All Saints Episcopal ChurchAnnual Report – 2013

Rector’s Report Richard Carroll Lindsey

Pointing to the Future[remarks delivered at the Annual Meeting: January 26, 2014]

Thankfulness and Blessing

I begin my remarks today, by stating the obvious; thank you to members of the parish and all who have faithfully supported the life and ministry of All Saints. And equally, by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ, we are a blessed congregation in every way conceivable. So, I begin 2014, deeply mindful and humbled that every person in this parish, whether you are present two or four weeks a year, three or twelve months a year, rich or poor, young or not so young, checking us out or dyed in the wool ancient Episcopalian, baptized or not baptized, high or low church, reformed or unreformed; individually and corporately we are the face of Christ through our common bond of worship, fellowship, and outreach into the world. To say we are blessed by God is grossly understated; God has provided everything we need to be the body of Christ, known as All Saints.

We are blessed by the faith commended to us...

We are blessed by the grace of God that underscores all that we undertake...

We are blessed by well over six hundred members…

We are blessed with a gifted lay staff: Marilyn Adams, our Parish Administrator; Steven Braynon, Music and Choir Director…

We are blessed with an incredible cross-section of able and gifted clergy: Mark and Matt, as our staff priests, each with different and important gifts for ministry; Sandy and Kathie, deacons with different ministries within the deaconate; Woody Woodroofe, from the Diocese of Connecticut; Gordon Weller, from the Diocese of Michigan; Greg Prior, former rector, from the Diocese of Rhode lsland; George Moyser, England, by way of the Diocese of Vermont; Pam Farhrner, Diocese of Maryland; Jack Niertert, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina by way of St. Mark’s Port Royal.

We are blessed to have Bishop von Rosenberg as our bishop, who has called us to be leaders in the diocese…

We are blessed by the gift of the Holy Spirit, empowering Jives and encouraging us to set our lives outward into the world...

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We are blessed with creativity, determination, and a willingness of members who make room in the pew and in our hearts for the next visitor, and hopefully member, of the parish; we are not by any exaggeration the frozen chosen...We are blessed that in a post-Christian era in America, we are growing, not because of any set of doctrines that may attract someone to the Episcopal Church, but rather because of the gracious love of Christ that goes beyond all boundaries, that seeks all, welcomes all to share in that great love. It is by no accident that all are welcome to receive the Body and Blood of Christ at All Saints.

We are blessed by the least among us, and the greatest, the quiet and the not so quiet; by those who have beautiful voices and those who simply hum; we are blessed by those who pray for us.

We are blessed by the youngest among us, fresh and honest, with few words, but abounding with gracious movement, who offer wisdom for our hearts.

I am thankful for you (who make up 99% of the parish) who, by the grace of God, make this parish healthy and alive. I am thankful to God, that we receive God's blessing over and over again, without fail.

Missional and Attractional

As we move into 2014 there are opportunities and challenges for All Saints; opportunities and challenges that will stretch out well beyond this year, as if those opportunities and challenges are one and the same, that they have everything to do with the depth and breadth of our faith and our willingness to trust that God is with us, doing infinitely more than we can ever imagine.

There are missional challenges facing us as a member of the Episcopal Church in South Carolina – missional in that we look and act beyond our own needs, to a diocese that needs our financial support and equally our gifts and talents. Imagine starting a parish from scratch, (as this parish did twenty seven years ago) literally, all the investment of time talent and finances, and we begin to see the enormous effort that must be undertaken to aid existing communities, missions, and congregations in our diocese.

The entire budget of the diocese, which stretches from Myrtle Beach/Surf-side to All Saints, is less than half that of our parish budget for 2014. The Diocesan budget reflects taking no money from the Episcopal Church and relying on the Stewardship of thirty parishes, missions and gathered communities. There are more retired clergy in this diocese than full time active clergy.

Our own deanery (the lower third of the diocese) is comprised of one parish, All Saints, six missions – All Saints Hampton, Christ Church Denmark, St. Phillip’s Denmark (on the campus of Voorhees College), St. Mark’s Port Royal, Holy Communion Allendale, Heavenly Rest Estelle, and the Episcopal Church in Okatie. Our staff and retired clergy assist weekly with those communities, pastorally and liturgically. We are beginning to develop strategies, aided by the diocese and our own network of clergy and laity, that will hopefully move those missions and worshipping

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communities from merely surviving to self-sufficiency. At home we understand the importance of missional as an essential reality of our life and ministry, that we are not simply about meeting our own needs.

We have also embraced what is termed “Attractional” – paying close attention to what we do to attract people to the life and ministry of All Saints. In general terms that means paying attention to our core values and realities that set us as a unique parish: we are open, welcoming, friendly, engaging.....we do well as we worship, in fellowship, pastoral care… in our desire to be always “ missional", we must keep in mind the worship of this parish, the fellowship that draws us together as the body of Christ, and the pastoral care that sustains spiritually members of this parish.

Moving Forward

Foundation

The mission of the All Saints Foundation is to establish and grow an endowment fund which will exist to support All Saints Episcopal Church, its facilities, religious works, missions, and outreach programs. Promised bequests total over 850 thousand dollars to this date.

Stewardship

Underpins all faithful life.

Young Family Ministries

Breaking the mold that developed over the last ten years. We are now saying and doing, and "living into" the fact that all are welcome at All Saints. By thought, word, and deed we are really saying, with program and budget and people, that young families are not simply encouraged to be part of All Saints but are vital to the life of our parish......now!

Healing Ministry/Lay Leadership...

For Jesus it was an important, core ministry. Somehow the church lost its way...that ministry of healing was pushed to the outer edges of the church....we're bringing it back as central to our life together....

Pastoral Care/ From a Lay perspective

Placing an emphasis on pastoral care, with laity in the vanguard.

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Music Director’s ReportR. Steven BranyonIt does not seem possible that another year has come and gone. In the music department, we celebrated a one year anniversary for the organ with recitalist Louis Shirer, a fellow colleague from Winthrop University. On Shrove Tuesday, Mr. Bob Walker returned to re-voice our new organ followed by Robert Gladden, another certified tech at Walker Organs.

During Lent the choir had two major offerings for our congregation. They first had a weekend workshop with conductor Richard Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy was a choral conductor for North Greenville College when I was a student there back in the late 70’s. The choir enjoyed his leadership and celebrated with a Lenten Concert including brass instruments and a reception sponsored by the Friends of Music, faithfully led by Suzy Stetson. Also in Lent the choir sang a wonderful major work (which, as far as I know, had never been sung on Hilton Head Island), Theodore DuBois’s The Seven Last Words, using soloists from North Greenville University, a Baptist affiliated school in Tigerville, SC. There were invitations extended to other schools as a part of our newly adopted missional emphasis, but North Greenville University was the only one that responded. Our invitation to the University's Dean of Music, Dr. Jackie Griffin, my first organ professor, was much appreciated and the soloists who were selected by the Voice Department were most grateful to have an opportunity to perform such a dramatic work. I'm quite sure that these young soloists will cherish the memory of that performance for many years to come, and these concerts also allowed me to renew my personal relationship with two of my instructors and the university itself.

A small group of faithful handbell ringers along with flautist Pam Cooper brought us from darkness into the light of the Eastertide season. On Easter Sunday, the organ contacts started to give trouble. This was because they were original to the organ and not damaged as a result of the lightning strike but were worn from thirty years of wear and tear. They had to be replaced, but were no longer covered by warranty and this was one of the reasons that our music budget went over the anticipated amount this past year. These contacts are now warranted for another ten years, as is the organ itself. There should not be any other surprise problems with our organ.

The choir served faithfully as always through Trinity Sunday, taking a break until Labor Day, starting rehearsals again in the fall. During the summer, our services were embellished by both soloists and instrumentalists from our church and the community. This is also living our mission as so many orchestras across the country are having such difficulties sustaining themselves. At the end of the summer, we had a special choir party to say goodbye to a faithful member, Joyce Kauffman, who relocated to Colorado Springs. She had served not only as a member of the choir but also as the Choir Librarian. We lost another member in the fall, but gained others. Our present choir membership stands at 42, as we just received another member into our fellowship this past week. This is the largest enrollment since my arrival at All Saints. Our choir is offered an option of a daytime and a nighttime rehearsal. The attendance for the afternoon rehearsal has steadily grown as some of our members no longer wish to drive at night. In addition to our regular rehearsals, there are many more rehearsals scheduled for individuals who serve as soloists and as cantors.

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In addition to our faithful choir, we are privileged to hear two guest organists from time to time. Syd Small accompanied the Thanksgiving Eucharist and Jim Hall played for the Taize services during Advent and Lent. This past Christmas Eve, we had an opportunity to employ Brass musicians. This was the first opportunity to have a full instrumental ensemble on a holiday, because they are usually booked years in advance. On Christmas morning, we enjoyed the talents of Uri Kholodov on the violin. This was a wonderful contrast. Also by having these musicians, the choir could spend more time concentrating on the music of Advent and the Christmas Lessons and Carols Service to follow.

During the coming year, I have asked the Choir Council Members to consider the possibility of having one rehearsal a month offsite. This will not only give the choir an opportunity for all to rehearse together, but it will get our choir out into the community in a very visible way. These rehearsals can be in restaurants, in hotel lobbies, in nursing homes, or other visible places of interest. I have asked Mark Brinkmann, with the other Clergy, to write an attractive tract for us to take on these outings.

I will close with this story. There were two missionaries who were serving in Iran in the years of the Shah. A Baptist missionary was going about trying to convert people to Christianity by approaching individuals one on one. He was not having any luck, and he had no converts. The Episcopal missionary had a congregation of about thirty converts. The Baptist missionary asked the Episcopal missionary how he managed this success. The Episcopal missionary said that he simply set up a church, and went about doing what God called him to do, which was to worship and live life to the best of his ability according to the example of Christ. This is worth thinking about as a goal for our music ministry this year, to just be seen doing what we do best, offering the best of sacred music to our most worthy God, in hopes that others will want to come along on our journey of their own free will.

Respectfully,Steven Branyon

Senior Warden’s ReportGeorge PinkertonThe Episcopal Church is thriving and growing in the Lowcountry and All Saints Episcopal Church is helping to lead the way!! God’s Blessings were many and bountiful this year. To begin the year, the framework for a “Vision of All Saints” was established at a Vestry retreat. This presented many new challenges for renewal and growth.

Through the year of 2013, the Vision Goal categories successfully implemented included: Youth and Families

o All Saints became a full service church to support families with children with the assistance of hiring a second Associate Priest, Reverend Matthew Schneider.

o All Saints co-sponsoring with Christ Lutheran Church resulted with a successful Vacation Bible School with 35 students and 30 volunteers.

o A Child Care policy was adopted.

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o Working with the Worship ministry a Children’s Chapel was implemented at the 10:15 service.

o Preschool relationships with the parish were strengthened with Father Matt being a primary Chaplin for weekly Monday Chapel and Thursday Bible story along with his attending all preschool functions.

Diocesan Relationship:o Our Delegates attended two conventions of The Episcopal Church In South Carolina:

On January 26 gathering at Grace Episcopal Church in Charleston for a Special Convention to reorganize and rebuild the Episcopal Church In South Carolina. The Right Reverend Charles Glenn vonRosenberg was invested as Bishop by the Most Reverend Katherine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church.

On March 9, our delegates returned to Charleston for the 222nd Annual Convention. A spirit of joy and celebration opened Saturday’s business session, as about 30 members of St. Mark’s Port Royal waited for the official vote that granted them “mission” status, with seat and vote at the Convention. Approval came by acclimation as the crowd stood and applauded for the group from St. Mark’s. All Saints delegates presented them with a set of sacred vessels for the Eucharist.

o Currently our Parish is preparing for the 2014 Diocesan Convention to be hosted by us February 21 - 22, 2014.

Support other worshipping communities in the diocese.o With the establishment of the continuing diocese of the Episcopal Church In South Carolina,

All Saints becomes the second largest Parish in the Diocese. o All Saints clergy and lay persons assisted with the leadership establishment of the Southern

Deanery. The mission continues to be for All Saints to serve as resources and support for the upcoming worshipping communities.

o All Saints supported St Mark’s Port Royal attaining Mission status.o All Saints is providing lay and clergy guidance for the new worshipping community of The

Episcopal Church in Okatie.o Seven of the retired clergy affiliated with All Saints are volunteering as assisting clergy for

the Southern Deanery. Communication:

o The Communications ministry expanded lines of communication and our internet exposure with a Facebook account.

o A password protected online membership directory with photos has been established. o Began the practice of preparing All Saints informational fliers for preschool students to take

home.

Membership Growtho By continuing our practice as an attractional church, the Welcoming Commission oversaw

eight new member dinners and the incorporating of 89 new parishioners.

Missional Outreach

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o The Angel Tree ministry revised gift giving to give more human dignity to the process of exchange rather than simply using one-way giving.

o The 2013 Missional Advisory Group continued the programs and actions proposed by that group to further educate the congregation regarding Missional Outreach opportunities.

o Nonprofit agencies dealing with the challenges of Aging were added for grant criteria consideration along with those agencies working with Literacy, Hunger and Homelessness.

o Our Garden Tour awarded grants totaling $25,800 to six designated charities.o The Nursing Home Ministries has been expanded to include NHC in Bluffton.

Pastoral Careo This ministry has been strengthened with addition of Father Matt to visitation schedules.o A Healing Service has been incorporated into the 10:15 service. o A Lay Visitation ministry has been established.

Financialo A challenging “Every Member Canvass” to support the “Vision of All Saints” resulted with an

increase over 2013 of total pledge income and members pledging.

Vestry Planningo Business processes streamlined o The 2014 Vestry retreat theme will be “Leadership Challenges” and will focus on four topics:

interpreting the All Saints Vision, understanding finance at All Saints, leadership development, and the Vestry as policy makers.

This report would not be complete without acknowledging the essential and generous volunteer support that Assisting Clergy Cathy Brookman, Pam Fahrner, George Moyser, Jack Nietert, Greg Pryor, Gordon Weller, and Woody Woodroofe have provided in 2013. This help combined with a dedicated, hardworking staff of Marilyn, Nan and Steven; an outstanding Clergy team of Rick, Mark, Matt and Sandy; twelve energetic Vestry members; and so many committed, giving and skilled parishioners; led to make this a successful 2013. It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve as Senior Warden of All Saints.

May God continue to bless our All Saints Family as we continue forward in 2014.

Respectfully,George Pinkerton

Treasurer’s ReportMark Szen

Buildings and Grounds CommissionVestry liaison: John Castellano

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Green Ecology InitiativeA number of energy conservation and recycle programs were initiated this year at All Saints. Compact fluorescent bulbs have been installed in the preschool wing and all corridors in the church. Other areas will be changed out as replacement is needed. Single stream recycling has been set up by replacing our dumpster with two smaller dumpsters, one for trash and one for recyclables. Smaller recycling receptacles have been placed throughout Gordon Mann Hall to collect recyclables.

Fire CodesAll fire extinguishers throughout the church have been outfitted with battery packs. A quarterly testing procedure is in place. Seventeen sprinkler heads that were replaced because they had been painted.

HVACOne of the three compressor units that supply the nave was replaced this year.

Critter ControlAll possible entry points into the building through electrical, plumbing and HVAC lines on the roof and siding were sealed to keep small critters from entering the building.

Portable ChairsAll 270 portable chairs were cleaned, tightened and seats were repaired as needed.

Roof Leaks in the roof were repaired over the copy room and over the preschool entrance. The entire roof and columbarium bricks were power washed to remove stains.

Sexton ResponsibilitiesThe sexton’s work responsibilities were reviewed by the committee and are being updated.

PaintingThe following rooms were painted this past year: new finance office, new clergy office, new youth room on upper level, new nursery on upper level, preschool entrance corridor and bathrooms, chair storage room.

ColumbariumTree limbs hanging over the columbarium and church roof were removed to allow more sunlight and to keep pine needles off of the roof.

Respectfully,John Castellano

Christian Education CommissionVestry liaisons: Pat Amer, Peggy Miller

Adult Christian Education

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A commitment to learning has long been an important feature of life at All Saints. During the past year there have been a wide array of offerings intended to help people explore or deepen their faith. These range from weekly bible studies to “Dinner and a Movie”, from Inquirer’s Classes that serve as preparation for Confirmation, Reception or Reaffirmation to Education for Ministry, a four year course of theological education. A little something for everyone, these sessions were led by clergy and laity alike and held on both Sundays and weekdays during the year.

Highlights from 2013 included:

Sunday morning video/discussion offerings such as: “Living the Questions”, a provocative series featuring top scholars and church leaders including Marcus

Borg and John Shelby Spong “The Future Present – Six Tough Questions for the Church”, which took an in-depth look at some of the

implications and insights from Reggie McNeal’s compelling work on the realities the church must face as it moves forward

“The History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon” with Prof. Bart D. Ehrman “How Do Non-Christian Believers Relate to God” which explored the thought and practice of other faiths

such as Judaism, Islam and Buddhism

Additional Sunday morning opportunities included a two-part series near Earth Day that took its name from Eucharistic Prayer C in the Prayer Book, “This Fragile Earth our Island Home” and “Conversation Pieces”, a series of ongoing talks and discussion generated from an exploration of current events, popular culture, and art, aimed at making connections between the story of Jesus and everyday life.

Seasonal opportunities included a Lenten series entitled “The Arc of Salvation History”, in which we explored some of the great stories of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Story of Creation, the Flood, Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac, Israel’s Deliverance at the Red Sea and the Valley of Dry Bones) in preparation for Easter.

Small groups gathered for evenings of “Dessert and Discussion” as they centered on topics such as: “The Gnostic Gospels and the book of Revelation” and “Meditations on the Gospel of Luke” while larger numbers attended “Supper and Speakers” nights which featured interesting talks ranging from “Planning for the Inevitable” to “Does Modern Science Undermine Faith in God?”

A Thursday morning class dedicated to spirituality and wellness read Thomas Keating’s “The Human Condition-Contemplation and Transformation”.

Respectfully,Mark Brinkmann

Children’s and Youth Ministry

At the beginning of the year, Fr. Rick and Peggy Miller developed a children’s and youth ministry commission. They started by having an open meeting for any interested parishioner and contacted the young families. The commission soon learned that they wanted a viable Sunday school

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program complete with a worship element. The youth and children’s ministers at Grace Church in Charleston were invited to spend a day with us to share ideas and give us suggestions on how to develop these programs. They conducted a sample lesson at our preschool, and 15 people attended the meeting. The Red Wagon for offerings was born from an idea at this meeting, and it has been a big hit with the children as they present the food that they donate. (Thanks to the Eberly family who furnished our wagon.)

At this same time the acolyte program began incorporating children, under the direction of Brad Tufts. Two of our acolytes traveled to Charleston in May to participate in an Acolyte Festival at Grace Church. We also recognized these children on June 2 with a certificate and introduction to the congregation. The children presented a video and answered questions during coffee hour. As we were planning for our Vacation Bible School (VBS) in June, we conducted a misconduct prevention training for any interested parishioners, and 39 attended our first session. VBS was very successful with 41 children and 22 volunteers participating. In July Matt Schneider was hired as an Associate Priest, with a focus on helping to meet the needs of young families. Since his arrival, he has taken on oversight leadership by forming a steering committee that focused primarily on working with children and young families. This committee developed a new Sunday school program with music instruction during the 9 a.m. hour and a children’s chapel during a portion of the 10:15 a.m. Eucharist. In the fall, we recruited, vetted, and trained 31 parishioners to volunteer with children as Sunday school teachers, music teachers, and chapel leaders. The committee also began thinking of ways to make All Saints more accessible to families. For example, we reorganized three rooms upstairs for children’s activities, created a station in the narthex with “busy-bags” to help occupy small children during worship, had our first Blessing of Backpacks at the start of the school year, and moved the nursery to a larger and more inviting space. Matt has focused his own pastoral efforts on helping the parish understand the importance of these ministries, cultivating adult leadership, strengthening the connection between our preschool and the parish, discerning a vision for the future of these ministries, and strengthening the fellowship community of young families. He has developed a team of parishioners to redesign our church Internet presence, making it more attractive and engaging for younger generations; he has convened a regular gathering of young men (20s to 50s) that meet monthly for fellowship and spiritual growth; and he began working with various ministries of the church to consider how children, youth, and young adults can be integrated into the overall life of the parish. (For example, we are recruiting younger folks to serve as Sunday greeters, and one young adult was nominated for vestry and another as a delegate to the 2014 diocesan convention.) A major goal is not just to create programs and activities for younger folks but also to stimulate their presence and inclusion throughout the parish. We did not focus much this year on youth (middle and high school), primarily because we do not yet have a critical mass. However, we worked with the few youth we have to meet their individual needs. (For instance one youth has been assigned an adult mentor to work with toward the goal of confirmation.) Matt also began working with our diocese and deanery to consider how our several parishes might work together in ministering with youth and involving them in the life of the diocese.

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Respectfully,Peggy Miller and Matt Schneider

Community Outreach CommissionVestry liaisons: Marjorie Milbrandt, Mark Szen

This has been an active and productive year for Community Outreach, both at home and abroad. We continued our focus on the areas of hunger, homelessness, and literacy and the vestry voted to add the area of aging to our outreach efforts.

Respectfully,Marjorie Milbrandt

Domestic Mission and Outreach

Angel Tree – Sandy Grant

The Angel Tree Ministry took on a different look this year. The tree located in Gordon Mann Hall was decorated with gift requests as usual but parishioners were asked to purchase and donate unwrapped gifts to be placed in a Christmas Store located at Bible Missionary Baptist Church in Bluffton so that parents and families could purchase gifts at highly discounted prices. Proceeds went to the American Cancer Society and the Willing Workers Society. Parishioners were also given the opportunity to contribute to purchase 62 gift certificates which were given as rewards for students participating in the Neighborhood Outreach Connection educational program.

Episcopal Church WomenThe purpose of Episcopal Church women is threefold: fellowship, spiritual growth and outreach. All women of the church are eligible members.

Our meetings are usually (but not always) on the first Tuesday of the month, and include a program with dinner. Attendance is typically fifteen to thirty women. Last year included speakers such as Steve Branyon, and Father Matt and Holly Schneider. Wally McNamee shared his award winning photos from around the world in politics. In November, ECW has always been in charge of the “pumped up” coffee hour for the bishop's visit. In December, we visited the Rose hill plantation in a group of over 45 women. We have also participated in the soup kitchen and family promise.

Our big event every year is the sold-out fashion show held in the spring. Over 160 people bought tickets and attended a dinner with wine and fashions, right here in Gordon Mann Hall, complete with Saintly servers! Proceeds exceeded $2000, and were distributed to the Hunger and Homeless Coalition, Osprey Village, Pregnancy Center of the Lowcountry, All Saints Children's Ministry, and York Place.

Currently our president is Rosalie Van Dam, and 2014 is promising to be better than ever.

Respectfully,

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Janet Reuss, Past President

Family Promise – Loni Saunders

All Saints continues to be a major provider of facilities, meals and companionship by hosting situationally homeless families, 60 percent of whom are children. We hosted families on four occasions and All Saints was assisted in this ministry by members of The Church Without Walls and Congregation Beth Yam.

Food Banks

All Saints provides a convenient collection point for food donations to our local food banks run by Deep Well and Bluffton Self Help. Parishioners, including children participating in Sunday School, drop off their contribution of food in a basket located in the narthex each Sunday. A delightful tradition has begun each Sunday at the 10:15 service during the offertory, when our children pull a red wagon filled with food contributions to be presented at the Altar.

Friends with Wheels – Cathie Cherrix

Friends with Wheels is an all-volunteer group serving our community. It has been in existence for more than 20 years. We drive residents to medical and social services appointments.

Habitat for HumanityFor the second year All Saints provided Gordon Mann Hall for the Harmonies for Habitat Concert. The concert, organized by Carole Galli, raised funds for the new, planned Habitat for Humanity neighborhood on HHI.

Holiday Food Baskets – Lynn Ovelman

Twelve families were given ingredients for Easter dinner; names of these families were provided by The Deep Well Project on Hilton Head Island. In November, twelve families on Hilton Head (names from Deep Well) and twelve families in Bluffton (names from Bluffton Self Help) were provided with the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinners.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Day (5th Saturday) – Jen Gajdalo

5th Saturday is an ecumenical community-wide day of service which is a product of Islanders' desire to create a "beloved community" as proposed by Dr. Martin Luther King. Members of Hilton Head Island faith communities and other community groups gather for breakfast and fellowship on the 5th Saturday of the month, whenever one occurs. They then sign up to spend the rest of the morning on a service project - such as painting the Children's Center, cleaning up a Native Islander graveyard, repairing a porch and wheelchair ramp, or painting the home of a handicapped person.

Nursing Home Ministry – Sandy Grant and Brad Tufts

On the first Thursday of each month, Holy Communion is brought to the memory care section of the National HealthCare Center (NHC) skilled nursing facility near Sun City. On the second Thursday of

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each month, Holy Communion is brought to approximately 15 residents of the Life Care skilled nursing facility on Hilton Head. Each Sunday at 11:30 Holy Communion is taken to Preston Health Care Center of the Cypress. A special service is held and frequently members of the Preston staff, family members, as well as residents participate.

Prayer Shawl Ministry – Linda Grady

This unique and love-filled form of outreach began in New England around 1996. It was here that a Unitarian minister and a Catholic lay person came together with a loosely formed plan to knit shawls as spiritually uplifting gifts. It came informally to Christ Church in Binghamton, NY and in 2008 to All Saints, Hilton Head Island, SC. In just this way the ministry is traveling across this country to churches of every denomination. Since its inception it has grown worldwide.

Easy to knit shawls are created for giving to others as a way of connecting us to them and them to us. The shawls may go to people we do or do not know and are a means of expressing our love and prayers for the seasons of life such as times when we are celebrating a birth, marriage, birthday or other blessings. But even more when we are in need of healing from grief, illness, aging or other trials of life.

An informal and silent prayer is said now and then throughout the knitting of the shawl. In this way, the recipient is wrapped in love and prayers whenever the shawl is wrapped around their shoulders.

Prior to distribution, completed shawls are blessed in the spring and in the fall of each year by one of the clergy of All Saints Church. We generally gather together to knit on the first Saturday of the month at 10 AM in the library at All Saints Church. Instructions/pattern directions are given at the meeting. Both members and non-members of All Saints are welcome to join.

26th Annual Garden TourFred Gebler, 2013 Chair

The 2013 All Saints Episcopal Church Garden Tour was a tremendous success! Highlights are as follows:

We sold 715 tickets and raised $36,398 in gross income. Proceeds to the charities will total $25,800. This compares to $25,100 the previous year.

Checks for $4300 were presented to : Bluffton Backpack Buddies, which provides food in backpacks weekly for 141 students in need of food assistance at Beaufort County schools in Bluffton. The funding grant will be used to provide weekly backpacks for an additional 15-20 students and help to pilot The School Pantry Program for students and parents, as well as to provide vouchers for students at the end of the school year to purchase food at the Bluffton Farmers Market.

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Hilton Head Island Backpack Buddies, which provides food in backpacks weekly for 120 children in three Hilton Head Island elementary schools. The funding grant will be used to purchase food from the Lowcountry Food Bank to fill the backpacks. The cost is $150 per child per year. (Their 2012 Garden Tour funding grant of $6,250 was used to start the 2012 -2013 school year increasing the number of children served by 60, for a total of 180 students.) The grant also allowed each child to receive fresh fruit weekly.

Family Promise of Beaufort County, which works in Beaufort County to provide temporary shelter, family stability, and permanent housing solutions for homeless families with children by mobilizing interfaith and secular communities. The funding grant will be used to grow the client base served by 25% in order to serve 30-40 families annually by 2015.

Literacy Volunteers of the Lowcountry, which serves 100 low-literacy adult students on Hilton Head Island. The funding grant will be used to provide tailored instruction under the “Read for Life” project to increase reading and/or language skills.

Neighborhood Outreach Connection (NOC), which provides educational outreach programs for low income neighborhoods on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton. The funding grant will be used to for the “2013 Winter School Program - Hilton Head Island.” It will provide support to K to Grade 8 students in HHI Oaks and surrounding communities.

Thumbs Up, which provides intensive academic tutoring and social guidance to elementary-aged children in Beaufort County whose parents are unable to help their children due to various life challenges. The funding grant will allow these children to be served, as well as their parents and other family members. Four literacy workshops for parents will be conducted.

Karen Reuter is the Chair for the 2014 All Saints Garden Tour.

Respectfully,Fred Gebler

Foreign Mission and Outreach – Dominican Republic Mission GroupKathy Jones and Steve and Loretta Tabor, Co-chairs

2014 will be the fifteenth year that All Saints Short Term Mission Teams have been serving Christ in the Dominican Republic with medical, construction, vacation bible school and discovery trips. Seven years ago we established a special relationship with a church community in Barahona - La Redencion, when we committed to helping build the church and classrooms and working together on vacation bible school teams. Our work is thriving and the energy for mission at All Saints is great. God is good!

Respectfully,Bonnie Gruetzmacher

All Saints of SC Medical Mission – Dale Finn, Team Leader

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Dates: January 23-30, 2013 Location: Barrio outside of Santo Dominigo: La Barquita (translates to Little Boat). Episcopal Church: San Pedro y San Pablo Priest: Father Emilio. Financial: Team: All team members paid their own expenses. The team also voted to give $550 of

their team money to Father Emilio for his discretionary fund. We have funds remaining for 2014 mission.

General: This year the team members were able to raise enough funds to pay for all the medications and medical supplies needed for the 2013 mission. We have a small amount of funds left over for some of these purchases for 2014. We know we need more medications since we ran out of many of the medications this year.

Our 2013 mission trip was an outstanding success. We had twelve team members from eight parishes in South Carolina, Florida, and Massachusetts, including five from All Saints: Judy Cote, Dale Finn, Jane Lindsey, Cheryl Clephane, and Julie Erlandsen. We also had working with us a physician from Cuba (Dr. Elizabeth—Father Emilio’s daughter), and one day we had a physician from the Dominican Republic and two dentists who requested to work with us. We are thrilled to have these people because this is our goal—to work with the local Dominicans and help them establish their own health care in the future. The team was outstanding in the efficiency and flexibility with which they organized the clinic and quickly began to see patients. We saw many patients with intestinal problems due to poor nutrition and parasite infestation. Other conditions we saw included skin problems, respiratory problems, diabetes, cardiovascular conditions, and more. The mission team had available medications purchased in the DR and some from the US plus some left over from last year’s clinic which we stored in the diocesan office. The medical personnel spent time educating the patients on health care and ways to improve their diet.

Father Emilio limited the number of patients we were able to see due to the fact that this is an area with so much poverty that we otherwise would be overwhelmed with patients. This not only would affect the quality of care we could give to patients but could cause safety issues for all.

Many of the local parishioners helped each day with the clinic operation. A couple of the helpers were very intent on learning more English from us. All were hard working and so happy to be part of the clinic. We registered patients in the church where there were a group of church-ladies who would come for a portion of each day and sit in the back of the church smiling. When I asked a parish helper why they were there, I was told “they just come to watch.” Every day they would come – sometimes twice a day – just sitting quietly, watching and smiling.

The week was very busy, tiring, emotional, dusty, hot, chaotic – however as each of us said our good-byes we hugged and thanked them for allowing us to come. THE NEXT ALL SAINTS OF SC MEDICAL MISSION TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IS SCHEDULED FOR JUNE 25-JULY 2, 2014.

Encounter in Mission and Discovery Tour – John and Bonnie Gruetzmacher

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In mid-April Loretta Tabor, Bonnie and John Gruetzmacher from All Saints, and Judy Alling from St. Marks, Port Royal, attended a once in a decade Encounter in Mission Conference sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic.

There were three parts to the trip. On the first two days, the group attended seminars on various mission activities. The choices were numerous and varied: VBS, Medical Mission, Leadership in Mission, Dominican Development Group, Microcredit Program, Construction, Liturgy and Spirituality, to name a few. On Sunday, a three-hour celebratory Eucharist was conducted in the National Volleyball Arena in Santo Domingo, attended by about 3,000 people from parishes throughout the country. Some people (adults and children from the Episcopal schools) who had never been out of their small villages traveled on buses for up to six hours to be a part of the celebration. Marching, singing, flag waving, local instruments, colorful uniforms, drums, and more drums enriched the traditional service.

Following the Encounter and for the next three days, the group had a tour of discovery with visits to many churches, schools, clinics, and nursing homes; meeting clergy and parishioners and receiving an education on topics ranging from AIDS to water treatment, and from preschool to caring for the elderly. The excellent participation, presentations and enthusiasm of this spirit-filled diocese was contagious!

Vacation Bible School – Loretta and Steve Tabor, Team Leaders

Seven years ago, All Saints began conducting Vacation Bible School in the still-being-built- school and church, La Redencion in Barahona. That year about 35 children from the middle-class neighborhood attended VBS led by All Saints volunteers. That program grew each year through 2011, when about 80 children attended. In 2012, the program was expanded to include 250 eager children in Jesus Peregrino, a church in an extremely poor barrio in Barahona. During the week of June 19 - 26, 2013, over 300 children, in the two churches combined, joyfully learned about our Lord!

The team included about 50 volunteers in all. There were six All Saints members: Rick Lindsey, Pam Cooper, Susan Ferry, Carole Galli, and Steve and Loretta Tabor. One team member was from St. Mark’s, Port Royal: Barbara Anderson. The two churches in Barahona provided approximately 40 volunteers. It was truly an extraordinary team, all being motivated by a desire to provide an educational, enriching and fun week for the more than 300 children served each day.

There were several changes made to the program this year that we felt made the VBS run more smoothly.

We divided the program into four components: Bible instruction, physical education, crafts, and music. The music portion was the first 30 minutes of the day. Then, the approximately 200 children of Jesus Peregrino were divided into three groups, by age. For the next 90 minutes, the children rotated through Bible study, physical education, and crafts. As closely as possible, all of the activities were linked to the Bible lesson of the day. The team agreed that acting out the Bible verses was a huge hit with the children. Each session ended with a short team meeting with both Father Rick and Father Alfredo leading us in prayer.

The very intense morning program made the afternoon at La Redencion, with only 90 children,

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restful in comparison. The children remained together for music and Bible instruction, and were divided for crafts and physical education.

We were very fortunate to have a translator as a member of the All Saints team. In addition, Father Alfredo arranged for two translators from the Baharona churches.

Bishop Holguin (Bishop of DR) is working very hard to make the Diocese self-sufficient by 2015. We are of the opinion that it would benefit the members of the two parishes that we visit for VBS, that they be able to run their own program in the future. With that in mind, we began working toward making our team and theirs a single team. We had a pre-VBS meeting, shared the written daily schedule, and had daily meetings with the local volunteers. In all components we requested local volunteers to take leadership roles – they did so with gusto. The team agreed that much groundwork was laid and progress made toward the goal of the Dominican volunteers becoming self-sufficient. The team tee shirt, provided by funds from the All Saints’ Vestry, built cohesiveness, and the daily adult interactive meetings, discussions, and prayer aided the DR staff in a better understanding of everyone’s role in the VBS.

The Sunday after our return, a pictorial storyboard and display were presented at All Saints, while a slide show, created by JoAnne Rizza, looped on the TV screen.

All team members wrote heartfelt ”Reflections” of the trip. Fred Gebler arranged for pictures and the personal reflections to be included on the church website. George Pinkerton developed the Reflections and photos into a booklet and entered it into the church’s website for all to enjoy.

All team members came home with their own very special memories, and one highlight stood out in everyone’s mind . . . a young girl of about 12 years came on the second day of VBS at LaRedencion, and was slowly coaxed into the schoolyard, and then to the doorway, and finally inside the church. On day 3 she returned. On the fourth day she needed only a little encouragement to join us; she participated in the program, as best she was able. The team learned that she was mute as well as extremely shy. We felt we made a difference in her life for a few short days, as she did in ours.

The continuing generosity of All Saints Vestry has made this ministry to over 300 children, and the many adult volunteers, possible.

The next Dominican Republic VBS is scheduled for June 16 -20. We have the basis of an excellent team: Father Matt Schneider, Marjorie Milbrandt, Kathy Jones, Pam Cooper, Susan Ferry, Barbara Anderson, Steve and Loretta Tabor. We are currently searching for up to seven more team members.

Scholarships – Bonnie Gruetzmacher

All Saints has committed to supporting the student scholarship program for more than a dozen years - giving a child in need of financial aid the ability to attend an Episcopal school. The cost for a full school year is $350. After the completion of La Redencion in Barahona, and the opening of the school, we furthered our commitment by choosing to support the little children in that school. For the 2012-2013 school year, our parishioners generously gave twenty scholarships. It is important to note that this ministry represents more than twenty people, as groups within the church came together and

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contributed what they could, as any amount is most welcome. Not everyone in the parish is able to make a trip to the Dominican Republic to serve on a team or experience a pilgrimage, but helping to educate a child is something everyone can do.

Happy Feet Shoe Ministry – Loretta Tabor

In June, 2012, Karen Carroll, DR team coordinator, described the desperate and continuing need for shoes for the Dominican people. Because black closed-toe shoes are required for a child to attend school, children’s school shoes are a particular need. In some families, children alternate days of attending school because they must share a pair of shoes. After being advised of the need, All Saints’ rector and vestry readily supported the concept of a shoe ministry.

Since August of 2012, more than 1,000 pairs of new and gently used shoes have been shipped to the Diocesan Office in Santo Domingo from All Saints. The shoes are distributed to the church vicars, who then distribute them to the neediest people in their neighborhoods. All Saints’ parishioners have generously contributed to this effort.

In April 2013, St. Mark’s, Port Royal, joined the Happy Feet Ministry. They have sent several hundred pairs of shoes. Currently, ours is the only Episcopal group sending shoes to the DR.In November, 2013, Rick Lindsey invited Steve Tabor to make a presentation to the Southern Deanery describing the shoe ministry for consideration as a Deanery outreach project.

All Saints Preschool “Connections” Program – Loretta Tabor

In the spring of 2012, the All Saints Preschool initiated a project to develop a relationship with the students at La Redencion. The students at All Saints learned about their new “friends,” learned Spanish songs, saved their pennies to send books, and sent cardboard crosses to Barahona. Because of the difficulty in communication, the relationship was distinctly one-sided.

In April 2013, during the Encounter-in-Mission in the DR, small craft projects and hand drawn pictures were exchanged with Father Alfredo, the vicar in Barahona. In addition, the All Saints students sent 15 pairs of new black school shoes to Father Alfredo to be distributed to the children of the parish.

Development of the Connections program will be a continuing effort.

Friends of the Dominican Republic – John and Bonnie Gruetzmacher

John and Bonnie Gruetzmacher organized and conducted meetings in April and late May with individuals from the Episcopal Church in South Carolina who are interested and involved in Dominican Republic (DR) mission work. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss how to bring the re-formed diocese together to continue the long-standing work of South Carolina Episcopalians in the DR.

The second meeting was held at Grace Church in Charleston and was attended by a number of members from All Saints and Grace Church, and two people from St. Francis, a newly formed worshipping community. The group discussed the potential for continuing the role of the ECinSC in the DR, strategies for engaging other churches in the ECinSC and overviewed the experience of attending

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the Encounter-in-Mission Conference held in Santo Domingo in mid-April. Of special note was the presence of Bishop vonRosenberg, who had planned to only attend to welcome everyone. However he stayed for the entire meeting, listened attentively, asked good questions and expressed a desire to continue the work in the DR going forward.

Bill Kunkle, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Dominican Development Group, was in attendance and gave a good summary of both the DDG mission and the extensive work his parish and the Clearwater Deanery have done. Unfortunately our desire of broadening the scope of awareness of DR mission work to the whole diocese has not moved forward as we had hoped. With the many issues facing the new diocese, it has taken a back seat for now. The good news is that individual parishes have continued with short term mission trips. When the time is right we hope to re-initiate the effort.

Public Relations – Fred Gebler

I continued preparing and disseminating to the local news media a variety of press releases with photos about the DR mission teams. I gave special emphasis to sending this material to the coordinators for both the church’s web site and Facebook page. In addition, I arranged for George Pinkerton to develop a Personal Reflections & Photos Booklet with inputs provided by this year’s Vacation Bible School Team Members. The booklet was posted on the church’s web site. I hope that this model will be used when future All Saints mission teams travel to the DR.

Clean Water Initiative – Steve Tabor

During the Encounter-in-Mission, a representative from Water Missions International (WMI) discussed their program for providing clean water to poor regions in third world countries. WMI, a non-governmental organization, provides wells, treatment systems, and education to provide potable water. To further explore this initiative for the Dominican Mission Group (DMG). Judy Alling, from St. Mark’s, and Steve Tabor visited WMI’s headquarters in Charleston. Both Judy and Steve were impressed with WMI’s technical prowess as well as their procedures for gaining buy-in from the local communities. However, at this time WMI does not have a physical presence in the DR. WMI is currently evaluating the need to put a team in place in the DR. Judy and Steve recommended that the DMG stay in touch with WMI and the Dominican Development Group, who are in full support of providing clean water and are encouraging WMI to move into the DR. Once WMI’s intentions are known, the DMG will be in a position to make a recommendation to the vestry.

Finance CommissionVestry liaison: Dennis Foss

The Finance commission coordinates the activity of the Finance committee, counters, insurance, audit, and church property.

Finance CommitteeThis year the Finance committee continued its monthly meetings to review the financial reports as prepared by the Treasurer, Mark Szen, and to coordinate and present the annual budget. It also is

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continuingly looking for ways to cut expenses while at the same time making every effort to find the funds necessary to meet the growth needs of the congregation.

This committee is chaired by Wil Hamp, and we wish to thank him for the many long hours he continues to put in each year. There has been an average of about six members on this committee, many who have served for several years and we thank all of them. We would like to bring in at least two new members next year.

CountersFirst of all I want to give many thanks to Claire Knapp and Bud Porter who retired after many years as one of the counting teams. Bud also managed the counters for several years. We are in the process of training two new teams so that there will be a total of four. Leslie Martin, with our thanks, has taken over as chair of this committee and is always looking for new counters.

AuditAgain this year an internal audit and review of internal controls was conducted by the audit committee, consisting of Bob O’Flaherty and William Ward, who have both served for the past several years, and two new members, Lesley Gilbert and George Collett. We thank them for the many hours they put into this effort, but we especially thank them for their thoughtful recommendations to improve our financial operations.

Insurance and propertyThe finance committee continues to monitor our insurance policies and to update our property records.

In addition to our normal activities we will be looking at the following areas in 2014:

Update our Shelby accounting systems. Update our evacuation policies and procedures. Develop a written procedure for the counting teams. Installing check processing software, which is part of the Shelby

accounting system. Review our needs for additional revenue and coordinate this with

Stewardship.

Respectfully,Dennis Foss

Parish Life CommissionVestry liaisons: John Castellano, Ginny Trolley

Lay Care Givers – Sue Senden and Pam Fahrner

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This is an ongoing ministry of members of All Saints who are trained to bring pastoral care to members of the Church who are in the hospital and to visit long and short term shut-ins at their home or nursing home. We meet twice a month for refresher training and scheduling assignments until the next meeting.

Coffee Hour – Kathie Miller, Babs Knapp, Jerrie Jay, Cindy BassAttended by as many as 75-125 parishioners following the 10:15 service each Sunday, coffee hour is an opportunity for members of the church to socialize with one another and to welcome newcomers and visitors to All Saints. Following the sudden passing of Anne Winters this past year, Kathie Miller and Babs Knapp agreed to co-chair this important ministry and were soon joined by Jerrie Jay and Cindy Bass.

Volunteers sign up for their turn to help set up; bring goodies to munch on; prepare coffee, tea and lemonade; and then clean up. This year to remain consistent with All Saints efforts to “Go Green,” the committee eliminated the use of Styrofoam cups and other products that are harmful to the environment, and volunteers now have the choice of using recyclable products, or glassware which is cleaned by our remarkably quick and user-friendly dishwasher.

Grill Night – Tony Rizza This popular weekly summer gathering has grown from an average of 25 attendees three years ago when it first started to an average of 55 this past summer (with a record of 70 participants one evening!). We roll out the gas grill every Wednesday evening beginning sometime in May and ending in September. Members and guests bring their own hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, chicken, fish – or alligator! – to grill, along with an appetizer, salad, side dish or dessert to be shared by all. It’s great fun and fellowship!

Seasonal Saints – Bob O’Flaherty Seasonal Saints creates a “cocktail event” at the beginning of every month from November through April. This past year is approximately the fifth or sixth year that these events have been held. Originally called “Part Timers” to reflect its goal to gather together once each month those individuals who come to Hilton Head during the winters that occur annually up north. Its name was changed several years ago to better match our All Saints affiliation. We communicate with our Seasonal Saints via email. As I write this report we have 66 names on our Seasonal Saints mailing list plus 6 members of the clergy who come regularly to our monthly event. We, who either organizes this group or those who attend when on Hilton Head, consider this group as a welcoming opportunity to our All Saints Episcopal Church. Many of our Seasonal Saints are regular members of our Church choir, a regular part of the group working with our clergy during Sunday services or part of the many other activities that are part of All Saints other Church’s activities.

Supper Clubs – Liz Hall

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Supper Clubs had another successful year in 2013 with about 80 parishioners participating. Each January, groups of 8-12 are brought together with every effort made to honor requests for specific nights, dietary preferences or other special needs. Typically, the hosting of the dinner is rotated among the members of each group, with the host providing the main dish and others providing appetizers, side dishes or dessert. The year kicks off with a pot luck dinner where everyone gets to meet the other members of their group for the coming year. It’s a great way to get to know other members of the church, especially if you are paired with different couples or individuals from year to year.

Respectfully,John Castellano

Stewardship CommissionVestry liaisons: Linda Hamp, Mark Szen

During 2013 the Stewardship Committee conferred with the Vestry to develop and present to the parish a clear and comprehensive picture of all the changes that had transpired within the Episcopal Church in South Carolina during the past year. It was decided that we would present a Fall Campaign that would not focus so much on what had happened, but look forward to the opportunities and challenges presented to All Saints and the Episcopal Church in South Carolina. It was decided to hold three Parish Dinner Meetings spaced over about a 7 week period. At the end of September, the Vestry presented the Vision for All Saints. This was not solely the Vestry's vision, but incorporated ideas and hopes that parishioners had stated in interviews, visitations and questionnaires as well as information acquired through Adult Christian Education programs. In October, Bishop Cate Waynick of the Diocese of Indianapolis returned to further explore the meaning of stewardship for a parish and its members. In November, our interim bishop, Bishop Charles vonRosenberg, spoke with us about the role he sees for our parish in the growing and developing new diocese. He thinks of All Saints as a Resource Parish and, as such, we are needed to provide support and guidance to the smaller churches and worshipping communities in our Deanery. He also encouraged members of our parish to become involved as lay members of diocesan committees.

Once the Fall Campaign was completed and information had been transmitted to the parish with opportunity for questions and clarification, the Stewardship Committee began the Annual Pledge Drive, which ran for two weeks and concluded with Ingathering Sunday right before Thanksgiving. It was decided to conduct an Every Member Canvass since we had conducted the Pledge Drive through appeal letters for the past few years. It was gratifying that 62 members of the parish volunteered to be canvassers. They attended informational seminars to make sure all would go forth with the same message to the parish. The intent was to emphasize the Vision for All Saints, to communicate our role in the diocese and to ask for 100% participation of the members of the parish in the Pledge Drive.

The Pledge Drive did not result in 100% of members pledging, but I do believe the parish was better informed about the Vision for All Saints and the challenges we face. The involvement of so many parishioners in the Pledge Drive indicated a commitment and enthusiasm for what our parish wants to accomplish. I will end with the figures and facts that Mark Szen, the Treasurer, has provided.

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Pledge Results to date for 2014:

294 pledges for $679,773. This is a 13.6% increase in the number of pledges and a monetary increase of $81,427. Both figures are new highs and the second largest increase over the past 14 years.

42 new pledges for a total of $57,834. 106 pledges with no change in value. 120 pledges of increased value. This was an increase of 18.1% with a monetary value of

$55,388. 25 decreased pledge amounts which was a loss of 18.3% with a monetary value of $12,875. 18, or 6.7%, of pledges from the previous year were lost, with a monetary value of $19,360.

These last statistics – only 18 pledges lost, 6.7%, with a value of $18,920 – are all modern records. Previous lows over the previous 14 years were 22 pledges (2008), 10.4% (2008), and $37,310 (2010). The averages over those years are 38 pledges lost, 15.5%, with an average value of $62,827.

The success of the 2014 Pledge Drive can be attributed to several factors. All Saints is excited to be in a position to actively control our destiny. We are being asked to step forward and take a leadership position. The leadership of the parish – clergy, Vestry and other lay leaders – have been working diligently to encourage and educate the parish members to embrace the true meaning of Stewardship. We are expected to joyfully recognize and appreciate all that God has given us and to give a portion of that abundance back to God through the church and through our actions in the world. Let the process continue and flourish!

Respectfully,Jenifer Gajdalo, chair

Welcoming & Communication CommissionVestry liaison: Linda Hamp

WelcomingThe Welcoming Ministry is comprised of the Welcoming Coordinators (Sara Hall and Cindy Bass), Greeters (8:00 coordinator is Jenifer Gajdalo and 10:15 coordinators are Carolyn Moore and Beverly Heath), and Bread Bakers (coordinator Pat Collett).

Greeters at both the 8:00 and 10:15 services have continued the warm, welcoming greeting for which All Saints Church is so well known. We continually add new Greeters and we have given the Greeters a new nickname, “A 25-Minute Ministry.” We have added a prayer of dedication for them in honor of the 25 minutes they devote every week to identifying and registering our visitors, of whom anyone could be a potential new member. Greeters are responsible for identifying and registering our visitors and distributing the loaves of homemade bread prepared by our dedicated team of monthly bread bakers. Each first-time visitor is given a Welcome Card and asked to fill it in. Returning visitors are offered a nametag, printed in red, so they can be easily recognized as a visitor and greeted by all our members.

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Mark Brinkmann sends a welcome letter to each visitor, and one of the Welcome Coordinators either calls, emails or meets with visitors in the first few weeks following their first visit. We currently are working with Matt Schneider to prepare a multi-colored nametag for each child in the Sunday School or Children’s Chapel.

Twice each year, a Visitors Coffee Hour is held to which all recent visitors and potential new members are invited and given the opportunity to meet our clergy, ask questions and have informal open conversation. Also, a complete tour of the church is offered approximately quarterly to all visitors. This has proven to be so helpful that we now have a diagram of the church to hand out after the tour.

The Welcoming Ministry is currently following up with 64 local visitors from 2013, and is still following up with 12 from 2012 and 5 from 2011. The group also keeps up with 15 part-time visitors and 23 out-of-town visitors in hopes that someday they may choose to become full-time residents of the area and members of All Saints Church.

The Welcoming Ministry operates with the efforts of 55 volunteers – sixteen Bread Bakers, ten 8:00 a.m. Greeters, twenty-five 10:15 a.m. Greeters, and four Visitor Welcomers.

New Member Dinner

2013 was the fourth year of our New Member Dinner ministry. We hosted a record eight dinners with 76 new member attendees. These evenings began with a wine and hors’ d’oeuvres reception where our new members get to know one another, followed by a sit-down dinner and a quick orientation program in which Mark Brinkmann discussed the ministries and programs available at All Saints. As in the past, each new household received a membership packet and was assigned a mentor. It is at this New Member Dinner that we take pictures to be displayed in Gordon Mann Hall for the parish to view and get to know our newest members. A team of dedicated, culinary-talented parishioners prepared the meals, and are key to this ministry’s success.

Welcome Sunday was held at the 10:15 a.m. service on November 3rd, where 85 new members were honored, given an All Saints tote bag, and were the honorees at a champagne/mimosa reception at the Coffee Hour following the service.

Margaret Collins is our New Member Dinner Coordinator and responsible for leading this ministry.

Publicity and CommunicationFred Gebler continued to keep the general public in our area aware of the many happenings at All Saints. Weekly Service Schedule ads with a tailored modular format were placed in The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette and The Sun Today. Since we are having an increasing amount of text in our ads, Fred is exploring the cost of placing larger ads in the future to ensure readability.

Yellow Page ads were placed in both the Hilton Head and Sun City telephone books, as well as respective on-line editions. Press releases were distributed to the local media and to our Diocesan web

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page, with emphasis placed upon special services (e.g., Daughters of the King Advent Quiet Day, Blessing of the Animals, Lights of Remembrance), other special events (e.g., Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, Harmonies for Habitat Concert, and the Southern Deanery’s Advent Festival of Lessons & Carols), as well as the All Saints Dominican Republic Mission Teams.

Fred also made frequent submissions to George Pinkerton for the church’s web page and to the Rev. Matt Schneider for the church’s Facebook page. Fred has provided advertising and publicity guidance to the members of the Southern Deanery of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and is planning to provide local public relations support of our Diocesan Convention that will be held at All Saints in February. Tom Calanni did a wonderful job of placing ads and press releases in local newspapers and magazines while Fred served as chair of the 2013 Garden Tour Board.

Web SiteThe All Saints web-site continued its steady growth in 2013. The number of visits to the site increased 18%, from a daily average of 139 last year to 165 in 2013. The size of the site continued to grow also, from 6.8 terabytes of storage space to 8.4 terabytes, or from approximately 10,000 files to more than 11,200. More parishioners and friends joined the parish e-mail list – now at 321 members – to stay informed via weekly “e-mail blasts”. Webmasters Kerry Grant and George Pinkerton continue to share the duties of maintaining the web from day to day.

2013 saw the addition of a Facebook presence and an on-line directory of all parishioners. An advisory committee on the web-site, formed under the guidance of Matt Schneider, has begun planning for a major re-design of the web-site to better integrate it with other social media and to make it more user-friendly for tablets and cell-phones.

Respectfully,Linda Hamp

Worship CommissionVestry liaisons: Marjorie Milbrandt, Jan Padolik

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