Please review this information before our meeting. To ensure that your concerns are taken care of, the Parish Council asks that questions about our ministries or financial reports be submitted before the meeting (please submit them to frchris@saintanna.org, and he will forward them to the appropriate individual). Once received, reports from our ministry leaders will also be posted to the website. Updated reports include Adult Catechism, Philoptochos, the Archangel Gabriel Bookstore, Youth Religious Education, Stewardship, and St. Vincent de Paul.
STEWARDSHIP REPORT
SPRING GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2024
submitted by Marci Pelka, St. Anna Stewardship Char
Although God gives us all His blessings and all things to enjoy, nothing is ours. God owns everything, and we, as stewards, are responsible for how and what we do with His blessings. As stewards, we have responsibilities to manage that which is God’s. We are accountable for how we manage our money, time, and abilities. This is taught by the Parable of the Talents.
In Colossians 3:23-24, Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the Lord Christ”.
Our budgeted stewardship for 2023 was $460,000. We exceeded our budget by $20,868! Our budgeted giving for 2024 is $460,000. Our year-to-date giving is $199,219. Our year-to-date budgeted giving is $153,333. We are $45,886 ahead at this time!
We are privileged at St. Anna’s to give to the ministries of Christ through our Church. But is it enough? Our Church was opened on July 2, 2023. We have grown in numbers, but have we grown in stewards? We have approximately 241 families that we know give from their hearts. Each Sunday, our Church is filled! Thanks be to God! But not everybody is a steward.
As Orthodox Christians, we need to embrace stewardship. You should be a steward if you receive the Sacraments-Baptism, Chrismation, the Eucharist, Holy Unction, Confession, and/or Marriage. Being a steward connects everything we do with God, glorifying, praising, and worshipping Him.
Stewardship also includes time and talent. There are many opportunities to serve God. We have a very successful prayer shawl ministry. We have acolytes for each and every service serving the altar. Our services are now broadcast for those who are unable to attend in person. You can volunteer to assist in the bookstore, become a substitute Sunday school teacher, volunteer at Vincent de Paul, and bring flowers to the church. We provide meals to those in need. We have bell ringers calling the faithful to service. We have those who step up for candle duty, sandbox cleaning, sweeping the Church, and the list goes on. Our Stewards take it upon themselves to assist in so many different areas.
We now have a QR code that is in the bulletin each week. Scan it, complete the requested information and a member of the stewardship team will send you information on how to become a faithful steward of St. Anna’s. You can also call the church office (916-772-9372) and leave your name and address. And one last way is to send an email to me at ibpenguin@aol.com.
Once again I want to thank all of our faithful stewards who give from their hearts. And, of course, welcome to our new Stewards. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our team, Ava, Renie, and Christine, for all their hard work.
Giving is how we become closer to God and show Him how thankful we are for all He continues to bestow on each and every one of us.
*The 2023 Draft Compilation Report prepared by Nicholson & Olson CPAs is available in the Church Office
Adult Education or Catechism (Submitted by Fr. Seraphim)
With our new shrine fully open and functional it has served its superficial purpose quite well and that purpose is to draw new people into the church.
In the Fall of 2023, we had a very large group of seekers express interest in learning more about the Orthodox Chrisitan faith. Maybe the largest group of people that I have ever had the privilege of teaching to.
At the onset of the class, which was taught on Tuesday nights at 7pm, initially, between Zoom and in person attendance here at St. Anna’s, there was a total of 45 people. The class on average ran for about an hour and a half, with many of the students opting to stay afterwards for further discussion/ questions. It was not uncommon for me, upon exiting the church, to see students milling about in the parking lot, in two’s and three’s, talking and discussing well after the class was over.
The text that was used is the same one that I have used for the past hand full of years, ever since I inherited the teaching responsibility from Jennifer and Larry (of blessed memory) Finney, which is the text by Dr. Clark Carlton, entitled "The Faith”. Dr. Clark Carlton himself is a convert to Orthodoxy and the way that the book presents our Orthodox beliefs and practices is very approachable and down to earth, but without being patronizing or belittling of other “expressions” of Christianity. At the same time, the book also is able to effectively communicate on a basic level, very deep theological principles and tenets of our faith as well.
The class ran from mid-September to about the middle of Great and Holy Lent this year, which was the end of March/ beginning of April. By the end of the class, the total number of students had winnowed down to about 20, which is normal: with 12 of them deciding that they were ready to enter the Orthodox church, either through baptism and/ or chrismation. This group of catechumens were then received into St. Anna’s church on the Saturday of Lazarus during the service of Divine Liturgy.
It should be noted that about halfway through this class of catechumens, due to the sheer volume of people who were/ are still exploring coming into the church, it was decided that a second class should be started. This class is ongoing and done solely online via Zoom and is much like the other class in scope and number (30+ students initially attending). This 2nd session has been more difficult to instruct with any regularity as it takes place directly in the midst of a busy liturgical season, resulting in many class cancellations, which in turn makes it difficult develop any real sense of continuity.
