Your vestry has spent much time this year exploring dynamics of congregational growth as well as some of the factors that contribute to congregational growth and decline.  Fr. Derek shared our explorations with you during his adult forum over the summer. 

St. John's Parish has grown from an Average Sunday Worship Attendance of 114 at the end of 2010 to a current Average Sunday Worship Attendance of 143 (a 26% attendance increase in 33 months).   This is very good news!

Yet according to Roy Oswald, senior consultant of the Episcopal Church's Alban Institute, parishes that desire to grow must staff for growth.  What does this mean?  To staff for growth means having at least one paid full-time program person on the parish staff for every hundred persons present in worship.  Our vital support staff--Philip Goodrich (Sexton), Keith Byers (Bookkeeper), Stephanie Ryder (Publications), and Sister Heather Rollins (Technology)--do not count in this staffing for growth equation.  Oswald asserts that parishes are staffing for maintenance if they are slightly under one program staff person per 100 active in worship and are staffing for decline if they are seriously under that figure. 

Our rector, Fr. Derek Harbin, serves St. John's as our only paid, full-time program person through a covenant relationship with the St. John's Vestry and Bishop Hollerith.  Scott Rollins is employed by St. John's on a very part-time basis as organist and choir director.  Though St. John's Parish currently falls far short of the target of two full-time paid program persons on staff, your vestry has approved a plan which will help us bridge the gap in the interim.

The Vestry of St. John's Church is excited to announce the creation of four new program staff positions for our parish and the names of those selected to fill them in this edition of eNews.  Though each of these incredibly qualified persons has agreed to assist us in this transition time by working for St. John's Parish with $0 compensation, we plan to periodically find other ways to show our gratitude for their spirit of adventure and generous offering of ministry gifts on behalf of all of us.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either of us or any member of the Vestry.  God is truly on the move here at St. John's!

Bill Oast, Senior Warden

Margaret Perkins, Junior Warden

Rick Bishop, Kitchen Manager

Rick has extensive experience in the culinary industry.  He is a 1987 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY.  For the last 21 years he served in Health Care food service management as an executive chef.  Before becoming the kitchen manager at Oasis Social Ministry in Portsmouth, he oversaw 100 employees in a hospital kitchen that produced 4000 meals/day.  Rick also managed all catering and opened two hospital Starbucks franchises.  In this position he will oversee the equipment and use of the kitchen as well as coordinate a quarterly parish breakfast.

Ellison Gregg, Staff Photographer & Tweeter

Ellison attends Old Dominion University where he studies Engineering Technology.  He is a photographer at Shotz Portrait Studio & The Mace and Crown (the weekly newspaper of ODU).  At St. John's he served on the Rector Search Committee and currently plays in the 9am band.  In this position he will photograph one parish event a month and manage the parish's Twitter account.

Clifford King Harbin, Associate to the Rector

In 2013 Clifford reached the thirty-year career mark as a lay professional in the service of the Episcopal Church.  She has earned a BA in religion from Furman University in South Carolina and a Master of Arts in Ministry from Nashotah House (Episcopal) Theological Seminary in Wisconsin.  Clifford is a nationally recognized leader in the Catechumenal Process (called Pilgrims in Christ at St. John's) and is a certified formation leader (trainer) for all three levels of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.  Her most recent position, before coming to St. John's, was as an employee of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina where for nine years she was a Church Planting Pastor where she worked as part of a collaborative leadership team that planted a new congregation in Charlotte.

Clifford has volunteered behind the scenes at St. John's on a full-time basis for the past two years.  She will assist the rector as directed, continue management of the deposit process and volunteers, vision evangelistic and pastoral events, create statistical data to assist congregational growth, coordinate Pilgrims in Christ, and serve as the formation leader for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training.  (She has completed 45 hours of instruction for the 3-6 level with members of this congregation, the final 45 hours resumed in September.  Current plans are to offer the 6-9 level training in a 90-hour, two week comprehensive course tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2014.)  

Rebecca Mina, Creation Atrium Coordinator

Becca, a honors graduate of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, will attend Old Dominion University with the goal of becoming a teacher.  She has completed half of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd 3-6 formation course and has served as the principal catechist in the Creation Atrium (for children under age 3) since it opened earlier this year.  In this position she will lead the team of volunteer catechists who staff the Creation Atrium from 10:00-11:30 each Sunday morning.