2007 Annual Report to the Congregation

2007 Annual Report to the Congregation

Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church

Reverend Jeffrey T. Howard

Grace and Peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior

This past year has been one of exciting transitions for me personally and for the church. After graduating last June from Fuller Seminary I spent two weeks in South Korea and then began my ministry in Eagle Rock as your pastor. I was ordained to the Ministry of the Word and Sacrament by the National Capital Presbytery in November and was installed as your Designated Pastor by San Gabriel Presbytery in December.

My first action as your pastor was to start Early Morning Prayers every day Monday through Saturday in the sanctuary. Early Morning Prayers, at 6AM, allow us to start each day in the presence of God, to offer our petitions to God and to discern the direction God wants us to head that day. I bring the prayer list that I write during worship on Sundays and say prayers of intercession and thanksgiving on behalf of the congregation. Members of the church join in the prayers to bring their own joys and concerns to God. This is an essential time for the church as we discern God’s direction for our ministry.

I also started a Christian Education class for adults immediately after our worship services each Sunday. We are studying the Gospel of John. As we read about Jesus’ works and hear his words many come to belief and our faith is strengthened.

Elder Rosie Zachow and I started new programs for adults for whom English is a second language. These programs include an ESL Bible Study every Sunday morning after worship and ESL classes on Tuesday evenings. These programs are essential services for the community and help us to build a multicultural church.

Our new intern, David Kim, my wife Grace, and I launched a new worship service on Sunday afternoons. David is a gifted singer and guitarist and leads us in singing contemporary praise songs. I have been teaching the group the principles of our Reformed heritage from the Heidelberg Catechism. This is followed by dinner and small groups. The purpose of this service is to provide people in the community with a worship experience outside of the usual Sunday morning hour. This is an important evangelistic outreach given the diversity of work schedules in our community today.

All of our programs are now listed on our church web site, www.eaglerockpres.org. I am also posting on the site the text of all the sermons that I preach on Sunday mornings and many other interesting links.

Last Fall I was privileged to meet for six weeks with our New Members Class. During this time we explored what it means to be Christian, Reformed, Presbyterian, and a member of Eagle Rock Presbyterian Church. I was thrilled when two people from the class declared Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior and were received by Session into membership of the church. We will have a new class this Spring.

In December we prepared ourselves for the coming of our savior with Advent Communion Vespers. We had candlelight worship services preceded by pot luck dinners that prepared us for Christmas and the Coming of the King. In February and March of 2008 we will have Lenten Communion Vespers to prepare us as we walk with Jesus approaching the Cross. The Lenten Vespers, Ash Wednesday Service and Maundy Thursday Communion Service will prepare us for the death of our savior on Good Friday and his glorious resurrection Easter morning.

The future of our church depends on our ability to attract young families into our fellowship. For young families to come to our church we must have quality programs in place for children and youth. The Session and I have been exploring ways to meet this need and have decided to hire two part time Directors for Children and Youth Ministry. These people will work with me to develop programs for children and youth including Christian education on Sunday mornings and evenings and developing, with Cora, youth and children’s choirs. The people we choose for these positions must have the gift of evangelism and the desire to go into the community to recruit children and youth for the programs. Our goal is to meet the spiritual needs of young families in the community and encourage young families to be a part of our church.

Our church is blessed with faithful people ministering to needs of our congregation. Ruth’s ministry is to bring us closer to God through the bulletin and Vision. Cora’s ministry is to bring us together in fellowship around music. Toni adds to the beauty of worship by designing our Power Point presentation. David, Jon and Cecile bless us with their musical ability. Francis, Caroline, Carlos, Steven, Rosie, and Ruth bring us into God’s presence by reading the Word of God. The Deacons provide pastoral care and help with communion. The Retreads take care of our facilities. The Westminster Child Center cares for nearly 100 children in our community. And the Wednesday Morning Bible Study is a blessing to many people in our fellowship. These ministries, and many others, all work together to magnify the glory of God here in Eagle Rock. We are truly blessed.

Grace be with all of you,

Pastor Jeff Howard