Prizes have been awarded to the VanDelinder Fellows for 2017
More about the Roy E. VanDelinder, Jr. Fellowship Program at Christ Church Rochester.
Through the combined resources of Christ Church’s Liturgical Music Program and the Eastman School of Music’s Organ Department, this exciting program offers vocational training and practical application in liturgical music skills for Eastman organ students who are pursuing a career in liturgical music. Fellows will receive a scholarship for participating in this program, and a large cash prize is awarded each year to the Fellow who demonstrates the greatest diligence and achievement. Under the leadership of Music Director Stephen Kennedy, Fellows will receive training and experience in improvising, composing, arranging, hymn playing, anthem and motet accompaniment, chanting, conducting, and rehearsing choirs and instrumentalists as well as other components within a church music program. This program is made possible by a generous gift from the Roy E. VanDelinder, Jr. Fund of Rochester Area Community Foundation.
Fellowship in Liturgical Organ Studies
Fellows will be selected by the VanDelinder Committee. This committee will base their decision on the student’s résumé, playing skills, and two letters of recommendation. Fellows will receive a scholarship of around $4,700 for the academic year. This amount will be re-figured this year, so it may be slightly more than this amount. Fellows may participate in this program for up to three years but the VanDelinder Committee makes the selection of Fellows each year.
Prize in Liturgical Organ Skills
Each year, the VanDelinder Committee will select one acting Fellow to receive the Roy E. VanDelinder, Jr. Prize in Liturgical Organ Skills that includes a cash prize of $8,000 above the scholarship. This prize will be awarded to the VanDelinder Fellow that demonstrates the greatest diligence and achievement. The prizewinner will be expected to remain in active duty as Fellow for a negotiated number of Sundays beyond the school term. Fellows who do not win the prize will be excused at the end of the school term.
Past Winners of the Roy E. VanDelinder, Jr. Fund of Rochester Area Community Foundation Prize in Liturgical Organ Skills
Käthe Wright Kaufman in 2014
Käthe Wright Kaufman in 2015
Jeremy Jelinek in 2016
Madeleine Woodworth in 2017
EVENTS
EVENTS and ANNOUNCEMENTS in This Issue
Candlelight Concert Schedule 2017-2018
Meet the new VanDelinder Fellows for 2017
The Care Team
Christ Church Open House
GRANTS UPDATE
Vestry Minutes
Christ Church VanDelinder Fellows for the 2017-2018 season
The Care Team
is here to help
The Christ Church Care Team is a volunteer ministry to help parishioners on a temporary basis as they recover from surgery, suffer the death of a loved one, are home bound or in the hospital, or need support due to another kind of loss or difficult transition. The Care Team assists parishioners in need with the following: shopping, meals, pet care, house help, phone calls to check in, and home and hospital visits. Please notify the Rector if you or someone you know could use Care Team support. [Care Team Leaders: Shirley Ricker, Norma Kurmis, Lydia Worboys, Peg Britt, Elizabeth Dugdale, Kyle Liddell and Jim Blake]
Christ Church Open House
Dear Christ Church,
Thank you to all who made our Stained Glass open house a big success! We had about 70 visitors, including a group of 40 on a group tour led by Pike Studios, and they were unbelievably enthusiastic--asked a million questions, took a million pictures--in fact, the tour guide couldn't get them out of there and on to their next venue!
The volunteers made this open house possible. They were welcoming and generous hosts. I've attached 2 pictures--one which Vicki McCutchon entered into the Sacred Sites Photo Contest after the weekend, and one which shows the beautiful way Carlos set up the front of the church.
Huge kudos and thanks to all who helped.
Deb VanderBilt
Warden
Grants Update
The grant-writing team (Deb VanderBilt, Tom Foster, Meg Mackey, Peg Britt, and Hugh Kierig) has finished this year’s round of applications. In general, grants are available in the historic preservation category; in other words, we have to specify a building project and the grant will go toward repairs. Here’s an update on where we are with our grants.
In January, we applied for a grant from Sacred Sites (a part of the New York Conservancy Trust) for $50,000 for our buckling wall on Lawn Street. We received $25,000, which the grant administrator told us is typically the upper limit of what they award. We must match that grant 50-50 (no problem, since the wall repairs will cost at least $130K).
In May, we applied for two grants for the wall as well: to the Rochester Community Foundation Grant for $25,000 and to the Partners for Sacred Places for an unspecified amount (the first step is a “letter of intent”). We should hear from RCF in October, and we already heard we did not make the first cut from Partners for Sacred Places.
In July, we applied to New York State for a Historic Preservation Grant. Because our church is in a zip code that is characterized by high poverty, if we get this grant it will be a 75/25 match (we pay 25%). We applied for the grant for clerestory window repair, since the criterion for the grant is urgency. Water infiltration caused part of the ceiling under these leaky windows to fall down, so we believe we have a good case that window repairs are urgent. The application was for about $120,000, and we will hear in January about whether or not we receive it.
We also applied in May for a Congregational Development Grant from the Diocese. This grant can be used for our deficit, so it is very different from the historic preservation grants. If we get it, we are eligible to be on a 5-year cycle of grant renewal, but it will be less each year as we work toward sustainability. To apply for the grant, the team worked on a plan of action to “develop” our congregation: communicating better about what we do to the community and other ways of growing our congregation. We applied for $35,000 and we will hear in September or October from the diocese if we get the grant. They can say no, give the full amount we asked for, or give a lesser amount based on the total they have to allocate within the diocese.
It’s because of this final grant that Ruth, Deb, and Joe were required to attend the College for Congregational Development, to learn tools that will help us grow Christ Church both “inside,” in what we do to develop spiritual lives and fellowship in our church, and outside, in what we do to live out our mission and attract others to work with us on that mission.
It’s also in connection with the Diocesan grant that you took the survey about what attracted you to Christ Church and why you stay. Here are the results of that survey (except the comments, which even though anonymous we are treating as confidential:
Member Survey: 63 responses
Question 1: What caused you to visit Christ Church for a church service (other than Compline) the first time? (Click all that apply)
I was looking for a faith community 50.00% 26
Heard about it from someone I know 46.15% 24
Found it through the website 13.46% 7
Was in the neighborhood and was curious 13.46% 7
Attended Compline, then came to a service 7.69% 4
Read about it in the newspaper 1.92% 1
Found it via Facebook 1.92% 1
Attended Jazz Festival then came to a service 0.00% 0
Question 2: What was it about Christ Church that caused you to attend regularly or become a member? (Click all that apply.)
The music 70.4% 43
The preaching 63.9% 39
The Christ Church community 59.0% 36
The way the service is conducted (the liturgy) 57.3% 35
The physical space (Sanctuary) 47.5% 29
The outreach initiatives of Christ Church 34.4% 21
Question 3: If you had to pick a PRIMARY reason why you attend Christ Church regularly or are a member, what would you pick?
The music 26.6% 16
The Christ Church community 26.6% 16
The liturgy 20% 12
The preaching 18.3% 11
*Question 3 responses by those at CC 8 or fewer years:
The preaching 31% 9
The Christ Church community 24.1% 7
The music 20.6% 6
The liturgy 17.2% 5
Vestry Minutes, August 2017
1. Joe Schaller reported on the work of the CAPITAL CAMPAIGN committee. The Vestry was asked to pledge early as a “leadership gift”—this amount will be announced to the congregation in September. We have a 25,000 matching grant to add to this total. There will be a public kick-off with an event early in 2018. Deb added that Deb, Joe, and Ruth had met with ESM CFO Michelle Gibson in August to talk about the campaign.
2. WORSHIP/FORMATION. Kyle reported a meeting was held Wednesday, August 9, in which a group of parishioners with varied spiritual interests were asked to help formulate ideas about CC activities with “spiritual drive and umph.” Ruth has asked several participants to process and plan based on feedback from that evening.
3. Report on the College for Congregational Development: Deb reported on a very busy and inspiring week for herself, Ruth, and Joe Schaller. The basic thrust was teaching tools proven to work, not trends; and organizational development: diagnosing issues, designing meetings, dealing with conflict. Often, this material was presented in the context of case studies (one goal: CC does not end up as one of their negative case studies). Each participant must plan and carry out one project related to Congregational Development. Deb will also share the reading list which the College assigned with the vestry, and put it in The Song.
4. PROPERTY DISCUSSIONDeb has been corresponding with Swiatek Studios. They can do windows and plaster restoration work at once. This is a way to cut the loss of organ time for ESM. Doing both at the same time will also mean the loss of only one year of weddings and Jazz Fest. Vestry recommends the work on the nave be done in 2020 so we can give ESM 3 years advance notice. Also, it will then take place in the third year of the capital campaign. We will still fix the Lawn St. wall in 2018, with no effect on ESM or other activities.
MOTION: The Vestry approves the date of Summer 2020 for both Nave plaster repair and painting and window repair. Motion passed.
5. YOUTH FELLOWSHIP STARTUP DISCUSSION. Ruth presented an update for 2017-2018. Plans are afoot for various activities scheduled on a monthly basis, including a possible shared lock-in with St. Thomas’s. Food, fun, faith, and fellowship in different formats will be planned according to when participants can attend.
This was Gale Lynch’s last vestry meeting. She was commended for her many contributions to the life of the parish for 16 years. She and her family will be missed.
6. Ruth led a short service for the vestry, and Carolyn Mauro ended the meeting with a prayer, and the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Dave Jutsum, Clerk
Vestry Minutes July 18,2017
Highlights of Vestry Meeting July 18, 2017
1. The vestry shared reflections on the vestry retreat of June. Ruth and the wardens are going to take these many comments and prioritize items from the action item brainstorming session.
2. The vestry discussed the weekly schedule for use of the sanctuary. Communication is of the utmost importance; as new volunteers come on board committees, they need to be oriented to the policy of shared space. ESM would prefer 2 weeks’ notice for interruption of their time. For events besides property repairs, notification means sending an email to David Higgs, with copies to Alice Meyer (Organ Department secretary), and to his teaching assistant and copying in Ruth and the CC office.
3. The Property report was given by Kyle. He discussed Lawn St. wall repair, sealing of clerestory windows, and nave plaster repair. The timing of these events is in flux. There are many question for Swiatek, the company we have used in the past. Deb will write Brett Swiatek, copying Kyle, and in future Kyle will communicate with Swiatec, and keep John Fields, head of Property Commission, in the loop.
The recommendation of the Property and Finance committees is that Lawn St. wall work be done in summer 2018. Based on Swiatek’s time estimate and grant outcomes, the vestry expressed a preference for both window and nave work to be done in 2020. If they can’t be combined, then the recommendation is windows in 2019 and nave in 2020.
4. Ruth, Deb, and Joe will be attending the week long College for Congregational Development. Thanks to them and to their families for sharing in this endeavor.
5. Vestry on Call involved a question about the Capital Campaign, and where it is at. Joe will write a notice for the bulletin in August. A meeting with Michelle Gibson, CFO ESM, is planned for August 14. The Capital Campaign Committee will develop a message to the parish in the bulletin providing an update in September. Joe said Hugh Kierig is moving out of town. His help has been invaluable. Gale Lynch will also be sorely missed. She plans to continue to help from Manhattan. Lucie Parfitt and John Urban are joining the committee.
6. Rector’s Report: Ruth was approached as to whether Christ Church would be interested in participating as a sponsor of the Witness Palestine Film Festival, to be held Sept. 15-Oct. 21. She described it as a pro-peace film series: common thread, common humanity. She requested a vote on the following question: “Are you ok to support a film series which raises human rights abuses through the lens of Palestine?” After some discussion, a show of hands produced this result: 6 in favor; 4 abstaining. Next meeting the vestry will work on developing a sponsorship policy.
