Vestry Update April – June 2025

There is no other way to put it – CHS had a spectacular second quarter. My goal is to provide these reports every month, but so much has been happening even the Wardens can’t keep up! Feel free to ask me or Gary Scott any questions.
Diane Hrozencik, Senior Warden

Lent and Easter Celebrations

• The Lenten Book Study, led by Fr. Tim Mulder was a great success, attracting 20+ people throughout the 4-week study.
• Good Friday Day of Service was a strong success with over 50a ttendees and a mix of service activities to serve outside the parish as well as within the parish.
• Easter Services attracted 110 parishioners to hear Interim Rector Fr. Matt Engleby’s inspiring reflections and experience the energy of our space and our community.
• Fr. Matt began as interim at CHS with his first service on March 24th. In his first month as a “part-time interim rector” Fr. Matt presided over 14 services . We are so grateful for his gifts of care and engagement with our congregation.

Bishop Visit
Bishop Sally French visited CHS on Sunday May 27th. Although the Sunday after Easter is notorious for low attendance, we had 77 parishioners join a single service welcoming Bishop French. Following the service she lead a Q&A for the entire congregation and provided insight into
the challenges of the search process, and reflections on her experience as the first woman bishop in the NJ diocese. Despite widespread acceptance, she shocked our congregation when we learned that 5 of the 130 churchesin her diocese will not allow her to celebrate communion at their altars.

Fellowship Ministry
Dale Dabour, vestry lead, and her team offered several activities to engage the congregations. The
Good Friday continental breakfast was offered by the vestry to about 50 attendees. Lindsay
Wyglandowsky led the Children/Youth in offering a Mother’s Day Breakfast in April. The church picnic was held in Dove Hall on June 20th due to rain and high heat warnings. We missed the bikes and outdoor activities – but about 45 folks enjoyed a massive pot luck. Everything was great, but I must give kudos to Jane Paradiso for the most delicious baked beans ever.

Formation/Education
Janet Matts and Tricia Simpson-Curtin planned an event to support open conversations about gender and stereotypes on June 29th. They have organized three viewing parties of the movie “Will and Harper” and worked with the NJ Diocese office to identify and recruit a qualified speaker, Rev. Ayden to host the discussion. We look forward to high engagement.

Outreach / Engagement
. Suzanne Higgins and Jane Anderson worked with Eva Lesniak and members congregation to help
support outreach for Good Friday, including Mr. Fixit and Seaman’s institute donations, as well as efforts with the Children/Youth to create gift bags for those in need. Jane organized a Blood Drive in June. Suzanne Higgins lead a team to organize a Newcomers Welcome on June 15th, including a welcome during service and a coffee hour to recognize 12 adults and children (5 families) who have begun attending CHS in the last year. Remarkably, CHS has baptized four children this spring.
This is a testament to the welcoming parish that has been created by all.

Auction
The Auction will be held Saturday, September 20th and Sally Bird is leading the effort this year. She has a strong team of about ten volunteers who are making headway in key areas including donations, logistics, food and beverages, advertising and tech support. It is a massive undertaking and all volunteers are welcome.

Property
The Good Friday Service and combined with the visit of Bishop Sally French had our property sparkling. The Property Team worked with a crew to create an attractive surround for the dumpster
. It’s a well-crafted masterpiece and greatly improves the parking lot. All the miscellaneous items, from fixing or replacing broken lights, adjusting slamming doors and unraveling the mystery of our air conditioning and heat were progressed. 

Many thanks to Jim West and his son who fixed the water fountain outside of Dove Hall. After years of neglect we are happy to know that anyone can get a drink whenever they want. 

Security Cameras have been installed at the lower-level entrance, and two more cameras are planned for the upper level. Two larger longer-term projects are being planned with the generous
contribution of anonymous parishioners. The first is the replacement of a fence at the entrance at CHS and the second is an upgrade of the plumbing fixtures on the second floor. At the request of our Youth, the Burton Chapel has been cleaned out and is ready for service . It had become a dumping ground – but now it is available for meditation, prayer or other services.

Vestry members are continuing to clean up and prepare the St. Martin Room and the Rector’s Office and for renovation . All the books have been removed; plans are underway to remove the bookshelves and then plans need to be made to update the room.

Finances
Sally Bird and her team have been diligently supporting the weekly and monthly reporting and management of expenses and income. Because we have had part-time interim rectors in 2025 instead of a full-time priest, we are saving on employment expenses versus budget. Dave Dabour
and Eva Lesniak have been working to upgrade the office computer system and were able to add QuickBooks functionality for the finance team. Additional upgrades include the addition of Gmail on the office computer. Eva Lesniak is progressing the Stewardship campaign which will kick off in
October.

These are the interesting things the vestry has been working on in April, May and June. I will save the less glamourous things for the July report.