Round Hill Community Church2017 Annual Report

CHURCH OFFICERS Joe Huley, Chairman Jake Kommer, Vice ChairmanRobert Drysdale/Bruce Dixon, TreasurerDiane Davol, Secretary

CHARTER TRUSTEES Charles Lee (2017) Helen O’Malley (2019) Michael Sandifer (2021)Bill Herrick (2023)Nicole Piper (2025)

TRUSTEESClass of 2017Mary Ann Debnar Jake KommerCaroline Lazzara Class of 2018Grada Herrick Joe Huley Jean JaculloJenny Rye Class of 2019 Diane Davol Robert DrysdaleNancy Mazzoli STAFFThe Rev. Dr. Edward Horstmann, Senior Pastor The Rev. Dan Haugh, Associate PastorLeslie Smith, Director of MusicJenny Byxbee, Director of Children’s Ministries Lynda Kinney, Administrator Tania Priatka, Administrative Assistant Ed Knecht, Bookkeeper Stephen Dunleavy, Sexton John Novak, Facilities

ANNUAL REPORT 2017

Senior Pastor’s Report 1

Associate Pastor’s Report 2

Chairman’s Message 4

Worship 5

Music 6

Center for Faith Development 7

Children/Youth Christian Education 7

Outreach 8

Communications 10

Membership 11

Human Resources 12

Buildings 12

Finance 13

Investment 14

Stewardship 14

Christmas on Round Hill 14

Round Hill Circle 14

Round Hill Cemetery Association 15

In Memoriam 15

Annual Meeting Minutes 2017 16

Nominating Report 16

ROUND HILL COMMUNITY CHURCH

SENIOR PASTOR’S REPORT

On a winter Sunday at Round Hill Community Church I learned just before worship that our Church School attendance was likely to be low that day since many children were ill. But when our Associate Pastor, Dan Haugh, invited the children that morning to come for-ward for the Children’s Message, there were nineteen of them! That did not include the children in our nursery (which often comprises one of our largest classes), and neither did it include the wonderful team of youth workers that Jenny Byxbee, our Di-rector of Children’s Ministries, has recruited to help with the Church School. This was clearly not what we would have called a “low Sunday” three years ago! Round Hill Community Church has enjoyed the growth of our Church School, the addition of new members, and the steady addition of programs to foster spiritual growth because our leadership and congregation, in partnership with God, have encour-aged these developments. During this past year we continued to follow the course of action laid out in our Strategic Plan, and by relying on the gifts and tal-ents of a dedicated team of staff members, have pro-vided the resources that enable us to deepen our faith and strengthen our love for the world. During this past year we made significant strides in the direction of sharing with the wider world the joy and energy that we are experiencing in our wor-ship and activities. We launched a new website, added a podcast (Round Hill Radio), created space on our website for a blog, and developed a Communications Team to promote each of our events and provide evalu-ation for the programs we are developing. If the byword for growing churches fifty years ago was “location, location, location,” today it is “communication, communication, communication.” I want to give particular thanks to the Round Hill Community Church team of staff members, whose

extraordinary energy, dedication and great sense of humor have made my work a dream come true. Dan Haugh (Associate Pastor), Leslie Smith (Director of Music), and Jenny Byxbee (Director of Children’s Ministries) represent our program staff, and how for-tunate we are to enjoy their commitment to our vision of growth and their great attention to the details that make growth possible. Lynda Kinney (Administrator), Tania Priatka (Assistant Administrator), Steve Dunleavy (Church Sexton), Chitra Shanbhogue (Communi-cations Director), John Novak (Sexton’s Assistant) and Ed Knecht (Bookkeeper) comprise our admin-istrative support team. They are a force for good who work well as a team and who are completely com-mitted to the flourishing of our congregation. I am grateful for each of these individuals who bring so much joy and satisfaction to my life, and whose gifts enrich our congregational life in so many ways.

In addition to my gratitude for our church staff I am grateful for the leadership, thoughtfulness, and support of our Executive Committee and Board of Trustees. Their consistent willingness to encourage new endeavors has given us the freedom to spread our wings, experiment, and see what works best to nourish the well-being of our congregation. Because of their leadership and wise stewardship of our re-sources, Round Hill Community Church has been able to find ways to grow membership and have an impact on the world for good precisely at a time when the mainline church in our country has experienced an unprecedented period of decline. As a result of the work we have done in the past few years, it feels to me like we are starting to find our stride in terms of a schedule of faith formation programs that work well for us. Our life together is anchored by our experience of weekly worship: that is the one activity that, more than any other, unites us and draws us ever more deeply into the love and hopes of God. Second Sundays at Round Hill, conceived origi-nally as a worship service, has now evolved into an educational event that focuses on “conversations that drive action.” We have an average attendance of thirty participants, and try to feature speakers who share with us their insights about what it means to live a life

If the byword for growing churches fifty years ago was “location, location, location,” today it is “communication, communication, communication.”

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that has meaning and purpose. Our Bible Study, on the third Sunday of each month, continues to work well for those in our con-gregation who seek a deeper engagement with our sacred texts. And we laid the groundwork during this past year to create an online version of this study that will be launched in the autumn of 2018. John Roberto, a professional educational consul-tant who helped our Center for Faith Development committee to embark on a one-year program enti-tled “A Life Worth Living,” has been a great source of support for our congregation in its educational work. John informed me at the end of 2017 that Vibrant Faith, an organization with whom he is affiliated and that is dedicated to helping congregations develop in-novative programs of faith for all ages, had selected us to receive a unique grant. Thanks to Vibrant Faith we are among 24 churches across the country that will be given an opportunity to create for their members “a culture of calling.” The grant lasts for three years and will provide us with a stipend ($12,000), a coach, and online resources to help us discern how God is calling us, individually and collectively, to be a force for good. As I near the completion of five years as your Senior Pastor, I continue to feel so fortunate that we share together a journey of faith that has stretched, challenged, and fulfilled us in so many ways. We still have much growing to do, and the challenges that all churches face as they seek to be faithful and loving witnesses of God are not going away anytime soon. But then Jesus reminded his disciples on many oc-casions and in many different ways that obstacles are to be expected. What matters most is that we share a common passion to follow the Spirit of God wherever it may lead, and that we know that we are accompanied by God every step of the way. For that companion-ship, and yours, I am persistently grateful.

Yours in Christ,Ed

ASSOCIATE PASTOR’S REPORT

One of the highlights for me from this past year was seeing the vision of creating spaces for our growing youth program. Thanks to the generosity of the con-gregation, support from the Buildings committee, and the tireless effort and creativity of Britt Newman, three spaces in our Community House were beautifully renovated and repurposed to support our youth. We officially blessed and dedicated these spaces in October, and they are being used multiple times each week by our middle and high school students. Thanks to the addition of these new spaces, we have launched a new after-school program in partnership with Greenwich High School and TAG (Transportation Authority of Greenwich). On Mondays, local students board a TAG bus and head to Round Hill to enjoy an after-noon of fellowship. These hours include homework time and assistance, group board games, ping pong, air hockey, piano playing, video games, You Tube viewing, and of course, plenty of snacks! A dedicated team of adult volunteers supervise while, at the same time, building friendships with the teens. As the word spreads, so does the desire for an increased usage of these spaces after school, on weekends, and during school breaks. Another new ministry this past year was a weekly Youth Fellowship class. With the growing, consistent number of youth attending Church on Sunday, we saw a need to offer a weekly educational class for them. After some research, we selected a terrific youth-centric curriculum called Echo the Story, a 36-session overview of the Bible that helps participants discover meaning and identity in the biblical narrative using a DVD, participant Sketch Journal, and detailed Leader Guide. Our youth are invited into a larger story and use storytelling, creative reflection, and dialogue to ex-perience its fullness. In order to accomplish this vi-sion, a team of adult volunteers were trained to fa-cilitate the lesson plan and lead group discussions. In addition to these classes, youth participate in the monthly Youth Sunday, which provides them an op-portunity to be part of leading worship. Dan Haugh, Leslie Smith, Ed Horstmann

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The monthly “Friday Night Live” youth group continues to flourish. This program has attracted middle and high school students from our congrega-tion and local community. In total, over 35 different youth have participated with an average of 18 at-tending each gathering. Students also enjoyed social events including paintball, Beach Day, movie night, a trampoline park, laser tag, mini-golf, bowling, snow tubing, a ropes course, pizza nights, game night, and Six Flags amusement park. I am grateful for the sup-port and commitment of our youth ministry leader-ship team and the parents who consistently bring their children and help provide meals. Once again, our youth participated in service op-portunities like volunteering on Saturday mornings at Neighbor to Neighbor, serving meals at the Inspirica Pacific Street women’s shelter, volunteering at Greenwich Green and Clean paper shredding day, making meals in our Community House for the Pacific House Shelter, and volunteering weekly at the Inspirica Teen Center. Additionally, in partnership with the United Way, I per-sonally began serving as a Reading Champion at Park-way School and the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich. Upon returning from our amazing summer ser-vice trip to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reser-vation with Simply Smiles, five students from the AVID program at Greenwich High School expressed a sincere desire to volunteer locally and have since done so on a personal basis and with RHCC in all of the above mentioned organizations. These youth have also officially joined our Church youth group and are now volunteering on Sunday mornings as part of our Children’s Worship team. Under the direction and leadership of Jenny Byxbee, our Children’s Ministries have grown in re-markable ways. In 2017 we received 48 registrations of children for Church School. We also expanded our ministries to included monthly family events. On av-erage, 22 children from birth to fifth grade participate in our programs on Sunday morning. For the Christmas Pageant there were over 40 children leading our con-gregation by retelling the story of Christ’s birth. Looking ahead, we are excited about having three wonderful students enrolled in our Confirmation program and are planning to take ten local youth with us for our summer service trip to South Dakota. I am grateful for the continued support of the con-gregation and Human Resources as we expanded our Youth Ministry Internship position to include Chris-tiana Rota serving on the team. She is an excellent addition and has already gained the respect and favor of students, parents, and leaders.

It has been a privilege and blessing to work along-side our Church committees and Board of Trustees this past year as we work to fulfill the work and mis-sion of Round Hill Community Church. The year brought to our congregation many new families and children thanks to the support of our Christian Edu-cation Committee and the leadership of Nicole Piper and Ginger Drysdale. As I’ve said, the growth, both in numbers and spiritually, of our children would not be possible without Jenny Bxybee. It has been an honor and joy to work with her as we continue to seek God’s plans and promises for the growth of our children and young families here at RHCC.

None of this would be possible without the tre-mendous support provided by all of you, who believe in the future of our congregation and have made sac-rificial decisions and giving to enable us to build for the future. Serving with such wonderful colleagues as Ed Horstmann, Lynda Kinney, Leslie Smith, Jenny Bxybee, Steve Dunleavy, and Tania Priatka, among other gifted and passionate support staff and com-mittee members, has been a highlight for me in 2017. In this past year, Ed has worked to prepare me personally and professionally for an increased role in leadership during his upcoming Sabbatical. The Executive Committee and Board of Trustees have been very helpful in providing resources, continuing education, leadership opportunities, and encourage-ment in preparation, and I owe a debt of gratitude for their continued support. Together, may we continue to be inspired and empowered to be a church where faith, hope, justice, and love are valued.

Grace and peace, Dan Haugh

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Before I talk about the wonderful things that have happened and are happening in our Church this year, I would like to thank some of the people that have helped make my first year as Chairman a little less intimidating, and a lot more successful. First my exec-utive committee, Jake Kommer,

Vice Chair and Diane Davol, Secretary. They make great teammates! Their insight, creative approach to problem solving, their willingness to jump right in and work, and their good humor, make my job much easier and a lot more fun. Ed Horstmann with his un-canny ability to sense when I need extra help, and to lend a hand when I need it most. And of course, Nancy Mazzoli. Nancy is often my first call when I’m faced with a new challenge. Having not been on the executive Committee before becoming Chairman, I rely on Nancy’s experience, wisdom, and common sense when the path ahead is not clearly marked. This year, we’re continuing our path as outlined by our Strategic Plan for Growth.• Our Children’s and Youth programs continue to grow with (45+) pre-K through 5th grade registered for Church School and 20+ area youth participating in events like “Friday Night Live.” Our youth have participated in discussions and in a myriad of outreach activities such as helping at Neighbor to Neighbor, col-lecting for food drives, serving at Inspirica, and help-ing to fund-raise for the new re-purposing of the Community House classrooms and stage. • We continue to support our Young Families with programs such as the five-part series on Posi-tive Parenting that took place in February and ran through April. We held a Blessing of the Backpacks in September, and held the Harvest Supper on Sunday night instead of midweek to reach a broader audience, including families with young children. Our Advent Workshop attracted Church as well as local families with 50+ children participating. The Christmas Pag-eant included the return of the creator of the Nativity scene, Ann Winston, 97 years young this year!• Our focus is ministering to all members of the Church. This Fall Ed completed the sermon series “A Life Worth Living,” and we completed a Journey with St. Paul – exploring his letters and his legacy. Our monthly Bible study, “People of the Book,” con-tinues in popularity and participation with great

discussions led by Ed. • Special events included speakers that informed and provoked conversations on faith. In September the Second Sundays service format shifted to an inter-active interview-style forum to encourage lively con-versation at the Crossroads of Faith and Culture. Our first guest, Mark Miller, shared his hope and vision of how music can change the world in a positive way. David Rabin, of the Greenwich United Way, engaged our group in a discussion of how we can all be a force for good in the community. Kathrine Switzer inspired the audience with stories of her ground-breaking run in the Boston Marathon and subsequent work to increase opportunities for all women in sports. Craig Hatkoff, co-founder of the Tribeca film festival, discussed his children’s books, which react to world events.• The Music Ministry has continued under the leader-ship of Leslie Smith who has been here over a year, and continues the enrichment of our ministry. We all have felt her effect. We’ve had two Music Sundays, the first on Mother’s Day, and the most recent “With Praise and Thanksgiving” in November. Metropolitan Opera radio host Mary Jo Heath spoke to the group and en-lightened us on what goes on backstage and how op-era continues to build an audience through innovation and outreach. Adam Jackson, a local 13-year-old piano prodigy, gave an outstanding performance.• Volunteering has been encouraged and inspired by our special speakers including Sister Rosemary, who is doing so much to help women and families in Uganda with life skills after they have endured horri-ble atrocities; and Jonathan Kozol, who has dedicated his life to helping children in our inner cities. Volun-teers from Round Hill are helping tutor after school at Inspirica, and a group from our congregation, along with AVID Students from GHS, traveled for the fourth year to the Lakota Sioux Reservation on a Simply Smiles service project. This year we worked on building dorm rooms and spent the afternoons helping run a summer camp.• Stewardship has been increasing as the needs of the Church community have been growing. Many mem-bers have increased their donations significantly. Our stewardship committee, chaired by Jake Kommer, is continuing to raise the bar to accomplishing our goal of increasing our pledge income to support 60% of our operating costs. We’re looking for all members to increase their pledge by10% this year. • Our Christmas on Round Hill fundraiser was a tremendous success! It took place in December with a new format, chaired by Diane Davol with support

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her enthusiastic committee. Those who attended were provided with a delightful party and superb music, food, dancing, a silent auction, raffle prizes, and special baked treats and living greens for sale.• Summer on Round Hill, a BBQ, kept our church community connected during the summer months – and was chaired by Jake Kommer with the help of many dedicated volunteers. It was thoroughly en-joyed by all who attended.• Our Campus saw many upgrades and improve-ments. An incomplete list includes much needed air conditioning of the Classroom wing and replacement and upgrading of the Sanctuary air conditioning. And lastly, the renovation and re-purposing of the Com-munity House classrooms and stage were completed. I would like to thank our amazing staff of clergy and administration. Tania Priatka has continued to be an important part of our office staff. She has joined in our Church’s mission by spearheading our collection of backpacks for children in Ukraine. Steve Dunleavy and his team continue to support our events and ac-tivities and do the much-appreciated work to make our campus look fantastic. Lynda Kinney has been a constant and steady force in keeping the business of our church running smoothly. On a personal note, Lynda has been a tremendous help to me as she has continuously supported my and the whole Executive committee’s work through her tireless and patient guidance. Jenny Byxbee, our Director of Children’s Min-istries, continues to lead our Church School in a positive way. Jenny along with Dan and the Church School staff and volunteers, has attracted and main-tained a continuous growth of new and returning Church families. Leslie Smith, as our Director of Music, has con-tinued in her second year to inspire and enrich our journey of faith with music. She has led our choir of volunteers and section leaders in an inspiring way as we attempt to make a joyful noise unto the Lord! Dan Haugh, with us for over two years now, has continued to work closely with our staff, volunteers, and especially children and young families to create a culture of inclusiveness, generosity, and fun. Dan has been preparing to ably fill in during Ed’s coming sabbatical in 2018 with a carefully thought out plan of continued spiritual growth, so that Ed can take his much-needed Sabbatical confident that we will be in good hands. Ed Horstmann continues to be an amazing spiri-tual leader. His leadership of our staff and volunteers

enriches all our lives. I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Ed on so many areas of our church life and I am continuously amazed by how much Ed accomplishes on a weekly basis to enrich our spiritual journey. Last, but not least, I want to thank all of you for your support this year. I would like to thank the Trustees for their support and counsel, and for all their time and hard work. I appreciate the service of Bob Drysdale who served as Treasurer, and Bruce Dixon as inter-im Treasurer, and finally Nancy stepping in to fill this important position in 2018. It has been an incredible year, and guided by the Strategic Plan for Growth, 2018 should be even better!

Thank you, Joe Huley, Chairman, Board of Trustees

WORSHIP

Mission of the Worship Committee as stated in the By-Laws, published November 9, 2014:“Worship will oversee the order of service, the liturgy, and the overall worship experience, supporting our clergy and staff to accomplish excellence in the worship life of RHCC.”

Activities of the committee in 2017

• In January 2017 the Order of Service was changed in the sequencing of the Pastoral Prayer, the Church Prayer, and the final Hymn. The purpose was to give a smoother flow to these important parts of the end of the service. The change went smoothly and was well received by the congregation.

• Throughout 2017 the worship committee has worked closely with the clergy to prepare for Ed’s Sabbatical, which is scheduled for April 29 through August 29, 2018. This involved the following: – Researching guest ministers suggested by Ed and Dan, as well as many members of the Church. Each suggestion was thoroughly researched: creden-tials were considered, videos of the guest minister’s preaching were viewed, and any connection a mem-ber had to one of the suggested guest ministers was explored. These suggestions were reviewed at many meetings throughout the year, and the final selec-tions were made by Dan and Ed, with approval from the worship committee, in October. – We will use guest ministers for seven of the eighteen Sundays that Ed will be absent from the Church. This decision was based on Dan’s work load, Dan’s desire to preach, and not wanting to over-

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burden Dan. Two ministers to cover Pastoral and Emergency care were also selected and approved. – A Sabbatical Brochure listing the names and a brief biography of each of the seven ministers will be distributed to church members in March 2018. Ed will hold a Q+A at that time to discuss what he will be dong on his sabbatical. • The Worship Committee met with the Music Committee twice during the year to form a closer bond between the two committees so that a service of excellence could be delivered to members. Plans are underway to have another joint Music and Worship Committee meeting in 2018.• The institution of the Passing of the Peace of Christ was instituted at Communion in December. This practice will continue every time we hold Com-munion at Round Hill.• The committee provided and prepared Communion at nine services in 2017, which includes buying the bread, cutting it and preparing it on plates, filling the chalices with nonalcoholic wine, and placing the ele-ments on the Communion table prior to the start of the service. • The committee reviewed the clergy’s plans to change the Second Service to Second Sundays at Round Hill. The decision to try the new format was prompted by low attendance at the Second Service, while attendance at the morning service grew substantially instead. There was an opportunity to initiate a new format of speakers talking about issues at the crossroads of faith and culture.

• The worship committee initiated honoring Ann Winston on Pageant Sun-day 2017. The committee reached out to Ann’s fam-ily to arrange for her to at-tend the event. Ann’s good friends from years ago organized the coffee hour and plaque that would be sent to Ann.

• The worship committee did not add any new mem-bers in 2017, but in 2018 the we will welcome Karla Carpenter and Hillary Kaufman.

Submitted by Jean Jacullo, Chair Worship Committee: Charles Lee, Becky Jasperson,

Harold Kuplesky, Nicole Piper, Kathryn Payne

MUSIC

We had an exciting array of musical events at Round Hill Community Church in 2017. • Easter Sunday included music of Bach, Beethoven, and Handel, as well as a string quintet and Andy Kemp on trumpet.

• Music Sunday was May 14, when Leslie and the Choir delighted us with a special concert in which they performed Mozart’s Missa Brevis in C Major, joined by guest musicians on strings, bass, and timpani.

• Adam Jackson, who was 13 years old, gave a piano recital on May 21. His virtuosity and maturity on the piano delighted all who attended, and we look for-ward to following his exciting career.

• A Conversation with Mary Jo Heath, happened on October 1, which was a unique opportunity to get to know our very own member, Mary Jo, who is host of the Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. Leslie Smith moderated the event, and we learned about Mary Jo’s exciting job and got a real behind-the- scenes look at one of the world’s great opera houses. We also got to see video previews of the new season. • Music Sunday, With Praise and Thanksgiving was our second Music Sunday of the year on November 19 and included music of Franck, Karg-Elert, Corfe, Cruger, and Lehman, along with guest string and trumpet musicians.

• Christmas Eve, during the afternoon service the children were invited to participate by playing Silent Night with colored bells. The later service featured a rich and beautiful music tradition of Lessons and Carols and included excerpts from the Messiah, a special women’s ensemble, and favorite Christmas hymns, as well as guest soloists, a string quartet, and trumpet. • In addition to holding our own committee meetings, we also met several times jointly with the Worship Committee, in order to ensure open communication

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and understanding between music and worship.

• The Greenwich Chamber Players continue to hold several Sunday afternoon performances in our sanc-tuary. While the Music Committee is not directly in-volved in this, we like to ensure that our church cam-pus is a place known for its vibrancy of musical events. The Music Committee continues to work with church leaders and the congregation, and works hard to bring new and exciting musical events to our church and community. We are committed to con-tinuing the tradition of a strong musical experience at Round Hill.

Respectfully submitted, Jenny Rye, Music Committee Chair

CENTER FOR FAITH DEVELOPMENT

The Center for Faith Development (CFFD) is com-mitted to developing programs that support RHCC members and the broader community to inspire and nurture spiritual growth at the crossroads of faith and culture. Through various media and programs, CFFD strives to develop content that touches the human spirit and engages our faith in a discussion about the world we live in, which will allow us to participate in conversations with one another and connect with the community.

• In 2017, CFFD took responsibility for planning and coordinating Second Sundays at Round Hill. We sought to introduce speakers who were living lives of meaning and purpose that would touch us and help drive conversations and inspire action in our broader community. Each Second Sunday attracted an aver-age of 30 guests, a combination of RHCC members and guests from the community. The speakers in 2017 included:

– Singer/Songwriter Kristen Graves – Composer Mark Miller – David Rabin, CEO of Greenwich United Way – Katherine Switzer, Athlete and first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon – Children’s book author Craig Hatkoff, Co-founder of Tribeca Film Festival & Tribeca Film Institute

• In November, we launched Round Hill Radio, a series of podcasts that inspire, teach, and reach out to RHCC and our broader community. In each podcast, the Rev. Ed Horstmann and Leslie Smith, Director of Music, have a conversation exploring a

variety of topics – from examining scripture lessons to interviewing some of our Second Sunday speak-ers. Round Hill Radio can be accessed at our website or via iTunes.

• CFFD continues to offer Bible Studies on the third Sunday of every month between September and May. On average, 12 to 15 people participate in what is always a lively and educational discussion. In the past year we’ve explored St. Paul’s Love Letters and the lives of diverse biblical characters to gain a sense of how their struggles, accomplishments, and trans-formations may help us strengthen our own faith, in-crease our love for one another, and help us to be a force for good.

• Finally, we held a special Friday Night Lecture in October, with Marci Alboher of Encore.org. Marci encouraged over 30 members of the audience to be inspired to find ways to get involved and men-tor others in our broader community. Encore.org is mobilizing individuals over the age of 50 to help our younger generations thrive. Local non-profits also participated in this event and offered members op-portunities to get involved in our local community.

Chairs: Dr. Alexandra Heerdt, Mary Ann Debnar Committee: Dr. Caroline Adkins, Mirella Hajjar,

Ken Hammond, Bon and Becky Jasperson

CHILDREN/YOUTH CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

For the past several years we have been focused on how to attract young families to Round Hill. With the hard and dedicated work of both Dan Haugh and Jenny Byxbee, we now have over 45 young families engaged at the Church, along with 10 to 15 teenagers who are involved with Youth Fellowship, Confirma-tion, and/or Round Hill Youth Activities, on and off campus.

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• Church School Attendance can be as high as 45 children, as low as 8, and is normally around 20. For that number of children, we need to be prepared to have two adults in each classroom and have a growing group of Church volunteers (both parents and others) along with high school students who act as “helpers.” The cost for the students is relatively low; the return for them and us is tremendous.

• In February, we began using the Whirl Curriculum in Church School. It has worked well and includes: 1) Engagement: participation by children, 2) Education: Bible study and key relevant concepts and values for children, 3) Enjoyment: children having fun and wanting to come back each Sunday and bring friends, 4) Empowerment of Volunteers: easily accessible for new volunteers and teachers as we build up our base, 5) Inclusive: intentionally inclusive and accessible for all children regarding learning styles, attention spans, religious backgrounds.

• Throughout 2017, Dan and Jenny added valuable content to the Church website relating to the theme for the year: A Life Worth Living. The content is still available in the Programs section of the LEARN heading on the website.

• There were Activities designed for families through-out the year, including movie nights and a family brunch. We also offered opportunities for children to be involved in service activities to help them under-stand the power of generosity.

• In conjunction with the Worship Committee, we welcomed families with children to partake of Communion beginning in June. Children leave for Church School after the Children’s Message and come back to the Sanctuary, if they wish, and take Commu-nion with family and the rest of the congregation.

• Dan Haugh and a small group of enthusiastic volun-teers have continued to nurture and develop strong relationships with a growing group of teens. In Sep-tember, the youth curriculum Echo the Story was in-troduced to Youth Fellowship on Sunday mornings. This occurred as we were opening our new Youth Rooms in the Community House. They are used for Friday Night Live once a month, Monday after-noons by request of the youth, and Sunday mornings for Youth Fellowship meetings during the Worship service. It has been a joy to see this group grow and thrive with all of us at Round Hill.

Chairs: Nicole Piper, Ginger JewettCommittee: Diane Davol, Leslie Gregory,

Lauretta Haugh, Janet Huley, Nancy Mazzoli

OUTREACH “The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning.”

– Emil Brunner

In 2017 I acted as the Outreach Committee facilitator. Those serving on the committee included Dick Bergstresser, Diane Davol, Helen Dixon, Louise Hoffman, Joe Huley, Josh Jewett, Roland Kistler, and Michael Sandifer. I am grateful to all of these individ-uals for their support and commitment to the out-reach ministries of our congregation.

The Outreach Committee was responsible for a budget of $36,000 in 2017. These funds were to be

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spent in accordance with the Strategic Plan as follows:

Use Outreach funds to support the vision of Round Hill Community Church.

• Use Leadership Grants, which are one third of the Outreach budget, to provide seed money for pro-grams that will foster transformative change in the community.• Use one third of the budget for programs impacting Children and Youth in our community in support of the Church’s Youth Ministry initiatives.• Use one third of the budget to continue to support Local Organizations that align with the Church mission.• If an exception to these points needs to be made, the Outreach Committee will present to the Board for consent.• Organize an annual Mission Fair to introduce the congregation to local organizations and needs in the community.

Leadership Grant

Available Funds: $12,300

Grant Recipient: Greenwich United Way, Early Childhood Achievement Gap Solutions $12,300

Other Grants

Available Funds: $12,300

Grant Recipients:

Greenwich YWCA: $1,000 Meals on Wheels: $1,000 Beach Day: $2,364 Pacific House/Inspirica: $2,070 Haiti Relief: $2,000 Discretionary Fund $1,760 Youth Outreach

Available Funds: $12,300 Grant Recipients: Simply Smiles Scholarships $8,300 Food Cards (Norwalk Families) $2,000 Greenwich Boys and Girls Club $2,000

Other Outreach Related Expenditures

Special Offerings Church World Service: $5,300

At the beginning of the year our committee un-dertook a series of benchmarking exercises in order to be clear about the outreach work of other faith communities in our region. This process will help us to avoid duplication of services, may open possibil-ities for partnership, and gave us some ideas about how to be more of an impact in our work.

Ongoing Programs That Involve Direct Service

• Each month volunteers prepare and serve food at the Inspirica Shelter for women and at Pacific House. My gratitude goes to Sandy Motland and Roland Kistler for their leadership of these programs and also to the volunteers who take part in these ministries.

• Each week two adult volunteers offer direction and assistance at the Tuesday afternoon Youth Center at Inspirica in Stamford and are frequently assisted by three members of the Round Hill Youth Group.

• For the fourth year in a row a team of volunteers trav-eled to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Reservation in La Plant, South Dakota, to deepen connections with the friends we have made there and to deepen our collaboration with Simply Smiles. Volunteers direct a daily youth camp, serve meals, spend time getting to know residents of La Plant, and are involved in a variety of building projects. Ten individuals made this journey in 2017, and did extensive work on a bunkhouse that will provide living accommodation for others who will collaborate with Simply Smiles in the future.

• Beach Day once again took place in August as we welcomed families from the Little Sisters of the Assumption in New York City. Volunteers, led by Roland Kistler, made it possible for residents from

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the city to enjoy a beautiful day of respite and renewal in the beauty of Tod’s Point.

• In December, a group of volunteers traveled for an annual visit to children at the after-school youth pro-gram at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in the Bronx. The program’s goal is to change lives and provide a safe place for children after school when their parents are still at work. One hundred children decorated hous-es and during that time Mother Martha Overall (the rector of St. Ann’s) dropped by to check in on their progress and fun. This year there were 20 kindergart-eners joining in for the first time. Roland Kistler, who organizes the event and provides the houses and dec-orations (financed by Outreach funds), was awesome. Thanks to Alison Kistler, Jan Ziemba, Bunny Prokop, Sandy Motland, and Julia Boysen. We are blessed to share this adventure with amazing children and thank Round Hill for their support and love. (Report of St. Ann’s trip shared by Alice Fisher.)

• Once again the congregation enthusiastically sup-ported the Angel Tree for families in Norwalk by providing fifty gifts. Gift cards were underwritten by the Outreach Committee for families in the Norwalk area to enhance their celebration of Christmas and offer additional support for their loved ones.

I am deeply grateful to the Outreach Committee for their support of these initiatives and to our con-gregation for creating a culture where service and care for the world around us is at the hub of our faith and life together.

Respectfully submitted,Edward G. Horstmann

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications oversees all internal and external communications of the Church for both our mem-bers and others who may be seeking a new church. It publicizes events or programs at the Church or the Community House through the use of technology, printed ads and fliers, posters, signs, the Newsletter, and any other media that will get out the good word of Round Hill Community Church.Highlights of 2017

• Chitra Shanbhogue continued her work with us as a consultant and helped with the launch of the updated website, content calendar planning, social media co-ordination, and strategies for increased outreach to community and congregation.

• Redesigned Website went live in October, with new features (including welcome video) and responsive design so that it is functional on tablets and smart-phones as well as computers, Round Hill Radio pod-casts, and monthly Pastor’s blog.

• Weekly placements in Greenwich Sentinel that highlight upcoming events at the Church.

Now that we are regularly active on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), our next challenge is to have the congregation become more active with sharing and commenting. We are working with ex-perts on best ways to accomplish this. We also know that no matter how good our print and electronic publicity is, word of mouth for events, personal invitations, and good buzz about events that have happened are the most effective ways to spread the word. Our congregation can be a valuable part of the “Communication Team” by reaching out to

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friends and neighbors to tell them about what’s hap-pening at Round Hill Community Church.

Chair: Nancy MazzoliTeam: Rhona Johnson, Chitra Shanbhogue, Lynda Kinney, Tania Priatka, Leslie Smith,

Dan Haugh, Ed Horstmann

MEMBERSHIP

The Membership Committee continually works on ways to draw in new Church members. We greet and welcome newcomers warmly at church, and intro-duce them to the ministers and members of our con-gregation at the coffee hour. If they are interested, we ask for their contact information for inclusion in our mailing list for event notifications, and we encourage them to join in our activities.• We work closely with the ministers in developing Outreach Plans and Membership Events with a broad focus on recruiting young families and mem-bers of all ages and spiritual backgrounds. We pride ourselves in being an open congregation where all people are welcome.• Our Membership Team includes Jenny Rye, Heidi Morrison, and Samira Loschiavo. We attend as many Church events as possible to help with greeting guests and asking them to sign in at the door. We believe that being a welcoming presence and a familiar face for newcomers helps to foster a sense of camaraderie and hospitality.

• We host a number of Small Circle Suppers through-out the year for new and existing Church members. We encourage our guests to share their thoughts and spiritual journeys with us in a casual and open set-ting. These events have achieved what we set out to accomplish by opening a joint conversation in an in-timate atmosphere of warmth and hospitality. Child-care is available, if necessary.

• Our Membership Team often hosts small dinners, lunches, or coffees outside of the Church in order to get to know newcomers better, and to answer ques-tions they may have. Of course, we’re always mindful about keeping things friendly and casual without any pressure.

• We organize New Member Sundays when we re-ceive new members into our church family. Name tags are created and every new member is presented with a white rose as we celebrate this special day and introduce them to the congregation.

• We act as advisers to the various church committees who are seeking new committee members, and help to target individuals with like-minded interests who could be approached to join them.

• Another task we continue to work on, with the Church Office, is keeping the Directory and mailing list updated with information on new and existing members and friends.

We are happy to report that 18 new members have joined our church in 2017:

Sara Cabral (Devin, Jake)Kiersten Fredriksen (Keira)Monica FredriksenEileen FredriksenTheresa StallingsEleanor SheilsMarcus Suppo (Ben, Matteo, Oliver)Alan and Karine Yantorno (Juliana, Lucien, Elida)Julie StewartKathy CurrieRoger and Lindsay Griesemeyer (Cody, Sloane, Bodhi)Leslie Gregory (Jack, Frances)Steven Leininger (Max, Thomas)Milton and Jennifer Koenigsberger (Milton, Paige)Mary Pat Schroeder (Michal)

Respectfully submitted,Grada Herrick, Chair of Membership

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HUMAN RESOURCESThe increase in members and attendees at our Sunday services and our programs brought a very busy year for our staff. Human Resources continues to try to adjust to that growth while fulfilling the Strategic Plan and remaining within budget. We sincerely thank all our staff for their very hard work, dedication, and the flexibility they have brought to supporting our growing community. We particularly thank Lynda Kinney, Tania Priatka, and Steve Dunleavy who have all met the increasing work of managing the church and campus throughout the year with energy and dedication.

• Jenny Byxbee, Director of Children’s Ministries, has continued to increase the number of children and families coming to the church in numbers we could not have anticipated a year ago. This requires a growing number of volunteers and hourly workers to staff the nursery and support and teach the ever larger classes each Sunday. In 2018 we will add an intern for a few hours each week to help with her increasing admin-istrative duties.

• Leslie Smith, Director of Music, has completed her first year and brings new repertoire and beautiful music to our Sunday services. She has brought in new soloists for several concerts during the year.

• Dan Haugh, our Associate Pastor, has built an ener-getic Youth Group that meets for different activities each month—for outreach projects, discussions, and some fun outings. He also has a core group of youth who attend Bible study and/or participate in services each Sunday. We were also able to add a Youth In-tern for a few hours each week to assist Dan with the Youth program.

• We are very happy that Diane Davol has joined the HR Committee and that Amy Minella remains on the committee with wise and active engagement, even if it is from afar.

Chairs: Jan Kudrnac and Rhona Johnson

BUILDINGS

The Strategic Plan for Growth states that there should be an “…audit of the integrity of our buildings and dedicate necessary funds.”

As noted in last year’s report, a survey of all Church buildings was undertaken and our efforts over the past couple of years have been to prioritize the rec-ommendations in the report. In addition, there are always unexpected repair items that crop up that take an even higher priority. The good news is that we are slowly whittling down the list. Many of the projects completed during 2017 are not visible, but were necessary to keep the infrastruc-ture functioning. Following are a few of the Committee’s major ac-complishments in 2017:

• Air conditioned the classroom wing of the Church

• With the able guidance of Dan Haugh and Britt Newman, renovated the two Youth Rooms and Office Space (currently being rented) in the Community House

• Installed a vapor barrier in the crawl space under the Community House to reduce damaging humidity

• Replaced the boiler and gutters at the Sexton’s Cottage

• Cleaned the duct work in the Community House

• Replaced a compressor in the system that provides air conditioning to the Sanctuary (you may recall a few warm Sundays while repairs were underway)

• Replaced the rotting and unsafe deck on the Community House

These were the major items. While all this was being accomplished, with the invaluable assistance of Ralph Bosch of Auburn Landing Contractors, our professional consultant, Steve Dunleavy and John Novak took care of multiple maintenance and repair items, several of which were emergencies. And Lynda Kinney has been integral to our activ-ities, both because of her institutional knowledge and in keeping the projects moving administratively. We are a long way from catching up, but we are making good progress thanks in large part to the sup-port of the Trustees.

– Bruce Dixon, Buildings ChairSteve Dunleavy, Lynda Kinney, John Novak

Ex-officio, Ralph Bosch, consultant

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REVENUE Actual 2016 Actual 2017 Budget 2018 Contributions 407,000 37% 525,000 43% 430,000 36%Campus Rentals 257,000 23% 265,000 22% 270,000 23%Annual Endowment Transfer 302,000 27% 281,000 23% 245,000 21%New Initiatives Endowment Transfer 120,000 11% 120,000 10% 160,000 13%Restricted Funds Transfer 61,000 5% Event Income 25,000 2% 23,000 2% 24,000 2%Total 1,111,000 1,214,000 1,190,000

EXPENSESPersonnel 642,000 57% 673,000 58% 762,000 64% Buildings and Grounds 107,000 10% 148,000 13% 138,000 11%Administration 105,000 9% 102,000 9% 83,000 7%Worship/Music 83,000 8% 72,000 6% 85,000 7%Outreach 113,000 10% 54,000 5% 45,000 4%Faith Formation: Adult, Youth, Children 40,000 2% 59,000 5% 45,000 4%Communications 27,000 2% 28,000 2% 8,000 1% Events 18,000 2% 22,000 2% 24,000 2%Total 1,120,000 1,158,000 1,190,000

30% Administration

20% Buildings and Grounds

18% Worship

9% Outreach

5% Communications

18% Faith Formation Adult 8%Youth 5%Children 5%

2017 EXPENSESPersonnel Budget distributed to areas of ministry

2017 REVENUE

43% Contributions

23% Annual Endowment Transfer

22% Campus Rentals

10% New Initiatives Endowment Transfer (Second of three-year Board-approved transfer)

2% Event Income

FINANCE

This year marked the second of the three-year plan for growth as outlined in our Strategic Plan. The Board of Trustees approved withdrawals of up to $200,000 (New Initiatives Endowment Transfer) for each of three years to support the goals of the plan (available to read on the Church website). The principal goal of the plan is to increase the participation and engagement of our congregation and, therefore, insure its long-term health. We have added key staff members who have developed pro-grams to address all age groups and we have seen a healthy addition of young families as a result. The Finance Committee made a decision in 2017 to use our Restricted Funds, which were given to the church for specific programs (Education, Music, Grounds), for targeted new initiatives like Round Hill Radio Podcast and a newly created Cherub Choir. We felt the donors would want to see their generosity put to good use for the future of the Church.

Contributions make up the bulk of our revenue but are still not at the level we need to sustain the growth at the Church. In 2017, contributions accounted for 43% of the total revenue (due in part to a bequest), better than in 2016, but our plan is to get the number closer to 60%. We hired a consultant in 2016 to help us to be more effective in our efforts to increase revenue. We know that we need to spend more time educating our congregation about the importance of their pledges and donations and we are planning small group meetings with members for the fall of 2018. With 100% participation, we can achieve the goals we have determined to insure the health and vitality of Round Hill.

Respectfully submitted,Nancy Mazzoli, Chair

Committee: Doug Conn, Bruce Dixon, Don Gaston, Ben Kaufman, Randy Motland, Hooker O’Malley

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INVESTMENT

The role of the Investment Committee of the Church is to oversee the investment management of the En-dowment and Pension Funds. Since 2009 the Com-mittee has employed Fidelity to manage the invest-ments of both the Endowment and Pension accounts. In recent years, both accounts have been invested conservatively with approximately 60% allocated to equities and 40% to fixed income. In order to obtain diversity, Fidelity invests primarily in stock and bond funds rather than individual securities.

• As of 12/31/2017, the valuation of the Endowment Fund was $4.7 million and the Pension was $1.3 million.

• For the year ended 12/31/17, the Endowment ac-count at Fidelity showed a capital appreciation of $301,293 or 6.8% net of all fee. This increase oc-curred despite the regular withdrawal of $268,429 and an additional $120,000 withdrawal for new Church initiatives.

• The Pension account showed a capital appreciation of $164,644 or 13.9% net of all fees. This amount to-gether with benefits paid out of $23,521 led to an ap-preciation of the pension account of $188,164.

Respectfully submitted, C. Hooker O’Malley, Chair

Committee: Nancy Mazzoli, Mark Baran, Randy Motland, Charles Zoubeck

STEWARDSHIP We continue to make progress in our 2018 Steward-ship Campaign toward our goal of becoming fiscal-ly healthy. To help achieve this goal a meeting of the congregation was held to discuss our path to fiscal health. At the meeting a thoughtful discussion took place with many questions and suggestions as to how best to achieve our goal. In order to become fiscally healthy we need: annual contributions of approxi-mately $600,000. As of the end of 2017, our 2018 pledges total $365,200, which is approximately the same as last year. There are still some members who have not pledged to contribute for 2018 and if you have not done so now is the time. If you have already made a pledge and are able to increase your pledge to help us reach our goal please do so as soon as you are able. We do not expect to reach our final goal all at once but we want to continue the growth of annual con-

tributions at least by 10% this year. Please note that the Giving Page on our Website has been updated to make it easier to pledge by giving periodically or all at once. There is so much to be proud of at Round Hill Community Church but we need your support to continue the growth of our programs, membership, Christian Education, youth activities and outreach.

Respectfully submitted, Jake Kommer, Chair

CHRISTMAS ON ROUND HILL

Christmas on Round Hill fostered a culture and sense of community among Church members. We also reached out to our friends, not just members, and in-cluded them in our celebration so we fostered a rela-tionship with the greater Greenwich community. The event served as a fundraiser and raised over $13,000 to support the preservation of the Round Hill Com-munity House and local organizations that make positive change in people’s lives.

ROUND HILL CIRCLE

In 2007, Round Hill Commu-nity Church established a way for long-standing and committed members to leave a bequest toward the fiscal health of the Church; it

was called Rock of Ages. Those of you who pledged support feel a love for this church and greatly appre-ciate what it has contributed to your lives — a deep spirituality, both intellectual and social, which has been meaningful in all kinds of ways to you and your families. Everyone agrees this church is a very special place. The founding members of the Church were gen-erous and forward thinking when they established an endowment and built a new church debt-free. Such generosity came from a spirit of community and a belief that the Church would benefit and nurture future generations. With our Strategic Plan for Growth, established in 2015, developed four strategies to ensure our long-term viability, one of which is to secure the Church’s fiscal health. To implement these strategies, which are clearly working as we moved through 2017, we have had to “borrow” funds from the endowment, but would now like to begin to build that account back up.

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There is more information on our website under Donate at Legacy Giving. If you would like to talk to someone about a gift, please contact the Church Office. We wish to recognize and thank the following mem-bers of the Round Hill Circle who have so generously remembered the Church in their estate planning.

Mr. and Mrs. Banks T. Adams, Jr. AnonymousMarshall Clark Molly Cummings CookEverett Fisher Mr. and Mrs. Richards F. FordAlecia Hardell Amy MinellaJoan WarburgElizabeth Yule

ROUND HILL CEMETERY ASSOCIATION

Our tiny burial ground at the corner of John Street and Round Hill Road, jointly owned and operated by Round Hill Community Church and the First Church of Round Hill, had eleven plots purchased in 2017 by four of our Church families. And there were six in-terments of ashes, Cremains only being a limitation required by our Regulations.

• Maintenance included replacement of laurels along the John Street border with evergreen taxus. Also, on the western property line, the evergreen hedge was topped off by four feet to minimize chances of future wind damage, and dogwoods were pruned.

• The year also included the bi-yearly inoculation of American Elm tree fungicide into the three specimen, majestic trees of over 100 feet, which are prominently visible from our cemetery and located on immediately adjacent lands. We have been doing this pro bono since 1977, to protect the few remaining American Elms, all of which are likely to eventually succumb to the Dutch Elm Blight, as have over a dozen untreated American Elms within a half mile of our cemetery in the last fifty years.

• We are grateful for the Summer Rain Company’s pro bono installation and maintenance of the sprin-kler system. And we were thankful for a gift by a neighbor to our endowment fund.

• Each of our two churches continues to supply three members of each congregation to be the operating Board of the Round Hill Cemetary Association, Inc. Our Treasurer, Amy Minella, retired after many years of faithful service, for which she received our thanks and gratitude. Her replacement as Board member and Treasurer is Libby Cryer. The other members representing RHCC are Molly Cook, Judge Charles Lee, and me, as President.

Respectfully submitted,G. Lynton Kaufman

IN MEMORIAMWe celebrate the lives of the following members and friends of Round Hill Community Church who have died in the past year. Jo Ann Adams Marshall Clark James W. Cobbs Peter Serge Gagarin Elizabeth Anne Galt Doug MacSwan Joan Melber Warburg

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ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES December 10, 2017

The meeting was called to order by the Chairman, Joseph S. Huley, at 11:38 am. A quorum of 42 peo-ple was present. Joe Huley asked that the meeting be opened with a prayer led by Ed Horstmann. Minutes of the November 13, 2016 Annual Meeting were ap-proved without changes. Nancy Mazzoli presented the nominations for Church Leadership positions (see below). There were no nominations from the floor. The presented slate was approved unanimously by those present. Joe Huley presented his Chairman’s Report for 2017. The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 am.

Respectfully submitted, Janet Huley, Meeting Secretary

NOMINATINGNominations for Church Leadership for 2018

A. Board of Trustees Positions Charter Trustees Helen O’Malley (2019) Bill Herrick (2023) Michael Sandifer (2021) Nicole Piper (2025) Class of 2018 Grada Herrick Jenny Rye Joe Huley Jean Jacullo Class of 2019 Nancy Mazzoli Charles Lee Diane Davol

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Class of 2020 Mary Ann Debnar Jake Kommer Ginger Jewett Caroline Lazzara B. Officer Positions Chair: Joe Huley Vice Chair: Jake Kommer Treasurer: Nancy Mazzoli Secretary: Diane DavolC. Committee Chairs Buildings: Bruce Dixon Grounds: Mary Hull Campus Life: Joe Huley, Jake Kommer Center for Faith Development: Mary Ann Debnar, Alexandra Heerdt Children/Youth Christian Ed: Nicole Piper, Ginger Jewett Church Activities: Harold Kuplesky, Maria Montalbano Finance: Nancy Mazzoli Communications: Nancy Mazzoli Human Resources: Rhona Johnson, Jan Kudrnac Membership: Grada Herrick Music: Jenny Rye Outreach: Ed Horstmann Worship: Jean JaculloD. 2018 Nominating Committee Nancy Mazzoli (Chair), Ward Davol, Grada Herrick, Julia Boysen, Ginger Jewett, Manit Rye, Michael Sandifer, Caroline Lazzara

Round Hill Community Church395 Round Hill Road Greenwich, CT 06831roundhillcommunitychurch.org 203-869-1091