December 2021
You can also download a PDF version of this report: 2021 Parish Council Annual Reports PDF
Opening prayer: “Let us Love One Another”
A Brief History of St John’s Parish
Parish Council Election
Reports:
Announcement of Election Results
Closing prayer: “Preserve, O God, the Holy Orthodox Faith”
Attachment: St John Vision Meetings Summary
When I put together these reports, I always go back and read the previous year’s document, and, as I was looking through my 2020 report, I was struck by the fact that there was no mention of the COVID virus. I actually wrote that report in December of 2019, so that it could be distributed ahead of our annual meeting the following February, and, at that time, we had not yet had any lockdowns or quarantines.
Of course, a lot has happened since then: quite a few people from St John’s contracted the virus, and some had a pretty rough time of it. Thankfully, no one in our parish was hospitalized, and no one in our community died during this public health crisis, but it was and continues to be a disruptive and stressful factor in the life of our community. This situation has had an impact on our liturgical schedule, on our educational efforts, and on our building program. But I believe that the most significant impact has been on our self-image.
One of the things that we have always valued about St John’s is the fact that we are a friendly and welcoming community; we have always done a good job of introducing folks to the Faith and supporting the members of our parish. But, during this public health crisis, we all got scared. Some of us were frightened of getting sick and dying; some of us were frightened of media manipulation and government intrusion. There were rational and irrational components to all of those fears, but there’s one thing that always happens when folks get scared: as the general level of anxiety increases, so does the general level of grumpiness, worry, and suspicion.
We saw that happen in our culture, but we also saw that happen at St John’s--and that surprised a whole lot of us. We never had any major break-downs or severe fall-outs, but we did disappoint ourselves in a lot of different ways. So, this coming year, Forgiveness Vespers should be well attended, and, if there is one thing that we should take away from the experience of the last two years, it’s a deep dose of humility. Yes, St John’s is a special place; yes, our community is remarkably healthy. Nevertheless, that’s not at all because any of us are special or remarkable; it’s all due to the grace and mercy of the Most Holy Trinity.
One of the interesting dynamics that has accompanied this public health crisis is the fact that Orthodox communities across the country are reporting significant growth from the last couple of years. That is also what we have seen at St John’s: We ended 2020 with 295 members; during the last twelve months we baptized nine people and chrismated eighteen; eleven folks transferred into our community, and seventeen folks either moved away or transferred to other congregations or decided not to continue in our parish. That means we will be starting 2022 with 315 members, but we also have 73 folks who are currently catechumens and who will be received into the Church in the coming year. Consequently, the membership of our parish will most likely surpass 400 at some point in 2022, and that is a great blessing.
Another great blessing from this past year was the ordination of Father Deacon Andrew Wilson to the priesthood. Most folks don’t realize just how much liturgical material there is to learn in that role; that’s why Father Andrew and I have been alternating as lead priest, or protos, each week in the Divine Liturgy. That’s also why Father Andrew will not start preaching until after Pascha of 2022; at that point, he and I will alternate offering the homily each week. Bishop Basil does not authorize new priests to hear confessions until after they have served for the better part of a year, so Father Andrew will take up that part of his new calling when our bishop gives him that blessing. Father Deacon Michael Coleman has been instrumental in making this transition a smooth one, and, in the coming year, we hope to provide him with some assistance, as well, since Jerry Juliano and Demetri Zozulya have now completed the St Stephen’s Program, and we will be petitioning for their ordinations to the Holy Diaconate. They will then join what I believe has to be one of the best parish staff groups in the whole archdiocese: Father Andrew, Father Deacon Michael, and our amazingly talented choir director, Karen Morgan.
We also have an outstanding parish council. Bessie Jacob has just completed her first year as Council President, and she has done a great job. Jerry Juliano has been a wonderful Council Vice President, and we are blessed with a dedicated and hard-working secretary in Seth Hart. For six years, Nick Crown has faithfully looked after our parish finances; because of his vigilance and thoroughness, we have been able to safely and significantly increase our budget over the last few years; Nick is cycling off the council in 2022 along with Demetry Zozulya; please be sure and express your gratitude to both of these men for their commitment to St John’s.
Continuing that look ahead to the coming year, there are basic, on-going issues that every Orthodox parish must constantly address, and we are no exception: we all need to do a better job of participating in services apart from the Divine Liturgy (especially Great Vespers on Saturday night and Orthros on Sunday morning); we need to do better at participating in the adult education opportunities that are available in our community; we need to do a much better job of getting our children to Church School, and we all need to have an identified role as a volunteer in the parish (in other words, it’s not healthy to just attend Liturgy on Sunday morning, visit briefly over a cup of coffee, and then leave; we all need to be invested in our community in other, practical and concrete ways). However, there are also two issues to which we will need to pay particular attention in the months ahead, and there are two projects for which I want to provide you with an update. I will begin with the issues.
Here’s the first one: For as long as necessary, we will provide separate services for our folks who continue to be at risk in this on-going public health situation—and that’s not an insignificant number of people. Of course, what could soon happen is what often happens when a congregation begins to offer parallel services: the parish basically morphs into two separate communities. So, we—and when I say, we, I’m talking about both groups; I’m talking about all of us together—are going to have to be intentional about figuring out ways that we can all meet as a whole community. That may involve some outdoor events; it may involve some inside events where we all wear masks. The parish council will be working on this, so please be watching for some upcoming announcements, but we all need to be willing to participate and to do what is necessary to accommodate and support one another.
Here’s the second issue: We are out of room. The nave is full most Sunday mornings, parking is becoming problematic, and, if the weather is bad, Fellowship Hour is difficult. So we need to move ahead with our new temple and with remodeling the Long Hall to serve as a Fellowship Hall. That’s going to require a lot of hard work and a great deal of generosity from all of us, but we’ve done it before: back in the early 2000’s the distance from the parish house to the Long Hall seemed absolutely insurmountable, but, through the grace and mercy of the Most Holy Trinity, we did it because we basically had no choice. We are now in the same situation, and the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit will empower us to do the very same thing. So please be praying about the whole project and your participation in that project and be watching for updates and announcements.
Now the projects: This past year, we offered the Typika Service once a quarter in Killeen for the folks who live up in that area. The deacons headed up that effort with special assistance from Jerry Juliano; Steve and Keri Grandalski graciously allowed us to use their home, and each of the services was well attended. So, during the coming year, we are going to offer those services on a monthly basis. Father Deacon Michael Coleman will be leading the services, but, when Jerry is ordained, he will take over that role. Randy Hardin and Subdeacon Thomas Wilson will also be helping with the project, and Karen Morgan has been working with the folks up there who sing so they can have some music during the Typika. The group has even secured a new location. Nevertheless, as exciting as all this is, we need to be clear as to why we are doing it: We want to provide the folks who live in that area with some relief from all the driving that they have to do in order to be involved with St John’s. Those folks have been faithfully making that journey every single week, and they deserve this kind of break. Also, we are hoping that this arrangement will provide some structure the next time an Orthodox military chaplain is assigned to Ft Hood; instead of starting from scratch, that clergyman will simply be able to take part in what is already going on.
But we also need to emphasize that this is not a new mission or a ‘second campus’. When he blessed this project, Bishop Basil specifically said that we are not to regard this as a new, separate community or even as a satellite location. That development may come in time, but it is a very long way off, and we need to focus on and be thankful for the good things that are happening right now.
The second project is our on-going Building Project. We haven’t publicized it much over the past year, but the work on replacing the old parking lot has been on-going. A great deal of it has been done by Baker Galloway, and, due to a number of factors, it has been slow going. However, the project has been approved by the City of Cedar Park, and we, at long last, have everything we need to put the project out for bids. That bidding process has already begun, so we should be able to provide an update at the Annual Meeting in February.
2022 will mark the 20th year that Khouria Cynthia and I have served at St John’s. The whole experience has been a blessing. We are thankful for your kindness and generosity, and we are looking forward to the years ahead.
an unworthy priest
aidan
The biggest development for the Deacons in 2021 has been a change to our number. With Fr. Andrew’s ordination to the holy Priesthood, the parish has been left with only one Deacon for the time being. Dn. Michael has therefore been promoted to first Deacon. In the months leading up to the ordination, Fr. Andrew and Dn. Michael began preparing for the transition by having Dn. Michael serve as solo Deacon during Great Vespers and the Divine Liturgy. This allowed Dn. Michael to practice his new liturgical responsibilities while receiving guidance and feedback in real time. Dn. Michael progressed quickly needing only minimal instruction after his first couple of services. As such, his transition to first and solo Deacon has been smooth. The clergy continues to encourage, support, and pray for those men who are working towards ordination to the holy Diaconate at some point in the future.
The second big liturgical development for 2021 has been the establishment of quarterly Killeen Typika services. For years many parishioners from the Killeen area have been faithfully traveling an hour or more to services in Cedar Park on a weekly basis. The number of the faithful making this journey has increased significantly over the last year with the continued growth of our community. In order to better support these folks and to recognize their collective effort to be active members of St. John’s over the years, we began holding a Typika service with Holy Communion on the first Sunday of the last month of the quarter. At this service, the Deacon’s lead the prayers, offer a homily, and distribute the Holy Gifts. The services have been well attended with between 30-50 people gathering to pray together. As we look towards 2022, plans are being made to potentially increase the frequency of these offerings. Furthermore, with Karen’s support, some of the regular attendees have been working to potentially form a choir for these services. This would serve the dual benefit of making the Typika’s more beautiful and increasing the number of choir members for our regular services at St. John’s. Fr. Andrew and Dn. Michael would like to offer their special thanks to the Julianos for taking point on organization and the Grandalskis for offering their home for the services. It has been a real blessing to pray with all of you in this setting each quarter.
Fr. Andrew continues to offer the Akathist for the Theotokos of the Inexhaustible Cup on the second Sunday of each month. It is prayed on behalf of those who struggle with addiction and those who love others who struggle with addiction.
Outside of the services, we have continued visiting those who are sick or infirm taking communion to them and others who do not feel comfortable attending the services due to COVID. We continue visiting parishioners who are in the hospital when COVID regulations allow. Fr. Andrew continues to host the weekly Bible Study as well as the work of keeping the parish roster updated. He also continues to help out in the bookstore. Dn. Michael has continued his work as the parish sacristan to make sure we have the wine, oil, charcoal, and candles we need for the services. As well, Shamassy continues to support the Friday playground group which has been both fun and helpful for parishioners as well as inquirers. Shamassy also runs the Care Ministry, faithfully reaching out to families and individuals in need. Both Fr. Andrew and Dn. Michael spend time talking with visitors, inquirers, and catechumen answering their questions about the faith on a weekly basis. We hope and pray that these discussions have contributed in some small way to the growth of the community over the last year.
Personally speaking, in addition to his ordination to the Priesthood, this year saw Fr. Andrew complete his Master of Arts in Applied Theology at Balamand University in Lebanon via the Antiochian House of Studies. It was also his particular joy to see his mother, Susan Wilson, received into the Church this fall. Kh. Xenia continues to serve the parish by taking care of Fr. Andrew (which requires considerable effort) and teaching Church School. Isaac started Middle School this year and, in addition to sports, has joined the band as a trombonist. Genevieve is now in third grade and continues to display her endless creativity throughout her room.
Dn. Michael and Sh. Rebecca continue the hard work of raising their young family which includes the homeschooling of their children. Their excellent work in this regard continues to be an important service to the community. Deacon and Shamassy are looking forward to their fourth child due in the Spring of next year.
Finally, and most importantly, Fr. Andrew and Dn. Michael would like to say a special thank you to their wives, Kh. Xenia and Sh. Rebecca, who faithfully serve the parish in the most secret and hesychastic of ways. Without them, none of the above would be possible. We would also like to thank Fr. Aidan who continued to work at least twice as hard as the two of us combined.
It remains the great blessing of our lives to serve each and every one of you. We remain your unprofitable servants,
Fr. Andrew and Dn. Michael
Greetings from the Office of the Parish Council Chair. It has been a privilege to serve you in my inaugural year as Parish Council Chair. In this role, I have been in awe of the dedication and hard work of so many silent volunteers, who constitute the backbone of our community through offering their talents and services in church ministry, fellowship, facilities, security, finance, church school, adult education, library, bookstore, choir, building committee, and Parish Council.
2021 has been an interesting year with some bumps in the road - like the unexpected winter freeze in February that caused a pipe to burst in the Parish House. A very special thanks to Linda and Mike Brown for always answering the call to service, remaining diligent, and your steadfastness. With your help, the flood damage to the parish house was restored in time for Church School Fall Semester - not to mention plumbing issues, groundskeeping, among the many issues you both address on a daily basis.
There have also been many amazing things happening at St. John’s like Father Andrew’s ordination and the return of fellowship hour! Fellowship Hour is synonymous with our thoughtful and humble coordinator Misty Wright. We are all so grateful for your tireless efforts to make sure the kitchen stays operational and thanks to the fellowship hour volunteers.
Thank you to our wondrous choir and Karen Morgan for your directorship and all the other things you do for St. John’s that is too many to mention. The chanting at St. John’s has never been better and that is thanks to all of the hard work by each one of you.
We have also experienced immense growth in our parish this year. With this multiplication, volunteers have been hard at work on plans to expand our parking lot, building vision meetings, providing ministry in the Killeen-area, and updating our current space - purchasing new banners, lamps for the iconostasis, carpet, playground for older kids, and picnic tables; painting the icon on the throne; and updating our library. Special thanks to Baker Galloway for your expertise and guidance. We were also blessed to have many opportunities for great Orthodox education in 2021. Special thanks to Sandi Andrews, Polly Thurston, Jerry Juliano, and our clergy who make this happen.
The Parish Council and all the committees that manage and guide St. John have been working hard on your behalf. I want to thank Parish Council members Demetry Zozulya, Jerry Juliano, and Nick Crown (who are cycling off) for your ongoing dedication and service to our parish. Nick has been very faithfully serving as Finance Chair for six years! We appreciate all of your hard work, adaptability, and the many hours spent managing our finances. Your job was not easy and you handled it expertly.
Last, but certainly not least, I would like to offer my gratitude to our spiritual leaders. Their prayers, selflessness, and steadfastness are the core of St. John. I would like to especially thank Father Aidan for his support and guidance. I never realized just how much you do until I took on this role and truly am in astonishment of your grace and wisdom. It is my hope and prayer that our community, under the guidance of our clergymen, will remain united and keep our Savior Jesus Christ in the forefront of our hearts and minds, now and always. Please continue to support our church with compassion through prayer, fellowship, volunteering, charity, and participation in Holy Services and education opportunities. I highly encourage everyone to take part in the building vision meetings hosted by Baker Galloway and Mike Brown.
If at any time you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.
Humbly,
Bessie Jacob
Parish Council Chair
Submitting this letter will be one of my last official duties while serving you as a member of the Parish Council, and specifically as the Treasurer (aka Finance Chair). While it hasn’t always been easy, it has truly been an honor to have served you in this capacity for nearly six years! In fact, I don’t recall what Parish life was like before joining the Council, so I’ll take that as another signal that it’s high time for me to move on. Though, in reality, one never truly moves on from the work of the Council – you simply cycle through stages of activity and hibernation. It’s not quite “Hotel California,” but that part about never leaving is about right!
Before I move on or prepare to take a long nap, let me say how truly grateful we are for you and your financial faithfulness to our community! We are once again sitting here at the end of the year with a healthy surplus in the annual budget, and we are projected to have another year-over-year increase in our General Fund pledge campaign.
One of the benefits of having served for an extended period of time on the Council is the hindsight one acquires over time. It wasn’t that long ago that we were seeing contraction in our General Fund, which leads to reduced budgets and some tough decisions. By the grace of the Most Holy Trinity, we navigated those periods and become stronger as a result. Our Parish community is currently experiencing a growth phase, as evidenced by the ever- increasing list of Catechumens. This is truly a blessing and one that that we should never take for granted. While a blessing, managing growth also presents a unique set of challenges to our community. Those challenges will require both sacrifice and hard work to overcome. My final appeal to each of you is to do whatever you can, starting today, to place your financial “house” in order. In doing so, we will each be in a better position to receive that appeal and to help this Community take that next step.
Respectfully Submitted,
Nick Crown
Treasurer
Linda Brown, Facilities Coordinator
Mulch Replacement: The mulch was last replaced 4 years ago so it was proposed to the Parish Council that it be replaced this year. A vote was taken and approved to purchase and deliver mulch from Austin Landscape Supplies, and to hire David Morgan to spread it around by mid-December.
Kitchen Stove Replacement: The circuit board gave out on our double oven, and we were advised by Nathan Brown that he had a used double oven that he was willing to donate and install, a savings to the church of over $5000. Although a couple of the oven features do not work, the baking elements work perfectly. The old oven was hauled to curbside, along with a few discarded items laying around, and picked up by Central Texas Refuse for a nominal fee.
Atrium 1 Bathroom Faucet: The faucet handle in the bathroom of Atrium 1 was not repairable so a new faucet was purchased from Home Depot and Mike was able to install it.
Utility Room Shelf: One of the storage shelves was slowly coming off the wall and it was only a matter of time before all contents came tumbling down. Mike was able to screw in a new support beam and securely reinstall the shelf.
Pole Light in East Parking Lot: The 25-foot pole light remained burned out for several weeks while an attempt was made to find an electrician who could come to the church. Due to the demands on qualified electricians, we decided to purchase a 23’ safety ladder so we could replace this bulb and all future bulbs. A team of men (approximately 8) gathered to accomplish/support the endeavor, and finally Nathan Brown was able to climb the ladder and retrieve the bulb. A replacement bulb was purchased online and hopefully will be installed without further delay.
Sewer Line Backup: The toilette in the main bathroom in the Parish House was flushing sluggishly and Ben Helton was not able to fix the problem due to lack of an auger. Johnny Rooter Plumbing ran an auger and cleared the lines. It was determined that tree branches may have blocked the pipe so Johnnie Rooter Plumbing came out a second time to repair the pipe joint that was infiltrated by tree roots.
Post Parish House Renovation: Reinstalled lending library bookshelves, purchased and installed shelves in Atrium 2 storage closet, installed new lock on closet, moved stored items from Atrium 3 to Atrium 2, repaired main door entry locking bar, hired Cleaning Time Maid Service, and purchased/installed a touchpad key lockbox for cleaning crew entry into Parish House.
Parish House Content Delivery: On Saturday, July 31, our Parish House storage contents were delivered. Upon backing into a parking space where contents could be removed easily, the top of the delivery truck backed into low hanging cables. We subsequently learned that the cable which was severed was a fire alarm cable, so we contacted our fire alarm provider, Vanguard Fire and Security, to assess the damage. As a result, Vanguard notified the fire Marshall of the broken fire alarm cable, and we were not allowed to use the Parish House until all repairs were successfully completed and inspected.
Parish House Renovation Completed: The final walk-around occurred on July 19 and a few work items were identified: 1) adhere new floor joints to old floor joints at 3 door thresholds; 2) cut and install tile for backsplash on the vanity in the utility closet; 3) destroyed furniture and rugs that had been stored in the courtyard to be picked up for disposal.
Renovation Carpet Cleaning: The allotment for carpet cleaning by our insurance carrier was generous enough that we were able to hire Oxi-Fresh Carpet Cleaning to clean all the area rugs in the Parish House, plus all the carpet tiles in the Long Hall.
Picnic Tables Purchased: Six all-steel, plastic coated, 6-ft. picnic tables were ordered and delivered on June 4 from Global Industrial Supply. A faithful team of men made themselves available on delivery day to unload the 850 pound shipment, followed by assembly and dispersing picnic tables around the picnic areas.
Sewer Line Backup: On Sunday, May 30, it was reported that one of the toilettes in the ladies room was not flushing, then later that morning it was reported that the sink in the kitchen was backing up. Ben Helton completed a thorough inspection on Monday and discovered approximately where our main drain was clogged. Johnny Rooter Plumbing was hired to run an auger through our main line and they were able to identify the problem as a slipped pipe joint which possibly occurred when a work truck drove over the area. They were able to clear the line with a sophisticated auger and only minor costs.
Fire Sprinkler System: Vanguard Fire & Security completed our annual inspection/certification of the fire sprinkler system and fire extinguishers based on our contractual agreement. Freon levels were found to be deficient and a repair crew was later scheduled to complete the work.
New Grounds Care: Corey Sheppard, Edibly Landscaped, was hired to replace Grassworks Lawn Care on a bi-weekly basis. He will typically work on Saturday’s, but if inclement weather is forecasted, he will adjust his schedule to accommodate our needs. In addition, Corey has taken over care of our irrigation system.
Parish House Renovation: Due to high demands in Cedar Park, many delays occurred in completing the flood damage to the Parish House from March through July. Our insurance provider, GuideOne, was quick to approve and pay claims submitted, and was helpful in acting as a liaison between Facilities Maintenance and Quick Dry Restoration when progression stopped or communication was lacking.
HVAC Failure: In March, the heat pump started making clunking noises so Rob Broussard of Z-Tech Mechanical was contacted to troubleshoot the system. It was determined that one of the oldest compressors was failing and therefore had to be replaced.
Quarterly Maintenance
HVAC drains flushed with bleach in Long Hall and Parish House
Propane tanks checked and filled when necessary
Wasp mitigation around playground and picnic areas
Check and repair hinges on playground entrance gate
Check thermostat batteries in Long Hall and Parish House
Replace HVAC filters in Long Hall and Parish House
As you may recall, in addition to the shut-down from the public health crisis, our Church School program also had to overcome the flooding of the parish house which happened as a result of a pipe that broke during the Great Freeze this past February. The damage from that incident was not fully repaired until right before Church School began in September of this past year. A great many people helped us navigate that crisis, but most of the day-in and day-out work with the insurance agency and contractors was done by Linda and Mike Brown. We all owe them a debt of gratitude, so please thank them for taking on and persevering all the way through that frustrating and lengthy process.
Our Church School is blessed with some excellent teachers. Sandi Andrews, Lindsey Bell, Polly Thurston, and Khouria Xenia Wilson are our lead teachers, but we also have a great group of dedicated and faithful assistants that include Valerie Groh, Stephen Guerra, Sophia Edel, Michael Ruse, Roxanne Snodgrass, and Sarah Speckhard. Our youth class is led by John Bell, Chris Speckhard, and Keri Grandalski.
We have the best adult education offerings in the archdiocese. The mainstay of our adult education program is St Thomas School. The faculty for that program includes Father Andrew Wilson, Father Deacon Michael Coleman, Seth Hart, Matt Groh, Polly Thurston, Baker Galloway, Chris Speckahard, Gabe Martini, DeAnne Maisano, John Bell, and Mike Brown. Micheal Ruse does a great job with all the administrative work for the St Thomas School.
Father Andrew teaches a weekly, online Bible Study just about every Thursday evening of the year; folks from all across the country participate. I continue to lead the Fall Theological Seminar, which is now in its 19th year, and our parish clergy team-teach the Pascha Book Study.
The biggest challenge that we face in our educational efforts is not finding staff or offering high quality programs; the biggest challenge we face is actually getting folks to participate. The truth is that the vast majority of St John’s parishioners never take part in any of these programs, and they don’t bring their children to Church School. No doubt, there are many reasons for that—scheduling, distance, life—and our concern here is not with numbers, because we do not make attendance reports to the diocese or archdiocese. Our concern here is with the depth of our relationship with the Most Holy Trinity. Because long-term studies have consistently shown that children who are in Church School on a regular basis grow up to be adults who actively participate in the Faith; children who only attend Church School every once in a while grow up to be adults to only participate sporadically in the Faith.
In a similar way, adults who invest themselves in on-going Christian education just about always do better when they are confronted with a crisis than folks who never or who rarely take part in those sorts of programs. No one has ever been able to identify the specific factors that account for that difference—it might be the increased knowledge; it might be the level of commitment that is involved; it might be the social connections that are developed. But the research is clear: if you want to be able to get through the storms that we all face in life, then participating in Church School and in the adult education that St John’s offers is a good way to weather-proof your life.
My hope is that 2022 will be the year when more of our adults and more of their children will start to take advantage of the excellent programs that are available in our parish community.
an unworthy priest
aidan
2021 was a wonderful year for our parish musicians!
We were blessed to sing for Great and Holy Pascha again, after a hiatus in 2020 due to the pandemic. There were 17 choir members (including myself) at the Paschal Liturgy!
We continue to add members…and are ALWAYS open to those who can stay on pitch. You don’t even have to read music to join, as a large percentage of our choir does not read music. If singing during Liturgy brings you joy, come talk to me about how to join us (it’s sooo easy)!
Matthew Groh (Head Chanter) and I arranged and held a 6-week Chanter Training Course. Folks continue to show interest, and we continue to be available to help those who want to step into the role of Chanter for Vespers, Orthros, and/or the Divine Liturgy. If you’re interested, please reach out to Matt.
I held a music practice with many of the St. John parishioners who live in that area, to teach them a few hymns for their Reader Vespers and Typika services. There were so many participants, and it was wonderful to sing with, and teach, them! If we have more folks from this area join the parish choir, I will offer a regularly-scheduled choir practice in Killeen in 2022.
The choir’s repertoire grew significantly over the past 12 months! They learned multiple festal hymns this year (for Pascha, Pentecost, Dormition, Nativity, etc.), as well as new versions of the Cherubic Hymn (Let us who mystically…), Trisagion (Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal…), Megalynarion (It is Truly Meet), and Koinonikon (Clergy Communion). A small group of musicians also learned new music to support the wedding of Maximus and Julia Clark! For most of these hymns, I made recordings of each part for our musicians to practice with, available to our musicians via our private Google Drive.
Some of our choir members took on the challenge of changing from melody to harmony parts. This is like redoing a very challenging task after you just completed it. This was greatly needed, to round out the sound within the growing choir.
Our musicians continue to work hard on behalf of our parish. I’m so thankful for their joyful spirits, steadfastness, and desire to serve. When you see a choir member or chanter, please tell them “thank you!” And thank you for the continued opportunity to serve as the St. John Choir Director…it is truly a blessing.
Thank you,
Karen Morgan
Choir Director
The bookstore continues to thrive and be a place where people can find their favorite books, icons, and other necessities. This year many new items were added, and we were able to increase our stock of icons significantly as well as our book inventory.
The biggest problem facing the bookstore this year has been space. The success of the bookstore has allowed for more items to be purchased and carried and in larger quantities. The couch and a chair needed to be removed to provide access to additional wall space and new bookcases will be purchased in the upcoming year to help with this need.
A big thank you to Fr. Andrew for helping in the store on many occasions. Christine Young and Hannah Dewerst have been asked to help, and they will be trained this upcoming year.
Below are the financials from 12/01/2020-12/01/2021. Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns.
Respectfully Submitted,
Stephanie Crown
Sales
Gross Sales: $25,893.30
Returns: -$11.95
Discounts & Comps: $0.00
Net Sales: $25,881.35
Gift Card Sales: $0.00
Tax: $2,087.47
Tip: $0.00
Refunds by Amount: $0.00
Total: $27,968.82
Payments
Total Collected: $27,968.82
Fees: -$715.05
Net Total: $27,253.77
Between lockdowns, the lack of church school, and then an extended flood renovation project in the parish house, the library sat woefully neglected (or boxed up) for almost a year and a half. But no more!
Starting in August, the library team has been embarked on a project to make the library easier to explore from home via an online catalog. That project has involved setting up the catalog, reorganizing all of the books and assigning individual call numbers according to the Library of Congress system, and putting lots and lots of stickers on books. Many thanks to the volunteers who have assisted with this.
This project is largely complete. Parishioners can now use the online catalog to browse, put books on hold, and renew your books. Instructions on how to do all this are available on the website: Parish Library. However, feel free to grab Seth Hart or Chris McCrary during any fellowship hour and we’d love to walk you through the process.
There are a few holdover tasks from this project that we will be working on over the next few weeks, such as adding media and periodicals into the catalog, but we have already started on some other projects:
Reference Library: We have begun to purchase some liturgical books and collections of saints’ lives that be available for reading in the parish house. In particular, parishioners are encouraged to read through the hymns of the church that we do not often get a chance to study. We currently have the Octoechos & Great Horologion available and hope to add the 12-volume Menaion in the near future. If you are interested in donating to help with this, please let us know!
Children’s Library: The children’s books library has been moved into the nursery. We have also added a number of additional kids' books and hope to continue to build out this collection. If you know of any other Orthodox children’s books that ought to be in our library, please let us know. Or better yet – donate them! During 2022 we would like to have story time for kids once or twice a month to feature some of these new books, so keep an eye out for info on that.
Donation wish list: we would like to continue building out our parish’s library and welcome donations. In 2022 we will start posting in the library our wish list of particular books we believe should be in the collection. For example, while the library has all of the books that were required for the St. Stephen Certificate Program, the syllabus has changed some over the years and we need to add new books to the catalog.
Refreshments & visiting! As the bookstore continues to grow, they have had to take out seating to make room for more books. Over in the parish house, however, we have plenty of seating! We would like to make the library an inviting place to visit and chat about books. To that end, in 2022 we will start putting out hot tea, coffee, and other refreshments. Additionally, we will be enforcing the rule that children are not allowed in the parish house unless accompanied by their parents. While we love our children, the presence of roving young mobs can sometimes create a madhouse environment that discourages visiting among adults.
Humbly submitted,
Seth Hart & Chris McCrary
Parish Librarians
During November and December 2021, a series of four open meetings were held seeking input on the eventual expansion of the St John ministry campus. These meetings were hosted by Baker Galloway and Mike Brown.
The purpose of these meetings was to begin a general conversation regarding our future expansion projects. The current plan was developed over 10 years ago, and there are now many new members of our parish since these plans were conceived.
A total of 22 people attended, some of this number attended multiple meetings. In addition, several others who were unable to attend provided input outside of the meetings.
Below is a summary of the comments. It is important to note that while these are valuable comments and thoughts collected during these meetings, they do not represent any final design decisions. Periodically, on upcoming Sundays, there will be a booth in the Narthex or the outdoor fellowship area to allow for continuing the building vision discussion. Watch the Happy Priest emails for these events.
Presented: Temple design currently on display in the Narthex, recently approved Site Plan
Note: Our ushers have been counting an average of 150 to 170 souls attending each Sunday Divine Liturgy (an average, non-feast Liturgy).
The new Temple building should have capacity for about 300 worshippers. The Nave should remain free of seating except around the perimeter. The choir should be “invisible,” that is, set off to the side and/or out of the sight, not obstructing sight lines to the altar and iconostasis from the nave.
The majority of attendants strongly supported a building with a dome for both indoor and outdoor aesthetics; however, all recognized that significant construction cost and ongoing maintenance (e.g., roof leaks) may be prohibitive. The current design has a bell tower; if a dome is not possible, then perhaps a compromise between a dome and a bell tower can be found. For example, a “lantern” structure that lets vertical light in high in the nave, but is rectangular rather than dome-shaped. Others weighed in to advocate for a temple with no dome, for aesthetic and/or pastoral reasons. A consensus was not reached on this issue.
All attendants wanted a chapel somewhere on the property, but did not feel that it had to be attached to the Temple building. It could be in the Parish House or as a stand-alone structure.
Presented: Long Hall Expansion design, adding a 2,500 square foot wing onto the South side
Once the Temple is built, the groups envisaged an expanded Long Hall with as much multipurpose space as possible. The latest design (on display in the Narthex) called for a classroom wing to be added. The groups felt that an expanded Long Hall could be better used for indoor fellowship, administration (copy machine, computer, etc.), choir rehearsal area, storage, SOYO, adult education, the bookstore, a library with tables and chairs, and the kitchen where coffee could be readily accessed.
The kitchen would expand into the current cry room. There was not an overwhelming sense of the need for a commercial kitchen due to expensive code-required improvements; however, all agreed that at a minimum the current kitchen must be upgraded to include additional cabinets and storage, a garbage disposal (if possible given condition of sewer line fall), and electrical outlets that can handle substantially higher electrical loads. It was clear to the groups that a better understanding of the requirements for kitchen use is needed before deciding between a commercial/non-commercial kitchen.
It was noted that with the planned expansion of the Long Hall, there will s8ll be insufficient space for indoor community meals with all members, even with expanded banquet capacity onto the current altar area and into a south wing. Therefore, the building should facilitate flow to the outdoor areas via additional side exit doors to the North.
Overwhelmingly, the attenders supported dedicating the Parish House to children’s education. Catechists present were in agreement that the parish house is a better location for children’s education than a South wing on the Long Hall. Children’s ministry wanted 3 large rooms (ideally 1200 square feet each) for each of the age-specific programs, and an additional, expanded room for the nursery.
In this configuration, the bookstore, library, adult education, SOYO, and the choir would move to the Long Hall (see above). If necessary, the Parish House might be expanded to the West, at the current Level 3 Atrium classroom’s gable roof.
Presented: recently approved Site Plan, fencing design for play area The outside grounds provide for multiple uses.
Dining
There is a felt need for covered seating between the Long Hall and Parish House. It is proposed that this be a pavilion that would fit 10 picnic tables. The groups felt the pavilion should have counter space, lighting, and electrical outlets to allow for limited food service, as needed.
Children’s playground
There is no substantive change planned for the current children’s playground. The Long Hall expansion may or may not include additional exit doors onto the playground, depending on the ultimate priorities for playground security, fellowship traffic flow, and emergency egress of the Long Hall.
Older kids’ play area
There had been an idea to have a large, open field on the south side of the Temple for large playground for older kids. This is now not possible because of the cost of tree removal. We must pay the city of Cedar Park a fee for removing certain trees; this cost of this is prohibitive. Also, on the south side the kids would be out of sight of the existing picnic areas requiring a third picnic area for safe supervision.
When the current west parking lot construction plan is completed (first half of 2022?), there will be a large area for the kids between the current sidewalk between the Long Hall and the Parish House and the new parking lot. This area will provide plenty of space for soccer-like activities. The new space will also require thinking about the safety of 1) the kids, 2) those in the west parking lot and the picnic area, and 3) cars in the west parking lot. The groups brainstormed ideas about a three-sided barrier (fencing?) around this play area that would provide for safety and still allow for openness to the picnic area between the Long Hall and Parish House.
Memorial Garden
The St Joanna Myrrhbearers (burial society) would like space for a memorial garden where we could remember and pray for those parish members who have died. The groups felt that this should be a secluded spot rather than a high-traffic area. Concern was voiced that if it was too secluded it could become a local, nighttime party spot.
Further considerations
All new landscaping should maximize beauty and minimize human intervention, including minimizing additional watering and maintenance.
We should consider covered sidewalks for those main transit routes between buildings or between buildings and parking lots.
In addition, there is currently no provision for a drop off area for those who cannot easily walk from a parking space to a building. Provision must be made for such an area.
A couple of the groups were queried on their preferred order to proceed with the expansion project. The consensus was, after the parking lot expansion is finished:
1) Provide older kids with a play space;
2) Build the pavilion;
3) Construct the new Temple; then
4) Revisit the redesign of the Long Hall and Parish House, and proceed as necessary.