ANNUAL REPORT 2016

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Table of Contents

I. Staff

Pastor, 2

Interim DCE, 3

Director of Music, 5

Organist, 7

Office and Communications Manager, 8

II. The Clerk of Session, 9

Attendance Report, 11

III. Our Ministries

Welcoming

The Board of Deacons, 12

Christian Development

Stewardship, 14

Outreach

Mission, 15

Support

Building and Grounds, 16

Master Planning Task Force, 17

Nominating, 18

Personnel, 19

Treasurer, 20

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Mark Hanna, Pastor

Dear Friends and Members of RPPC,

One word can sum up the past year: Wow! 2016 was an amazing year at

RPPC. We completed a very successful capital campaign where we far

exceeded our initial goal. We also switched our Sunday service time from

10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to allow space for a new education program for all

ages from 9-10 a.m. Each of these, individually, represents many years’

evaluation, planning and preparation on behalf of the church staff and

leadership. Together they make for some exciting and promising times to

be a part of RPPC.

What is even more amazing is that we accomplished all this amid many challenges. Two beloved long-

time staff members departed in 2016. Diane Brown retired after 12 years of service as our weekday

Sexton. Heather Russel, a part of our community for almost two decades, also moved on to new

opportunities as she seeks to find balance between her home and professional life. Both are dearly

missed and we are so grateful to God for the gifts they shared with us.

The rest of the RPPC staff remains as committed and engaged as ever. Jen Ronald, Phillip Collister and

Margaret Budd, along with Tony Mason and Caroline Mapp, are a gift to all of us at RPPC, no one more

than me. Working with them is a blessing. I am proud to be their head of staff and grateful for the ways

they make me a better pastor and person.

I would like to offer a very special “thank you” to Barrie Sigler who has volunteered to be our interim

Director of Christian Education while we continue our search for a permanent staff person. Barrie has

focused her energy on Sunday School for our youngest members, preschool through elementary. She has

also assembled a team of teachers to teach our middle and high school students, while I lead the

discussion for our adult class. Barrie is a gifted educator, but she is also one of the most genuinely kind

people I know. We, as a church family, are blessed to have her and I know you will join me in offering a

deep, heartfelt “thank you.”

I also wish to gratefully acknowledge the service of Dan Evans who stepped down as Clerk of Session

after 6 years in the role. We are a more organized, efficient and transparent church organization thanks

to his leadership. Richard Letocha has stepped into his role. He brings fresh ideas, enthusiasm and a

deep love of the church to the task. Of course, Richard was our Treasurer for the past eight years. He has

handed that responsibility off to Matt Bay, who has already proven his mettle to the Session by

successfully guiding us through the budgeting process for the coming year. We are excited to see how

his gifts will continue to positively impact our congregation.

For the church to run and be vital in its mission and ministry it takes the contributions of time, talents,

treasure and prayers of many. While I have thanked a few special individuals, the truth is there are more

than I can name on these pages whose contributions are no less significant. In fact, each of you reading

this report has contributed to our community in a significant way. One of the blessings of being a small

church is that each one of us is needed; each contribution is significant and valued.

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Conversely, one of the challenges of being a small church is that we feel our losses more acutely. A staff

member retires or moves on, a member moves away, another passes on—they all take their toll. And yet,

I am constantly amazed to see how God is adding to our midst. Over my time here, again and again, new

members and friends have joined our community and offered their gifts—gifts that often prove to be just

the very thing we need. That is one of the many reasons it is important for us to keep widening our

welcome.

Widening Our Welcome (or WOW for short) is our capital campaign theme and it continues as our

guiding call as we plan for our building renovations to begin in 2017. The goal is to make our building

more accessible and more hospitable. Plans will be discussed at our annual meeting. But of course, the

building renovation is not an end in itself, but a means in our ongoing efforts of growing in God’s love

and grace.

It is God’s love that has called us here. It is God’s grace that guides us and gives us purpose. As you

read through these pages, you will find evidence of this love and grace on every page and in every

report. When you do, I hope you will join me in saying, “wow” and “thank you”!

In faith, hope and love,

Mark

Barrie Sigler, Part-Time and Interim

Director of Christian Education

A Director of Christian Education, it seems, is not easy to

replace. The Personnel Committee worked diligently over the

summer and continues on, but, alas, a qualified person has yet to

appear. We miss Heather. So until our ideal DCE appears, we

are carrying on, filling the position with a team of church

members and the ever-present and energetic Mark.

As for stepping up to the plate, many of our congregation have done just that! One particularly energetic

group cleaned out and organized Sunday School supplies. Another team decorated the classrooms so

that they looked more cheerful. Of course, our Building and Grounds committee cleaned out a lot of

worn-out and underused objects, including the stadium seating platform that filled the Blue Room. And

vitally important are the generous folks who have volunteered to teach Sunday School for children in

elementary school, middle school (the program we call S:TEP), high school, and adult education.

Sunday School 2016-2017 officially started in October with Education for All Ages. Classes meet at

9:00 a.m., except for the first Sunday of the month.

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Primary and Elementary These two groups (Grades K-2 and 3-5) studied Old Testament Bible stories

in the Fall, the Christmas story, and recently, stories about Jesus as a Child. A typical Sunday School

class starts off with a story, told or read by a teacher acting as storyteller. The children, guided by caring

teachers, explore the story further with discussion, acting, puppets, crafts, or games. An important

segment each Sunday is a music class in which the story is reinforced by songs. Often the songs are later

presented in a church service. An additional learning experience is “Bridge” during the sermon time in

church. In this twenty minute segment, the children discuss and explore facets of Church Life. They

have learned about Communion, Baptism, and The Lord’s Prayer. The children also have their learning

reinforced by the Time for Children during the service and the activities in the Children’s Bulletins and

Worship Bags.

S:TEP: The middle school class is informal and discussion-based. This last fall we read The Lion, the

Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, and we are currently starting James Howe’s novel The Misfits.

The adolescent years encompass some of the most spectacular growth of young people – from childhood

toward adulthood. We respect, honor and rejoice in this transition; as a teacher I try to connect

everything to our rich theological inheritance, our larger culture, and to God. We also use the sometimes

irreverent but always thoughtful “Re:form” series of videos and curricula (published by Sparkhouse)

when appropriate. Thanks to church members we should have a ping pong table upstairs shortly for use

at the start of class. (Group Leader: Holden McAleer)

High School: The high schoolers took a discussion-group approach to their education time. Using one

or more video or text prompts each week, they explored and discussed a variety of topics related to real-

world application of Christian values in their own lives and on a global scale. Subjects discussed

included empathy and compassion for others, cultivation of personal strength and resilience, stewardship

of the environment and our relationship with non-human animals, and the pursuit of true happiness. In

addition, the group occasionally made time to discuss and process current events together. (Group

Leaders: Sarah and David McDonough)

Adult Education

The adult education class is off to a solid start. Following an open discussion model, our main prompt

for the fall and winter has been the Strange Book of Books series from Theocademy. This video based

resource takes a fresh approach to the Bible by exploring some of the stranger aspects of the biblical

witness as a way into having a deeper understanding of these ancient texts and their implications for our

lives. Along the way other opportunities for learning and growth have been offered. In October,

Professor Stephen Long from the University of Richmond presented a talk "The War of the Lamb," on

the intersection of faith and politics in our personal lives. In December, the adult education class took

two weeks to explore the birth narratives from Matthew and Luke, applying some of the methods

discussed in the Strange Book of Books series. Plans are forming for new opportunities in the spring. We

hope you will consider joining us! (Group Leader: Mark Hanna)

In addition to these classes, we are fortunate to have Nursery coverage every Sunday for our littlest

ones. Tonya and Rebekah Johnson give loving care to our children.

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Certainly, we are hugely grateful to all of our teachers for the amount of time, thought and energy they

put into their classes. One bumper sticker often seen reads, “Have You Thanked a Teacher Today?”

Here are the generous teachers who have given their time and talents to the classes above: Sally

McCabe, Katy John, Je’Neice Perkins, Dave Patron, Richard Letocha, Ginny Rutherford, Leah Inger,

Ryan Poag, Elayne Provost, Holden McAleer, Sarah McDonough, David McDonough, and Mark Hanna.

You might want to thank them next time you run into them for the gifts they bring to all of us.

Barrie Sigler

Part Time and Interim DCE

Phillip Collister, Director of Music

Thank you for accepting the following lengthy Annual Report for music

ministry at RPPC.

Chancel Choir:

As an integral part of the worship life of the RPPC community of faith,

the Chancel Choir continues to provide strong leadership on a regular

basis throughout the church year. We have presented two special music

Sundays, and our usual musical offerings for Good Friday, Easter &

Christmas Eve. Additionally, the choir was invited to participate in the

Holiday Brass Showcase (November 2016) at the Cathedral of Mary

Our Queen. Along with five other North Baltimore churches, the combined choirs performed an

exciting concert that exposed a large audience of nearly 1000 people to an exceptional variety of choral

and brass music.

The choir has seen some significant changes during the year due to a member moving away from the

area and other choir members who have had extended personal and family health concerns. As a result,

the number of volunteer members in the choir has seen a sharp decline in 2016. In past reports, I have

mentioned the need for new volunteers from the congregation to join the choir and its ministry of music

at RPPC. Once again, I encourage us to look at ways in which members and friends can become

actively involved in the musical life of the church. I feel it vital that we maintain a strong volunteer

basis of membership in the Chancel Choir and to nurture music in our children and youth so that future

generations of church members can participate, enjoy fellowship through music in many various forms

and enrich worship services with choral music and song. We continue to have strong leadership by a

dedicated group of paid soloists, Leah Inger & Juliana Marin, sopranos; Fatima Petersen and Katie

Hosier, altos; Valencio Jackson & Troy Koger, tenors; and Matthew Frieswyk and Peter Murphy,

basses.

Phillip Collister continues to be the Music Director for the Chancel Choir and Handbells. Margaret

Budd provided excellent leadership as organist and rehearsal pianist for the Chancel Choir.

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We had a number of excellent professional musicians who joined the choir for Special Music Sundays,

Easter and Christmas Eve. Much of the success of finding these musicians rests with Jackie Capecci

who remains an invaluable resource for contracting guest musicians of the highest caliber.

Chancel Handbell Choir:

The Handbell Choir did excellent work during 2016 providing musical selections on a regular basis in

worship. The Handbell Choir should be especially commended for their dedication which sees them

arriving to church for 8:15 a.m. rehearsals nearly every other week from September thru May.

Children’s Choir & Christian Education.

Leah Inger & Danny Russell provided excellent leadership and ministry for our Children’s Choir from

January-June 2016. The new educational model which began in Fall 2016 has rolled children’s music

into the educational offerings. In this model, educational age groups have a short music unit each week.

Summer Concert Series:

Jackie Capecci continues to bring an invaluable classical music series to our sanctuary each summer.

The breadth of musical offerings and exceptional talent are a true inspiration for our church. This series

is a very valuable program and one which continues to welcome many people to our church.

Organist:

In December 2016, our beloved Margaret Budd informed me that she would be retiring as of June 2017.

I have known that we would eventually need to be thinking of where we go next when Margaret

decided to step down as our organist. She and I have been having discussions about this future for some

time. Margaret Budd is one of the finest musicians and organists with which I have ever worked and her

years as organist at RPPC will forever be remembered as a musical high point in the exceptional musical

history of our congregation. Her gifts and talents over her many years as our organist are too numerous

to name here. It is well known that Margaret Budd, having a musical career spanning nearly 70 years,

is one of the finest organists in Baltimore and this region. We are fortunate to have had a musician of her

caliber and, equally so, a person who is so completely invested in the spiritual life and community of

RPPC. I look forward to her continued music leadership during the first half of 2017.

Her departure will leave large shoes to fill. A comprehensive plan for identifying a qualified

organist/pianist to help lead our music programs will begin in earnest in February 2017.

General Observations:

The over-all health of the music program is very strong for a church of our size. The congregation,

session and staff are extraordinarily supportive of music as an integral part of the ministry and the life of

our congregation.

While the music program is strong, there are several on-going maintenance concerns. These were

articulated in my 2015 report and I invite readers to contact the church office for a copy of the 2015

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report or to speak with me directly concerning these issues. One other area for consideration is listed

here.

Some years ago, a proposal was made to renovate the Steinway piano in the Assembly Hall. With the

plans for building renovation about to begin, I would like for the church to consider revisiting this piano

renovation so that the Steinway could be the new piano for use in the new choir room and the Baldwin

piano could be the piano for use in the Assembly Hall. Thank you for your time in reading this report.

Respectfully Submitted,

Phillip Collister

Director of Music

Margaret Budd, Organist

I wish to thank Roland Park Presbyterian Church for my years here as your

organist. I have been happy to support a GREAT music program under my

revered friend Dr. Phillip Collister, to be part of a wonderful caring and

committed staff and congregation, to enjoy deep treasured friendships and

the spiritual leadership of our beloved Pastor Mark Hanna.

It is difficult to tender my resignation from RPPC in June 2017 after a total

of 66 years as a church organist, recitalist, and teacher. Those years have

been totally gratifying, but at the age of almost 87 the time has come! I

will continue my involvement with the Baltimore Chapter of the American

Guild of Organists, the Community Concert Series at Second Presbyterian Church (Founder and

Artistic Director Emerita), the musical aspects at Roland Park Place, and my enthusiastic support of

Jackie Capecci’s exceptional growing summer classical music series. I look forward to our continuing

encounters!

Organ music this winter and spring will continue to tie in with the church year and our service themes

and choral music. And I will “bow out” with some great favorites in May and early June!

Blessings, deep gratitude to my God and to you all. It has been my great privilege to serve in this

space….

Faithfully yours,

Margaret Budd

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Jennifer Ronald,

Office and Communications Manager

It is a great pleasure to support the congregation of RPPC in my role as office

and communications manager. This past year, in addition to the regularly

scheduled worship and congregational activities, the church office worked to

support and communicate the many changes that took place affecting RPPC,

including the change in worship service time, the changes to our education

staff and programming and the undertaking of the Widening Our Welcome

capital campaign.

I truly enjoyed working with Dan Evans in his role as campaign coordinator as well as serving as co-

chair of the communications committee with Meghan Friedman and our amazing communications

committee members: Rick and Tracy Froh. We had the opportunity to design and execute a wealth of

print materials, signs, banners, web pages and even a short celebration recap video!

In our next phase of this ambitious project, the church office will be preparing for renovations. These

preparations will include considering all the logistics within the office, including: working and worship

arrangements as well as communicating all the exciting goings-on within our RPPC community and to

all of our external constituent groups.

We look forward to entering the new building and the next era of RPPC with a renewed understanding

our place and our purpose. To that extent, I am beginning a demographic study using MissionInsite, a

proprietary research tool available to us through the Presbytery. This will help us to appreciate more

fully who we are in the context of our neighbors and truly help us to widen our welcome.

Surely the year ahead will be an exciting one with many changes but one constant: the wonderful, kind

congregation of RPPC! I am always amazed at the commitment of this community and all that you do in

glory to God!

With gratitude,

Jen Ronald

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Clerk’s Report, 2016

It is a pleasure to share my first annual report as Clerk of Session. Special thanks are in order for Dan

Evans, who stepped aside in 2016 after six years as Clerk of Session. Dan’s inclusive spirit, attention to

detail, and friendly demeanor have been a model for how I’ve tried to approach the role of Clerk of

Session. I am thankful for his many contributions to Roland Park Presbyterian Church.

Widening our Welcome: 2016 was a remarkable year in many respects in the life of our congregation.

My memories of the year will always turn first and foremost to our very successful Widening our

Welcome campaign. Aided by consultant Scott McKenzie, Ph.D., of Horizons Stewardship, the Session

authorized and developed a plan to widen our welcome to our members, neighbors, friends, and the

community at large. A feasibility study catalogued the strengths and limitations of our physical

facility. Based on that study, we identified areas where physical improvements to the church would be

most needed. We then conducted a campaign that reflected the extraordinary generosity of our

members. Over $1.1 million has been pledged to date, an amount that greatly exceeded our initial

expectations and reflects wonderfully on the generosity of our members and friends. What else can I

say, but: WOW! We have turned in recent months to the task of determining a plan of action for the

improvements to the facility, in consultation with architects and engineers. As this process continues to

develop in 2017, we will update the congregation regularly. Thank you to everyone who has

participated in the WOW campaign thus far.

Worship and education changes: This past fall saw the beginning of a long-awaited change to our

Sunday morning worship and education times. An hour-long Education Time for All takes place each

Sunday, other than the first Sunday of the month, at 9:00 a.m. Worship now begins at 10:30 a.m. I am

grateful to all who have participated so enthusiastically in this program and would encourage all RPPC

members to prayerfully consider joining an Adult Education class or teaching a Sunday School class for

our children and youth. Special thanks are in order for the leadership of both Mark Hanna and Barrie

Sigler. Barrie cheerfully answered the call to help establish the new Education Time, and she continues

to share her extraordinary gifts as an educator as we look for a new Director of Christian Education.

Review of Rolls: After a careful review, the church rolls changed as follows in 2016:

Deaths: Misty Rossbottom and Charlotte Johnson. I give thanks for the lives of Misty

Rossbottom and Charlotte Johnson, who passed away in June and September, respectively.

Faithful members and dear friends of many in the congregation, they will be missed.

New Members: Katy John, Kathy Matava, Pat Savadel, Ken Gummerson, Riley Friedman,

Sam Robles, Abby Letocha, Madeline Cochran, Ruby McAslan, and Zack Lutzky. It was a

pleasure to have Katy, Kathy, Pat, and Ken join as members in March. In June we welcomed six

confirmands to church membership. As the father of one of them, I can personally attest to the

effort they put forth in their year-long confirmation class! Congratulations to Riley, Sam, Abby,

Madeline, Ruby, and Zack.

The call to service on the Session is a challenging one, and I greatly appreciate all who have answered

that call. I specifically wish to thank George Thomsen, whose term on Session ended in 2016, for his

loyal and dedicated service. Jackie Capecci was a wonderful addition as a new member of the Session

in 2016. I was delighted that Rick Froh and Quincey Renwick renewed their service on Session for

additional three-year terms. My thanks as well to those Elders who were in the midst of a term on

Session in 2016, including David Patron, Matt Marsh, Matt Bay, David McDonough, Laura Cochran,

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Sharon Halm, and Jim Lyall. I am deeply grateful that all of them have chosen to share their time and

talents for the betterment of RPPC.

To conclude my report, I would like to share a prayer that Mark Hanna circulated to the church

leadership in the midst of our WOW campaign. As we move into 2017, I hope that each of you will find

this prayer as inspiring and thought-provoking as I did.

O God, make the doorway of this house

wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship;

narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride, and strife.

Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children,

or barrier to the elderly and disabled.

Let its door be rugged and strong to turn back the tempter's power,

but open and inviting to those who are your guests.

God, make this house the doorway to your eternal kingdom;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Source: Pg. 435 of the Chalice Worship book (Chalice Press: 1997); referencing pg. 760 of Church Family Worship

(Hodder and Stoughton: 1986).

Historical Annual Year-End Rolls:

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Members

296 297 298 231 230 229 235 233 201 191 182 181 189

Baptisms

3 3 3 2 5

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2014-2016 Church Attendance:

Month

(# of

services)

2014

Total

Attendance

2014

Average

Weekly

Attendance

Month

(# of

services)

2015 Total

Attendance

2015

Average

Weekly

Attendance

Month

(# of

services)

2016 Total

Attendance

2016

Average

Weekly

Attendance

January

(4) 336 84 January (4) 292 73

January (4)

[Snow –

1/24 service

cancelled]

206 70

February

(4) 370 93

February

(3)

[Snow –

2/22 service

cancelled]

239 80 February(4) 346 87

March (5) 429 86 March (5) 410 82 March (4) 431

(Easter 178) 108

April (5) 643

(Easter 182) 128

April (4) 401

(Easter 201) 100

April (4) 327 82

May (4) 307 77 May (5) 394 79 May (5) 408 82

June (5) 254 64 June (4) 266 53 June (4) 288 72

July (4) 175 44 July (4) 189 47 July (5) 250 50

August (5) 281 56 August (5) 284 57 August (4) 170 43

September

(4) 313 78

September

(4) 310 78

September

(4) 278 69

October

(4) 364 91 October (4) 354 86 October (5) 395 79

November

(5) 422 84

November

(5) 423 85

November

(4) 312 78

December

(5)

647 (X-Mas

Eve 280) 130

December

(4)

554 (X-Mas

Eve 210) 111

December

(5)

509 (Xmas

Eve 212) 102

2014

Annual 4,541 85

2015

Annual 4,116 78 2016 Annual 3,920 75

Respectfully submitted,

Richard Letocha

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Deacons During the year 2017, the Board of Deacons continued to follow the responsibilities of sympathy,

witness, and service as set forth in Scripture. The Deacon’s duties are to provide care and support for

members of the congregation through practical assistance, opportunities for fellowship, and flowers,

prayers and notes for those who are ill, grieving, or celebrating a special occasion.

Fellowship is an important outreach of the Deacons. The activities sponsored include the weekly coffee

time following worship (with occasional homemade treats), hosting the family-favorite Deacons’ Bingo

in January, a pre-Lenten pancake breakfast in February, and a potluck lunch at Halloween. The Deacons

assist with the Greening of the Sanctuary, the placing of poinsettias during Advent, and Easter Lilies at

Easter.

For those in need of care and support in difficult times, or in recognition for their special contributions,

the Deacons deliver flowers on Sundays throughout the year, and say additional prayers during our

meetings. This year the Deacons continued Praying the Directory at monthly meetings. Though not a

Deacon herself, Katherine Hurst has added greatly to this ministry this year by writing lovely personal

notes of comfort, condolence or congratulations. Please feel free to let her know of a person who might

welcome such a note. The Deacons also deliver Christmas poinsettias and Easter Lilies to home-bound

members and other special people.

The Board of Deacons includes the following members elected by the congregation:

Tiffany Abraham

Beth Bishop

Mary Carey

Shirley Dailey

Julie Evans

Ryan Poag - Moderator

Bill Sailors

And Youth Deacons:

Zach Lutzky

Annelise Olsen

On behalf of all of the Deacons, it is an honor and pleasure to work with a group of caring and nurturing

individuals who are always ready and willing to lend hands, heart, and mind to respond to the call of

service.

Respectfully submitted,

Ryan Poag, Moderator

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Deacon Treasurer’s Report (submitted by Beth Bishop)

Category Sub-categories Amount

Deacon Income Horn Fund Income $276.38

Interest Income $0.14

Bingo $412.00

Pancake Brunch $64.00

Holiday Brunch $68.00

Spaghetti Luncheon $136.00

Ice Cream Social $15.00

Total Deacon Income $971.52

Recurring Expenses Coffee Hour $438.23

Postage $47.00

Bingo $136.47

Pancake Brunch $116.49

Spaghetti Luncheon $221.57

Ice Cream Social $34.97

Total Deacon Expenses $994.73

12/18/15 M&T statement balance $1,299.87

Adjustment for Horn Fund $24.52

Income 2016 $971.52

Expenses 2016 $(994.73)

1/3/17 M&T balance $1,301.18

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Stewardship Committee

The theme for this year’s stewardship campaign was “Be a Cheerful Giver.” By giving to Roland Park

Presbyterian Church – IT WILL MAKE YOU HAPPY!

Many have committed to giving to both the WOW campaign and their regular annual giving

commitment. This is a challenge to many and I want to express my personal thanks to those that give to

our church. You make us able to make our church a better place to worship for our congregation and

community and also make us able to continue to contribute to the many mission programs RPPC

supports in the community, our city, and our world. We should all feel grateful for what we contribute

with our talents and financial resources. Thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness.

Respectfully submitted,

David Patron,

Chairperson of Stewardship Committee/Elder

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Mission Committee

Mission is an integral part of each of our faith journeys, and particularly for the members of the

congregation of Roland Park Presbyterian Church.

The Mission Committee acts as an enabler for those members of the congregation who are particularly

passionate in giving back to others. We tend to find we receive more of God’s spirit and love in return

than the effort that we put into serving. Led by Wayne Fritze, the members are Matt Marsh, Cindi

D’Angelo, Mary Carey, Laurel Goodrick and Pastor Mark.

Each committee member advocates for a group that we support. In addition, members of the

congregation advocate for groups they are passionate about. Will McCabe presented our committee and

the congregation with the work he is involved in with Maryland Farmers Market Money and the

farmer’s markets which we supported wholeheartedly. Our efforts and financial support have been

directed to groups representing families in crisis and shelter in addition to groups that our congregants

are passionate about. As important, we also strive to make our financial contribution “make a

difference”, not wanting it to be lost in groups with high administrative expenses nor those that may not

truly rely on us.

Kay Papa Nou/Unity House has been a primary partner of RPPC since the earthquake in 2010. They are

an orphanage in Port-au-Prince, Haiti that has been providing a safe, Christian environment for

approximately 25 girls and 20 boys. We support the salaries of teachers and have provided desk top

computers for their school. Two events, again, caused pain and anguish for the Haitian’s this past year.

A devastating Hurricane ravaged the southern part of the island. Fortunately, KPN and the children were

not affected directly. The strain on medical services, medicines, food and clothing was felt by all

Haitians. Then again at the beginning of this new year, a fire burned a storage building next to KPN,

where the girls live. They lost most all of the possessions that they had, including musical instruments,

water purifier/pump, food and medicines. Our congregation responded immediately, and along with

Mission funds, were able to help get them back on their fee. Numerous individuals and families are now

sponsoring children with financial support for food, clothing and education.

Becoming a strong partner the past few years is a Habitat for Humanity project developing the

neighborhood around McCabe Avenue. There have been opportunities for the congregation to provide

hands on construction help as boarded up buildings in the neighborhood are rehabbed for home

ownership. This past Christmas we provided toys for the children attending one of the schools in the

neighborhood. We are continuing to seek opportunities for the congregation to become involved in this

project beyond construction. This partnership involves rebuilding the entire community environment and

we’re very excited to be part of it.

In addition, we also support several other groups (see Treasurer’s report pp.22-23) with the generous

financial assistance of our members and friends. We feel we are blessed to have the resources, both

human and financial, to support these most worthy recipients. If you would like to become more

involved with any of these groups, please contact any member of the Mission Committee.

Respectfully submitted,

Wayne Fritze

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Building and Grounds Committee

The state of The Roland Park Presbyterian Church and the Building and Grounds Committee for Fiscal

Year 2016 has been good and productive this year.

Leading the Building and Grounds Committee this year was Laura Cochran, as President. Board

members included Jackie Capecci, Laura Cochran, Neil McAslan, Howard Rutherford, William Sailors

and Christine Tennies.

We held our annual spring and fall Work Days to complete general clean up around the church grounds.

Alyson Taylor and Karen Olsen continued to help with landscaping concerns around the church and

managing the church vegetable garden to benefit Cares Food Pantry. We continue to strive to find ways

to be more environmentally conscious. In this effort we have joined a consortium of congregations

where we will be accessing power through wind energy as our energy supplier. Previous efforts over the

past couple of years where we have worked to upgrade to more energy efficient lighting and

replacement of our air conditioning systems in parts of the church have produced a significant reduction

in our energy costs over the past 2 years.

We have not had any significant major improvements over this calendar year. The church launched its

Widening our Welcome capital campaign we have been very involved in helping the Master Planning

Task Force to develop the current plan for the improvements to the church to address the needs of our

aging facility to prepare it for the future generations of our church. With this in mind we did add stair

railings on our chancel steps to make the chancel area more safely accessible for our choir and other

members who need to access this area during worship. We have also been completing research into

what we need to accomplish in order to improve our kitchen facilities to help provide the wonderful

times for meals and fellowship. We hope to complete this renovation in this coming year. In addition

we hope to address drainage issues that we have noted on the north side of the church affecting the

inside of our building. During the summer we did seal and repaint part of the current choir room. In

addition, we are involved in ongoing efforts to clean up areas of our church in order to be prepared for

construction in the future. We are very excited about all that is happening in and around the church and

look forward to another wonderful year of serving the church and its members.

Also, we assisted in researching and securing a cleaning service to provide once a week services to

maintain our church interior. This service is starting in 2017. We hope that this will better meet the

needs of the church. Anthony Mason, our weekend sexton, helped significantly throughout this

transition and will continue to serve in his role on the weekends and on an as- needed basis to maintain

the interior and exterior needs of the church.

Finally, many other repairs and upkeep around the church property have been completed with the

generous help of time and talents by committee members and other members of the church.

Respectfully submitted to The Roland Park Presbyterian Church,

Laura Cochran, Chair of the Building and Grounds Committee

17

Master Planning Task Force

The Master Planning Task Force (MPTF) was reconstituted to work with the Architect, Murphy &

Dittenhafer (M&D) during the preparation of design and construction documents for our Widening Our

Welcome or WOW capital improvement campaign. The MPTF group includes Howard Rutherford,

Laura Cochran, Neil McAslan, David Patron, Sharon Halm, Meghan Friedman, and Rick Froh. We

have been meeting with M&D on a monthly basis to provide design input and comment, and also review

their proposed designs. Things have been progressing quite well, and during the February 5

congregational meeting (perhaps while you are reading this report) M&D will present drawings and an

overview of the proposed wonderful improvements to our church building.

My personal thanks to Howard, Laura, Neil, Sharon, Meghan, and Rick for the giving of their time and

talents to serve on the force. May the grace of God and guidance of the Holy Spirit be with us all to do

wonderful things for our church and each other!

If you want to make a WOW gift payment you can do so electronically at

www.rolandparkchurch.org/give or you can deliver a check with WOW marked in the memo section in

your next regular giving envelope or via the offering plate during worship service. Thank you for your

support.

Respectfully submitted,

David Patron,

Chairperson of MPTF/Elder

18

Nominating Committee

It is the job of the nominating committee to find those who are called to be leaders in the church. We

started meeting on a monthly basis in January to talk through some names. We then talked to the

congregation about who they believe would provide good leadership and to see if there were people who

felt called to serve. The committee worked very hard and nominated people whom we believe would

make great leaders. It was the goal to have new officers installed in July.

I originally accepted a nomination to serve a second term on Session and a second term as Chair of the

Nominating Committee. I have recently decided to move out of state and can no longer serve. The new

chair of Nominating Committee will be voted on in February. The current list of officers, their classes

and terms as well as the 2016 nominating committee are listed below.

Respectfully submitted,

Quincey Renwick

Deacons

Class of 2017 Class of 2018 Class of 2019

Julie Evans

(2nd

term)

Tiffany Abraham

(1st term)

Mary Carey

(2nd

Term)

Catherine McCabe

(2nd

term)

Alyson Taylor

(2nd

term)

Ryan Poag

(2nd

term)

Bill Sailors

(2nd

term)

Beth Bishop

(1st term)

Shirley Dailey

(1st term)

Session

Class of 2017 Class of 2018 Class of 2019

Matt Bay

(1st term)

Matthew Marsh

(1st term)

Laura Cochran

(1st term)

Richard Letocha

(1st term)

Rick Froh

(2nd

Term)

David McDonough

(2nd

term)

Jim Lyall

(1st term)

Jackie Capecci

(1st Term)

David Patron

(2nd

term)

Sharon Halm

(2nd

term)

Nominating Committee

2016

Chair (open)

Barrie Sigler, Elder (3)

Mary Carey, Deacon(1)

Clay Langlotz, M at L (1)

Jean Brune, M at L (3)

Phoebe Letocha, M at L (1)

Elaine Cochran, M at L (3)

19

Personnel

This past year was a busy time for our church and the Personnel Committee. We began with the effort to

find and hire a part‑time youth coordinator to expand the educational offerings for our young people.

However, that effort was paused and ultimately transformed when our Director of Formation, Heather

Russell, announced her departure in the early Spring. After ten years of faithful service to Roland Park,

losing her was a blow deeply felt throughout our community. Heather’s last day was in June, and shortly

thereafter the committee took up the task of finding her replacement.

In preparation for this task, the committee proposed and Session ratified a new job description for the

Director of Christian Education position that encompasses the original duties and those intended for the

youth coordinator. With this target in mind, a task force composed of Mark Hanna, Barrie Sigler, and

David McDonough convened in late summer to begin considering candidates. While we heard from

many and interviewed several, the right candidate has remained elusive. The task force went on hiatus

during the holiday season but has since reconvened and begun the search anew, and we are optimistic

that with a fresh start we will find our new DCE in a matter of months. In the meantime, Barrie Sigler

has graciously and courageously been leading a volunteer CE effort for the benefit of our children and

youth to great success. We thank her for her selflessness, and hope to be able to relieve her soon!

This year also saw us bid farewell to our sexton, Diane Brown, who retired after twelve years of service

and a brief medical leave. We thank Ms. Brown for her dedication and wish her good health and

happiness in her retirement. After consultation with Buildings & Grounds, the committee decided to

cover the sexton’s duties by combining an external, contract cleaning service with an increased role for

our weekend sexton, Tony Mason, covering more labor-intensive cleaning and maintenance projects.

The committee completed its annual review of all staff and contractors in late autumn. For their review,

each staff member is provided prompts for conducting a self‑evaluation before being interviewed by a

member of the committee. These interviews focus on the staff member’s job performance, job

satisfaction, goals, challenges, and opportunities for the past year and the year ahead. We are pleased to

report that the results were strongly positive for another consecutive year. Our staff are dedicated and

motivated, satisfied in their work, and performing their duties admirably. Our congregation is blessed

with such a capable and committed workforce, and we thank them all for their efforts, leadership, and

service to our community.

Similarly, this year’s reflection by our Pastor, Mark Hanna, and the committee’s evaluation of his job

performance resulted in universal praise and gratitude. Mark’s stewardship of our congregation is a

blessing ‑‑ one appreciated all the more in this year of challenges and changes. We are fortunate to have

him with us, and thank him for his devotion to our church family.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the Personnel Committee: Dan Evans, Barrie Sigler, Ginny

Rutherford, Rev. Mark Hanna, and David McDonough (chair).

20

Treasurer’s Report

I am pleased to present financial information for Roland Park Presbyterian Church for 2016.

Contributions 195,662.59$

Endowment Fund Balance Transfer 253,168.72$

Memorial Giving 100.00$

Mission (Direct Giving) 5,372.27$

Session Reserve Fund Transfer -$

Worship 4,516.95$

Trustee Fund Transfer -$

BGE Refund 25.00$

Facility Rentals 2,250.00$

Strawberry Festival net 783.10$

Personnel Staff Support 895.00$

Christian Education 235.00$

Staff Christmas Support -$

Church Life -$

Total Income 463,008.63$

Salaries/Independent Contractors 297,389.97$

Building and Grounds – Improvement Projects 12,506.44$

Mission 78,174.37$

Building and Grounds – Other 43,978.66$

Administration 15,788.94$

Per Capita/Membership 6,495.50$

Stewardship 2,347.53$

Christian Education 1,553.69$

Music 3,056.87$

Staff Support/Personnel 5,179.50$

Church Life 1,565.42$

Memorial Expenses 611.00$

Worship 6,106.61$

Outreach 847.00$

Total Expenses 475,601.50$

Net Surplus (Deficit) (12,592.87)$

2016 Income

Income / Expense Report

2016 Expenses

21

Please note that the financials that are presented above have been prepared with a couple of adjustments.

First, the income excludes contributions made by Govans Presbyterian for Kay Papa Nou, and the

mission expense has been reduced by a corresponding amount. We consolidate our contributions to save

on international wire transfer fees. In addition, the 2016 numbers do not include any WOW related

costs. These adjustments are made so that we can take an accurate look at the ongoing operations of

Roland Park Presbyterian. The 2017 budget, as well as 2016 actuals will be distributed in an addendum

at the meeting.

We did run a deficit in 2016, but have addressed in the budget for 2017, discussed below.

Generosity

Roland Park Presbyterian received nearly $200,000 in contributions from members and guests during

2016. Recall that we received two extraordinary gifts from members in 2015, and without those gifts

our 2015 stewardship contributions were just over $188,000. Compared to that, stewardship income has

risen almost 4% in this year. This amount reflects extraordinary generosity, especially in light of the

success of the ongoing but separate WOW campaign. We as a congregation should be proud of our

stewardship. Thank you.

Endowment Draw

$253,168.72 was taken from the endowment for operating expenses, as is calculated below:

Date Balance

12/31/2013 5,177,855.27$

12/31/2014 5,062,940.81$

9/30/2015 4,949,327.66$

15,190,123.74$

3-year aveage 5,063,374.58$

5.0% equals 253,168.72$

The income we derive from the endowment is dictated by a formula, one that is common among non-

profit institutions with endowments. We take a percentage of the average total market value of the

endowment over the previous three years. The three-year rolling average helps smooth market

fluctuations. We used the September 30 value for the final year, to allow for the preparation of the

2016 budget prior to the end of 2015.

We had, in previous years, been working to reduce our endowment draw to an amount that reflected

5% of the average annual balance. We successfully achieved this milestone in 2016, and have

continued to budget at that level for 2017. This budgetary restraint is important to maintain for the

long term health of our endowment and church. The continuously generous contributions of our

members have been of great help as we have reduced the percentage draw from the endowment.

Notes on 2016 Income and Expenses

$306,214.62 was budgeted in 2016 for compensation for our staff and for those we hire on a

contractual basis, such as soloists and our bookkeeper. We actually paid those individuals

22

$297,389.97, an amount close to the budgeted amount. Much of the savings are attributable to the

Director of Formation position, which Heather vacated around mid-year.

The broad category of “Improvement Projects,” which falls under the purview of the Building and

Grounds committee, accounted for less expense in 2016 than in the prior year. Most of the expenses in

2016 were related to the Narthex project: roof repairs, plaster repairs, painting, and railings. Many

significant and important projects were completed in prior years: air conditioning, roof/wood

trim/painting of the exterior, and fellowship room furniture.

Our utility expenses continued to reflect savings from our previous energy efficiency projects (energy

efficient lights, increased energy efficiency for the new sanctuary air conditioner). The total expense

for 2016 was approximately 5% lower than 2015. We believe we have benefited from mild weather,

and will budget an increase for 2017. We spent $10,000 less compared to budget for utilities. We also

reserved $10,000 for future improvements but have not yet made the deposit into the account. With the

ongoing WOW campaign and the final annual deficit for the year, it does not appear that we will be

able to make the 2016 deposit. Nevertheless, we have budgeted it again for 2017.

We also continued to pay Horizons Stewardship Company and Murphy & Diffenhafer for work related

to the WOW campaign, and we had $74,093.86 in capital campaign-related expenses in 2016. Please

recall that these are not included in the summary income and expenses statement that has been

presented above.

Overall, the expenses for the year totaled $475,601.50. The budget for 2016 was $503,300.44. Most of

the savings were noted above - $10,000 for utilities, $10,000 for building reserve, and nearly $9,000 for

the Director of Formation position.

Details about Mission Giving and Expenses

Direct Mission Giving includes amounts received directly from RPPC members. These are “flow-

through” line items; that is, these gifts were received by RPPC and promptly distributed for the named

purposes. These gifts are not counted in our stewardship numbers and continuing our recent reporting,

we have chosen to include them in this report as a way to more fully capture our true generosity. These

amounts should be expected to fluctuate year after year as our beneficiaries’ needs change.

Direct Mission Giving

Kay Papa Nou 700.00$

One Great Hour 100.00$

Minute for Mission 1,716.00$

Mission General 2,766.27$

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance 90.00$

Total Direct Mission Giving 5,372.27$

Mission Expenses include both the $5,372.27 in direct mission giving as well as mission expenses

made at the discretion of the Mission Committee. RPPC allocated $66,000 to the Mission Committee

in the 2016 budget. Our actual mission expenditures in 2016 were $78,174.37.

23

Mission Expenses

Kay Papa Nou 28,744.92$

Souper Bowl -Balt Pres 154.18$

Baltimore Ind. Sch. Learning 4,071.46$

Presbytery of Baltimore 6,752.00$

MD Fuel Fund 1,000.00$

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance 2,000.00$

Board of Lady Managers 3,000.00$

Moveable Feast 1,500.00$

McKim Center 2,000.00$

Presbyterian Home 4,000.00$

Theological Education Fund 1,000.00$

Hospice of Baltimore 2,000.00$

Meals on Wheels 2,000.00$

Joseph Ritchie Hospice 2,500.00$

Shepherd's Clinic 2,500.00$

GEDCO Cares 2,971.99$

Minute for Mission 4,032.00$

My Sister's Circle 2,000.00$

Other 5,947.82$

Total Mission Expenses ($66,000 budgeted) 78,174.37$

Excluding Direct Mission giving, our mission committee donated $72,802.10.

Electronic Giving

RPPC continues to offer electronic giving for monthly pledges. In 2016, the church collected

$37,011.08 in electronic giving through our vendor, Vanco Payment Solutions. If you are interested in

making contributions to Roland Park electronically, please let me know, and I’d be happy to help you

get set up.

We’ve been offering electronic giving for several years now. Please remember that you have the

option to make credit card contributions as frequently as you would like without being locked into

the monthly pledge option. This choice is also a great alternative if you forget a weekly pledge check,

or if you’d like to make a special gift for a particular purpose, such as holiday flowers or music. We

have set up http://www.rolandparkchurch.org/give/ to facilitate this giving option – just click the “Give

Now” button, and proceed with your gift.

24

Endowment

The endowment, managed by Marshfield Associates of Washington, D.C., was worth $5,087,599.62 as

of December 31, 2016. Annualized performance history is as follows:

Total

Account Equities S & P 500 Fixed Income

Barclays

Intermediate

Gov/Credit

1 Year 10.2% 17.7% 12.0% 1.4% 2.1%

3 Year 5.7% 8.9% 8.9% 1.7% 2.1%

5 Year 8.7% 14.2% 14.7% 1.3% 1.8%

Inception (3/19/99) to Date 7.6% 9.9% 5.1% 4.4% 4.5%

Session Reserve Fund

The Session Reserve Fund was established in 2014 to hold money received from the Estates of Joseph

Day and Edward Thomas, as well as larger gifts received in 2014 and 2015. It now also holds WOW

contributions as well. This fund, held in a savings account at Bank of America, was worth

$488,515.49 as of December 31, 2016. WOW contributions that were received in November and

December totaling $241,772.30 were also transferred in early January. The current balance in the

account is now $730,287.79.

Building and Grounds Fund

The Building and Grounds Fund, managed by Morgan Stanley, was worth $85,899.74 as of December

31, 2016. That Fund is available for unusually large or time-sensitive expenses related to the

maintenance or improvement of the Church’s building and grounds.

Horn Memorial Fund (Deacons)

The Horn Memorial Fund, managed by T. Rowe Price, was worth $4,579.54 as of December 31, 2016.

Income from that Fund provides support to the Deacons.

Narrative Overview of 2017 Budget

The complete 2017 budget approved by the Session in its December 2016 meeting. It is shown in a

separate addendum. Income and expense categories have been illustrated as both bar charts and pie

charts at the end of the budget to provide a graphical representative of our projected income and

expenses. The graphs and the discussion below net out the contributions to Kay Papa Nou that are

being made by Govans as a pass-through contribution.

Overall, the budget anticipates income and expenses of $482,581.68, around 4% ($20,718.76) less than

was budgeted for both income and expenses in 2016. The majority of the difference is made up of

Salaries and Independent Contractors ($7,790.09), Direct Mission Giving ($4,945.00), and General

Assembly that was budgeted in 2016 but is not occurring in 2017 ($6,751.82).

Regarding income:

25

97% of our income for 2017 will come from two sources. Our giving provides 45% of our

income and our endowment draw provides 52%.

The income we derive from the endowment is dictated by a formula, as shown below. Applying

that formula, for 2017 we will withdraw 5% of the rolling three year average for the endowment,

resulting in a 2017 draw of $251,207.16. The income we draw from the endowment is dictated

by a formula, one that is common among non-profit institutions with endowments. We take a

percentage of the average total market value of the endowment over the previous three years,

which helps smooth market fluctuations.

Date Balance

12/31/2014 5,062,940.81$

12/31/2015 4,900,109.44$

11/30/2016 5,109,379.28$

15,072,429.53$

3-year avg 5,024,143.18$

5% = 251,207.16$

One-fourth = 62,801.79$

Note that the 2017 budget is based on the November 30 balance, while the previous year was

based on a September 30 balance. Ideally we would use the 12/31/2016 balance but that isn’t

possible if we want to approve the budget prior to year-end. We used the last possible date at the

time we were ready to approve the budget.

Recall that after 2008/2009, the percentage of the three year rolling average increased to keep

pace with budgetary needs. The percentage reached 5.5% for 2012, which Session determined

to be unsustainable over the long term. The Session committed to reversing that trend starting

with the 2013 budget, in annual 1/8 of 1% (.125%) decreases, until we reach 5%, which we

believe to be a sustainable percentage withdrawal rate for the long term. Accordingly, the

percentages of the three-year rolling average in recent years have been:

o 5.500% (2012)

o 5.375% (2013)

o 5.250% (2014)

o 5.125% (2015)

o 5.000% (2016 and 2017)

Since we have achieved our goal for the last two years, and assuming we continue to do so in the

future, we will not report on this multi-year reduction process in next year’s report.

Regarding expenses:

$298,424.53 has been allocated to compensation for our staff and those we hire on a contractual

basis, such as soloists and our bookkeeper. To pay our staff and contractors fairly and

26

competitively relative to other churches, our Personnel Committee reviews their performance

annually with input from the congregation. Presently, compensation for our staff and contractors

represents 61.8% of our overall budget.

The 2017 budget utilizes a contracted cleaning service rather than a Sexton. In addition, the

Director of Formation is budgeted for a partial year (approximately 8 months). We will revisit

these for the 2018 budget and the amounts budgeted may change significantly.

We have allocated $88,500 in total to Mission in 2017. This total amount represents

$66,000 from the usual budgeting process, $7,500 in direct Mission giving from the

congregation, and $15,000 in contributions from Govans Presbyterian to Kay Papa Nou. The

Govans contributions are eliminated from Income and Expense for analysis purposes.

The Building and Grounds expenses have been budgeted at $70,681, slightly less than in 2016.

We have continued to budget $10,000 to replenish the Building and Grounds Fund. We’ve

reduced the utilities budget from 2016 as well.

As noted above, 2016 included funds for General Assembly that is not being repeated in 2017.

27

Church Staff

Mark W. Hanna, Pastor pastor@rolandparkchurch.org

Phillip Collister, Director of Music pcollister@towson.edu

Margaret Budd, Organist mlbudd@gmail.com

Jennifer Ronald, Office and Communications Manager office@rolandparkchurch.org

Caroline Mapp, Bookkeeper bookkeeper@rolandparkchurch.org

Tony Mason, Saturday Sexton

Session Board of Deacons

Matt Bay, Treasurer (2017*) Tiffany Abraham (2018*)

Jackie Capecci (2019*) Beth Bishop (2017*)

Laura Cochran (2017*) Mary Carey (2019**)

Rick Froh (2019**) Shirley Dailey (2018*)

Sharon Halm (2018**) Julie Evans (2017**)

Richard Letocha, Clerk of Session (2018*) Catherine McCabe (2017**)

Jim Lyall (2018*) Ryan Poag, Moderator (2017**)

Matt Marsh (2018*) Bill Sailors (2018**)

David McDonough (2017**) Alyson Taylor (2018**)

David Patron (2017**)

Quincey Renwick (2019**)

Mark W. Hanna, Moderator

Youth Deacons

Zach Lutzky

* indicates 1st term, ** 2nd term Annelise Olsen

ROLAND PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Phone// 410.889.2001 Fax// 410.889.2000

office@rolandparkchurch.org ~ www.rolandparkchurch.org

Office Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00am -2:30pm

An inclusive and welcoming congregation

of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Presbytery of Baltimore.