Evening ECW Meeting
Jan. 14, 2013
Present: Phyllis Carpenter, Elizabeth Heimbach, Catherine Hicks, Andrea Pogue, Barbara Wisdom
Absent: Linda Beck, Mary Ann Betchy, Carolyn Duke, Cindy Fields, Terri Harrison
Barbara Wisdom opened the meeting with a prayer, and Phyllis Carpenter gave an inspirational reading which included the prayer of St. Francis.
Rector’s Report:
Catherine said that the Christmas season at St. Peter’s has been busy. The ECM and the congregation each gave gifts to two different families in Port Royal. In addition, members of the congregation prepared shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse, and gave bags of candy for the prison ministry. The Evening ECW, aided by the children, filled bags with candy for the prisoners.
Catherine mentioned that the daytime ECW is planning a possible retreat to the Richmond Hill Center and the evening ECW will be invited to attend.
Catherine also suggested that we fill a basket for a resident of the trailer park in Port Royal who is ill. She has several cats so cat food is something we can put in the basket. Catherine will find out details before our next meeting.
Looking ahead, Catherine reminded us that on Wednesday, Jan, 16 there will be a meeting for people who want to help set up the altar. She also noted that Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13.
Old Business:
Barbara reviewed our activities for last year. Her report follows the minutes.
New Business:
We discussed continuing the community dinners. We would like to plan an Easter egg hunt for area children, perhaps the Saturday of Palm Sunday weekend. Barbara will check with Darnell Howard about the possibility of partnering with Parks and Recreation. We would also like to help with the Easter breakfast at the Longs. We will find out about the plans for this from the Ruritans. In addition to these Easter events, we hope to have two other community celebrations: one in August for back-to-school and the other in December to coincide with the village tree lighting.
This spring, we would also like to do something for the residents of the Bowling Green Nursing Home. Catherine will check to see what would work best.
Our next meeting will be on Feb. 11 at 6:00 pm.. Catherine closed the meeting with a prayer.
Highlights of the Evening ECW 2012 Events:
· We lost several members to our evening meetings; however, many of them helped in some way with our events, as their schedules allowed.
· Community Dinners:
o March 10, 5-7 pm. Chili dinner (cooked by Stanley Fields). 28 attendees. Fire Department gave out hats to the children.
o June 9. Hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, chips, brownies, lemonade/tea. 25 attendees. Stanley used his new grill. $50 gas card drawing. Children’s craft – book markers; books for summer reading presented to children.
o Dec 14. Soups, bread, beverages. 135+ attendees. ECW jointed with Town Council, Caroline Promise and Caroline Parks and Rec. for our most successful event. Crafts, games, tree lighting, pictures with Santa (Santa arrived on a fire truck.). $50 gas card drawing.
Many members donated their time, talents and money to support these community dinners.
· April 22 – Barbara Wisdom and Catherine Hicks attended the joint ECW luncheon at Lynn’s Inn.
· May 11 – Mother’s Day Project – Provided cards and flowers to ladies at the Bowling Green Nursing Home. A work day was scheduled on May 9 and Becky Fisher and her children assisted Cindy Fields, Catherine Hicks and Barbara Wisdom with the delivery of flowers.
· May 12 – Ladies Nite Out. Cindy Fields and Barbara Wisdom assisted the Men’s Group with the entertainment. A pseudo-Newlywed Game was played. 5 couples volunteered to be the “newlyweds.”Joe and Mary Ann Betchy won the game. Lots of laughs. Good food provided by the men of the church.
· July 4 – Many members assisted with the 4th of July Celebration in Port Royal.
· Aug 22-25 Mission Trip to Staten Island – Catherine Hicks (Ben), Elizabeth Heimbach (Jim), Cookie (Johnny) Davis, Eunice (Roger) Key, and the Fisher family were volunteers. They assisted with setup, distribution and clean up for the distribution of clothes and shoes for children.
· October 18 – Mary Ann Betchy, Andrea Pogue and Catherine Hicks joined the daytime ECW for a field trip to the Labyrinth in the Woods, Lively, VA.
· October 20 – Several our members assisted the daytime ECW with the Bowling Green Harvest Festival.
· Andrea Pogue provided information on the GED program. Since the Bowling Green Library is currently offering classes, we have not committed to this project.
· December 19 – Candy Project for the prison ministry. The congregation donated bags of hard candy. The Sunday School children and several ECW members filled over 300 bags of candy. We were unable to provide skid-proof socks to the Nursing Home residents.