Ministry Portfolio

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Ministry Portfolio Full Portfolio

(last updated Mar 5, 2018)

The Episcopal Church of the Holy Comforter, North Carolina

2701 Park Road, Charlotte, NC 28209, United States Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18.

Weekly Average Sunday

Number of Weekend

Number of Weekday

Attendance (ASA)

Worship Services

Worship Services

Number of Other per Month Worship Services

290

3

Current Annual Compensation

Cash Stipend

Housing / Rectory Detail

Utilities

Compensation Available for New Position

Housing Available for

Pension Plan

$95000

SECA reimbursement

We're in compliance with CPF requirements.

$95000

Healthcare Options

Dental

Full family

Yes

Vacation Weeks

Vacation Weeks Details

$501-$1000/year

Annual Equity Amount

Continuing Education Weeks

Continuing Education Weeks Details

2 (standard)

One month, including 5 Sundays (standard)

Continuing Education Funding in budget

Housing Equity Allowance in budget

Sabbatical Provision

Travel/Auto Account

Other Professional Account

Yes

Yes

Yes


Ministry Portfolio

Full Portfolio (last updated Mar 5, 2018)


Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18. 'HVFULEHDPRPHQWLQ\RXUZRUVKLSSLQJFRPPXQLW\‫ف‬VUHFHQWPLQLVWU\ZKLFK\RXUHFRJQL]HDVRQHRIVXFFHVVDQGIXOܾOOPHQW

July 15, 2017, was the day we celebrated the election of our then rector, Kevin Brown, as Bishop of the Diocese of Delaware. On the same day, Samuel Rodman was consecrated Bishop of our Diocese. Although we have had 2 other rectors elected bishop, Kevin is the only one elected while serving our Parish. The announcement of his nomination was met with a mix of joy, concern and grief at the possible loss of Kevin. As a candidate, Kevin credited our Parish with helping him grow in his ministry and supporting his family during his tenure here. Once he was elected, we knew that we had much work ahead of us as we prepared for his departure and planned for transition to new ministry. We were filled with joy, however, in knowing that others would benefit from his presence. Many parishioners traveled to Delaware for Kevin’s consecration while others watched the live stream. Kevin invited his colleague, our Associate Rector, Amanda Robertson, to preach the sermon. We rejoice that the wider church will be influenced by the ministry of a remarkable priest. Kevin’s legacy is that we will continue to be a vibrant and welcoming Parish looking forward to new opportunities in ministry.

How are your preparing yourselves for the Church of the future?

The church of the future starts with our core strength and trust in the liturgy. The tradition and practice used for hundreds of years is what holds us together and forms our common faith. Intellectual curiosity is an important part of the church of the future. Parish is encouraged to be honest, question matters that cannot be physically seen, find ways to reconcile our intellect and spirit. Honesty will assist our growth individually and numerically as we are nourished in worship, grow in exploration and practice our faith. We are not afraid to address hard issues. All of these topics are founded on the Gospel and what Jesus calls us to do. Actionable faith is tried and practiced here with our outreach, Hispanic ministries and pastoral care. We have a history of stepping outside the safety of our walls and taking care of those in need. We pride ourselves on supporting our own spiritual development as well as exploring new ways to experience our faith. Finally, our campus is important to the church of the future. Recognizing this, we are embarking on a capital campaign to invigorate all activities.

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spiritual guide, leader, approachable, relevant preaching, Mission focused, good communicator


Ministry Portfolio



Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18. 'HVFULEH\RXUOLWXUJLFDOVW\OHDQGSUDFWLFHIRUDOOW\SHVRIZRUVKLSVHUYLFHVSURYLGHGE\\RXUFRPPXQLW\

We are a welcoming Parish engaged in inspiring, joyful and reverent worship. As a broad church, we celebrate traditional Rite II with thoughtfully chosen music at all 3 Sunday services. Our 8:00 service is intimate and contemplative. The 10:30 service celebrates the community gathered with a full choir and vibrant Anglican music. La Misa Hispanic service follows at 12:30 with a style unique to a less formal liturgical setting and is shared by both laity and clergy. We use incense at the Christmas Eve midnight mass and Easter Vigil. Rite I is occasionally used at the service preceding the quarterly Senior luncheon. “Common Morning, Common Prayer” is lay-led Morning Prayer held each weekday morning during Lent at locations throughout the community. Funerals are some of our most meaningful liturgies and when requested, include burial in our Memorial Garden. In all worship services, there is a sense that the whole body, from clergy to staff, altar guild, vergers, Eucharistic ministers and visitors, choir, acolytes, vestry, and hosts, is acting in unison to complete the mystery of faith, “Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.”

How do you practice incorporating others in ministry?

It is in the Parish’s DNA to open our doors and invite the wider community to share in our ministries. For example, when we host Room in The Inn to feed and shelter homeless “neighbors”, members of Sedgefield United Methodist Church, as well as others who are not part of our Parish, regularly share in the tasks of making such neighbors feel safe and comfortable. Neighbors who have stayed overnight often participate in our 8:00 worship service. Other Parish ministries in which non-parishioners volunteer are: Book Study, with discussions of social issues that apply to our community and the hope that such discussions lead to helpful action; the Darrow-Owens Guild, which looks at community issues and then provides what it can do to meet needs; choir and organ concerts, with performers from the Parish, other churches and the Charlotte Symphony joining to raise funds for external ministries; Loaves and Fishes, providing food to hungry families; Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts; Recovery, Domestic Violence and EMBRACE (autism) groups; Rise Up Against Hunger (packaging food for the poor in foreign countries); and cooking and serving at the Men’s Shelter with help from students at UNC Charlotte.

As a worshipping community, how do you care for your spiritual, emotional and physical well-being?

“Love grows here” describes our community and the relationship we have with God and each other. The combination of liturgy, music, sermons and Eucharist during worship feed the souls of Parishioners during Sunday services as well as special services such as Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, All Saints Day and Christmas Eve. Common Morning, Common Prayer during each weekday of Lent provides opportunity for morning prayer led by laity. We love to celebrate. Examples include our excitement when Father Kevin was elected Bishop of Delaware, as well as our presence at Mother Amanda’s wedding and more recently, our joy at the birth of her son. We also celebrate lives well lived at funerals with a Lazarus team of lay members who support and shepherd the family. At occasions such as our Parish retreat at Kanuga, Oyster Roast and Fall Festival, we enjoy being together. Personal relationships with God thrive as we commune with each other on a regular basis. Our clergy support us with knowledge and spiritual guidance. As a result, each individual has the opportunity to grow whether in personal conversation with one of our clergy, during a worship service, or in a group setting of lay members.


Ministry Portfolio



Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18. How do you engage in pastoral care for those beyond your worshipping community?

Pastoral care incorporates clergy and laity at our Parish. Care reaches out beyond our community through Hispanic Ministries, “Common Morning, Common Prayer” meetings in open spaces in the city, outreach ministries for homeless, underprivileged, hungry, a location for 12 step recovery, grieving groups, area church ecumenical involvement and EMBRACE. Funerals are oriented to parishioner and non-parishioner families at this critical time for comfort. Hispanic ministries touches many with weekly ESL, La Escuelita, bilingual liturgy, La Misa liturgy, fundraisers and festivals. All Hispanic members are fully incorporated into the Parish weekend and Parish life events while children are better able to acclimate to U.S. culture with skills and nurturing found at our Parish. EMBRACE organizes families with special needs in a safe place where faith and struggle meet. We have long been at the core of Park Road church cooperation as shown by other churches delivering food to our Loaves and Fishes pantry and assisting with Room in the Inn where we house homeless on Saturday nights. Within the community, we host vibrant Boy and Girl Scout troops, and a place for grief groups to share.

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Founded as a neighborhood Parish in 1903 by families of small business owners and employees, our Parish continues to predominantly attract middle-income families instead of families of leaders in city’s government and largest businesses. Historically and recently, our Parish has produced an outsized share of lay and clergy leaders to Diocese and community, including to: Diocesan Council; Standing Committee; Diocesan committees and commissions for youth, diaconate, outreach, clergy discipline, ECW, communications, constitution/canons, insurance, elderly housing, camps and conferences, companion dioceses, Hispanic ministries, and convention committees; General Convention Deputies and ECW Triennial representatives; Charlotte shelter, food and race relations ministries. Clergy have always been encouraging and supportive of roles outside of our Parish. Reflecting its good and close lay and clergy relationships with Diocese and its Bishops, our Parish faithfully accepts and satisfies all annual Diocesan askings. In addition, our choir and music director have traveled outside the Parish to offer beautiful music to worshippers and listeners worldwide.

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La Escuelita is a dual-language preschool whose vision is to educate and prepare children with social and learning skills and with knowledge to be well-grounded for kindergarten and future years. Next school year, we anticipate over 100 students ages 1 to 5 years, in 8 classes, with a waiting list. There is one Spanish speaking teacher and one English speaking teacher per class; each works in her language on alternating days. The predecessor English preschool was in decline. La Escuelita was formed by combining it with the Spanish preschool, and is completing its second year. Clergy and staff worked together with several lay members to start and grow the ministry. Tuition assistance is extensively provided. The staff of La Escuelita also help parents, through workshops and counseling, on issues ranging from child growth to navigating government programs and agencies. The Board of Directors is comprised of Holy Comforter parishioners. The Parish provides some financial support and lends its facilities. It is widely held that La Escuelita is one of our most important ministries, one that the Parish is deeply committed to nurture and grow.


Ministry Portfolio



Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18. What is your practice of stewardship and how does it shape the life of your worshipping community?

Lay members always lead stewardship efforts in the Parish. Our primary stewardship effort is the annual giving campaign each fall. We always have a theme and there’s always a goal. The current theme is “Love Grows Here.” The outcome of this effort drives our budget which follows the calendar year. A finance committee, which includes clergy and lay members, monitors our spending throughout the year. Although our structure remains the same, our strategies have evolved to include technology and multiple forms of communication. Stewardship includes time and talent as well as treasures. Some examples of longevity include the first Boy Scout troop in the state, the creation of Loaves and Fishes food pantry which now extends throughout the county, and active participation in the Room In The Inn citywide program. Our campus is always bustling. Some challenges our Parish faces include meeting our annual giving goal and avoiding burnout of our lay leaders. Areas for improvement include: the need to increase the number of household giving units, planned giving, greater involvement in lay leadership and revitalization of Formation for youth and adults.

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Since the founding of our Parish in honor of NC Bishop Thomas Atkinson who helped restore North-South unity in national church after Civil War, we have weathered issues of sexuality, gender, liturgy, race, inequality. In the early 1980s, Lynn Honeycutt, our first female priest, served as priest-in-charge while we were between rectors. Prayer Book changes have been incorporated into liturgy without controversy as directed by Bishop and General Convention. Sexuality issues have challenged us to consider how to love one another and have caused disagreement at times. Personal relationships enabled common understanding and little disagreement exists today. Hispanic ministries and homeless outreach stretch resources and introduce people different than historic membership. Clergy and lay leadership engage, discuss, understand and lead intently into new service, allowing Parish to adapt. Changes have resulted in some membership losses and gains. Clergy and laity rely on the Gospel call to love by honoring each other while changing with common culture. We discuss, listen, pray, then move with intention of Vestry and Clergy.

What is your experience leading/addressing change in the church? When has it gone well? When has it gone poorly? And what did you learn?

Our Parish is willing to try new things if there is education and reason around it. A recent example occurred in Advent when we returned to the use of ad orientem at the Eucharist. As in decades past, our clergy faced east at the high altar with their backs to the congregation. Clergy explained this custom during announcements, in the Parish newsletter and Advent brochure, and on our website. Such communications led to understanding and acceptance. Successful changes in worship schedules include: a single, bilingual service preceding Fall Festival and following the Annual Parish meeting; and moving Easter Vigil from Easter morning to Easter Eve. One recent change not well received and not repeated: having only one service on Sundays during the summer. After a major building project in 2008-10, the Parish was left with significant debt. Parishioners and clergy responded by coming together in a very critical exercise of envisioning the future, and the Vestry worked diligently to design and implement solutions tied to a new capital campaign. We have learned that education, communication and prayer are key to any successful transition from what we have commonly known or experienced.


Ministry Portfolio



Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18. Prior Incumbents

Name

Position Title

Date Begun

Date Ended

Name

Position Title

Date Begun

Date Ended

Name

Position Title

Date Begun

Date Ended

Number of Teachers/Leaders for Children School

Number of Students for Children School

10

150

La Escuelita Weekday School: https://www.laesws.org/

Church School

Number of Teachers/Leaders for Teen/Young Adults School

Number of Students for Teen/Young Adults School

Number of Teachers/Leaders for Adults School

Number of Students for Adults School

6

22

10

150

Day School

Number of Students for Day School

Number of Teachers for Day School

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Pre-K


Ministry Portfolio



Contact:

Rector / Vicar / Priest-in-Charge | Receiving Names until 04/27/18. Worshipping Community Web site: http://www.holycomfortercharlotte.org/ Media Links:

Online References:

> https://www.facebook.com/holycomfortercharlotte

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Provide Worship or Classes in:

Spanish

Spanish

HOCO 2020: http://www.holycomfortercharlotte.org/funding-our-ministry/hoco-2020/

References Bishop:

919-834-7474 [email protected]

The Rt. Rev. Samuel Rodman Diocesan Transition Minister

Canon Catherine Massey Current Warden/Board Chair

Previous Warden/Board Chair

Search Chair

Mrs. Kathy Trotter, Mr. Joe Mynatt Parish/Institution

Local Community Leader

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919-834-7474 [email protected]