We are in need of dessert bakers for our next meal for the homeless and families in need. Each baker is asked to prepare 10 finger food desserts and put them into individual Ziploc sandwich bags. Your desserts can be dropped off in the Parish Center kitchen on Tuesday, February 1 between 9:00 and noon. Volunteers will add them to the rest of the meal, and deliver them to Elkton’s Paris Foundation. Join us in this ministry to our community! Thanks!

Contact Rick Waterhouse: 410 658 2509 or wate6585@zoominternet.net

As we approach the Annual Meeting on January 30, we focus our attention on the election of new vestry members.

The vestry help define and articulate the mission of the congregation; to support the church’s mission by word and deed, to select the rector, to ensure effective organization and planning, and to manage resources and finances.

The number of vestry members and the term of office varies from parish to parish. St. Mary Anne’s By-laws calls for nine vestry members, each serving for a period of 3 years from election to election. No member of the Vestry shall be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms. Vestry members are elected at the annual parish meeting. The presiding officer of the vestry is the rector.

Rotating off from vestry office are: Ron Himmel (Junior Warden) and Bruce England (Senior Warden). We are quite grateful for their service to the parish in these important leadership roles.

We have three open vestry positions. Dawn Rodenbaugh is our incumbent and seeks a second term. Two other nominees are listed for two positions, Mike Pugh and John McFassel, with bios (click here) so please review prior to the annual meeting.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter, and to those who are willing to serve.

Blessings,

Father John and the Vestry of St. Mary Anne’s

January, 2022

The Vestry reviewed and voted on 2022 Parish Budget to be presented at the Annual Meeting on 1/30/22.

With a “thank you” cake, Fr. John and the Vestry expressed their gratitude for the service of Andrea Pugh who retires this month as Treasurer after 8 years of valued service. Her “calculator” will be passed to our new parish treasurer, Barb England, at our Annual Meeting.

They also thanked retiring vestry members, Senior Warden Bruce England and Jr. Warden Ron Himmel for their contributions to the parish during their tenure.

Fr. John recapped the Christmas services, and thanked all who helped to make the worship services joyful. Unfortunately, attendance numbers were down by 50%. The Omicron variant necessitated us closing to in-person services for the past two Sundays, but in-person services will resume this coming Sunday, January 23. Masks are required for a time until this spike diminishes.

Dawn Rodenbaugh, Garden Market Co-chair, gave an overview of plans for the upcoming Garden Market on April 29-30, 2022.

Nominating Committee Report given on new Vestry and Convention candidates for election.

George Balog briefed the group on repairs to the church and Vestry House roofs. He provided proposals for more extensive work needed in 2022 on church gutters, Bell tower, gutters and leaders on Vestry House.

Next Vestry meeting: Feb. 16, 2022

We will have a Combined Service at 9:00AM on Sunday, January 30th. Following the service, we will gather in the Parish Center for our Annual Church Meeting.

We encourage all parishioners to attend this important meeting. At that time, we will vote for Vestry members and Convention delegates, review our 2021 Annual Report, review and vote for the Mission Committee budget, and present our budget for the new year.

For those not attending in person, a Zoom option will be available.

Help is needed on Saturday, January 22 at 10AM to remove and dispose the old wreaths from our veteran’s graves and any remaining decorations.

To maintain the historic integrity of our churchyard, we respectfully remind everyone that artificial flowers and decorations, other than flags or fresh flowers, are not allowed.