors and serves slightly more than half the total number BU Bachelor
of Arts degree students in Massachusetts state prisons. Partakers’ mission is to reduce
prisoner recidivism through education and civic engagement. Its vision is to advance
restorative justice, rehabilitation and the healing transformation of both those in prison
and society at large. That mission, together with St. James’s mission, empowers the
Prison Ministry Team at St. James’s.
The following volunteers were on Nichole’s support team in 2015:
Didi Millien
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Frances Tufts
John Thomas Kittredge
John Bell
Linda Luikel
Micah Lott
Sarah Borgatti
Tammy Ryan
Tom Tufts
Yvette Verdieu
Although Nichole has been enrolled in BU’s prison education program for several
years, 2015 was the first year she chose to request academic mentoring support. The
results for both Nichole and for her mentors have been impressive. Nichole quickly
moved beyond serious issues she had had. She studied full time and worked. She is an
excellent student and has been wonderfully hospitable to those of us who have been on
her team. Having supportive visitors, she’s discovered, has also been great for her
mental health. In fact her enthusiasm for her courses and for learning has been an
inspiration to all of us.
We no longer formally work with Keora, a former mentee, since her release from prison.
Since Keora’s September release we have met informally with her and her mother,
Rhonda, to go to church, have brunch, come to a healing service at St. James’s and
participate in Partakers orientation of a new mentoring team at Myrtle Baptist Church
in Auburndale. She also helped make a video with Partakers, which will eventually
appear on their web site. She took two additional courses and obtained her AA degree
from Quinsigamond Community College and is helping us plan an educational event.
We are very grateful to both Nichole and Keora for increasing our awareness, helping
us channel our energies into advocacy and action, and for helping us to grow in seeing
Christ in others and God at work in unsuspected places.
Income: We gratefully received $1,852 this year from St. James’s Mission Committee as
of 12/31/15. Our gratitude extends to the Vestry which makes decisions about the
allocation of resources and to all the parishioners whose prayers, volunteer work and
financial contributions make everything else possible by the grace of God.
Expenses: The committee paid a $100 honorarium for a presentation Keora made. It
also made a contribution of $2,000 to Partakers. During the last recession Partakers
eliminated the $3,000 initial student fee for participating parishes but is now requesting
that participating parishes consider sustainable annual contributions to replace the
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discontinued student fees. For more information contact Tom Tufts,
thomastufts@comcast.net.
Balance: $3,902.20
Going forward in 2016, we hope to see Nichole, the student we currently mentor,
continue to grow into her leadership role among other prisoners. We hope to continue
our work in advocacy, especially, against mandatory minimum sentences, the highly
questionable constitutionality and effectiveness of many practices in the War on Drugs
and the outrageous practice of mass incarceration targeting people of color. We worked
with Episcopal City Mission, UU Mass Action, Jobs Not Jails, and especially the Greater
Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO). Just recently one of our projects, the elimination
of Registry of Motor Vehicle sanctions against most drug offenders, has been passed by
both chambers of the legislature and will go to a conference committee to reconcile
differences. We invite interested parishioners to talk with any committee member
about our work. Thanks to all who have supported us with their prayers and in other
ways! Over 30 parishioners have participated in recent years. Come join us for a year
or two. Commitment: one visit to the mentee per quarter and brief monthly
organizational meetings the first Sunday of every month. You’ll never be the same.
Thanks!
GREATER BOSTON INTERFAITH ORGANIZATION (GBIO) – Nicholas Hayes
The year 2015 marked a major turning point for Greater Boston Interfaith Organization
(2015). The first four months of 2015 saw GBIO bring to a close its 18 month
"Congregational Organizing Initiative," to re-engage its base and identify a new agenda
through deep listening to its 46 member institutions (including St. James's!). From the
launch of the campaign in late 2013 to March, 2015, GBIO leaders conducted over 1,000
one-to-one meetings with individuals and 190 house meetings which engaged 1,560
individuals.
At St James's, over 30 parishioners attended one of four congregational house meetings
in December, 2014 and January, 2015 to share with each other, and GBIO, what issues
were of greatest concern to them. Congregation members felt most strongly called to act
on behalf of criminal justice reform (and the larger racial injustices engaged by Black
Lives Matter), affordable housing, and public education. These three issues, along
with affordable healthcare and gun violence prevention, emerged as the highest
priorities across GBIO's whole membership, and were voted into a new "platform" at a
March 26 assembly to guide the organization's agenda going forward. Nine St. James's
members attended the assembly.
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On May 12, 2015, at Trinity Church Copley Square, GBIO held its largest public action
in several years, to officially close the Congregational Organizing Initiative and unveil
its platform to key public leaders. Governor Baker, Attorney General Healey, Mayor
Walsh, and Speaker DeLeo were all present, as were 10 CEOs from healthcare insurers
and providers. Most importantly, over 1,650 GBIO members attended, alongside 150
friends and allies. St. James's was well-represented, with 36 congregation members in
attendance (possibly our largest turnout to a GBIO action!). The turnout of GBIO visibly
impressed the politicians and CEO's, and we successfully secured commitments from
all four public officials to advance our agenda.
Since the assembly, GBIO has kicked into action, with major results. A crosscongregational team was convened to research, plan, and implement strategy on each
platform issue. The first victory came (related to education) in August, when the mayor
made good on a promise to GBIO to halt the delay MA Historical Coalition put on
reconstructing the new Dearborn School for middle schoolers in the Roxbury
neighborhood. (A small group of hostile abutters had been holding up construction
using a dubious historical preservation argument--sound familiar?). With that,
construction work was finally able to commence on the school, for which GBIO won $72
million in state money several years ago. It will be among the first STEM public middle
schools in the nation.
Likewise, in criminal justice reform, GBIO used May 12 to establish a working
relationship with Speaker DeLeo, and secured his commitment to make the issue a
priority in the next legislation. (By contrast, in a meeting with GBIO prior to May 12, he
had not identified it as a significant issue for him). After May 12, DeLeo, working with
Gov. Baker and others, commissioned a Pew research study into the criminal justice
system of MA. GBIO meanwhile identified three specific issues in play at the State
House as actionable opportunities for improving the justice of our justice system:
revoking mandatory minimum sentencing, pre-trial bail reform, and restoring drivers
licenses to re-entering ex-offenders. From October to November, 2015, GBIO members
made over 400 calls to their representatives in support of the relevant bills. Led by Tom
Tufts, St. James's members made over 30 of those calls! Thanks to those efforts and the
efforts of others in the criminal justice reform community, on January 6, the
Massachusetts House of Representatives passed unanimously a bill restoring drivers
licenses to re-entering ex-offenders.
Meanwhile, other GBIO teams have spent the last several months researching
healthcare, affordable housing, and gun violence to identify actionable issues that
could turn into GBIO campaigns in 2016. Furthermore, from October to December,
2015, GBIO conducted its first ever individual donation campaign, to supplement the
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corporate and foundation sources of funding (currently 80% of GBIO's organizational
budget) that compromise the organization's political autonomy. As of early January,
2016, over $60,000 has been raised in individual donations, with St. James's contributing
$2,500 thanks to more than 15 individual donors.
In sum, 2015 was a major year for revitalizing GBIO, and as a result we have already
made a significant difference at the local and state level. St. James's members have
played a significant role in making that difference, on two issues of justice our own
members really care about. In 2016, GBIO will continue to advance its ambitious fiveissue agenda, with major opportunities in January and February specific to gun
violence prevention (for which GBIO has now partnered with the Episcopal
Diocese!). In the new year, there is ample opportunity for any interested St. James's
members to engage on any issue they feel passionately about. To learn more, please
be in touch with Nicholas Hayes (nick.nc@gmail.com), Tom Tufts
(thomastufts@comcast.net), or Sylvia Weston (swanboat29@yahoo.com), GBIO's core
leadership team at St. James's.
Thanks to the 40+ St. James's members who've contributed their time, talent, and
treasure to make 2015 such a successful year for GBIO. It is a powerful instrument for
us as we strive to live into our call to love our neighbors, and to do justice, love mercy,
and walk humbly with God.
ANTI-OPPRESSION TEAM – the Rev. Holly Lyman Antolini
This has been a lively year as the Anti-Oppression Team has devoted its monthly
dinner meetings throughout the year to using the “Art of Hosting” “chaordic stepping
stones” to incorporate new members of the team and focus our mission. “Chaordic” is a
good word for the dynamic of the Anti-Oppression Team: hovering between a
generative “chaos” in the newness of the Spirit and an effective order in pursuing our
goals. Sometimes we find the “chaos” has the upper hand, as we strive to balance the
inward-looking honesty involved in coming to confront and understand our
unconscious bias with the call to move outward into the congregation, diocese and
community in effective action to address the palpable systemic injustices that remain
all-too-prevalent across our society.) But we have not let that derail our commitment to
a process our society resists dealing with effectively, a process we believe is at the
center of our life together in Jesus Christ, an enactment of our baptismal vows to
“proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ,” “seek & service
Christ in all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves,” and “striving for justice &
peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.” We hope for
nothing less than a culture shift away from such bias both within our congregational life
and in our surrounding communities. That’s a long-term work, both an inward spiritual
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work and an outward community-organizing work. It’s also a work that cannot remain
enclosed within a team of 19 people, but must become a natural part of our common life
as a congregation.
As a result, the Team has helped to shape our worship life throughout the year (see the
Rector’s Annual Report) and, facilitated by Diane D’Souza and the diocesan Mission
Institute, met in solidarity with the similarly congregationally based “Beloved
Community Team” at St. Stephen’s in Lynn MA and intend to return the favor by
hosting St. Stephen’s to come share dinner, conversation and Eucharist with the whole
congregation at St. James’s this coming spring. We have also invited the congregation
into demonstrations of commitment to trans welcome and “black lives matter”
organizing. Perhaps most critically, we have decided to focus on using our VISIONS
diversity training to invite the congregation as a whole to think of its fellowship and
mission in terms of “radical welcome.” Thanks to the hard work of Team members
Benazeer Noorani and Mardi Moran and the generosity of the Episcopal Diocese of
Massachusetts, we obtained our full asking of $10,000 in congregational development
grant monies at the end of 2015 to fund VISIONS "train-the-trainers" in 2016 for all our
staff plus some key lay leaders. The generosity of some congregation members has
increased that budget to over $15,000 total, enough to begin to make a real difference in
the way we implement the VISIONS guidelines for communication in our life together.
Here are those guidelines, which shape all our interactions on the Anti-Oppression
Team, in the form of a litany of prayer, as we prayed them at our January 2016 meeting:
Intercessor: May we use this time together to “Try on” new ways of being in community.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May we remember that it’s OK to disagree and see things from a different
point of view.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: No matter how strongly we feel, it’s not OK to shame, blame or attack
ourselves or others. Help us remember to be gentle!
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May we strive to monitor what’s happening inside ourselves by practicing
self-focus.
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People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May each of us take responsibility for our own learning.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May we see beyond the “either/or” and practice “both/and” thinking.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May we pay attention to both feeling and substance, noticing both process &
content in our discussions.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May we be aware of distance that can open up between our intent and our
impact on each other as unconscious bias is exposed despite our longing to move
beyond it.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: May we always maintain each other’s trust and confidentiality.
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Intercessor: Lord, you know it’s OK to be messy and to say “ouch!” Hold us in your love!
People: Lord hear our prayer.
Silence
Ongoing A-O Team members include congregation members Anne Shumway, Benazeer
Noorani, Isaac Martinez, Jules Bertaut, Linda Luikel, Mardi Moran, Marian King,
Marietta Sbraccia, Mary Beth Mills-Curran, Michelle Holmes, Sarah Forrester, Sylvia
Weston, and Yvette Verdieu. Jane Hirschi, Lauren Zook, and Molly McHenry are new
members this year. Holly Antolini, Eric Litman and Pat Michaels participate as our
program staff.
THE OUTDOOR CHURCH – Mardi Moran
The Outdoor Church, which has been in Cambridge since 2003, provides worship
services, street outreach, hospital and prison visitations to congregants, and memorial
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services for parishioners who have died. They provide sandwiches and juice, hope and
encouragement to their members. They also distribute toiletries and white socks. The
Reverends Jedediah Mannis and Patricia Zifcak are Co-Founders, with Reverend
Thomas Hathaway functioning as Executive Director and Kate Layzer as Minister.
The Outdoor Church has set up a Bail Fund which is used to help homeless young
adults who have been caught up in the criminal justice system. It assists those who
have been arrested and are incarcerated because they don’t have the ability to pay the
bail money. It can be a terrifying experience and can increase the rate of recidivism,
should they be convicted.
In the Fall of 2014, The Outdoor Church partnered with The First Church in Cambridge
and launched the Friday Club. Its mission is to set a place for the Homeless to come,
relax, enjoy the company of others and eat soup, bread and other treats.
This year, St. James’s has continued to support this ministry by providing a space for
them to keep the supplies necessary for the service at Porter Square that occurs each
Sunday at 9:00 AM at the Porter Square Subway Station. This year the Youth Group at
St. James’s has volunteered to provide at least fifty sandwiches on the fourth Sunday of
each month. The parish also provides financial support through the Missions Fund.
The Outdoor Church deeply appreciates all that St. James’s does for us and thanks all of
the individuals who bring sandwiches and juice throughout the year.
HELPING HAND FOOD PANTRY – the Rev. Dr. Karen Coleman
The food pantry continues to serve the needs of the food insecure both in our
immediate area and the Greater Boston area. This year we moved from our large space
at Fresh Pond Apartment located at 362 Rindge Avenue, where we had a space
dedicated to the food pantry to 364 Rindge Avenue.
We are now located in the Community Room which is shared space with other
community groups. This has resulted in our losing ¾ of our storage space, a
refrigerator and a freezer. The food pantry volunteers are now required to set up tables,
chairs and food every time that we are open. Due to the small space we are now limited
to the number of groups and volunteers who can assist us.
In addition guests may no longer access the food pantry by the building’s lobby and are
required to access the food pantry from the outside. While food pantry volunteers try
to unload the truck and pack as quickly as possible due to the movement of food we
cannot have people accessing the food pantry at the same time we are unloading food.
This however has resulted in people coming at the posted times instead of arriving
early and having to wait outside.
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Our food donations from the faith community has increased. In addition to St. Peter’s
Catholic Church and First Church Cambridge and St. James, Somerville. We have now
added Christ Church, Cambridge. We have also added two new volunteers from those
faith communities.
Once again we received food that was collected by the Many Helping Hands Food
Drive which was held during their day of service. We continue our relationship with
Boston Area Gleaners, Food for Free and Greater Boston Food Bank. We continue to
strive to provide as much fresh fruits and vegetables as we can even with the
constraint’s of storage and refrigeration. For the second year in a row we were featured
during the Christmas Concert of Cambridge Symphony Orchestra.
This year we served 1496 households, 610 children and 523 seniors.
We received grants from the Diocese of Massachusetts, Sending Serving and House of
Mercy grants. Our Project Bread remained at level funding and the Feinstein Challenge
has been temporarily put on hold.
WOMEN’S MEAL – Anne Shumway
This year is the final year of the Women’s Meal, or Good Food Good Friends, as it also
has been called. After 25 years, it is time for it to come to an end, since there is no one
else to take it on as a mission of St. James’s. I have ran it now for many years, and at
83, I have run out of energy to keep it going. It has been a very worthwhile 25 years,
with lasting friendships that have developed over those years, but all good things must
come to an end sometime.
For the last two years we have been in the Friends’ Meeting parish hall on Longfellow
Park- a beautiful facility, where the Quakers have been very welcoming to us. Because
of their schedule, the meal was Tuesday, from 4 to 6. However, since it is a little out of
the way, we did lose some guests, so that only 6 to 8 women came each week. Both
Sarah Forrester and Lee Ann Lowe provided meals once a month, and Community
Cooks the other three weeks, with the fifth week ( when there was one) being my
responsibility. Community Cooks also provided volunteers to help serve. In
November, we had our last meal together- all of us sad to be ending our common meal,
but the women understanding why it was necessary.
However, the Spirit moves in wonderful and mysterious ways! Kay Leyser, of First
Church Congregational, called me and suggested that she set up a Women’s Table
every week at the Friday Café she runs there, from 1 to 5. It is a truly spirit-filled place,
every Friday, with lots of good food, many volunteers, and usually about 50 or more
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people there- many homeless. Several of us from the old Women’s Meal have been
going- I try to as often as I can, bringing some food too. So the close-knit community
that had been created over the years is still continuing, though in a different form.
SCOUTS – Derrick Jackson
The youth of Scouting Collective 56 thanks St. James for the privilege to meet weekly in
the sanctuary and for letting us use the parking lot to make our very successful
Christmas Tree sale convenient to all the customers who supported us!
In the summer of 2015, the Collective 56 sent 6 youth and 2 adults on a 10-night youthleadership wilderness canoe journey on the Allagash River in Maine. Guided by Maine
High Adventure of the Katahdin Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the crew
paddled for about 85 miles, greeted by soaring eagles, wading moose and diving loons.
They cooked nightly over campfires, picked blueberries, and negotiated rapids and
portaged their gear and canoes like explorers of the past. The youth leader on the trip
was Casey Rideout.
The program of the current 2015-16 year is geared to sending a crew in the summer of
2016 to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. It will be the seventh such trip for us
since 2004.
The current year in Scouting began with St. James’ own Zoe McNerney holding the post
of crew president this fall. She passed the baton on to Sam Zewdu. Our fall trips
included hiking on the Appalachian Trail in Vermont, hiking to the summit of Mount
Washington, indoor rock climbing and an overnight service trip removing invasive
species for the Dennis Conservation Trust.
Trips planned in the late winter and spring include a snowshoe trip to Carter Hut high
up in the White Mountains, bicycling on Martha’s Vineyard, backpacking along the
Appalachian Trail, Maine Primitive Skills School, Wilderness First Aid and archery,
riflery and fishing.
In the course of past several months, one boy closed in on the rank of Eagle Scout,
partially completing a front-yard restoration of a public housing development and one
girl closed in on the rank of Venturing Ranger with a meadow rehabilitation at Mass
Audubon Habitat.
In addition, several scouts worked on staff at Scout summer camps and one adult is
currently working on attaining the highest achievement in adult training, Wood Badge.
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Scout Collective 56 currently has 16 boys and 10 girls enrolled in an inclusive, co-ed
Scouting program that does not discriminate on the basis of gender identity, sexual
orientation, or faith tradition. We believe in youth leadership and outdoor adventure.
The Collective meets at the Church every Thursday at 7 p.m. We invite all youth and
adults who are interested to drop by to meet our youth and adult members. More
information about the Troop and Crew is available at www.troopcrew56.org or by
contacting our Troop Committee chair, Dr. Michelle Holmes
(holmes@troopcrew56.org), our Scoutmaster, David English (english@troopcrew56.org),
our Venturing Advisor, Robin Bonner (bonner@troopcrew56.org) or our Chartered
Organization Representative, Derrick Jackson (Dzjacks@aol.com).
REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – Jeff Zinsmeyer
Members: Holly Antolini, Alan Aukeman, Becky Bjork, Ric Dumont (co-chair), Rachel
Evans, Sarah Forrester, John Hixson, Liz McNerney, Peter Merrell, Mardi Moran, Anne
Read, Ross Speer, Anne Tate, Bill Taylor, Yvette Verdieu, Mark Yoder, Jeff Zinsmeyer
(co-chair).
For St. James’s Redevelopment Committee, 2015 featured two themes. On one hand,
the long, sometimes unpredictable walk down our long legal path continued, featuring
new arcane legal concepts. On the other hand, we launched creative and fun
community outreach that increased visibility and contacts within our Porter Square
neighborhood.
Much of the 2015 outreach and other redevelopment activity came in response to our
lack of a usable Parish Hall. This loss from prior years back had two notable impacts.
Sunday school had been relocated to offsite locations and in 2014, we hoped that
placing a large trailer onsite would return our children closer to the church. Secondly,
lack of a Parish Hall reduced day to day contact with our neighbors. Historically, the
Parish Hall was the site of many community based activities: a food bank, Women’s
meals, nonprofit tenants and other events/activities, all of which have been relocated or
discontinued. This translated to a drop in visibility, outreach and day to day interaction
with our neighbors not to mention some ministries.
St. James and Oaktree were busy at the start of the year obtaining permission to site a
classroom sized trailer on Church property. Approvals from Cambridge fire, health,
building code, historic commission and plumbing were attained. In early March, a
presentation was made to the church allowing teachers, parents and other congregants
to respond to a trailer set up. After several meetings, discussion and reflection, it was
decided to pass on this option. Thanks to all who worked to prepare for this thoughtful
Parish consideration.
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On the legal front, we awaited assignment of a hearing date for Oaktree’s (the project
developer) and St. James’s motion for a summary judgment on the plaintiff’s case.
Summary judgment asks the judge to pass on the merits of the plaintiff’s case without
benefit of a trial. It is therefore faster (and cheaper) and a favorable ruling indicates the
weakness of the opposition’s case. Our initial hearing date in February was snowed out
during the record setting winter of ’15 and rescheduled for March.
When it came to the outreach theme, the Redevelopment Committee convened an April
meeting to generate ideas and plans to increase our community presence. Several
initiatives were hatched resulting in a number of effective efforts for the upcoming
months. Some of these were:
1. An impressive PowerPoint presentation created by Ric Dumont, Sarah Forrester
and Liz Hixson and introduced to the Church in June.
2. The Annual Summer Picnic (a celebration of 150 years of St. James) was
enhanced by a presentation from Cambridge Historical Commission Executive
Director – Charles Sullivan and a visit from our new Bishop – the Rt. Rev. Alan
Gates. Special thanks to Sylvia Weston, John Hixson and others.
3. Banners, FAQ and posters were created with Oaktree assistance and erected on
Church exterior to better explain the project;
4. Significant upgrades to St. James’s website to better tell the Redevelopment
story.
5. An Open House on Redevelopment at St. James in September with great
attendance from Church and community members as well as Cambridge City
Council election candidates and Oaktree principles. A dynamic presentation
was followed by a vibrant Q &A .
6. St. James representation at annual Honkfest Parade as it sauntered down Beech
Street – special thanks to Nancy McArdle.
In July, we were informed that the court had allowed the defendants’ motion for a
summary judgment, which was the fourth court decision rejecting claims brought to
impede the project. This meant that the case would not go to trial. As they have done
previously, the plaintiffs stretched out the process by requesting a point of clarification.
When that request was denied, they appealed the decision. We enter 2016 with an
appeal in progress.
Redevelopment committee met again in October to create further outreach plans. As a
result, we closed off the year with caroling in December in our St. James neighborhood.
Thanks to the efforts of Anne Read and Liz McNerney, door knockers were hung, about
20 carolers went door to door singing and collecting cans for the Food Bank. A merry
time was had by all.
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As we enter the New Year, the Redevelopment Committee and its co-chairs will do
their best to keep you informed. And, as always, your questions, suggestions,
critiques, support and prayers are welcome.
PROPERTY REPORT – Sylvia Weston
Property affairs at St. James's have been going smoothly, operating both with challenges
and solutions. Jean Clark has joined the Team. We prepared and did our annual Boiler
inspection and maintenance. The ice storm of 2015 caused created ice dams, with leaks
and interior water damage. We acquired the services of an ice removal company.
During their process, we discovered that their employees damaged some of the tiles on
the roof. Interior Inspection has been done by the Insurance Adjustor.
We had the Rose Window repaired by Charlie Allen Restorations! In the Fall we had
our annual Boiler inspection and maintenance done for the 2016 winter season, so we
are all set.
Just recently, discoveries of new interior water leaks have appeared. Plans are in the
works for repairs to take place to the new area.
Snow removal for 2015 went well and will be continued by the same company for 2016.
We are currently attending to hot water leak and other related maintenance concerns.
Hong, the Sexton continues with the cleaning and maintenance of the grounds.
CURRENCY OF MONEY – Tom Beecher, Lucas Sanders, Katherine Gilliland
The Currency of Money Committee convened in the Fall of 2015 to lead St. James's
annual pledge campaign. We established ambitious goals: $250,000 pledged by 120
pledgers. We chose these goals because they represent a very high level of pledge
participation by those who regularly worship with us and because they support a 2016
budget that fully supports our mission priorities.
As of this writing, we have not yet reached these goals (currently at 83% of goal for
both). We will continue to engage the congregation to drive us closer. The Committee
will conclude its work once St. James's 2016 budget is finalized. Our last activity will be
ensuring that all pledging households are appropriately thanked for their generous
contributions.
WORSHIP COMMISSION – the Rev. Holly Lyman Antolini
The Worship Commission, which for a number of years has been meeting seasonally to
plan the worship for the upcoming liturgical season, is trying a new way of operating
this year. We met as a whole team for a dinner and long-range planning session in late
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summer at Pat Michaels’ house, articulated goals for the whole year, and then divided
into planning teams, each taking responsibility for a season or two. Teams have
planned Advent/Christmas, and Epiphany/Lent. Soon the Easter team will meet, and
then the Pentecost team. So far the results have been positive, and the feedback about
our worship from the congregation enlivening. We have sought to strike a balance
between trying new things and honoring our traditions, keeping St. James’s strong
seasonal shifts and social justice orientation while giving space for the Spirit to surprise
us. The liturgies for the high festivals – All Saints, Christmas, the Epiphany Lessons &
Carols – have been designed to make these special occasions. Do the Celebrations &
Announcements still last a long time? They do! But though we occasionally grumble
about them, we also love them, and love our congregation, with whom we feel more
connected because of them. Special thanks to Lauren Zook for the fabulous weekly
“hymn commentaries” in our Sunday News! Thanks to Worship Commission members
Marian King, JonTom Kittredge, Eric Litman, Pat Michaels, Mary Beth Mills-Curran,
Yvette Verdieu, Sylvia Weston, and Lauren Zook for stewarding our Worship ministry
together with Holly Antolini.
MUSIC MINISTRY – Patrick Michaels
St. James’s has enjoyed a year filled with the musical offerings of its members. Each
singer’s voice adds to the richness that we know God has given us. Congregational
singing is at the heart of our community, and each person who sings adds to the
richness.
We have blended the best of traditional hymnody with an openness to new things; we
have sung Songs of Praise and service music for a season, adding them to our
congregational repertoire; we have tried to create a joyful, participatory, challenging
worship experience to engage each worshipper and bind us all into a deeper sense of
wonder and love.
We have worked to ensure support for the continuing excellence of our music. We have
projects focused on congregational songs and hymns, on Psalms we have written, on
voice training for singers, on Choir membership and growth, and on organ repair and
tuning. This last item will be moving more “front and center” in coming years as we
begin to discern our needs for an Organ Fund to support the maintenance and possibly
expansion of our pipe organ.
We continue to learn songs from St. James’s Sings and the congregation seems (?!) to
actually enjoy learning new pieces. This collection has enhanced the energetic singing of
the people, and has been a resource for anthems for the Choirs as well. Diverse musical
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leadership for the congregation is provided by many of us: five(!) Choirs, and many
individual musicians.
1. In the Fall, the Adult Choir welcomed five new members--Philip Burnham,
Jeanne Garrison, Sarah Cottrill, AlexUnderwood, and Mary Matthews. We are
thrilled to have these strong singers in our ministry! (Since then, Philip has taken
a leave, Alex likewise to write a thesis, and Mary has taken the job of being our
Nursery Coordinator. We hope to have them all return sometime.)
Mabel Moore -Pollard retired this season after many wonderful years of service
to the Choir---both in her singing and her remarkable food offerings. We are
deeply grateful to her for her commitment, loyalty, and musical gifts!
Singers may join the Choirs throughout the year, and we look forward to still
more new members in the coming months. In addition to those newer members
already named, we are proud to count the following members: Mike Burris,
Dana Evelyn, Andrew Rohm, John Hixson, Janet Hobbs, Hilary Sallick, Margot
Chamberlain, Kate Hornstein, Benazeer Noorani, Mike Salib, Lucas Sanders, Bill
Taylor, Kathy Udall, Yvette Verdieu, and Sylvia Weston, Lauren Zook.
The Adult Choir rehearses Wednesday evenings in the church from 7:30 to
9:30. We meet Sunday mornings and sing an anthem all but the 4th Sunday of
the month.
2. The Greenleaf Choir welcomes singers from 2nd through 6th grades. All are
welcome. Our rehearsals are on Fridays from 3:30 to 4:15 (and we’re currently
considering a new time--Fridays from 4 until 4:45) and again at 10 a.m. on
Sundays. Returning singers are Fiona Thomas, and Justice Weston; newer singers
include Becket Thomas, Fiona Litman, and Meredith Clark.
3. Gospel Schola (7th-12th grades) welcomes singers from 7th through 12th grades.
We rehearse from 8:30 to 9:15 on Sunday mornings at the Parish Office. The
Gospel Schola now has 5 singers: Lydia Evans, Rayne McNerney, (our newest
members) and Zoe McNerney, Gwei Gwei Strong-Allen, Emilee Butler.
The Choirs take turns singing an anthem every Sunday at Communion, lead the
hymns and service music, and process at the end of the service. Both of these
Choirs are interested in welcoming new members. We spend time talking about
the words that we sing; we study, learn and discuss theology, Bible stories,
32
poetry, voice production and musical reading and performance, and other
subjects of interest to the group.
4. The Men’s Choir has deepened the worship of the congregation with its offerings
of anthems on the 4th Sundays and many other selected occasions. Our thanks
go to Mark Yoder, Tom Hirschi, Matthew Abbate, Matthew Abbate, Bill Taylor,
John Hixson.
5. Our newest Choir is the Treble Choir which began singing in January 2015, and
consists of high-voice (soprano and alto) singers from the Parish; they have
offered anthems on six occasions. Rehearsals are as announced on some
Saturdays. This Choir affords people the chance to sing regularly but with a
lesser time commitment than that of the Adult Choir, and also a chance for Adult
Choir members to sing even more! New members are also welcome.
Margot Chamberlain has continued inviting new folks to compose new Psalm settings,
and assisting them in notating and performing them. We are in her debt, and also to all
those who have enriched our life together with their musical inspirations.
Our vocalists, drummers and other instrumentalists have again provided wonderful
music for meditation and contemplation, and dancing and celebration. Deep thanks to
Tom Hirschi, Steve Clark, Cynthia Owens, Sarah Borgatti, Art, Matthew and Beth
Abbate, Mark Yoder, Margot Chamberlain, Tammy Ryan, and Marietta Sbraccia.
The Parish hosted a “Hymn Sing and Dessert: Hymns of Patrick Michaels” in the Fall to
celebrate the publication of Pat’s first singleauthor collection, From Depths of Love: The
Hymns of Patrick Michaels, which was published in the summer. (Anne Read designed
the Cover, and Sylvia Weston contributed a hymn tune.) This was a well-received
event, and the collection has begun to be explored by the Choirs and congregation.
A question for the whole congregation for the coming year: How can we actively
encourage our younger members to contribute to the life of the Parish through their
musical ministry?
New projects for 2016 include:
1. Growing the Greenleaf Choir
2. Discerning our need for an Organ Fund
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ALTAR GUILD REPORT & BUDGET – Susan Harris
RECEIPTS
Ck Acct.Balance 1-1-15
Flower Donations
DIT 4th Q ‘14
DIT 1st,2nd,3rd, Q ’15
TOTAL RECEIPTS
$ 320.01
1,608.91
960.37
1,618.71
4,508.00
EXPENSES:
Flowers
Wine
Wreaths
Palms ’16
Candles, Linens,
Communion Wafers
$2,380.41
204.00
91.00
72.75
1,207.11
TOTAL EXPENSES
3,955.27
Ck Acc Balance 12-31-15
552.73
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Savings Accounts:
Newvart Matthewson Flower Fund $2,120.87
DeSachet Flower Fund
$2,278.81
Marion Foster Covert Fund
$1,314.77
Annette E. Hunter Memorial Fund $15,000.00
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thanks to: Elaine Agard – Barbara Butler – Virginia Carter – Hong Chin – Tom Harris –
Janet Hixson-Hobbs – Marian King – Laverne Lynch Agard – Eric Maynard – Carolyn
Taylor
BAPTISMS, CONFIRMATIONS, MARRIAGES, BURIALS
BAPTISMS:
Donal Francis Wilmer
Nathaniel Reed Sackton
2
7-19-15
8-2-15
CONFIRMATIONS:
2
Zoe Marie McNerney
Gwei Zhilin Yu Strong-Allen
5-2-15
5-2-15
34
MARRIAGES:
Ira Joel Kantor &
Jennifer Lynn Close
2
9-6-15
Richard Michael Lastella &
Aluízio Catao Júnior
BURIALS:
Julienne Cirienne Luc
Pauline Linda Murphy
12-4-15
2
2-21-15
9-25-15
ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE 2015 ANNUAL MEETING
St. James’s Episcopal Church
Minutes for Annual Meeting
submitted by Nancy McArdle
January 25, 2015
Rev. Holly Antolini, Rector, opens the meeting with prayer.
Establishment of a Quorum
Quorum of at least 25 members is established by clerk, Nancy McArdle. Senior Warden
Sylvia Weston is designated chair.
Acceptance of the 2014 Annual Meeting Minutes
Lucas Sanders moves that we accept the minutes of last year’s meeting. George Weaver
seconds. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
Reception of the 2014 Annual Report and 2015 Budget
John Hixson moves that we receive the 2014 Annual report and 2015 budget approved
by the Vestry. Lucas Sanders seconds. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
Presentation of Slate of Candidates
Katherine Gilliland introduces the slate of Vestry officers, members, convention
representatives, and deanery representatives on behalf of the Nominating Committee
(Mabel Moore Pollard, Cynthia Joseph, Bill Taylor).
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The final 2015 slate consists of:
Officers and Vestry
Senior Warden – Sylvia Weston
Junior Warden – Isaac Martinez
Clerk – Nancy McArdle
Treasurer – Lucas Sanders
Matthew Abbate ‘17
Marian King ‘17
Nicholas Hayes ‘17
Dana Evelyn ‘16
Mary Beth Mills-Curran ‘15
Jean Clark ‘15
ECM Representative
Tom Marsan
Jean Clark
Alewife Deanery Candidates
Marian King
Diocesan Convention Candidates
Sylvia Weston
Katherine Gilliland
Election
Tom Beecher moves that we approve the whole slate of candidates. John Hixson
seconds. Unanimously approved by voice vote.
Summary of 2015 Budget:
Lucas Sanders, Treasurer, outlines the budgeting process at St. James’s. The 2015 budget
constructed without drawing from reserves built up to fund operations through
redevelopment. The budget is still reliant on one-time payments from Oaktree to
replace lost rental income and pay for one-time expenses while we are awaiting
construction. 1/3-time Assistant Rector will be hired. Maintain commitments to all
current staff members. The budget does run a nearly $6000 deficit. Holly Antolini
mentioned that if 60 people/households could make a one-time payment of $100, we
could eliminate the deficit.
The 2014 budget approved in January was balanced used surplus reserves.
Preliminarily, we ended up drawing only $32,614 from reserves, which is $50,894 less
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than budget because redevelopment did not begin so Oaktree supplemental payments
continue to come in and redevelopment-related expenses did not happen.
The 2015 budget assumes construction does not begin this year and draws 26% of
income from Oaktree payments. 54% comes from congregational giving, which in 2015
is higher than 2014 commitments and higher than 2013 receipts. Total pledging units
are down from 2013 and 2014.
Jean Clark asks about open plate contributions and how they are tracked. Lucas
explains that we can’t really track open plate cash donations to any household who may
not pledge.
For expenses, staff compensation continues to make up 59%. Outreach is at 14% and the
Food Pantry is at 3%. The 2015 budget assumes no new hiring for seminarians or Micah
Fellows. There is seminary support for ordination candidates at 1%. Our diocesan
assessment decreased.
Priorities for 2015 include eliminating the remaining budget deficit. We also hope to
begin a new Investment Committee to manage Capital Campaign funds and reevaluate
our funds in the Diocesan Investment Trust and to prepare a Revenue Enhancement
Taskforce when construction starts to ensure sustainability of rentals that also further
our mission.
Capital Campaign Final Year Report:
The campaign kicked off in September 2011. $530,000 for major roof repairs to the
sanctuary and furnishings for the new parish hall. The Campaign ended in in
September 2014. We have received $475,000 to date ($75,000 in 2014). $220,000
remaining in capital campaign account, waiting for Redevelopment.
Anne Read asks if capital campaign funds is earning interest. Lucas explains it is in an
interest-bearing savings account, albeit with a low interest rate, and the Finance
Committee is looking at transferring a portion to a Certificate of Deposit to bump up the
interest rate slightly while still removing risk.
Redevelopment Update
Rev. Holly Antolini presents on the state of redevelopment that can also be found on
page 24 of the 2014 Annual Report.
150 Years at St. James’s
Eric Maynard and John Hixson present on 150 years of history at St. James’s.
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Our Dream and God’s Dream for St. James’s
Isaac Martinez leads the congregation in a visioning exercise.
Key Values
 Social justice and reform, all the way back to the first service, really risky – always
willing to take risks and see if things work out

Integrity of worship, importance of tradition with welcoming

Welcoming into our community, in our building, and reaching out

Strengthening the community – here to walk the walk, together, helping each other.
Learning to ask for help and accept it.

Including children and teenagers, and encouraging their full involvement

Strong leadership from lay people

Music – variety and richness of different cultures and traditions

History of anti-oppression work in many forms; desire to have more open solidarity
especially around LGBT issues; would like a more permeable border between our
close-knit community and the wider community

Tradition of praying for each other and our individual needs

Embracing people of other faiths

Would like to work on not letting the corporate world set our society’s agenda – we
see this drive in our founding story

In an era of declining churches, we are growing – celebrate this and offer our vitality
to the wider church

Feeling that the Spirit is real and here

Building a community that is truly egalitarian

Everything and everyone matters – our personal gifts are useful in the house of God
in various ways – we bring in new gifts while building on our foundation of past
ministry

Continue to be the church that we were 150 years ago at our founding
Living our Values, looking forward
 Keep on keeping on  – keep welcoming people, keep invigorating small groups
where people make personal connections, keep us grounded in our history – church
is not just a Sunday affair
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
Expanded ministry to young people – doing a lot, but there are more people 18 and
younger who we touch but don’t show up on Sunday, how can we include them
more?

Find a way to show our LGBT welcoming values to the outside world

Evangelism is not dead – relational evangelism through a vibrant and healthy
community and inviting people we know to join us here

More radically inclusive – still fall short in some ways

More outreach to community to bring people into St Nicholas Festival

Reinstate Friday youth group nights

Allow for quiet reflection around worship, including for new people

Many people feel they can come to St James’s as they are, not as they present
themselves to the world – really important part of us, even if it’s not part of our
formal program, and we want to nurture this further
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy McArdle, Clerk
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