NNUAL REPORT 2012ANNUAL MEETING: February 3, 2013

First Congregational United Church of ChristAt 20 Oak Street in Downtown Asheville

PO Box 3211

Asheville, NC 28802

(828)-252-8729

www.uccasheville.org

Joe Hoffman, Minister

Gary Mitchell, Commissioned Minister of Music and Art

Harper Leich, Office Manager

Yolanda Adams, Ministry Coordinator

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Report from the PastorAnnual Report of the Pastor for 2012

It is always interesting to go back and review all that we have done as a congregation, and what I have done as the pastor, during a year. And it is often difficult to know what to highlight. That is again the case as I look back at 2012 and track our journey together.

This year has been one in which we have tried out a new model of governance and organizational structure. The details of that can be found in the reports from the Acting Governing Board and the Governance and Ministry Task Force. But I want to note how much work has been put into this effort by a group of 25-30 folk throughout the year. We are finding our way as we go, so the process is often fun, creative, and sometimes frustrating and confusing. We began the year under our old Executive Board system – with Phil Sageser as our moderator and Alice Martin-Adkins as Assistant Moderator. In May we voted as a congregation to experiment for a year with a 7 member acting board, and the dissolution of the Executive Board as we had known it. We did not and still have not changed our by-laws, merely allowed our Executive Board to give its authority to the acting board for this period of time. In May of 2013 the congregation will have to decide if we continue with the new model or return to the old.

I think the process of trying a new organizational model has helped us find new energy and hope for our church. Our work together has helped us move beyond “the ways we have been doing it” to ask – “what is it we feel called to be doing and how best can we do that?” That has stirred up some anxiety at times, for change can be hard – and we wonder what might get lost in the shuffle. At the same time, there have been a lot more people finding ways to get involved and share their gifts and talents. I like the path we are on.

We were surprised early in the year when Rev. Shannon Spencer resigned as our Associate Pastor in order to take a position as co-pastor of the Haywood Street Congregation – a new church start of the United Methodists working specifically with the homeless. While we were sad to see her go, I think we have come to realize that she has found a place to really live out her calling – and we support her in that. We are grateful for all the energy she brought and creative ministries she led with us.

We went several months – through the summer and early fall – without adding another staff person – and I am grateful for the extra work that Gary Mitchell picked up along with myself and Harper – and the extra effort given by the Governance and Ministry Task Force to keep essential ministries going. I am also very pleased that we came up with the idea of creating a new position – one we have called a Ministry Coordinator Position – to add to our staffing structure instead of immediately looking to hire another associate pastor. We interviewed several persons for this position and offered the position to Yolanda Adams, who had already been deeply involved in the work of the Governance and Ministry Task Force. This position is a contract position as we continue to discern if this type position is the right one for us to continue with in the future. My thanks to Yolanda for the creative and passionate vision she brings to her work.

During the transitions that have come with this year, I decided in the summer to create some new ministry options for our congregation in the short term. I started a Monday night Bible Study around the “Big” Stories of the Bible – and that was a great deal of fun as about 10-15 of us gathered and learned from each other. I will continue that type of Bible Study again during Lent – and probably keep it going until mid fall or so.

I also began a series of summer, intergenerational outings for any and all in the congregation to participate in which included a cookout at Craggy Gardens, a Creek Walk at the Mills River Campground, and a visit to the recycling center to learn more about how all our home recycling gets sorted and used. Those events were a lot of fun and helped many of us connect and get to know each other.

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Harper Leich has continued doing an excellent job keeping our office organized and producing our weekly e-news, our weekly bulletins, our webpage, our Facebook page, and a number of special items through the year. We have received many wonderful comments about the style of our bulletins, and especially about the art work that is now included. We have been doing this since mid year 2011, but the purchase of a new copier that allows us to do color art images has really been appreciated. Harper chooses most of the art for the bulletin, a task she is well suited for as an artist herself. I have a lot of confidence in her work and appreciate the many gifts she brings to our staff team.

And speaking of the Administrative Assistant position, we were very saddened last summer at the sudden illness and quick death of Jo Larsen, who was our church secretary for 25 years – retiring just before we left our interim space at Kenilworth Presbyterian and moved into this downtown building. She was much loved by the people of this church and now missed with sadness but also great appreciation for all of her service.

I want to express my gratitude to Gary Mitchell for his leadership – and especially in the area of arts and music – although he has many responsibilities in various areas under his portfolio. Much of what he has been doing for us in the past year or so illustrates well what it looks like to be a public church. For example, this last year he created a singing group called The Oak Street Singers and they toured Germany – making connection with a German congregation that has been to visit us a number of times. The home concert they performed for us was incredible, and we had a good many folk from the larger Asheville community attend. The art gallery that changes every month in the front hall of the church is another way we connect with the public as passersby often observe the gallery as they are walking by. A third example is the liturgical art Gary creates for our sanctuary, connecting us with the larger church through liturgical order and style, and also creating for us an inspiring worship space. And finally, the various kinds of music that we have each Sunday from the chancel choir, the handbell choir, and the various special musicians that offer a wide range of music styles and come from many traditions.

We saw many changes this year in our ministries. One change was in the location of our annual all church retreat which has now been coordinated all three times by Yolanda Adams. It was a hard decision, but Yolanda led us to see the advantage of changing from the Blowing Rock Conference Center to the Episcopal Retreat Center not far from Canton, NC known as the Lake Logan Conference Center. The theme was “Practicing our Faith: Living Daily through the Teaching of Jesus.” It was a wonderful retreat in which many attended – some only for the day on Saturday, which was one of the benefits of the new location. Our thanks to Yolanda and all who made the retreat such a success.

Another change came when we realized that it was no longer necessary or essential for us to continue the New Year’s Day event with the homeless that we began 5 or more years ago. The agencies in our city have learned that they needed to be open on this day, and have now begun to do so. Also, the city has begun limited bus service and some public spaces are now open on this day – so that it is not a day when the homeless are so vulnerable with no services. I am very grateful that we were able to fill this gap so creatively and lovingly for these 5 years, and am glad that now we can let this go and put our energies in new places.

We also began this past fall an Inter-Generational Sunday School class for 2 Sundays a month as a response to a smaller number of children and a gap in ages of those children in our church. We quickly learned that this model works well for us – although we have also learned that we need to be more consistent and creative with what we do. That is a goal the staff has taken on – along with discerning where the Children’s Church program fits into this bigger picture. I want to thank Meg Word-Sims for her work at organizing Children’s Church after Shannon resigned, and to Virginia Himmelheber and Emily Townes for leading a broadly aged children’s Sunday School class on the Sundays the Inter-Generational Class was not meeting. In addition, I am grateful to Leslie Boyd for working with the youth on Sunday mornings.

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The changes we are making in our program ministries runs parallel to the changes we experience in the cultural shifts around us. I have been attending UCC training sessions to learn more about this, as well as talking a lot in person and via email with folks around the country who are trying to discern what works in their churches as they adjust to the same shifts we experience. One such observation is that more and more churches are having trouble maintaining a Sunday School program for children and youth prior to worship. Thus, the emergence of Children’s Church as a learning experience is one response many churches are trying. While I have resisted this change in past years I am now coming to see the importance of it – at least in the short term as we continue to discern how best to teach our children the stories of our faith.

One such model that I am very interested in has to do with a new program called Youth and the Public Church initiative – a program run by Augsburg College in Minnesota. I have just learned of this program, and look forward to engaging the program director in conversation soon. But the essence of the program is that Christ calls us to be disciples in the world, and discipleship is the active process of learning how to follow Christ into the world. Thus, we need to be involved in a dynamic process of engaging our youth and children in intergenerational groups that are proclaiming the presence of Christ in the world as we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit those in prison, etc. – while simultaneously reflecting on these actions through our own faith stories and traditions. I think this is what we have been trying to begin with the intergenerational Sunday School class – and now will try to enlarge and build upon.

Such a new model of discipleship learning will also help us engage with issues and concerns that many of us have – and which are critical to the life of a public church. One example might be our awareness and learning how to be faithful in a world where climate change is becoming a significant reality. Another example would be our work with the Campaign for Southern Equality and other LGBT advocacy groups and support groups – like Youth OutRight which meets each Sunday afternoon in our space – in the work for equality and justice for all people. A third example might be the Nicaragua Team’s spiritual pilgrimage to Nicaragua in November to learn about the people and ways of life there – and to become more aware of how policies in the United States have impacted these people both positively and negatively. These are the issues of our time and our day – and proclaiming the gospel through our lives and our work in relation to such issues is essential to the life of the church.

I had many wonderful opportunities this past year as your pastor, some of which I want to name briefly. I had the opportunity in February to travel to Boston and preach the ordination service for Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, the Executive Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality – whose offices are housed in our church. Through that experience we are forming a partnership of sorts with the church that hosted the ordination – Hope Central UCC in Jamaica Plains. I have served this past year, and continue to serve as the chair of the board for the Campaign for Southern Equality. I also continue my role on the governing board of the North Carolina Council of Churches, and have just agreed to serve a second 3 year term. And I am co-chair of the Asheville Task Force for the Wake Forest Divinity School, a new role that will allow me a voice in how the school might bring theological educational programs and interns into the Asheville area. I also had the first time opportunity to serve on a theological school accreditation team to discern if Union Presbyterian Theological School was deserving of a new 10 accreditation status. The use of local church pastors in this process is brand new – and I am grateful to Tisa Lewis – a long time member of our church currently doing this work out of Pittsburgh, for inviting me to participate. Such opportunities are wonderful learning events for me.

I also continue to participate once a month in a small group of men who are either pastors or non-profit leaders to do work around racism. It is a group that I am so glad to be part of. I enjoyed and learned so much during my time with the Nicaragua team on our 10 day visit. And I had the great fortune in the fall of the year to meet Anglican Bishop John Osmers who wanted to meet with the staff and some of the board of the Campaign for Southern Equality to encourage us in our work. Bishop Osmers lost a hand and was seriously injured in a mail bomb in 1979 while working to end apartheid – and I will never forget one thing he shared. He said, “When I

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realized our work was so important that someone wanted to kill me, I decided I had to go about it with all the more vigor and energy after the bomb, because this was certainly a cause worth dying for if that was necessary.” He was a great inspiration to us in our work. And finally, I traveled across the state and into South Carolina with several stages of the We Do Campaign, a part of the Campaign for Southern Equality, throughout the year.

It has been a full year. And now, as we continue forward, as we journey through our 99th year this year and into our 100th in 2014, it is time to celebrate the life and ministry of this congregation and to ask ourselves what God is still calling us to be and do in our next 100 years. This is a very important time in our history and I call on us to celebrate and remember it with a lot of energy and curiosity and prayer. I also call on us to always be mindful of the tension between managing our ministries effectively with being open to whatever new opportunities and risks the Spirit may lead us to take on. Jesus called us and continues to call us to be alive and awake to the Spirit in our midst. That is our number one task as people of faith.

In closing, I want to note that this has been a difficult year in my personal life as I encountered some physical challenges to my health and also the loss of my marriage. I have been very grateful for all your support. What is interesting is that in the midst of such loss and grief, I have also found a new spirit within me. You have helped to nurture this, and I thank you. I enter 2013 feeling more energetic and healthier than I have felt in years. I have learned again the need for consistent exercise and attention to the needs of the body. And, I have learned the same needs exist for our spirits. You would probably think a pastor should never forget such a thing, but how easy it is for any of us to do. So please, join me in this coming year in the practice of growing and strengthening the spirit of love and grace and compassion in our lives so that we may be a source of hope and love in our world. I am grateful to be your pastor and to have the opportunity to serve with you, to learn with you, and to grow with you in the Christian faith. May God stir our hearts and minds again and lead us to do new and challenging things in the year ahead.

Year End Report - Ministry Coordinator - 2012

When I was hired, these are the categories and ministries that were identified as high priority. Here is a status update.

Youth, Education, Family Ministries: Organized a meeting with the Youth, Parents, Reverend Joe and Ryan Hessenius where we

discussed what current systems are in place, what is working and what is not. What the parents would like to see and what does it mean to have a Youth Program in this church as opposed to other churches where there are more Youth. We came up with a tentative plan for a space for the Youth, Social Justice Projects, the Youth Retreat, Youth involved Sunday Services.

Organized the registration and attendance of the Youth Retreat and recruited the leaders Identified new leaders for Youth Program. Working with Chris Nealis regarding a Safe Church Training for all who have and work with

children.

Nursery

Cleaned, organized and had a toy drive for the nursery. Got donations of new linens and childcare items for bedding and changing tables.

Recruited new childcare workers to work in the nursery after Kayleena moved away. Marcella Gonzalez and Savannah Price.

Organized a new sign in system protocol for sign in for nursery

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Sunday School/Children’s Church:

Met with Virginia & Meg to discuss challenges and opportunities for Sunday School and Children’s Church. What curriculums work and what did not.

Right now looking at several curriculums offered to see what fits best. Also working with Gary and Joe to doing something a little different for Children’s Church.

Worship Ministries:

Coordinating volunteers for Adult Forums Helping Loraine Tuenge with Women’s Lenten Retreat Working with Gary and Joe with Faith Practices Coordinating Liturgists, Ushers, Greeters Helping with Special Services as needed by Joe & Gary Working with Brenda Lewis on looking into a faith formation class recommended by UCC-

Eugene.

Deacons, Hospitality, Membership:

Deacons have a chair person that deals with those issues-they are managing themselves. They are overseeing visitor/membership relations.

Deacons are going to have a presence at the Visitor table to welcome and take care of visitors. New volunteer teams have helped and are now trained to help with Friendship Time. Helping Harper with the membership system, designing new pew pads etc. Conducting and developing Exploring the Path to Membership Class leading up to new

membership Sunday. Co-Facilitated with Alice Martin-Adkins visitor orientation. New Membership Sunday slated for February 10th 2013.

Event Planning:

Care and Share Fair successful - will be doing on a yearly basis with some changes this year. Time of year not decided.

No new Ministry Teams have been requested. Working on a New Member event in April. Working on Volunteer Appreciation Event in May.

Key Staff, Church and/or Public Relationships:

Continue to report to the GMTF regarding issues that stem from meetings and the GMTF roadmap for developing protocols for Ministries.

Work with Accountant and Finance Chair regarding budgeting for ministries. Meet with Reverend Joe each week or so to go over where we are with projects, services and

coordination There have been no requests for new ministries at this time resurgences are happening such as

ONA and the Youth. Worked on calling churches which were identified by the GMTF to as about their journey into

new governance. Reported findings to GMTF.6

-Submitted by Yolanda Adams

Executive Board and Board of Trustees Report

The Executive Board and Board of Trustees of First Congregational United Church of Christ, at the recommendation of the Governance Task Force (GTF), passed a resolution on March 4, 2012, delegating the Board’s powers and duties under the Bylaws of FCUCC to a seven-member Acting Board. The intent of this resolution was for the Acting Board to facilitate and oversee an approximate one-year trial for a new governance and ministry structure for our church. After nominations were brought to the Congregation by the GTF, the seven-member Acting Board (Board) was elected in May, 2012, and received an orientation by the GTF in early June. The succeeding months have been busy with learning, questions, discernment, decisions, re-design and development as we’ve worked through this transition.

The Board held its first meeting on June 18, 2012, and began by scheduling regular meetings held at the church on the third Monday of each month, starting at 9:00am. Meeting Facilitator duties for the coming year were divided among the members. Chris Nealis agreed to serve as Moderator for the congregational meetings and to be the liaison between the Board and the staff. It was agreed the Board would start with Finance and Personnel as standing committees and would appoint other ad-hoc committees as needed.

Over the course of the first six months, the Board established and approved Finance and Personnel Policies and Procedures, and Board Covenants by which the members will abide. The Board also requested the GTF’s assistance in developing Safe Church and Safe Children policies and procedures, along with a review and revisions for existing Bylaws.

Working in conjunction with the Governance Task Force and the Ministry Transition Team, the Board approved in September combining these two teams into one, the Governance & Ministry Task Force (GMTF) to better coordinate their respective efforts. At the recommendation of the GMTF, the Board approved a six-month contract position entitled Ministry Coordinator to work with the senior pastor on developing and coordinating several high-priority ministries within the church including: youth, education, family, worship, Deacons, membership and hospitality ministries. Applications were taken and reviewed by the Personnel Committee, interviews conducted, and Yolanda Adams was awarded the contract starting the end of October.

The Congregation, at the recommendation of the Board after staff and Finance Committee reports, approved a capital campaign to finance replacing the church’s 30-year old boiler and heating system. The Board has contracted with a heating and ventilation consultant for recommendations for revamping or replacing the current system and is awaiting that report due in February.

The Board also began drafting operating policies and procedures for the Board and staff and is working with the GMTF on revising the current church bylaws.

As a part of its discernment and guidance responsibilities, the Board’s had discussions in its sessions and with the GMTF regarding our mission, vision, current ministries and activities, asking visionary and discerning questions such as:

Where do we see our church going in the next five years?7

What needs are today’s church goers, and new or returning church goers, seeking to have met?

What draws new attendees to our church?

What ministries are our members led to do in our Church? In our local community? In our greater community?

How should we best structure our ministries for success?

What resources and assistance do our ministries need to succeed?

What staffing structure do we need to support these ministries and the church?

To support and evaluate the positive strides the church has made in the last several months, and to provide additional time to answer some of these questions, the Board and the GMTF agreed to a three-month extension of the Ministry Coordinator’s contract, which the Board approved in January. During this time, the Senior Pastor and the Music Minister will analyze and make recommendations to the Board on staffing needs.

The Board continues to work closely with the GMTF and expects to have several recommendations for the congregation’s consideration in May. We greatly appreciate the vision, courage and dedication demonstrated by the congregation to pursue these changes in governance. Your support, enthusiasm and the hard work of many members during this process has been a great help to the board. We ask for your ongoing prayers as we continue the work of our church.

Respectfully submitted,Christiana F. Nealis, ModeratorBoard Members: Chris Nealis, Carol Bennett, John Whitener, Cheri Britton, Sarah Leggat, Spence Duin, Bill Petz

Report From the Governance Ministry Task Force

The Governance & Ministry Task Force (GMTF) was appointed by the Church Board in the fall of 2011, to discern new ways for us to work together as a faith community. The goal of the GMTF is to help develop a new and more streamline framework that will empower us, individually and as a community, to pursue our vision of being an “embracing community, public sanctuary and a prophetic Christian voice”. 2012 has been a year of redesigning, testing and beginning the transition to a new, more efficient church structure.

The GMTF began by gathering data from the congregation through interviews and focus group discussions. While much about the spirited life of our congregation and its commitment to justice concerns was affirmed, the need for structural change was evident. Key areas of concern were:

-Too many ineffective meetings

-Unclear responsibilities

-Details falling through the cracks

- Skills and interests of the staff and congregation not matched to roles

- A disconnect between the vision and the organization of the congregation8

In response to these needs and to the changing nature of congregational life, and using the book “Governance and Ministry – Rethinking Board Leadership” by Dan Hotchkiss as a guide, the GMTF focused in two ways:

1. Governance and oversight of the congregation is the responsibility of a 7 member Governing Board with the Senior Pastor as an ex-officio member.

2. Ministry and daily management of the work of the congregation is the responsibility of staff and self-managed ministry teams.

A one-year trial of this new direction was approved at the congregational meeting in March, 2012. Following are some of the key steps that have been taken in 2012 to establish, test and fine-tune the new governance model

- The 7 member Acting Board was nominated by the GMTF and elected by the congregation in May.- The GMTF led a retreat and orientation for the Board in June.- The Board meets monthly, providing oversight to the congregation. They appointed Personnel and

Finance Standing Committees and have been working on policies and procedures to facilitate their work, and the work of the congregation.

- The GMTF appointed a Ministry Transition Team to focus on what is needed for transitioning to a Ministry Team structure. This group met independently from April- Sept. to begin laying the groundwork for a new organization of our ministries.

- In Sept., the Ministry Transition Team merged back into the GMTF in order to better coordinate the work of both groups and develop our model for self-managed Ministry Teams.

- In Oct., the “Care and Share Fair” was coordinated by Yolanda Adams and the Deacons. Input from this event has helped shape current ministry priorities and is giving guidance to the formation of future Ministry Teams.

- Also in Oct., the GMTF recommended, and the Board approved, the hiring of a temporary part-time staff person to assist with ministry gaps left after Assoc. Pastor Shannon Spencer’s departure. Yolanda Adams was hired as Congregational Ministry Coordinator for 6 months.

- This fall the Deacons restructured to take on current ministry needs that had been falling through the cracks.

The GMTF has developed a 9 month (Sept. 2012-May 2013) “Road Map” to help us focus on both the current ministry priorities and the building of the future ministry organization. As staff, Board and Deacons continue the ongoing work, the GMTF is turning its attention to the following tasks:

- Working in cooperation with the Board to create needed policies and procedures and to develop Bylaws.- Reviewing other church models.- Working with the Board to determine future staff roles and build a ministry organization.- Launching an ongoing process for identifying and harnessing the talents and interests of the

congregation.- Determining procedures for creating and resourcing current and emerging Ministry Teams.- Developing a system for ongoing implementation, review and evaluation of our ministries.

It has been a busy, exciting and constructive year for the GMTF, but there is still much to be done. We are grateful to the staff, the new Governance Board and the congregation for your vision, commitment, patience and

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flexibility during these days of change and uncertainty. The GMTF continues to work toward a more efficient, effective and mission-inspired governance and ministry structure for FCUCC.

Submitted by Alice Martin-Adkins

GMTF Current Members: Yolanda Adams, Roy Dunlap, Carol Groben, Wes Heath, William Koester, Jim Lowder, Alice Martin-Adkins, Joyce Rhymer, Meg Word-Sims and Pastor Joe Hoffman, ex-officio. Our thanks to Spence Duin, Maria Fire, Catherine Gibson, Ryan Hessenius, and Chris Nealis who have also assisted with the work of the GMTF.

Personnel Committee

1. The new governing Board in early 2012 formed a new personnel committee of three which included Carol Bennett (Board member and former chair), Ed Hillman (ordained clergy and member of FCUCC), and Roy Dunlap (current chair).

2. The Personnel Committee’s goals and scope of responsibilities were drafted by the new committee members and approved by the Board. In summary, the Personnel Committee exists to support the Board through roviding expertise and advice regarding personnel policies, to support and encourage the FCUCC staff, and to promote and help develop the skills and structure of the ministry staff, consistent with the agreed vision and strategies of FCUCC and the Board. A document was developed (approved by the Board) which details the guidelines and responsibilities of this committee. Should any FCUCC member wish to review this document, please submit your request to any of the Committee members or to Harper in the office.

3. Towards these goals, we have ... (1) redrafted the FCUCC personnel policies and guiding principles which were then approved by the board (the guiding principles are shown below – see paragraph #4), (2) began a process designed to promote improved staff teamwork and PERSONNEL COMMITTEE REPORT collaboration, (3) developed the job description and the selection process for the contract position “Ministry Coordinator” (Yolanda’s current role), and (4) started the preliminary planning aimed at shaping a proposal for the longer term, future Ministry Organization.

4. The guiding personnel principles are provided below: The personnel policies and our ongoing staff/congregation/board relationships are to be guided by the following principles:

Mutuality: We strive for an employment climate of mutuality. This means that paid staff will be provided with pay & benefits, training & development, working conditions, respect and support in ways that are mutually beneficial to the staff and to the mission and vision of FCUCC. We continually seek to strike a fair balance as we seek ways to support our staff and also to support our current and emerging ministries.

Responsibility: Each individual staff member is accountable for carrying our his/her role and responsibilities and also accountable for supporting the responsibilities of others, including other staff and non-paid “staff” (volunteers). “Supporting others” does not mean doing others” tasks, but does mean open and respectful dialogue, collaborative and proactive problem solving, candid assessment of results, teamwork, and encouragement. We are not alone; our work is connected to a larger whole.

Community: FCUCC is a “community” within a much larger community, aiming to be both a welcoming, caring, inclusive family where staff and the congregation minister to one another, and also to be a prophetic

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voice for justice, peace, compassion and wisdom where we engage in ministries throughout our neighborhood. We expect the staff to embrace this community spirit, as a vital part of the work and services we collectively provide.

Engagement: We are a congregational church; we believe in the idea of engaging and empowering our congregation to follow their passions for ministry in accordance with their roles, gifts and board policies. The staff play a critical role in providing services, helping and communicating with others in ministries, and executing the day to day operations required to support this “shared leadership” framework.-Submitted by Roy Dunlap

Music Ministry and Sacred Arts

2012 was a very productive year here at FCUCC in Arts and Music. In February a small choir of 12 singers was formed from singers in the Chancel choir, the congregation at large and from the community. This small group called “The Oak Street Singers” held special rehearsals two Saturdays each month from February to September ending with a concert trip to Germany during the first week of October. The group was hosted by our sister church in Mulheim Germany. The group sang to a packed church in Asheville on September 23rd, The main cathedral in Berlin, The Berliner Dom, on October 4th and The Luther Church in Mulheim on October 6th where some 400 people attended the concert.

The Chancel choir saw a big turn-over in singers during the 2012-2013 season. Singers were lost to illness, relocation, and returning to college. The choir added eight new first time singers. During Advent the choir led the church in their first Moravian Lovefeast complete with a brass choir, Diener servers and sweet Moravian buns and coffee.

We have added several new congregants that have blessed our services with beautiful instrumental music. I look forward to their future offerings. The bell choir continues to rehearse on Monday mornings and bless us with wonderful music six times each year in morning worship.

Our Art Gallery continues to have monthly shows incorporating a wide variety of artists and mediums of art. Booking for artist is done through the office of the Minister of Music.

Building and Property

2012 brought lots of repairs and upgrades to the campus here at FCUCC. For the first time, since coming to this campus seven years ago, all outside door locks were re-keyed and keys were re-issued. All keys now require a $25.00 refundable deposit. The main doors of the church were furbished adding glass panels and a panic bar system providing more security for the congregation.

There were repairs to the steeple, the roof over the choir loft, the kitchen garbage disposal. We are in the process of replacing the main sanctuary boiler and replacing three main entrance doors with new glass doors with panic bar systems. This will allow them to remain locked on the outside while at the same time allowing exit from the inside.

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Over the years we have tried, with limited success, to maintain our lawn with volunteer labor from the congregation. We have decided to engage the yard service used by our neighbors, Preferred Property, to begin maintaining our lawn during 2013.

We hosted two very successful “work days” where the congregation helped clean, paint and make minor repairs to our church campus. With the addition of a new part-time staff member, the church library was relocated to room E-208 and the former Church library, E-203 was converted to a Brides parlor/ office.

The campus continues to be in use seven days a week from 9:00AM – 9:00PM. We have welcomed over 50 groups into our facilities this year as we live into our mission of being a Public Church.

Nicaragua Ministry

During Thanksgiving week, November 16-27, a delegation of eight from our church traveled to Nicaragua to be hosted by Escuela AKF, directed by Elena Hendrick. Four members of the delegation had been to Nicaragua on previous trips: Pam Jeffers, Penny Stokes, Mandy Kjellstrom, and Sandy Clark. For the other four members—Rev. Joe Hoffman, Robin Chapman, Paul Gillespie, and Amy Leonhart—this was a totally new experience.

This year’s delegation focused on sustainability and community. We helped put on a community fair at the AKF center, which drew in visitors from all over Managua and served to raise visibility for the work of AKF and its partners in fair trade. At this fair, we were treated to some delightful folk dancing, musical presentations, and the offerings of Nicaraguan fair trade craftspeople. We spent two days and one night at the AKF Farm School, a 200-acre working farm where people from outlying villages come to learn sustainable agriculture, organic farming techniques, and renewal of the land. We learned some of the history of U.S./Nicaraguan relations, and how liberation theology played a large part in the overthrow of the Somoza dynasty. And we spent three days and two nights in the village of Teustepe, getting to know the generous and loving people of that faith based community, living in their homes, worshipping with them, laughing and dancing with them, and becoming family with them.

One of the highlights of the trip was the community Thanksgiving dinner in Teustepe. The delegation gathered in the home of Doña Coco and cooked two huge turkeys, cornbread dressing and gravy, potatoes, and vegetables for more than 60 people—all in a huge wood-fired adobe oven. When Robin apologized to Doña Coco for taking over her kitchen, she smiled and said, “Oh, no. It makes my kitchen happy.”

As most of the delegation returned home, Mandy remained for several days to paint and to share her talent through art classes for a group at Escuela AKF. We all came back with a deep sense of connection to these new friends, and the desire to explore the possibility of a more formal ongoing partnership with Escuela AKF.

—Penny Stokes & Pam Jeffers

Alternative Gift Market

The market was a full of community spirit: sharing our gifts with one another and a world in need.A Haitian lunch raised $310.00 to benefit a group interested in going to Haiti with Partners in Health.

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The All-Church Table of art and yummy food, and the Silent Auction, together raised about $500.00 to be divided equally between the Nicaragua and Haiti Mission GroupsAsheville Habitat for Humanity was gifted $350.00Heifer International was gifted $450.00Alternative Gifts International dispersed $2206.00 to multiple non-profits from FCUCC

In total, FCUCC donated $ 3816 in charitable giving.

If you are interested in any of these organizations, please contact Meg Word-Sims

Christian Action

Our church has continued to be deeply involved in many kinds of outreach and service in the community. We distributed in benevolences a little over $17,000 through our budget - and another amount of over $5000 in special offerings for various needs - including the 4 special offerings of the national UCC. Each Sunday of the year, under the coordination of Virginia Himmelheber, a breakfast is served in Pritchard Park for those who are hungry. John Himmelheber and Wayne Burgess make the coffee and grits in our kitchen each morning - and help to serve. A variety of faith communities participate in fixing the meal and helping. It is a great community effort. Our church has also helped a number of significant non-profit agencies in the city with their work with various vulnerable populations of people - including Homeward Bound, Room in the Inn, Just Economics, Pisgah Legal Services, Life O' Mike, Habitat for Humanity, and many more. While the money we give often seems like only a small amount, we are assured that it makes a big difference. Jim Lowder of our church, who is in charge of raising  funds at Homeward Bounds, says it is the contribution of churches and individuals that allows them to do some of their most creative work that is not covered by the larger grants they receive.  We also sell Fair Trade Coffee, Teas, Chocolates, Olive Oils, and such each Sunday morning to help farmers around the world to have a market for their goods.

This coming year the congregation will do evaluating and reflecting on our purpose in offering benevolent funds to the larger community and world. We will be working with the same amount of money as we had last year, which includes $6000 that goes to Our Churches Wider Mission (OCWM), which is a national UCC support fund. We also have about $2000 in a pastor discretionary fund for our staff to use to help folk that are not eligible for help from other agencies - or who simply fall through the cracks. I am grateful for the generosity of the congregation that makes all this possible.

One final thing. This year our congregation hosted a gathering of clergy and laity from Asheville faith communities to learn more about the status of homeless in Asheville. In coming months, we will host another gathering - this time of non-profit leaders - in order to better understand how faith communities and these non-profits can partner together and better serve our community.

My thanks on behalf of the whole congregation to all who have served in the Christian Action Committee since its start about 17 years ago, and especially to those who have hung on in serving for the past few years. Virginia Himmelheber deserves our special attention and gratitude as she has worked endless hours to keep important

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events running. And now, as she finally gets a well-deserved rest,  I look forward to whatever new ministry team that will pick up this work under our new structure and carry it forward. It is one part of our life together that makes us very visibly a public church.

Rev. Joe Hoffman

Staff/Parish

The purpose of the Staff Parish Committee is to provide a confidential resource for staff and congregational members to raise areas of concern pertinent to the functioning of the church.

The Committee members are Carol Groben, Joyce Rhymer, Paul Gillespie, Dorri Sherrill and John Whitener.

Based on issues brought to the Committee, we have met regularly with members and staff to assist in resolving conflict as needed. When the issue brought to the Ministry does not involve staff, attempts were made to resolve conflict through the involved church committee as appropriate.

Earth Team

The biggest news from the Earth Team for 2012 was the creation of the FCUCC Family Garden, a 4 ft by 24ft space that was ready for planting by the end of May 2012.  It was a great success with 7 family groups tending it throughout the growing season!

We said our "Goodbyes" to Stan & Colette Corwin with a potluck gathering at the Toops' in Madison County last July.  We were very sad to see them go, yet thankful for their contributions to FCUCC & the Earth Team over the last several years.

Eco-Tips continue to be provided to the congregation in the on-line newsletter concerning matters such as where to recycle CFL/fluorescent light bulbs in our community. Also, the Earth Team recyled batteries & other materials at the hard-to-recycle events in town sponsored by Asheville GreenWorks.

We continue to provide updates to the "Solar Chart" which speaks to the financial benefit of the solar system to the church's electric usage.

In October, the Earth Team held an All-Church potluck with the theme "Eat Local".

THE 2012 ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT TO THE CONGREGATION

Under the new Church Governance organization, the Finance Committee reports to the Board while assisting the Staff with the preparation and administration of the church budget. The members of the Finance Committee are Spencer Duin (Chair and Board member), Sarah Leggat (Also Board member) and Laura Ellenburg.

Although there were many pluses and minuses to the budget (see attached worksheet), overall the church had a good financial year in 2012. We were short on pledge income which was more than offset by plate receipts and additional rental income. We changed accounting procedures early in 2012 moving designated

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giving and expense to non-operational “in and out” funds. These receipts were mostly for trips and retreats and tended to skew day-to-day operational results.

Variance to budget in the 2012 expenses were for extra Contract costs for the Ministry Coordinator position; a $7000 copier contract credit budgeted in 2012 but received in 2011; and the credit from the departure of the Assistant Pastor in Mid-Year.

The Church ended the year in a relatively good cash position. We reserved in the “Trustee Account” all the salary and benefit cost savings from the Assistant Pastor less expenses related to the Ministry Coordinator position. In addition, we have $23.5k in operating cash which is normally needed to offset budget shortfalls during the first 6 months. We have not yet paid off the 10k loan used to pay the foundation work as part of the memorial garden.

The 2013 budget is shown on the attached Worksheet. The line-by-line comments are self-explanatory. The expenses include costs for a planned outside audit.

Respectfully submitted,

Spencer Duin (Chair of the Finance Committee)

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