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St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and Reportsa ‘program-sized’ church. He emphasized that the congregation is doing remarkable ministryin the midst of transition.D. Report and Budget. Marty Dunlavey proceeded to explain the budget from the last year. Henoted that although our budget has a deficit, there is still a small surplus as the result of a giftthe church received.Concerning stewardship, we’ve received 78 pledges compared to 72 pledges in 2019, 73pledgees in 2018 and 60 pledges in 2017.However, despite increased revenue from pledges,there will be a budget deficit of 16,254 due to increased expenses. This will be paid by thesurplus.Marty also displayed a graphic to illustrate the investments from the church. He expressedoptimism about how well the funds were doing; he said that the parish health was great. Hethen asked for questions and comments about the budget and finances. A brief discussionabout the investments ensued.Peter Thompson stood to thank Marty for his excellent work as treasurer. Marty extendedthanks for contributions of the associate treasurers, Priscilla, Eva and Linda.Conversations and QuestionsPeter Walters led a discussion about the challenges brought about because of the growth ofthe church and the budget deficit. He pointed out that a budget deficit is not unprecedented inthe history of the church. This has happened in the past. The good news we have in our favoris the generosity of the parish. He spoke about the opportunities that the transition from apastor-sized parish to a program-sized parish offer. We do have organizational work to do tobring this to fruition. The vestry was aware that Eric was overworked and wanted to dosomething to offset this. The hiring of the associate pastor, The Reverend Abbi HeimachSnipes, was a step in the right direction. She has been on staff for only six months, yet muchhas been accomplished in that time.Discussion ensued about some things that could be done to ease the budget situation. Plannedgiving was brought up as an additional way to augment the budget. Someone else suggestedasking people face-to-face to pledge. Someone also mentioned the importance of askingparish members to share their gifts and talents.Peter emphasized that this was a good problem to have. We have excellent programs in placeand need to keep doing that to keep people in the church and to attract new members. It is anexciting time with opportunities for growth. Abbi has eased some of the burden on Eric. LauraKliewer mentioned the pilot pastoral care focus group Abbi pulled together to help meet someof the immediate pastoral care needs and brainstorm what a more structured Pastoral CareTeam could look like in the future.Eric summarized by saying this was an exciting time of group discernment and much could bedone by empowering each other. We can work together to ease this transition for St.Christopher’s. We have a clear vision and honesty; we will be in good shape.Resolutions of Courtesy:Eric proceeded to express gratitude for various ministries undertaken by the congregation. Hethen proceeded to thank everyone, listing ministries and imploring the congregation to say“hey” whSen ministries were listed.Adjournment, Closing Prayer and Dismissal:Eric adjourned the meeting after Meagan performed the closing prayer.Ann Gaston offered a benediction.Respectfully submitted by Janet Cosbey, the clerk of the 108th annual meeting6

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsSenior Warden’s ReportSeveral years ago, our then-vestry crafted and adopted this mission statement for St.Christopher’s:We seek unity with God and one another in Christ through solemn and joyful worship; vitaland supportive community; formative Christian Education; and the sharing, through outreach,of our diverse gifts.The four pillars of our mission statement - worship, community, formation, and outreach define the essential work of any faith community. Despite a pandemic that has drasticallyaltered the way life can safely be lived across the world this past year, our church’s work hasnot waned. On the contrary, with determination and creativity, our congregation hasmaintained, and expanded on, its endeavors.Despite the pandemic, we continue to worship together. Our clergy, staff, vestry, andvolunteers have devoted a great deal of time, thought, discussion, planning, prayer, and effortinto figuring out, and then perfecting, ways for our congregation to continue worshippingtogether safely. The health of the members of our community has remained paramount for usthroughout. We have strictly followed safety guidelines set forth by the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Episcopal Diocese ofChicago, and Bishop Jeffrey Lee. The new commandment given by Jesus to His disciples afterthe Last Supper – “Love one another as I have loved you” – is also given to us. Parishleadership believes that we all can best love one another during this pandemic by, sadly,keeping physically distant from one another, while remaining closely connected.Worship services have been streamed live (and also recorded) throughout this pandemic.When small in-person gatherings (10 persons or fewer) were allowed by health agencies andour bishop, contact-free Eucharists on the church lawn were added on Sunday afternoons.When larger in-person gatherings were allowed, Sunday morning worship services were heldon the church lawn, while continuing to stream those services online. When a later wave of thevirus caused authorities to limit gatherings once again, we reverted to online worship services,including the addition of spiritual communion. We have remained flexible and resilientthroughout, expanding our worship services when possible, and contracting again whennecessary.Despite the pandemic, with conviction and imagination we remain united as a community. APastoral Care Team Food Ministry was formed, with volunteers preparing and delivering mealsfor parishioners in need. Pentecost-At-Home kits were prepared and distributed, then acommunity video for Pentecost was shared. Coleus plants from seeds planted in Lent, andpeace signs to decorate, were made available to children. Graduates were recognized.Members of the staff and vestry conducted a whole-church canvass, seeking input fromparishioners about our ministries: what works well? what could use improvement? Acommunity art project was organized: individual canvas panels were distributed, then thoseindividual painted panels were stitched together into one large community artwork. Muchloved St. Christopher’s traditions were maintained, though altered for the sake of safety.Blessing of the Animals was conducted online. Advent Craft night was held as a take-homeevent, with kits of craft supplies and the traditional spaghetti dinner prepared in to-gopackages. St. Nicholas visited via Zoom. The Advent Lessons and Carols service was heldonline. A slideshow was created using pictures of parishioners’ home crèche scenes. Candleswere made available for online Christmas Eve services. The Epiphany Pageant was streamedlive on Zoom.7

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsDespite the pandemic, St. Christopher’s has remained actively engaged in Christian formation.“Story Time with Jen” Enriquez, our Director of Christian Formation, has been held online onweekday afternoons. The Gospel story for the week has been made available online forfamilies with children. Thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor, family storyBibles were provided to families with children, along with related activities and conversationstarters. Our youth group has met online when necessary, and socially-distanced on thechurch lawn when possible. “Night Owl Lectionary Bible Study” has been held online onThursday evenings. Adult Formation classes have met weekly on Sundays following worshipservices, online when necessary and socially-distanced on the church lawn when possible. Twoof our fellow parishioners, Kendall Batten-Kalantzis and Mary Kay Tobin, are on the pathtoward ordination in the Episcopal Church. Our former intern, George Arceneaux, was ordainedto the transitional diaconate in July.Despite the pandemic, our church’s outreach work in the world beyond our doors hasexpanded. Members of our community have supported Housing Forward’s “Hotel to Home”initiative, helping Housing Forward guests make the transition from hotels to permanenthomes. A “Little Free Blessing Box” (also known as “Little Free Hygiene Hut”) was installednear the sidewalk outside the church. It was painted by members of our youth group, and nowreads, “Take what you need”. Members of our congregation filled pivotal roles in the search forand election of our new diocesan bishop. Following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolispolice officer in May, the vestry crafted and adopted an Anti-Racism Statement, (seeAppendix) leading to the formation of our Anti-Racism Team, which is exploring ways to leadour congregation in action against racism. We have worked to deepen our relationships withneighboring Episcopal parishes; St. Martin’s in the Austin neighborhood (a primarily Blackcongregation) and St. Michael’s in Berwyn (a primarily Latinx congregation). Members of ourcongregation met online weekly during the summer with members of St. Martin’s fordiscussion of the book “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo, and once for discussion of the film“Just Mercy”, based on a book of the same title by Bryan Stevenson. St. Michael and AllAngels in Berwyn has run an affordable daycare for the surrounding community (mostlyBerwyn and Cicero) for eighteen years. During the pandemic, many families fell behind in theirpayments. Members of St. Christopher’s made donations in excess of the 6,000 goal toforgive this debt, and to perhaps establish a scholarship fund for low income families. Ourvestry crafted and adopted a Sanctuary Statement (see Appendix). Together with nationalagencies (Episcopal Migration Ministries, World Relief, Exodus World Services) local agencies(Beyond Hunger, Housing Forward), and First United Church of Oak Park, St. Christopher’s hascommitted to supporting an asylum-seeking family of five from Angola, the Makuebo family.They arrived in early-December, and moved into their new apartment near St. Christopher’s afew weeks later.St. Christopher’s remains everything enumerated in our mission statement, adopted manyyears ago: we are solemn and joyful, vital and supportive, formative and sharing. Ourministries have only expanded during the pandemic. One of our primary goals, and greatestchallenges, for the coming year will be to reimagine the ways in which we structure ourcommon life and work together, such that many hands might make light the work.Respectfully submitted by Peter Walters, Sr. Warden8

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsStewardshipTreasurer’s Report2020 OperationsDue to an influx of festival offerings and special gifts in December, along with the benefits ofthe Employee Retention Credit ( 18,477), cost savings from the early departure of AbbiHeimach-Snipes ( 12,752), and other cost savings from reduced office supplies use andelectricity use, we experienced a surplus of funds of 8,618, compared to an expected deficitof 16,254. The current year’s surplus adds to last year’s surplus of 58,787 (itself broughtabout by unrestricted gifts from estates of Mary Monti and Carol Holdsworth) for a combinedamount of 67,405.InvestmentsAfter a very tumultuous year investments gained 50,000 (9%), for a new total of 606 856.This follows gains of 14.5% last year, which with a transfer in of 40,000, resulted in a growthof 105,689. These follow a loss of 35,000 in 2018. The Balance Sheet provides further detailas to the allocations of these amounts between the various trusts.Asylum FinancesWe have received total contributions of 12,293, principally from outside organizations, andwe can expect expenses to average 2,500 per month, though this program is just gettingstarted and this cost is speculative.2021 BudgetThe stewardship campaign resulted in 69 pledges, down from last year’s 78. There were 2 newpledges, 3 from members who were previously unpledged, and 6 from members who hadinterrupted their pledge last year. We lost 2 pledges from deceased members, 5 from thosewho have left or moved away, and 13 from members who simply didn’t renew.Total pledge income is slightly more than last year despite the drop in the number of pledgesand has been budgeted at 250,000.There are no big programmatic changes planned for next year. It was decided to increaseFather Biddy’s pay by 10,000 to bring his salary closer in line with Diocesan averages, and toincrease the Christian Education Director’s pay by 4,000 for her extra work.The resulting budget ends with a deficit of 5,145 which will be offset by the past surpluses.It remains for the Vestry to look for ways to exploit the accumulated surplus to further ourvarious missions and ministries.It’s been a pleasure, as always, to serve as your treasurer, and I want to thank Linda, Eva,Priscilla, and Clara for the wonderful assistance given me this past year.Respectfully submitted by Marty Dunlavey, TreasurerComment from Rector: I am deeply grateful for the increase to my pay for 2021 and amaware that the number mentioned in Marty’s report may raise some eyebrows. The shortexplanation is that half of this increase is an insurance reimbursement. Here’s the story of myrecent compensation history: I was hired as rector in 2016 at a salary housing allowanceequaling 75,000. Between then and this year, I have received a cost of living adjustment thatraised my pay to about 77,000. But as church sponsored health insurance continued to growmore expensive than most other health insurance, we made the decision in 2020 to insure the9

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and Reportsentire family on Jackie’s plan, with the church reimbursing me for the cost to our family of thatmove. This cost the church 18,000, as opposed to the almost 29,000 it would have cost thechurch to insure me and both kids on church insurance. Late last year, Jackie’s companyannounced that spouses otherwise eligible for employer-sponsored health insurance could nolonger be insured on their plan, so I had to come back onto church insurance. An early draft ofthe budget proposed increasing my pay by 10,000, to bring my pay closer to what rectors ofsimilarly sized parishes make on average in our diocese, but to cut the insurancereimbursement altogether. I asked that the insurance reimbursement for the kids be listedseparately, resulting in about a 5,000 pay increase. The church is not reimbursing me forJackie’s insurance in 2021, as the cost of the family’s full insurance is no longer comparable towhat we had grown used to.10

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsSt. Christopher’s Episcopal ChurchBudget Comparison11

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsSt Christopher’s Episcopal Church Budget Comparison (continued)12

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsSt. Christopher’s Episcopal ChurchBalance Sheet13

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsSt Christopher’s Episcopal Balance Sheet (continued)14

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsSt Christopher’s Changes in Equity15

St. Christopher’s Annual Parish Meeting and ReportsAnnual Giving/Stewardship ReportThis past year was like no year we have experienced. Services on the lawn, Zoom services,limited the ability to interact with parishioners. Yet we all seemed to adapt, if not embrace,the “new normal” of how services would be held. And needless to say the StewardshipCampaign was challenging also.Annual Giving Campaign RecapThe theme of our Annual Giving Campaign in 2020 was “Faith-Filled Generosity”. We hadspeakers at the services in November relate the part St. Christopher’s played in their lives andhow being part of the church community enriched their daily life. How participating in thevarious ministries, the church offers, such as Alter Guild, Vestry, choir, outreach programs,and pledging effected there lives and those around them.We first want to thank everyone who participated in making this annual campaign possible inthese circumstances. Jen Enriquez, Linda Bolte, Emily Culbertson, Ackli, Eric, Jackie andPriscilla made this campaign happen.I cannot say enough about their contributions,guidance, advisements, and skills. Reaching out to them, and their thoughtful and quickresponse, was greatly appreciated.Secondly, we want to thank all of you parishioners who have submitted pledges. Thesepledges play critical roles in the existing ministries and ministries the Church envisions for thefuture. The generosity you have shown, with the pandemic affecting every aspect of our lives,is truly inspiring.Lastly, if you have not submitted your pledge yet, you still have time to do so. Pledge cardscan be requested or you can go online at www.stchristophersoakpark.org. Pledges areaccepted year-round.Respectfully submitted, Rich Nied and Priscilla Nied, Stewardship Co-ChairsBuilding & Grounds ReportIn past years our building has been used by a wide variety of community organizations. Whenthe shutdown occurred in March the only groups that were permitted to continue meeting inour space were AA and Alanon.We are very grateful to Wendy Norris who has been caring for the plantings and yard. Throughher efforts and leadership, and with the help of anonymous donations, plantings wereinstalled, and a Japanese maple purchased to replace the decorative pear tree removed lastyear. Herrara Landscaping continued to p

St. Christopher's Annual Parish Meeting and Reports 2 Agenda for 109th Annual Meeting on Jan. 31, 2021 I. Call to Order, Opening Prayer and Worship begins at 10:00 AM II. Rector's Report/Sermon delivered during Worship III. Very Brief Break IV. Appointment of Clerk and Minutes of 108th Annual Meeting V. Nominating Committee Report