Home again and catching up

Returned home Wednesday as planned, but with far more work to do than I'd anticipated so I'm only now getting back to the blog, as well as catching up on what's been happening in the parish.

The Vestry and other members of the parish have been busy, writing and submitting their various reports for the booklet for tomorrow's Annual Parish Meeting and Potluck Luncheon after the service. Looking at the list of material in it I keep thinking something's missing, but I'm not sure what. We have:

Table of Contents:

Agenda (for the meeting) The Heritage of St. Bartholomew's (a short history) The 2005 Vestry (positions and terms) Officers & Leaders of Parish Groups & Activities 2005 Diocesan Canons (pertaining to the Parish, Vestry, and Annual Mtg) By-Laws of St. Bartholomew's Minutes of 2005 Annual Parish Meeting Parish Treasurer's Report for 2005 Proposed Budget for 2006

Written Reports: - Rector - Deacon - Senior Warden - Junior Warden - Stewardship Committee - Sunday School - ACW Report - ACW Treasurer's Report - Altar Guild - Music Program - Food Bank - The Faculty - Memorial Committee

... I just stumbled across last year's agenda. We have dropped the "Servants of the Sanctuary Report." As I recall "The Servants of the Sancutuary" is a UK organization, and though it was proposed the clergy, lay readers and acolytes never actually joined.

In any event, the form of our Annual Parish Meeting booklet has developed over the year, it is now up to 29 pages at 8.5 x 11 inches. In past years it was thicker and smaller at 5.5 x 8.5, but I am sure many will appreciate the new format and larger type.

I wonder if other churches create such booklets; I have distant memories of annual parish meetings elsewhere in which the reports and proposed budget were individually passed out. This is much tidier, and is sort of an annual recap of the life our church family all in itself. It would be interesting to go back to some meeting booklets from many years past and read them.