AGENDA
The 146th Annual Congregational Meeting
St. Paul’s Church
Milltown, New Jersey
SUNDAY, March 11 , 2018
following the 10:00 a.m. Worship Service
I.Call to OrderRev. Richard H. Weyer
II.Opening Prayer
- Adoption of Agenda
- Report From Pastor
- Financial Reports
- Old Business
- New Business
- Adjournment
MEMBERSHIP CHANGES 2017
MEMBERSHIP GAINS -
By Affirmation –
By Confirmation – 8
Amy BacchettiConnor Davey
Kayla HahnLuke Johnson
Ryan KovacsSara Park
Alyson PearceRyan Poulson
MEMBERSHIP LOSSES - 6
By Death – Robert Holzapfel
Dorothy Gerhart (former)
Angelo Lizardi
Arlene Kuhlthau
Evelyn Heymann
Elnor Van Buskirk (former)
George Henry
Donald Schiable
Marion Mack (former)
BAPTISMS – Eamonn Patrick Devine
Nova Alice Hansen
Margaret Grace Obergfell
Robert Leonard Arthur, Jr.
Madelyn Rose McLaughlin
Gavin Michael Benhardt
Brayden Chase Snook
Jaxson Ayden Scaletti
Kaydence Susan Capano
Ryan Joseph Jimenez
Olivia Marie Dominicus
Madelyn June Dominicus
WEDDINGS – Joseph Casey & Heather Kuzma
Luke Garriton & Lindsey Ruppert
Dylan Ala & Stephanie Paley
Matthew Lucid & Marcella Springstead
Jason Scaletti & Nicole Mushalla
Michael Theime & Brittany Sanislo
ACTIVE MEMBERS –402INACTIVE MEMBERS –124
NON-MEMBERS – 19CHILDREN - 142
FINANCE
COST OF MINISTRY
Expenses – The cost of ministry that we carried out through worship, education, outreach, congregation care, etc. was $275,403.16.
Income – The amount of money we received in support of our ministry was $261,831.51.
The result was a deficit for the year in the amount of ($13,571.65).
BENEVOLENCE
Our goal is to be a tithing church. What is a tithing church? The tithe was an obligatory offering from the law of Moses requiring 10 percent of an Israelite's first fruits. Our church tithe is to offer 10% of our parishioner’s giving to other charitable organizations and families in need.
In 2017 we gave 7 and 1/2%, including our communion offerings totaling $15,170.28 to a variety of organizations, groups and families.
We continue to offer office space to INC (Interfaith Network of Care), also hosted FISH Hospitality, provided meeting space for the Boy Scouts of America, AA, NA, Al-non, Puppy Pal (organization training service dogs), Milltown Education Foundation.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT EXENSES
2017 started out with us having to replace the furnace in the education building and ended with us having to replace the bell tower roofs, the drainage system from the upper roof and removing the resurrection window because of extensive dry rot to the frame. We spent $61,316 in 2017. This depleted our capital fund and required taking money out of the endowment fund. The estimated cost to complete the stain glass window work is $225,000.
THANK YOUto every who gave as God enabled you to, so that the ministry we do for the glory of God and the edification of one another was just shy of being fully funded in 2017.
BEQUESTS
We gratefully received $20,000 in bequests to be used toward the capital expenses incurred.
Bequests of any size provide financial stability for St. Paul’s.
WILLS
Is St. Paul’s in your will?
Would you consider remembering St. Paul’s in your will. By doing so you provide a lasting legacy and will ensure that St. Paul’s will continue to be used by God after you have returned home to the heavenly kingdom that awaits you.
myEoffering
We teamed up with our envelope company to use myEoffering to enable you to give your offering electronically from your bank account, credit or debit cards. You may already be using online bill paying for your mortgage, car payment or insurance premium through an automatic withdrawal from your checking or saving account.When traveling, illness or other circumstances prevent you from attending services, myEoffering will allow your weekly offering to continue uninterrupted, enabling us to fund our ministry of bring God’s Love to the heart of the community.Information about how you can sign up will be forth coming.
FUND RAISING
We had several very successful fund raisers in 2017
3rd wine and beer tasting netted $3,642.
Applebee’s Flapjack Breakfast netted $1,081.
Soup Swap netted $1,450
Gold Outing netted $2,951
CHURCH FAMILY
Throughout 2017 the Church & Family ministry team was active organizing activities that served to enhance the fellowship of church family.
Our activities included:
-Each Wednesday evening during Lent approximately 40 people joined together for dinner and worship.
-In September we had 100+ people gather in the local park for worship and a picnic.
-During the Christmas holiday 50 or so people came together for a potluck dinner and Christmas fun
-Christmas caroling to our homebound
-Overseeing the fellowship hour after Sunday worship service
EDUCATION MINISTRY
SUNDAY SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS
We continued using the online based curriculum Kids Sunday School Place. It is an online source for fresh, creative Children's Ministry resources for Grade school and Preschool. They feature complete Sunday school lessons, Bible crafts, Christian activities, object lessons, stories, skits, games, songs, and much more. Teaching Sunday school iseasy, fun, and rewarding! It was very cost effective. The teachers can log in on their own and review lessons and it incorporates games, songs, crafts, science and more!
CONFIRMATION CLASS
In June, 9 youth confirmed their faith in God, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The 9 youth were: Amy Bacchetti, Connor Davey, Kayla Hahn, Luke Johnson, Ryan Kovacs, Sara Park, Alyson Pearce, Ryan Poulson.
In October, 8 youth began classes to prepare them for their confirmation in 2018. The class requirements are: weekly attendance at Sunday worship, weekly attendance at Wednesday night classes and 20 hours of community service. They also are required to participate in Sunday worship by ushering, being an acolyte, and reading scripture.
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
2017 saw no VBS for the 1st time in 25 years. Declining attendance and limited availability of volunteers caused the cancellation of VBS. In its place we had a family fun night using the VBS theme Maker Fun Factory. We had a barbecue, songs, games and activities for every age.
ADULT BIBLE STUDY
Adult bible studies were offered on Wednesday afternoons throughout the year as well as Wednesday Evening.We studied: The New Testament; Titus; Ruth; and Life Songs
RIGHT NOW MEDIA
The RightNow Media gives every family instant access to thousands of Bible study videos, and kid's episodes. Powerful Biblical video content anywhere, anytime for you and your family! There videos for men, women, youth, youth adults. The topics are: parenting, marriage, finances, Christian living, and health as well as popular Children’s videos. To access it go to
CHURCH APP
With a desire to educate our congregation and community about the ministry of St. Paul’s Church we have developed an St. Paul’s APP for your smart phones and devices. The church app allows you to live stream Sunday worship, view the weekly calendar, post a prayer request, read a daily devotion, make a donation, and more. Download our APP. For Apple
For Android Phone & Pad
MUSIC MINISTRY
Our music ministries throughout 2017 were blessed by the faithfulness of St. Paul’s and of God, who consistently provided what we needed. I give thanks especially to God for the many volunteers who devote their time to our worship music, allowing each of us creative communion with God and one another.
2017 marked 70 years of faithful service from our Moller pipe organ! We had hoped to celebrate by completing a rebuilding of its expression shades and pneumatic regulators, which began in late 2016, but have been plagued by a series of delays. This may have been a blessing in disguise, as our organ company has not had to reinstall parts while our roof was leaking or our balcony inaccessible. I look forward to having a fully functioning organ again! Given the speed with which we were able to replenish our Organ Fund for this project, the leadership of this beautiful instrument has been a blessing to St. Paul’s.
Our Children’s choir is a rambunctious and talented group! In particular, this group likes to understand what they are singing about, which has led to some deep conversations about our faith. We tend every year to use the fall to get acquainted and present a couple of anthems; spring involves more singing in worship and a gradual increase in our learning to process, sit calmly up front, etc. 2017-18 continues along this trend.
Our Adult choir continues to present an anthem almost every Sunday with great dedication and thoughtfulness. We sang at the Methodist Church on Ash Wed. and at Our Lady of Lourdes for a community Thanksgiving service. We added extra members for Holy Week and throughout December, including a cantata on Dec. 10 and special music the morning of Dec. 24.
Our Praise band members continue to give generously of their time. We led outdoor worship for the National Day of Prayer and for our annual picnic. The band played on a float in Milltown’s 4th of July parade. In addition to these more visible ministries, the ensemble is also tremendously helpful in worship planning, and in Dec. supplied audio equipment and support for our 5K Santa Run.
Other highlights of our music ministry included hosting a hymn festival in the spring. Caitlin Nichols brightened our Easter morning worship with her trumpeting. Soloists contributed to each of the three Dec. 24 services, to the cantata, and to other occasions throughout the year; in fact, we literally had soloists on Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2017!
As you consider our music ministry, please hold it in prayer, both with thankfulness, and with thought toward how you can support. The psalms constantly remind us to praise the Lord, and it is a privilege to do so together!
Christ’s peace,
Emily Sensenbach-Gopal
PROPERTY AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE
LAWN CARE
The mowing of our lawns is a weekly activity as anyone with a lawn knows. We are very fortunate that Ken Skalla donates his time to keep our lawns well-groomed through the spring, summer and fall.
SNOW REMOVAL
The plowing our parking lots and driveways and the shoveling of our sidewalks is essential for the safety and well-being of everyone who uses our facilities. We are very fortunate that Danny and Danny Rob Holsten and Carmen DeLorenzo and his crew have donated their time and equipment to the clearing of our lots and sidewalks.
LEAF REMOVAL
The Autumn leaves look beautiful but eventual they all fall off the trees. John Garback and his landscaping crew cleared our property of our leaves.
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
New furnace in the education building
New roofs on the bell tower
New drainage system in the bell tower
Begin restoring the resurrection window caused by collapse drain system
SENIOR YOUTH GROUP
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
2017 was another year when our Senior Youth Group endeavored to live out 1 Timothy 4:12. While some people may use their youth as an excuse our youth used it to serve and glorify God.
WINTER RETREAT
The theme:Shaken, a video that focused on Tim Tebow’s life
Who are you when life is steady?Who are you when storms come?
Most of us have been on the receiving end of rejection, a broken dream, or heartbreak. And while this is not an easy space to go through, when we are grounded in the truth, we can endure the tough times.
In this powerful series, Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow passionately shares glimpses of his journey staying grounded in the face of disappointment, criticism, and intense media scrutiny. Following an exceptional college football career with the Florida Gators and a promising playoff run with the Denver Broncos, Tebow was traded to the New York Jets. He was released after one season.
In Shaken, Tebow talks about what he's learned along the way, building confidence in his identity in God, not the world. This moving series features practical wisdom from Scripture and insights gained from others who have impacted Tebow in life-changing ways.
Though traveling hard roads is not easy, it's always worth it!
MISSION TRIP
We spent the week in the Eastern Shore of Virginia serving God by serving the homeless, the elderly and the underprivileged children. We served meals, we repaired homes, we ran a kids camp, and we bought a goat. Yes we bought a female goat for a woman who touched our hearts with her love for God and her neighbor. The female will enable her to provide milk and cheese for her family and her neighbors, as well as mate the goat with the male goat she already had. She named the goat, Paula.
FUND RAISING – THANK YOU
We want to say thank you to everyone who participated in the many fund raisers we ran to cover the mission trip expenses. Without your willingness to share time, money and talent our mission trips would not be possible.
Our fund raisers were:
Super Bowl Pool; Vera Bradley Tricky Tray; and the July 4th Duck Race.
SUNDAY NIGHT MEETINGS
Throughout the school year we met, usually on the first and third Sunday nights to share faith, fellowship and fun.
JOIN US!
All youth in grades 7th-12th are invited to join us. Church membership is not required.
JUNIOR YOUTH GROUP
MEETINGS
Our meetings followed this general format:
•Devotion and prayer
•General news and information
•Planned discussion and activity. For the most part, I used the "Faith for
Life" series.It's a program designed for pre-teens that uses scripture to
help them navigate situations that they are probably facing at home, school
and with friends.
•Game if time permits
Parents who volunteered to provide snack and help at the meeting
Thank You! to all the parents who took turns bringing snacks for our meetings
DEVOTIONS
Youth are assigned to share a devotion and provide a letter to Ronnie.
Each youth were responsible to share a devotion based a Bible passage and share they chose it and what they think it means.
WORLD VISION CHILD
Our group sponsors a World Vision child whose name is Ronnie who lives in the Philippines. Kids are asked to bring a letter on the day that they are doing devotion. The letter need not be long--a paragraph or two is sufficient. Your youth can tell about themselves, their family, friends, sports they love, school, etc. They should not include anything about their possessions, allowance, your home, cars, etc. If they want, they can include a picture of themselves or something they have made.
CHRISTMAS GIFTS
In November they made Christmas gifts for the homebound in our congregation which were delivered by the youth with the help of their parents in December.
THANK YOU, ELANA
With much gratitude, we say THANK YOU to ElanaKircher for bring God’s love to our 4th through 6th graders for the past 10 years. After 10 years of leading the Junior Youth Group,
ElanaKircher, passed the baton of leadership to Sean Sullivan and Dawn Milburn.
SPIRITUAL LIFE
WORSHIP
Romans 10:24,25And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.
We meet together every Sunday for worship at 10:00 a.m. Our Sunday worship service includes time for people to greet each other, scripture readings, prayer, an offering, the Lord's Prayer, a children's message, the sermon, special music and hymns.
Our morning service is a blend of time honored hymns and contemporary worship songs. We have special music from our adult choir, praise band, children's choir or individuals. We seek to have Christ centered services focused on prayer and Bible based messages.
Communion is served the first Sunday of every month. All are invited to celebrate communion, but you can choose whether or not you wish to participate.
Worship attendance for the year was 5,244 people. This is a weekly average of 100 worshippers.
DRAMA MINISTRY
The drama team brought the Word of God alive several times through out the year. The addition of drama to our worship experience provided another way for you to see and hear the relevance of God’s Word for today.
LIVE STREAMING SUNDAY’S WORSHIP
We began in the fall live streaming our Sunday morning worship through our Facebook page. To view our Sunday morning worship service go to our Facebook page
DAILY SLICE
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet,a light on my path.
So that God Word can guide you through your day Our Daily Bread’s daily devotional is emailed to everyone who has requested through mail chimp. If you desire to receive the daily slice send an email to and your email address will be added.
PRAYER CONCERNS
James 5:16 …pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Each week prayer concerns shared in worship along with requests that have been received through emails, phone calls, church APP, etc. are emailed through mail chimp so that we can be prayer warriors for each other.