This year Harcourt Parish decided to engage in some "Liturgical Evangelism" on Ash Wednesday. I (in my chasuble) and 2-3 lay folks opened the church doors and stood out on Kenyon's Middle Path in between classes around 10, 11, 12, 2, and 3 today. My hope was that we would talk to or give ashes to 20 people. The reality was much better! About 50 people came and asked for ashes and we spoke to about 50 other people. That's 100 people we had contact with on Middle Path today!
I thought Ashes to Go might impact the attendance at our services at 12:10, 5pm and 5:30. It did--but in a surprising way. Our noon service grew by 50% from last year, and our evening services held steady.
I believe Liturgical Evangelism is the way to go for the Episcopal church. Liturgy is something we do really well. It's something that most Episcopalians are comfortable with.
Ashes to Go was a great success. I'd love to come up with some other easy Liturgical Evangelism to do throughout the year.
Lenten Blessings!
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A Busy Epiphany
During the last month one of the things that has been taking much of my time and thought is our parish's 2012 deficit budget. Our deficit is quite significant--one that can't be covered simply asking folks to increase their pledge.
The vestry, wardens, and I have been working diligently to create new fundraisers which may balance our budget. Our only other option would be to make cuts which would change our parish to the core.
Harcourt Parish HomeStay
Our first plan is to follow in the footsteps of Christ Church, Oberlin and begin a HomeStay program. Senior Warden Richard met with the Oberlin coordinator in early January and has provided strong leadership for this project. We have asked parishioners to offer rooms for rent to Kenyon visitors in exchange for a donation to the church. This program has been well-received and we are hopeful it will put a significant dent in our budget shortfall.
Spring Break Meals
Another major fundraiser the vestry has taken on is to provide lunches and dinners for the Swim Team during the two weeks of Kenyon's Spring Break. Because of this, I have had to cancel my participation in the Spring Break Service Trip to St. Louis so that I will be available to do a large portion of the organizing, cooking, and cleaning.
Our Junior Warden, Toma, has and will spend countless hours planning, shopping, prepping, recruiting, cooking, and cleaning. She and I are doing all we can, and there is still a need for many more hands.
In preparing for these meals, we have spoken with two different caterers who have done this in the past, and they both talked about the intensity and exhaustion involved. The parish has the opportunity to put a significant dent into our deficit. I hope that we find the intensity and exhaustion worth the price.
Other Ideas
Even these two significant fundraisers will not balance our budget this year. We also need to consider other fundraisers like our Camp Care Packages we have done in previous summers. Several things we are considering are a silent auction, wine tastings, and special fundraising dinners.
Overall, our parish is moving toward a more healthy financial future. Instead of relying on one or two major donors for 10% or more of our budget, we are transitioning to a parish where we all give both money and time to the budget of the parish. We're great at giving our time and money to outreach projects--we just need to turn part of that effort to keep up the institution that makes the outreach possible.
The vestry, wardens, and I have been working diligently to create new fundraisers which may balance our budget. Our only other option would be to make cuts which would change our parish to the core.
Harcourt Parish HomeStay
Our first plan is to follow in the footsteps of Christ Church, Oberlin and begin a HomeStay program. Senior Warden Richard met with the Oberlin coordinator in early January and has provided strong leadership for this project. We have asked parishioners to offer rooms for rent to Kenyon visitors in exchange for a donation to the church. This program has been well-received and we are hopeful it will put a significant dent in our budget shortfall.
Spring Break Meals
Another major fundraiser the vestry has taken on is to provide lunches and dinners for the Swim Team during the two weeks of Kenyon's Spring Break. Because of this, I have had to cancel my participation in the Spring Break Service Trip to St. Louis so that I will be available to do a large portion of the organizing, cooking, and cleaning.
Our Junior Warden, Toma, has and will spend countless hours planning, shopping, prepping, recruiting, cooking, and cleaning. She and I are doing all we can, and there is still a need for many more hands.
In preparing for these meals, we have spoken with two different caterers who have done this in the past, and they both talked about the intensity and exhaustion involved. The parish has the opportunity to put a significant dent into our deficit. I hope that we find the intensity and exhaustion worth the price.
Other Ideas
Even these two significant fundraisers will not balance our budget this year. We also need to consider other fundraisers like our Camp Care Packages we have done in previous summers. Several things we are considering are a silent auction, wine tastings, and special fundraising dinners.
Overall, our parish is moving toward a more healthy financial future. Instead of relying on one or two major donors for 10% or more of our budget, we are transitioning to a parish where we all give both money and time to the budget of the parish. We're great at giving our time and money to outreach projects--we just need to turn part of that effort to keep up the institution that makes the outreach possible.
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