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St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2011. Our
St. Philip’s Annual Report, highlighting the work of our 90+ ministries during 2011,
was presented to our parishioners on January 22nd 2012.
St. Philip’s is “a Strong & Loving Community that Welcomes, Encourages, & Empowers, All
to Grow in Christ and to Do God’s Work in the World!” The reports given by the Commissioners
of the Worship, Pastoral Care, Education, Outreach, & Evangelism Commissions in January
are presented here.
The Worship Commission represents over a dozen ministries.
Volunteers of all ages, numbering in the hundreds, enable parishioners and visitors to worship
in the beauty & holiness provided by the worship service itself, our magnificent church surroundings,
and our world class music. There are numerous instances where our worship ministries have
deeply affected individuals, & there are many individuals who have greatly affected our
ministries. You see most of our ministry groups on a weekly basis.
They include our Ushers who greet you upon entering the church and provide general assistance
during the service,
our Acolytes who support the clergy during the service,
our 4 Choirs and 3 Handbell Ringing groups who provide beautiful music,
and our Lay Readers & Liturgical Ministers who assist in delivering the Word of God and
communion.
One very important group you seldom see is the Altar Guild. Their members work tirelessly
behind the scenes enabling our worship services to proceed smoothly.
There is another organization that you will seldom see. It’s the newest ministry under
the Worship Commission - the Friends of Music! Its mission statement can be found in our
… “Music at St Philip’s” brochure. They have 3 important goals:
The first goal, “to enrich the musical experience of the parish,” is important not only because
it brings so much enjoyment to the parish, but also because it brings people outside
the parish to St. Philip’s.
We had nearly 7,000 people attend our 25 musical events this past year. The income from these
events enables us to help support the St. Philip’s Music Department and maintain its
high quality.
The Friends of Music’s 2nd goal is to provide funds to help maintain our musical instruments,
to relieve the strain on the parish operating budget. Two primary examples are maintaining
our fine Organ and keeping our 10 pianos tuned.
The third goal is to provide education and outreach opportunities for children within
the parish & local community. This helps us grow in our music skills & provide needed
support the local community. Examples include financial support to our After School Music
& Homework Program, Choir Camp & Music Scholarships.
The After School Music & Homework Program is offered to students in nearby neighborhoods,
to, help develop their creative talents through singing & the playing of musical instruments,
& improve their school work by providing supervised homework help.
The Friends of Music rented the Girl Scout camp on Mount Lemmon in September 2011 for
our Choristers and After School Music & Homework Program kids. This fall retreat included liturgy,
rehearsals, & social interactions, which enhanced participant compatibility and self-esteem.
The Friends of Music also provided Scholarships to the Royal School of Church Music Camp for
7 of our choristers. The thank you notes we received helped us realize how much this experience
meant to each of these individuals. Choristers were immersed in music classes, performance,
and testing. Most of them came back to St. Philip’s & received the prestigious bronze
level of achievement! Congratulations to those students!
You might ask, what are the benefits of supporting our choristers? There are many, but to highlight
just one: Choristers make good church citizens and leaders. Take a look at the background
of the Vestry, both present and past, and you’ll see that many of them had a solid
choral foundation.
During the summer of 2011 there was much concern & worry as to how the musical portion of our
worship experience could withstand Garmon Ashby’s departure. Our prayers were answered
by a number of individuals who enabled our musical worship to go on without missing a
beat. In particular: Jeffrey Campbell, despite his reduced hours, stepped up to the plate
filling in many of the un-anticipated cracks. Dr. Tom Cockrell selflessly provided rigorous
& vigorous leadership for our Adult Choirs. Addie Akin stepped right in with her musical
magic & charisma with the children. Anne Parker stepped in to manage the Music Department’s
Administration. And last but not least, Gwen Powell & her search committee spent many hours
working to find a replacement for Garmon. Thank you all for stepping up in our time
of need!
Our Pastoral Care Commission seeks to live Jesus’ commandment to love one another through
a number of caring ministries. If you know someone in need of Pastoral Care or the counseling
services discussed here, please refer them to St. Philip’s website & our parish office.
20. Our Pastoral Care Commission consists of a number of focused, pastoral care ministries,
support groups, recovery and counseling ministries, & health ministries.
Clergy Members & Lay Eucharistic Ministers visit parishioners in the hospital & at home
to provide them support & Communion during their illness & recovery. They also deliver
prayer shawls representing the prayers of our parish community. Bereavement teams organize
receptions following funerals & memorial services, and condolence writers send handwritten letters
to the bereaved on behalf of the St Philip’s community. Walking the Mourner’s Path is
a Christ centered grief program for those who recently lost a loved one. The Daughters
of the King & Transportation Ministries provide prayers & general support to the parish as
requested.
Support groups provide help to individuals during transitional periods. Career transition
workshops are provided for those seeking employment. A drop-in Family Caregiver Support Group meets
weekly at St. Philip’s, supported by the Pima Council on Aging, to provide a safe place
for caregivers to share feelings, learn about resources, and develop coping skills. The
Elder Care Ministry sponsors forums and the annual Elder Care Fair, to provide our parishioners
& members of the community valuable information and contacts to help them meet their evolving
needs for new services as family members age.
St. Philip’s recovery groups and counseling sessions take place in the privacy of our
La Parroquia facility, which is located just south of the church & office complex.
A wide variety of “12 step” recovery groups, including those listed here, meet at St. Philip’s
almost daily throughout the work week. They provide support to our parishioners, members
of the community, and their collective families.
The La Casita Counseling Center provides community-based counseling & referral services to Tucson & its
surrounding communities.
The counseling services provided are professional & confidential. Contact information can be
found on our website.
Finally, a number of health ministries are available at St. Philip’s, most at a nominal
charge. Senior exercise & yoga classes help strengthen you both physically & mentally.
Jewelry & clay classes allow you to explore your creative side while having fun in a supportive
environment. The Centering prayer meditation group will help you develop a discipline to
become more in touch with God as you sit and pray in silence.
The Education Commission’s focus is spiritual formation, enrichment, & growth for all ages.
The Education Commission serves three basic groups through its Children & Family, Youth,
and Adult Formation Ministries.
We know that our spiritual journey begins the day we are born. We also know that there
are many paths that journey can take, and that the direction of those paths can be greatly
influenced by early religious education. It is with this knowledge that St. Philip’s
provides the following programs & activities for our children and their families.
On Sunday mornings we offer a Nursery for our youngest children, a “Worship with Us”
service for children, from age 3 to third grade, along with their parents & grandparents,
and Sunday School.
St. Philip’s Sunday School is for preschool children thru 6th graders.
In addition, we offer several monthly services and activities, to include: Comfy Space service
on Second Sundays for families with young children “who like to wiggle,” an All
Generations service on Third Sundays, and Bible Study Classes on Second Sundays.
Our Bible School Classes are for children in grades 1 thru 6. These classes are very
interactive and a lot of fun. Ask those who participate!
Throughout the year we offer inspirational events, specifically designed with children
& families in mind, centered around the observance of special holidays on the church calendar,
including Christmas Eve and Easter.
A favorite event each year, for children and their parents, is the Bethlehem Market, which
is held near the end of Advent.
And finally, the Children & Family Ministries, in collaboration with our Outreach and Music
Ministries, offer the After School Music and Homework Program, to help children in our
neighborhood excel in their school work. St. Philip’s volunteers are dedicated to keeping
our children’s programs of the highest quality because we recognize that the size of a one’s
body does not determine the size of one’s soul.
Our Youth Ministry programs have really been picking up speed – and what a great ride
it’s been! Matt Marino, from the Diocese, came to St. Philip’s in the spring of 2011
to work with parents and leaders on ways in which we could move the Youth Program forward.
In August, he came back again and trained our Youth Leaders on how to be more effective
leaders.
Our youth worked really hard at re-vitalizing a number of youth rooms over the past year.
And they cleaned up their other areas to make their space more welcoming and comfortable.
They deserved to take a break afterwards & enjoyed the fruits of their labor!
We have three basic youth groups at St. Philip’s. The first is SPY, which stands for St. Philip’s
Youth. It is for our older high school students.
J2A, which stands for Journey to Adulthood, is for our younger high school students.
Rite 13 is for our junior high school students. Each group meets weekly to discuss various
topics relevant to their spiritual journey.
As a result of Matt Marino’s training, our ministry’s input, and ideas from our youth,
it was decided to move the Second Sunday morning youth group meeting to the evening & lengthen
it.
The summer of 2012 is the culmination of the Youth Program’s two-year cycle. The highlight
this summer will be the J2A two week pilgrimage to Canterbury, England and the Taize (Tes/ze)
Monastery in France! The Youth Program has great hopes & dreams for the future. Your
continued support is key!
The members of the Youth Ministry thank all of you for your support, your encouragement,
& your hard work! It helped them move forward in many new ways. They couldn’t have done
it without you.
The third & final ministry within the Education Commission is Adult Formation.
Adult Formation is in some ways a misnomer because it implies a finished product. Perhaps
“transformation” would be more accurate, indicating a process … a process of stepping
stones in development, change, & growth - affecting one’s experience, reflection, belief, prayer,
study & service.
Our individual class, and series offerings, are designed for people in all phases & depths
of discovery. We invite you to seek out & discover channels to the next step in your spiritual
journey, with and to God, through our Mission, Spiritual & Theological formation classes.
Continuing Adult Formation provides methods of engagement in faith & service, resources
for life-long learning, new theological insights, and fuel for spiritual reflection & guidance.
Over 7,000 people attended at least one formation offering during 2011, in the form of adult
forums, study & prayer groups, and special series & retreats.
Over 100 Adult Formation leaders make these offerings possible. There is a constant need
for additional volunteer leaders. Please accept an open invitation to join the Adult Formation
team. For your information, a complete list of all of St. Philip’s Commissions and Ministries
can be obtained in the parish office, along with contact information for each of our ministry
leads.
The Ren-ouf/ Nelson Library at St. Philip’s is a unique treasure! The library is filled
with resource materials in medieval, modern & contemporary - multi-faith theological thinking.
It contains periodicals, reference works, and hundreds of novels, to read and explore.
These resources are available to support your journey of faith. Take the time to investigate
these resources - you’ll be glad you did!
We invite you to get more involved in one of our many Education Ministries, and add
to our increasing participation statistics. Jump on board! We have plenty of room. It
will be a fun ride, and an inspiring journey!
The Outreach Commission had a busy year.
The vision of St Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, as seen through the eyes of our children,
is to welcome members of our local community to “come & see” what we have to offer,
to “grow with God” as a member of our community, and then to “go & do” God’s
work in the world.
St. Philip’s parishioners, along with members of Dodge Middle School, continued to make
over 800 lunches every 4th Saturday for Casa Maria. Additional volunteers to help make
sandwiches are always welcome. Twice a month Parishioners made and served dinner to the
residents of 5 Points, a Primavera residence. And our food pantry, with the help of many
contributions during our 1st Sunday, and other food drives, handed out more than 60 bags
of food every month to those in need.
Your Positive Change contributions provided $350 in donations to each of the following
projects: the After School Music & Homework Program, our food pantry, the Episcopal Relief
& Development Program, our Casa Maria lunch program, and the Pima Country Interfaith Council.
Sales of “Just Coffee” allowed us to send $1,200 in profits back to support the coffee
growers in Mexico.
Your contributions to the Children’s Christmas project totaled $7,200 for 2011, which was
shared by Imago Dei, Holloway and Rio Vista Schools.
Have we mentioned our After School Music & Homework Program? Outreach provided the funding for
Bruce Phillips to direct our program with its 20+ students. You should all stop by to
meet some of the kids, & come to an Evensong Service which they do every month – it’s
well worth it! And if you have some time in the afternoons, we need more volunteers to
work with these really cute & appreciative kids!
We sponsor inspiring, informational forums and workshops on the topic of outreach throughout
the year. They are always interesting and thought provoking. Sara Miles was here in
February & led an invigorating discussion on the connection between Worship & Service.”
Watch for information regarding our next outreach forum.
Our Border & Immigration Ministry continued to provide some terrific educational programs,
made monthly trips to El Tir-a-di-to to be in solidarity with our Hispanic brothers and
sisters, and forged stronger bonds with related organizations. We helped: *Florence Project
volunteers, who provide legal help to those who have been incarcerated by ICE, *Restoration
Project volunteers, who communicate with those in incarceration and provide them warm clothes
& a place to stay when they are released, & *other immigrant rights groups.
St. Philips Outreach ministries were recognized as “Outstanding” at the October 2011 Diocesan
Convention for our ongoing support of the Casa Maria soup kitchen, ICS, Border Ministry,
Habitat for Humanity, and Primavera ministries. In addition, Episcopal Community Services
awarded us $3,000 to further our successful feeding programs. The important work of the
Outreach Commission continues!
… but those who are actively involved in Outreach are EXHAUSTED!! They need more people
of all ages to help with this very necessary and worthwhile ministry, which is effectively
reaching out & helping the community at large.
The Outreach Commission needs your help – because there are many people in our community that
need our help!
We need both Leaders and Helpers. Why not try lending a hand to our: First Sunday Food
Offering -or- Habitat builds, or to the Tucson Interfaith ***/ AIDS Network. Please contact
us about how you can become involved – it is incredibly rewarding, and you’ll get
to work with some pretty nice people!
Evangelism, as you all know, is one of those complicated “ISM’s” that we hear about
and are exposed to in our everyday lives.
Ev-angel-ism is the golden thread to our western beliefs. It’s about the “Message” & the
Delivery of the Message - the teachings of Jesus Christ. We are taught that God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son to die upon the cross for the forgiveness
of our sins.
The message delivered thru evangelism is that we are to “love our neighbor as our selves
by sharing the love of God that resides within us all.”
Evangelism is alive and well at Saint Philip’s. It’s the invisible spiritual glue that helps
bond us to one another – in our community of Faith!
It’s the bond that develops over time and lasts a lifetime – because of common faith
and shared experiences.
It’s the bond that develops when you care deeply for, and give of your heart to, our
children and grandchildren, and the greater faith community.
Evangelism is reaching out to welcome strangers. Evangelism is the kindly act of brotherly
love. It’s about hospitality – giving of one’s self to the community.
Evangelism is the support we give to and get from one another -- NO MATTER WHAT!
Evangelism is not only about thinking peace, it’s about being at peace with yourself,
your neighbor and your Maker. It’s about Justice, Liberty and Equality for all.
Evangelism is about loving and caring for “All of God’s creatures,” especially
if they are named “Oliver or Stanley.”
Evangelists do not isolate, they congregate. They are excited about sharing the GOOD NEWS!!
And they reach out and welcome visitors.
Life is great when you are an evangelist. You can find them everywhere! You can find
them at Vestry meetings, Bible Study and at the pulpit.
You can find them in town sharing the good news of Saint Philip’s and our commitment
to “go green,” or helping in the kitchen with a smile.
You don’t have to beware of evangelists promoting Tableware in the Perry Garden, or
romping in the snow with other congregations at workshops.
You can find them committing to our faith community with a smile, or taking a break
from feeding their family at home to feed our family in the courtyard.
Bishop Kirk Smith encourages our Evangelism – he’s one of the best! He reminds us:
Now it’s our turn to be a light to all nations; to be Christ’s Body in Tucson; to be proud
of our a-pos-tol-ic heritage; to be the Church! … So Rise up – spread the “good word”
- go out and inspire your neighbor!
As you have seen, St. Philip’s continues to make a significant difference in the world!
Our parishioners are truly “transforming lives in Christ!” The lives of our parishioners
and other members of the community!
The success of our ministries is due to the unselfish contribution of the Time, Talent
and Treasure of our parishioners and staff.
We are very proud of our ministries! Please openly discuss the work of our ministries
with your family and friends. Help “spread the buzz” on Facebook! If you are not already
actively involved, get more involved! Invite your family, friends & neighbors to visit
St. Philip’ and take part in the many activities offered to the community.
Please continue to help do God’s work in the world. Thank you!