DEACON’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDING 2016

Mission and Ministry – these are focuses of the Deacons.

Deacon Joan retired this year on May 31st and we celebrated her ministry and service to Shepherd of the Hills at her last service on May 29th. The first part of the year sheserved as Chaplin for the Order of St. Luke, presided at the 10am Wednesday Healing Services when Fr. George was not available, led 2 different Bible studies, and lead the Bereavement Recovery Group on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays at 4pm. She also made hospital and home visits to bring Eucharist or just to visit and pray. She was also the Spiritual Director for several members of the church, and others outside of the church. She sang in the choir and was active with the Serving Our Savior ministry by registering patrons every Thursday. The Shepherd’s Staff received original poems each month from her for publication as well. She does occasionally send a poem for the newsletter.

She was married on July 4th to the Rev. Dr. Doyle Wetherington and lives in Kissimmee, FL.

The fifthFriends in Service: God’s Love in Action mission trip was at the Key Training Center in our community. The team of consisted of: Bette Patz, Lynn Meyer, Art Eddy, Susan Conger, Kevin Hart, Rich Allen, David Blain, Deacons Mike and Linda, and Junior Warden Dennis Hall. They built picnic table pavilions, landscaped an entire building, and painted walkways around the campus. They were supported by a meal team who fixed breakfasts and lunches each day. We held several fund raiser events: a St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, sold donuts and bagels for Father’s Day and Mother’s Day, and spy related cut-outs for the Parish Hall wall.

The St. Francis Festival has evolved into the St. Francis Ministries consisting of 5 different ministries:

  • Paws and Prayers services continue to be held on the last Sunday of the month at 5pm and has been steadily growing. This year we included services on Easter and Christmas.
  • The Outreach committee is now the St. Francis Community of Paws and People. They held a community event to solicit input on the idea of enabling people to keep or have pets through a sharing program. Based on this feedback, they are planning a second community event for additional input.
  • Serving Our Savior’s Animals continues to collect pet food, but now regularly includes a special envelope in the bulletins for monetary donations so the food quality and brands are consistent.
  • Placement of the Pet Memorial Garden has been up in the air because of long term strategic planning for the church. The committee is trying to plan to avoid needing to move it in a few years.
  • St. Francis Festival is in its 6th year. Attendance was down this year. About 200 people attended and 85 animals were blessed. We collected approximately 800 pounds of cat and dog food for SOS. Countryside Animal Hospital continues to be our major sponsor this year, and we are grateful for their support. We netted about $1,200. A donation will be made to an animal charity, in addition to supporting the other St. Francis Ministries.

At the beginning of the year, Deacon Linda was hired as an independent consultant to evaluate and improve the current church processes. As the church expands and grows the current systems are in adequate to support this growth. Then, in October, she entered into a new contract with the church to provide Parish Administrator services as an independent consultant for up to 40 hours per month.

There were several other church sponsored events which the Deacons attended – such as the restaurant nightsand the Father Christmas Ball.

As required by the Diocese of Central Florida, the deacons are working on their 12 hours of continuing education to maintain licensure in the Diocese. This includes participating in the courses offered through the Diocese.

Deacon Linda attends the Tuesday evening women’s Cursillo grouping.

The Deacons remain actively involved in liturgy. Deacons Mike and Linda primarily assist at the 10:30am Sunday service and Fr. George trained Lay Eucharistic Ministers to assist at the Saturday 5pm and Sunday 8am services after Deacon Joan retired. This includes assisting the clergy, performing the diaconal roles of reading the Gospel, setting the table, administering the sacraments, and preaching, as requested.

Respectfully submitted in Christ: Deacon Joan; Deacon Mike & Deacon Linda