Annual Report 2020 241st Annual Congregational Meeting January 31, 2021 3115 P Street NW Washington, DC 20007 202.338.1644 www.gtownpres.org Table of Contents • Administration and Personnel 6 • Associate Pastor for Discipleship 3 • Anti-Racism Coordinating Committee 9 • Buildings and Grounds 11 • Care Team 19 • Children’s and Families Ministries 21 • Christian Formation 13 • Communications 26 • Finance and Budget 45 • Flower Ministry 44 • Heritage 27 • Hospitality 29 • Long Range Planning 31 • Membership and Nominating 32 • Member Team 34 • Mission 37 • Session Committees 5 • Stewardship 40 • Vestry Letter 2 • Worship and Evangelism 42 - 1 - Vestry Letter Dear Friends, 2020 was an absurd year! Each week was something new–a new problem, a twist in events, a change in plans. It just kept happening and the church did its absolute best to be steady and faithful despite it all. I think the year brought out some of the best in us, and it also exposed some of our flaws. Ultimately, I believe we will be a better church because of this year, and more creative, faith-filled and resilient Christians. In 2020, we learned we could minister in meaningful ways to people remotely. We realized there are far more unmet daily needs in our city than we knew before. We remembered how much we love our church community, our coffee hours, our hymn singing, our weekly rituals. I am proud of the ways our church has grown this year. We had hard conversations about racism and have committed to being part of meaningful and lasting solutions. We have drawn far more people into online worship and have had young and old contribute to our virtual services. We shared meaningful faith testimonies, which have inspired each other in our own walks of faith. We have pivoted, adapted, and grown. We also have made careless mistakes, poor assumptions, and bloopers–lots of bloopers. We have learned that we are not perfect and polished all the time, and that we NEED grace and forgiveness and the witness of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the ways we have been able to help each other this last year and am hopeful we will continue to find new ways to be a community of faith. We need a church community because going at it alone in our lives of faith is really challenging. We never could have imagined at the start of last year–virtual communion, an online adult education class, standing on our front porches and singing Alleluia to a video camera, or puppets gaining traction at GPC. We have been pushed to new levels and I really hope we will not return to pre-COVID existence. I hope we will have been reformed by God’s sustaining graces. It has been a challenging year to say the least but maintaining a public witness of faith in this year has been also incredibly rewarding. I am proud that in our 241st year of ministry we rose to the occasion and served and worshipped and pledged and prayed in new ways. It must have been the Holy Spirit in our midst urging us onwards and never allowing us to give up hope. I am more grateful than ever for our church. I miss each and every one of you. You have been in my prayers. Thank you for being our community and faithful witnesses throughout this last year. Thank you to the staff team for keeping the show on the road with humor and perseverance and energy. Thank you to the officers and volunteers who ensured each corner of our ministry was being carried forward. This annual report is a reflection of those acts of service. Thank you to God for nourishment in long days, for grace in times we erred, and for guidance when we did not know the way. Blessings and love to all of you. Respectfully submitted, Rev. Dr. Camille Cook - 2 - Associate Pastor for Discipleship Dear Sisters and Brothers, January started with the ambitious Dinner Table project. A group made up of half GPC folk and half non-GPC folk created our “Founders Council,” that included Catholics, a Jew, and an agnostic; young and old, elders, deacons, and new members. The conversations around the dinner table and tacos with that group shaped my faith and reminded me of the importance to connect with people outside the church, hearing what moves and troubles them, and working with them towards the common good—with tacos. We had one wonderful event in February, which drew a remarkably diverse group of about 40 neighbors (a dozen children with their parents, retirees, die-hard Methodists, and a Russian atheist!).We came together over a meal, shared our understanding of prayer, read scripture, and connected by sharing our struggles. It was a holy night. As we planned for our March gathering, the pandemic reared, and it was no longer appropriate for strangers to gather over food. I told the group that there will be a need for us to come together again after the pandemic is over. And when that time comes, we will be ready. Spring brought unique challenges with the pandemic, and the national and local reaction to the death of George Floyd. It was painful to not be able to gather as a congregation as we grappled with racial division in our country, and in our city. I felt torn. How could we minister to our traumatized members, and at the same time continue to dialogue about the overall injustice of systemic racism in our country— especially when the topic of race was essentially taboo at church, which meant that we could not discuss the very issue that was causing the pain. I am grateful to the whole Session, and the tireless work that Elders Katie Seaman, Marianne Roos, Nicholas Gray, and Priscila Rodriguez put into the summer listening sessions on race and faith. We had 88 members and friends of GPC come together in small groups over Zoom to thoughtfully grapple with the reality of race in our lives. One of the most important lessons gleaned from this listening ministry was that we needed to learn more about what it meant that “Jesus loves all people.” I have to tell you that these were the most challenging, and maybe the most blessed weeks of my ministry here at GPC. I am so grateful to everyone who spoke up and everyone who listened. This is a church that cares deeply about its witness, its history, and its future. God’s Spirit was present and sustained this church, and for that I am grateful. In all of this, I also enjoyed working with Mark on stop-motion Legos, puppets, and other “movie magic” that we could think of. A huge thank you to the many volunteers who have creatively cared for our children through videos, Zoom calls, book deliveries, prayers, and other love. And a big thank you to everyone who made sure that the church remained connected to one another. Thanks to all who continued to serve dinners safely and creatively. Thanks to everyone who helped make the Christmas pageant as magical as ever! - 3 - To the stalwart and faithful Deacons, a huge thank you: Mary Beth Ray, Ashley Mattison, Margaret Carvin, David Slentz, Gonzalo Ferro, Lucy Coble, Brian Stocker, Joelle Justus, Beverly Jones, Doug Hillhouse, Claire Craik, Mary Margaret Hart, Gerardo Martinez, Jen Patterson, Brian Proett, Meredith Wilson, Deanna Johnson and Ann Abanto. For serving on the Dinner Table, I thank GPC members Victoria Pedrick, Sam Cunningham, Ashley Mattison, and Mary Margaret Hart; along with community members Donna Marsh, Emily Maletta, Amanda Quesada, Ben Chartoff, and Levi Bevis. (Also, a thank you to the Metropolitan Methodist Church for lending the space at St. Luke’s Mission Center for this experiment.) Thanks to Jennie Lopez for her creativity and “can-do-itiveness.” Thanks to Mark for dreaming big and taking risks. Thanks to Pastor Chris for his thoughtful debates and faithful service. Thanks to Latesha for the ways she keeps me on track, and for the ways she invites me to see things differently. And thanks to Pastor Camille, for her incredible partnership and leadership as we shepherd this congregation into 2021. Peace, Rev. Rachel Landers Vaagenes - 4 - 2021 Session Committees Admin and Personnel Marianne Roos, Chair ′22 Worship & Evangelism Dwight Smith ′21 Priscila Rodriguez, Chair ′21 Shelley Jennings ′23 Lisa Baly ′23 Tracy Davis ′23 Buildings and Grounds Rick Lawson, Chair ′21 Deacons 2021 Shelley Jennings ′23 Leo Krusius ′23 Care Team Beverly Jones, Chair '21 Communications Gerardo Martinez '22 Emma Marshall, Chair ′22 Claire Hunn '23 Brian Boda ′22 Rick Lawson ′22 Children and Family Ministries Finance and Stewardship Brian Stocker, Chair '21 Louis Sterchi ′22, Chair (Finance) Ann Abanto '22 Brian Boda ′22, Chair Louise Sumner '23 (Stewardship) Leo Krusius ′23 Christian Formation Committee Long Range Planning Will Quinn, Chair '23 Jennifer Hillman, Chair ′21 Meredith Wilson '22 Tracy Davis ′23 Sam Cunningham '23 Emma Marshall ′22 Jillian Kutner '23 Membership & Nominating Hospitality Lisa Baly, Chair ′23 Joelle Justus '21 Priscila Rodriguez ′21 Deanna Johnson '22 Louis Sterchi ′22 Mary Margaret Hart '21 Claire Craik '21 Mission Dwight Smith, Chair ′21 Marianne Roos ′22 Member Team Jennifer Hillman ′21 Doug Hillhouse, Chair '21 Jen Patterson '22 Brian Proett '22 Lauren Fish '23 - 5 - Administration and Personnel Committee Names of Chair and Members: Elizabeth Avery, Chair, Marianne Roos and Katie Seaman Resiliency, creativity, dedication, faithfulness, compassion, grit. These are just a few of the adjectives that describe the work of GPC’s personnel in their approach to leading the church through 2020—a year that forced the building, but never the church, to close in order to keep members safe from COVID-19, and that brought the sins of racism into full light for us to study and act upon.