The deacons meet monthly (except the month of August) to discuss the weekly deacon schedule, church events such as baptisms, holidays, communion, & specific parishioner concerns. Every Sunday one deacon assists with the service by lighting & extinguishing candles (Ned graciously performs this when he is present), taking attendance (discussed further below), taking the collection, passing the microphone during Community Matters part of each service, and tidying up the pews after each service. In addition to these routine duties, this year:
We continue to take electronic attendance in an effort to help realize if someone is out for an extended period of time. Diane Leavitt continues to add photos to each parishioner’s name in the Breeze software so that it is easier to identify people and to remember names of newcomers. Guests 1-10 were added into the software account for additional visitors to the attendance roster. We have also added the feature to group family members to our attendance list, to make Sunday attendance more efficient. During the first hymn of Sunday Service the Deacon on Duty locks the side door and post a sign to inform anyone trying to enter that door to please use the front door during service.
We did not do Laity Sunday this year. We held a blessing of the animals. For the last couple of years, we have been alternating Laity Sunday and blessing of the animals.
We coordinated a fire drill on May 12th. In planning this fire drill, we also revisited general fire safety issues not only for those in the sanctuary, but for the children’s education usually upstairs & the nursery care in the basement. The fire department did not attend this fire drill. This year’s drill was a smoother transition then in the past. Jill Loewer created a fire drill instruction document (Deacons and Peter approved) to be placed in the pews of the sanctuary.
We assisted with communion and special services as needed. On communion Sundays Deacon(s) are responsible for obtaining the bread and juice, setting up the table and assisting Peter with the distribution of the elements. We had one baptism this year.
We assisted a Guest Pastor when Peter was out of town.
The Deacons (with a lot of help from Polly) hosted a welcome back breakfast in September.
We provided coloring pages and crayons for young children attending the early Christmas Eve service. We also purchased luminary bags and tea lights to decorate the church outside for Christmas Eve service.
We sent cards to parishioners who may be ill, injured, welcomed a new member to the family, or who may have lost a loved one.
We reviewed Peter’s document on the ALICE Plan (active shooter). The congregation was informed of the document. The Gun Policy and ALICE Plan was referenced during the Church Annual Meeting. Next time Global Campuses host an ALICE Plan Training at Church the Deacons will try to attend as well as any other member from the congregation wanting to participate.
We arranged for a CPR and AED (defibrillator) training on February 5, 2019. All Deacons participated as well as Peter and Polly. We purchased a Zoll Plus Defibrillator for the church. The AED battery is checked monthly by a Deacon after our monthly meeting.
We purchased a ladder for the third floor for emergency evacuation.
We edited the Deacon Responsibility document and added Peter’s usual Sunday morning preparations for service in case he is not with us.
Many thanks to all the deacons: John Bollard. Tom Leavitt, Diane Leavitt, Jill Loewer, Rebecca Noyes and Cindy Senning. June Hibbs and Pat King will be joining us as a Deacons in January.
Respectfully Submitted, Diane Leavitt, Chairperson & Secretary