Epiphany Lutheran Church Pastor’s Annual Report – 2009

Dear Saints at Epiphany,

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Many of us remember those opening lines of Charles Dickens novel of the French Revolution. Though our situation is quite different, these words are an apt description for 2009, I think.

Challenges in our personal lives, in this congregation, in our denomination, in the whole Church catholic, and in the world at large sometimes seem like a cause for despair. Yet, God in His infinite mercy, continues to pour out grace in our lives. In the midst of trying times, the Lord gives us occasions for joy. And we have it on the word of scripture that God will somehow bring good from the setbacks we suffer.

So—what did 2009 bring for us?

Occasions for Pastoral Care. It’s worth noting here that as I develop relationships with more and more of you here, I have more opportunities for providing pastoral care, preaching and teaching. I am grateful for the privilege of walking with you through the joys & sorrows of life in hospital rooms, prisons, dinner tables, classrooms, cemeteries, in my office, at the baptismal font or at the altar. I am glad that God has brought me here to be one of your pastors, and am thankful for your gracious support of that ministry. I look forward to continuing that ministry in 2010!

Opportunities for worship. Sunday morning continues to be the center of our life together, as we are drawn together to hear the Word and to celebrate the sacraments. We also have strong attendance at our Advent and Lenten Wednesday evening services. In addition to that, we have other opportunities for worship during the week: weekly chapel for our preschoolers, our Friday morning prayer service, our “First Wednesday services.” Under the excellent leadership of Robert Bolyard, Cory Westby and Jessica Westby, Epiphany musicians have enriched our worship services with their many gifts.

Looking ahead, Pastor John, myself, and our other worship leaders are excited about providing a supplemental worship service one evening per week. This would be beneficial in obvious ways—more time together to pray, hear God’s Word and share the sacraments together. But it would also give us valuable time to connect with each other and grow in our relationships.

Spiritual growth for our youth and their families. Our many youth groups for kids of all ages, along with their families, continue to go strong, thanks to the faithful leadership of adult volunteers. If your children are not yet a part of these groups, please consider joining one!

Our confirmation program is going particularly strong—we’ve expanded to a three-year program, so that 6th, 7th and 8th graders have an opportunity to learn about our Christian faith in a concentrated fashion. Part of confirmation is the Lenten Mentor Program, which pairs each youth with a mature Christian adult in our congregation with whom they pray and discuss a booklet on Christian spirituality.

Our high school group remains active and excited about service. Our summer service trip was a great success, and our youth remain excited about service in this community.

Looking ahead, I will be focused on encouraging more contact time with our high school youth, especially. We will be meeting more regularly, involving parents and family members in this ministry, and doing both more Bible study and purely fun events.

Opportunities for Service. Our social ministry committee does a fine job of involving you all in serving the poor through our “giving trees” at Christmas and Easter, and through other opportunities for Christian mercy like serving meals at Nicholas House or through meals on wheels. Your outpouring of prayer and resources for people in Haiti and other disaster-stricken areas, through Lutheran World Relief, demonstrates your willingness to serve.

Looking ahead, our involvement in Family Promise of NewRock will give us a chance to offer hospitality to homeless families for one week, once a quarter. A group of six from Epiphany is planning to travel to Haiti to serve our brothers & sisters there. Our youth will once again be embarking on a summer service trip. There will no doubt be many other opportunities to serve Jesus by serving “the least of these” (Matt. 25).

Opportunities to learn. Our dedicated Sunday school superintendent, and our many teachers, provide people of all ages a chance to study the Bible and grow in their faith each Sunday morning. We’ve also had the chance to learn and grow during Vacation Bible school, where kids and adults alike studied God’s Word. During Lent, we studied the Lord’s Prayer.

Looking ahead, it is my hope that when we add another weekly evening opportunity for worship, we will also be able to add an educational component for study, whether that be an introduction to Christianity class, an extended Bible study, or a one-book Bible study.

Opportunities to serve in our congregation, our Synod, and beyond. Whether on the yard crew, the fellowship committee, in our pre-school, or on congregational council, there are so many who serve diligently every day. I remain connected to our synod through collegial relationships with other pastors and our bishop’s staff, first call pastoral retreats, and through service in our many synodical youth ministries like AFFIRM and Project Connect.

Looking ahead, how will you steward your time by serving the body of Christ here at Epiphany and beyond?

Grace & Peace,

Pastor Nathan Hilkert