2021 Annual Report
Table of Contents 2021
Session Committees
Christian Education.............................................................................. 2
Church & World Committee............................................................... 4
Fellowship Committee......................................................................... 6
Outreach.................................................................................................. 7
Personnel Committee........................................................................... 8
Property Committee............................................................................. 9
Stewardship & Finance Committee.................................................. 11
Worship Committee............................................................................. 14
The Board of Deacons
Deacons’ Report..................................................................................... 17
Deacons Treasurer’s Report................................................................. 18
Staff Reports
Clerk of Session..................................................................................... 19
Financial Secretary................................................................................ 20
Music Director......................................................................................... 21
Pastor’s Report....................................................................................... 22
2021 Budget Review............................................................................. 29
Asset Report ........................................................................................... 31
2022 Budget .......................................................................................... 33
Pastor’s 2022 Salary ............................................................................. 35
Memorial Funds 2021............................................................................ 36
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 2021
Christian Education consists of educating children and adults in the Christian faith.
Children’s Christian Education
Educating our children has consisted in two events: their participation in the Gospel for All God’s Children (GfAGC) (commonly thought of as “the children’s sermon”) in the Sunday worship services, and their attending Children’s Sunday School after the GfAGC. Pastor Deck normally presides over the GfAGC in worship, unless there is a guest preacher. Elder Roberta Hunter normally teaches children’s Sunday School during worship, after the GfAGC is over. Occasionally we have other children attend worship, and when this happens they are invited to come up and participate in the GfAGC and attend children’s Sunday School, or they are given the option of staying in worship with their parents if they wish.
Until Sunday, June 20, 2021, due to the pandemic we were unable to meet on Sunday mornings at the Church building, so the GfAGC was the primary means of educating children in our congregation. Max and Bella DiStefano consistently attended Zoom worship and returned to “in person” worship beginning in June, participating regularly in the GfACC.
Adult Christian Education
Adult Christian Education is led by Pastor Deck. In 2021, all Adult Education classes began to meet using the computer program Zoom, which allows everyone to see and hear each other using either their computer or smart-phone.
For over 10 years Pastor Deck led a class called Journey of Faith: An Exploration of the Spiritual Journey,” which meets on Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The average attendance at this class is around 5 or 6 people each Tuesday. The format of the class is:
A weekly Bible Study meets on Mondays using Zoom, from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. In the class we look at a Bible passage that Pastor Deck has recently preached on in worship. We always look at the definitions of the Greek words in the Bible text that stand behind the English translation we are used to reading. We also sometimes read interpretation about the passage that Pastor Deck puts up on the Zoom screen for us to read and discuss together. Attendance at this Bible Study averages about 4 to 7 people each week. Many attenders have said that they are pleasantly surprised at how much they learn from the study, after also hearing the sermon based on the passage.
Respectfully submitted,
Pastor Hampton Deck
for
Howard Fitzpatrick
Christian Education Committee Chair
CHURCH AND WORLD COMMITTEE 2021
As we continue to navigate this unique moment in history, our congregation remained steadfast in our resolve to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world by contributing to positive change in the world through our financial gifts during the year 2021. Our congregation, as a FIVE for FIVE CHURCH, received the five Church Wide Special Offerings and contributed to basic mission support. Basic mission support this year remained at $2400.
Our One Great Hour of Sharing Appeal in April yielded $425.00 which supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Self Development of the People and Presbyterian Hunger Program projects domestically and globally. 2021 brought multiple natural disasters to several areas around the world, including hurricanes in the Southern United States and wildfires in Northern California. Your contributions to this offering assist others as they rebuild their lives following life changing events. The Pentecost Offering, collected during the month of May, raised $280.00 to support projects of the Presbyterian Church (USA) which impact youth and young adults. A total of $30.00 was collected for this offering during 2020. This money will be added to 2021’s Pentecost Offering and granted accordingly (40%, amounting to $124.00, will be used to support projects for local at risk youth and 60%, totaling $186.00, will be sent to the Synod to support PC(USA) programs for at risk youth and other initiatives such as Presbyterian Youth Triennium).
During the month of October, our Peace and Global Witness Offering was collected. A total of $710.00 was collected. The Church and World Committee retained 25% ($177.25) and will combine this with 2020’s Peace and Global Witness Offering proceeds ($32.50) to support local peace focused initiatives. The remaining $532.50 was shared by the Presbytery of the Redwoods and the Synod of the Pacific to assist in promoting the peace of Christ by addressing the systems of injustice throughout the world. During the month of December, we collected the Christmas Joy Offering. Total collection for this offering was $475.00 which supports leadership development at the racial/ethnic schools affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and enables the Presbyterian Church (USA) Board of Pensions to assist retired pastors and other church workers in times of financial need. The Church and World Committee also offered a letter of support to Stillman College, the PC(USA) affiliated Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to include in its application to the US Department of Interior, National Park Service, History of Equal Rights Program. The historical preservation grant is to provide funding to restore Winsborough Hall, the first female school and dormitory at Stillman College, as a living and learning center
Throughout 2021, a total of $565.00 was collected for the Cents-Ability Offering. The Presbytery of the Redwoods received $423.75 of this offering and 25% ($141.25) of the offering was retained to provide food for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano barrel located in our church Narthex. Our contribution to the Cents-Ability Offering was combined with contributions from other churches in the Presbytery of the Redwoods to grant $29,425 to 21 churches in our Presbytery and their community based non profit partners to support their hunger alleviation projects. These hunger alleviation projects, including community gardens, food pantries and soup kitchens providing hot take-out meals, allow churches and non profits in our Presbytery to show Christ’s love to neighbors in need. Individuals in our congregation also contributed to the 8th Annual Pedal for Protein charity bicycle ride, which raised over $60,000 for the 8 Food Banks within our Presbytery of the Redwoods boundaries.
We thank God and you for your prayers and continued financial support that we receive for mission which allows God’s work to be done in the world!
“YOUR PRAYERS AND YOUR DOLLARS REALLY DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!”
Respectfully Submitted,
Corinne L. Quinn, Chair
Members: Michael Braymen and Elissa Shanks Stewart
FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE 2021
There were no birthday lunches served this year but there was plenty of fellowship! Our members and friends made the best of the situation working around COVID.
Our members and friends were again invited to drive through the parking lot and we would hand them a piece of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. On November 24th we hosted “Drive by Pie” day. Thank you to Norman Ortiz and Pattie Kemp for volunteering their baking skills. We had homemade pumpkin and pecan pie. It was Pastor Deck. Corinne Quinn and myself handing out pieces of pie. We got to actually see people, live and in person. With masks of course!
I look forward to the year we can join together again and celebrate.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Melendez
Fellowship Chair
OUTREACH 2021
OutReach is always working towards finding more avenues to introduce the community to our congregation and our building. We are looking at all the different ways of putting FPCV in the public eye, we are slightly more aggressive with our advertising but we always have to remember that there is a cost to most advertising.
We are a member of Vallejo Convention & Visitor Center, and our advert is permanently placed in the Ferry Building along with our informational leaflets.
We are also a member of Vallejo Chamber of Commerce this allows us to advertise on their website with our special events being sent out to all their members. We attend the Chamber events, to promote our events and our building. Pattie Kempf is a member of the OutReach Committee working for us with the Chamber of Commerce.
We place adverts in the Vista Neighborhood Association News, Times Herald, and the Grapevine. We have banners outside the church to let people know how to connect with us via Zoom plus inviting friends to join us in the Sanctuary.
Don’t forget, everything you need to know about us is on our website which is looked after beautifully by Susan Melendez. Not only does Susan work on our website she also designs our banners that we place outside the building and the graphics for our advertising.
If you have any ideas or thoughts as to how we can promote ourselves please let the OutReach Committee know and we will see how we can move forward with your ideas.
Many thanks to the OutReach Committee members Susan Melendez and Pattie Kempf helpers, always so willing to work on our behalf.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda M Reid
OutReach Chair
PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE 2021
The church had four paid staff and one volunteer staff in 2021:
Senior Pastor – The Rev. Dr. Hampton Deck
Music Director/Organist/Keyboardist – Norman Ortiz
Administrative Assistant/Treasurer – Susan Melendez
Custodian/Maintenance – Cathy Wilcox
Financial Secretary – Donna Russell, Volunteer
There was no turnover in the staff during 2021. All staff are experienced in their positions and each has over twelve years of service with the church. The Rev. Dr. Hampton Deck completed twenty-seven years of service with the church on January 2, 2022.
A 1.3% cost of living raise was given to staff in 2021. Though the place and methods of work for the church changed in the pandemic, the church has been able to keep our staff at their regular pay during this time thanks to the continued giving of the congregation
Performance evaluations were not conducted in 2021, but are planned to be completed in 2022.
Respectfully submitted,
Roberta Hunter
Personnel Committee Chair
PROPERTY COMMITTEE 2021
The Property Committee is charged with the upkeep of the building, along with major furnishings, the grounds, the Manse, and additionally manages the use of rentals of the Church facilities.
The workload of the committee is spread over several people. Committee chair Michael Braymen provides coordination. Susan Melendez prepares the contracts for renters. Howard Fitzpatrick takes care of many small and larger maintenance projects. Cathy Wilcox, custodian, takes care of routine cleaning and maintenance as well as more significant projects. Caroline Poage, who has been working very hard on some large projects which will require outside contractors. Pastor Deck provides institutional knowledge of the quirks of the building and pitches in on many efforts.
The church facilities continue to need significant maintenance and upgrades due to the passage of time. We are always aware of our limited resources and look for the best companies and reasonable costs to benefit our congregation and the building. Caroline Poage, helped by the members of the Stewardship & Finance Committee and to her husband, Ron Lissey, continues to work with Oliver and Co. to get bids and get the outside of the building repaired and painted. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent increases in costs have added complications to this already large project.
The solar panels on the roof continue to produce and offset significant portions of our electricity bill. April through September they produced more power than we used. The lifetime production of the system as of April 2021 was 100,274 kilowatt hours.
We were contacted by the Solano County Registrar of Voters in the summer, asking if they could use our building for the September 14, 2021, recall election. Session discussed this request, approving it, and Elder Michael Braymen took charge of coordinating with the Registrar of Voters for the use of the building.
We continue to offer the use of our facilities as a service to the community. For the past several years, many organizations and private groups meet at and utilize the building, both on a fee or non-fee basis depending on requirements of each group. Prior to the pandemic, the following organizations were paying to use our building. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many of them were unable to use the building. It is indicated which groups continue to use the building during the pandemic and which haven’t. They are:
We are VERY glad that our three main renters/users of the building continued to use the building and pay their rent during the pandemic, since it greatly helps our Operating Budget.
Items of note for 2021:
Grateful thanks to all who help with the stewardship of the building.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Braymen
Property Committee Chair
STEWARDSHIP AND FINANCE 2021
Stewardship and Finance Committee is charged with assisting the people of God regarding the Christian stewardship of money, time and talents, ensuring that all offerings are used for the purposes for which they were contributed; and overseeing the accurate maintenance of all financial accounting records of this congregation. The Stewardship & Finance Committee is also responsible for designing and conducting the Annual Stewardship Campaign (“The Pledge Drive”) each fall to raise funds for church operations in the succeeding year.
Pastor Deck continues to design the Annual Stewardship Campaign and draft the Pledge Letter and we are very appreciative of his efforts. Susan continues to do a great job as Treasurer and Caroline tracks the Investment Accounts and reports on their use. Thank you, Susan! The Stewardship and Finance Committee presently includes Donna Russell, the Financial Secretary, Roberta Hunter, Jan McCafferty, Susan Melendez, Rod Lissey and our Pastor, Dr. Deck and of course, myself as chair. Moving forward, I, Caroline, will be the only FORMAL member of Stewardship and Finance. This is not because I don’t appreciate input from other members of the congregation but because, as our congregation gets smaller, these other members have heavy loads with other responsibilities: Donna is our financial secretary and is a deacon, Roberta is chair of personnel and admin, Jan is deacon’s rep on Session, Susan is Treasurer and office and Rod has all he can do to keep Caroline upright! We have made slow but sure progress on the project of repairing and painting the outside of our church. It is a two-prong approach: funding the repair and working with Oliver & Co. to do the work, under the direction of McGinnis Chen, architects.
Let’s talk about the funding issue first. We have the funds based upon the PRELIMINARY budget Oliver & Co. provided us, but we don’t want to use up all our reserves for this work, nor do I want to see all of our reserves used for personnel costs! I would like to remind you that capital funds can only be used for capital projects and not for operating expenses, whereas operating funds or non-capital funds can be used for capital expenses. The Hanns Ave. property was sold on June 19, 2020 for $503,675.06 and we spent $66,537.01 to prepare it for sale. Net proceeds were $437,138.05. Looking further into the future we all need to keep our eyes and ears open for the possibility of convincing members of the community to donate real estate to the church for capital projects, i.e. repairs. See the diagram at the end of the report for further explanation of this need. We are also investigating other sources of funds, but as with AmazonSmile, this will probably require that we are listed with GuideStar. To be listed with GuideStar we must have a Letter of Determination from the IRS, signifying we are a 501c3. (We are a 501c3 according to the California Secretary of State.) To get this Letter requires us to file an acceptable application with the IRS. The format for this application is 28, yes, twenty-eight pages! And to be quite honest, I just don’t have it in me at this time to work on it!
The second issue is the work itself on the church building. This has had some unexpected delays. After consulting with Oliver & Co., we decided we needed to go a different route with one of the contractors. Our focus is on repairing the church, not rebuilding it! We also want a good, thorough job, but not a gold-plated one! Finding a company with the licensing, qualifications, track record and interest has been quite a challenge. It has been that way since we first started considering work on the church. What I am hoping for is to get a team of contractors in place that will be “our go-to” companies in the future, not just this work. Since we are “people-powered challenged”, anything we spend on the building needs to be supported by contractor accountability. That is, like with the roof, if there is a problem with the roof, we call the roofers! That is why I am not in favor of “volunteer labor”, no matter the accolades. A few examples, courtyard drainage and the French drain on the north side of the church. Thankfully Howard Fitzpatrick solved the “geysers in the courtyard” problem, for the time being. Thank you, Howard! But, the French drain is still a problem. Although “The Church” is not “The Building”, the appearance of “The Building” has a great deal to do with how individuals, some within the congregation and some just passing by, view “The Church”. So, let’s not give “The Building” short shrift.
Currently, the Session has in hand a Magnitude of Order estimate from Oliver & Co. We have not dug into what is included in each phase, but the east wing appears to need the most work, with an estimate of $999,818.00 at this time. We don’t know what this would include, but most probably it would not include hazmat remediation, repair plans and a kitty for over run costs (20%). The estimates are much larger than the original ones because of (1) increased scope precipitated by a forensic water intrusion test of the east wing and (2) serious inflation of costs (don’t we know it!) I tried to steer Oliver & Co away from window work, but they held my feet to the fire, correctly pointing out that even if the church spent large sums on a repair and the windows still leaked, the church would not be happy. So, basically, the church is going to need funds to do any of this work. As soon as Session decides on future direction of the church, Stewardship and Finance and interested parties will proceed searching for additional funds. Stay tuned! Current capital fund (12/31/21) is $298,931.88. (B of A checking capital of $397,397.92 minus Investment spreadsheet capital expenditures of $98,466.04)
We on Session have discussed these repair costs and “start-up costs” or pre-repair costs like various surveys, tests, and development of plans for the repair. Let us say that we did not do any of these designed repairs, would we have wasted money? No and let me tell you why: this work would have had to be done anyway and, if the building gets sold, for whatever reason, I think these costs should be added to the selling price and refunded to FirstPresVallejo, approximately $100,000.00 at this time. Of course, these design documents and survey results would be transferred to the buyer. Repairs completed would, of course be part of the selling price. All in all, I think incurring these “start-up” costs for surveys, development of CAD drawings and repair procedures should encourage future caretakers, not discourage them!
We want to thank first and foremost, God, then the congregation, Session, and the Committee members for working so hard to meet budget projections. At the end of 2021 we ended up with an Operating Budget about -$24,000, even though I don’t know the final figure at this time. Because of the irregularity of pledges and a projected deficit for 2022 of about $42,000, we will draw from our investment funds as needed. In addition, there is a separate line item on our Investment Fund spreadsheet for “replenishing the checking account” so we will be able to track our “burn rate”, if that becomes necessary. Speaking of Investment Funds and our current planned projects, we do have a “mental reserve” of a substantial amount that we do not plan to dip into for our “building projects” or “deferred maintenance”. The management of our “USAA stock” which is USISX, was moved by USAA in Nov 2020 from USAA to Victory Capital. Our account is still accessible through USAA portal.
As I mentioned before, we all need to keep our eyes open, our ears to the ground and rev up our networking abilities for one purpose. That purpose is to tell the community of the opportunity to give FirstPresVallejo pieces of residential real estate. The donor would then be given a tax break, pending tax pros opinion. FirstPresVallejo could then sell this real estate and use funds for our capital projects.
I would like to draw your attention to the Investment Fund spreadsheet: the column under “Balance 12/31/21” reflects the stock market The actual costs of various projects are in previous annual reports. May I draw your attention to the bottom of the Investment spreadsheet: there is a sub-spreadsheet regarding the US Trust (Bank of America) statement. The beginning balance was $1,199,367.25 and an ending balance of $527,116.23. This “smaller” balance was caused by moving the cash we had in US Trust into a separate checking account with Bank of America. The current balance in that checking account is $637,397.92 (cell H42). This saves us from paying maintenance fees on this amount. It also gives us some protection in case of a market drop. Of course, on the other hand, we did not profit from the increase in value when the market went up, but we did sleep well, not risking church money! In the future, we probably will consider moving some of this “cash” back into investments. Stay tuned. As our congregation gets smaller, so do our pledges. This year has been better than expected in the amount of rental income received, especially considering the immense challenges facing our tenants (and us) due to COVID-19. We do so appreciate out tenants continuing to pay their rent. Our bills do not go away! The rental income is a GREAT help in reaching out budget goals.
If you, as members of this congregation, ever have any questions about First Presbyterian’s financial matters, please feel free to call upon any member of the Stewardship & Finance Committee for answers.
Respectfully submitted,
Caroline Poage,
Chairman of Stewardship and Finance
WORSHIP COMMITTEE 2021
The purpose of the Worship Committee is to assist the Pastor in providing for the worship of God on Sundays and special days throughout the year. As is our custom and the custom of Christians everywhere across the ages, we worshipped every Sunday morning throughout the year, and on some special days as well. The event that made our worship extraordinary in 2021 was the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
As we did since the pandemic started in March 2020, for the first half of 2021 Pastor Hampton Deck and Organist/Pianist Norman Ortiz recorded a video of worship in the Sanctuary during the week, which Pastor Deck then put up on YouTube.com This allowed people to view the video or worship any time. (Every video still appears on YouTube to this day!) Pastor Deck adjusted the Order of Worship slightly to adjust to the new situation. He took out the middle Hymn and changed the Prayers of the People to verbalizing a few issues we could pray about, lighting a candle of the Candle Table for each issue and saying “O Lord, hear our prayer,” much like we normally do during the Prayers of the People. It took much more time to video record the service, splice the various parts together and upload them to YouTube.com.
Also, as we did for much of 2020, we also used the computer application Zoom.com to allow us to have “live” worship services on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. with people using Zoom on their own computers or smart phones to be able to see and hear the service at home as Pastor Deck and Norman Ortiz did it “live” from the Sanctuary. The Presbytery of the Redwoods also authorized the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper for on-line use, meaning that people at home could use their own bread and juice to celebrate communion while Pastor Deck did the communion liturgy on video or on Zoom. So, we continued to celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of each month.
Using Zoom, Pastor Deck made a few further changes to the Order of Worship. The Passing of the Peace became interactive, by having either Pastor Deck or someone else go around the Zoom screen where everyone’s faces can be been, and saying to them “The peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you,” and their responding by saying, “And may the peace of Christ be with you and with everyone else.” The Offering was also changed to become interactive. Each Sunday Pastor Deck would say that if anyone had a financial gift to offer, they could send it to the church address, and we would make sure we used their offering the appropriate way. This was then followed by asking each person on the Zoom screen to say one or two things for which they were grateful, as all offered their gratitude to God. Pastor Deck would then invite people to continue to offer their gratitude to God as we all listened to the Offertory, played by Norman Ortiz. The Gospel for All God’s Children on Zoom happened much like in-person, with Pastor Deck talking with the children and everyone else on Zoom. The Prayers of the People also became participatory on Zoom, with people voicing their prayer concerns, Pastor Deck lighting a candle on the Candle Table for each concern and saying, “O Lord, hear our prayer,” followed by silence and music during which time people could “continue their conversation with God” as Pastor Deck says.
Starting on Sunday, June 20, 2021, the Session had us returned to “in person” worship, once California Governor Newsom allowed it. The session allowed people who wished to come to worship “in person” in the Sanctuary, to do so as long as they wore a mask and sat “socially distant” from each other – which was not a problem in our very
large Sanctuary. In addition, we incorporated those who did not attend “in person” into worship using Zoom. Many worshipping congregations did the same, and this became known as “hybrid worship”. In order to do this the Session approved using funds of just over $10,000 to buy the computer equipment, software and a 90 inch television to be installed in the Sanctuary. The television was mounted just in front of and above the pulpit. It is enormous, measuring 6 feet 6 inches wide and 4 feet tall. A Task Force of Corinne Quinn, Michael Braymen, Pattie Kempf and I researched what to changes to make. We went over to Community Presbyterian Church to see their set up, and eventually hired a consultant they had used in order to get key help in developing and installing our computer system for the Sanctuary. Once we had a plan, Howard Fitzpatrick, Michael Braymen, and I installed the large television in the Sanctuary. Michael Braymen and Howard Fitzpatrick worked together to get the system up and running, and then Michael Braymen, Corinne Quinn and Pattie Kempf were then trained to run to operate it. A computer and two screens were installed in the pew just in front of the pulpit, where the operator of this system sits. It is possible to operate our new system with only one person, but most Sundays Michael Braymen runs the PowerPoint presentation from home, and Patty and Corinne both come into the Sanctuary to run the system. Although we have had many technical glitches in running the system, we continue to get better at doing so, and it allows our congregation to jointly meet both in person and virtually using Zoom every Sunday. People have been very patient with the technical glitches we have encountered during worship, and I think everyone has been very pleased to be back together for worship in this new way during the pandemic. This is also meant that Norman and I no longer video the worship service midweek, which saves both of us a lot of time.
For many years we have done a series of special services across the year. During the pandemic, this also continued, with some changes.
We were unable to hold an Ash Wednesday service in 2021.
On Friday, April 2, 2021 we held an evening Good Friday worship service on Zoom, using the format we have used for years. The choir was unable to participate on Zoom, so Pastor Deck sang the Hymns and Norman Ortiz played selections on the piano in between the reading of “scenes” from the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, from the Gospel of Matthew. Some members of Community Presbyterian Church and Heritage Presbyterian Church joined us on Zoom that evening.
On Sunday, April 4, 2021, Pastor Deck and Norman Ortiz led our Easter Worship Service for the second year in a row, on Zoom, in addition to making a video earlier in the week. The Session had said it was important for Pastor Deck to do his usual Easter “Easter egg in the bottle” children’s sermon, which he did. He also put flowers on the wire mesh cross during the first Hymn, as the congregation normally does. And he and Norman did a special Easter anthem.
For Pentecost in 2021, only the “circle of flames” banners, which hang above the Chancel of the Sanctuary were put up, since you cannot see the “wind” banners which hang above the pews on the video of worship or on Zoom.
All Saints in 2021 also included the usual PowerPoint slides of recently departed “saints” from our congregation.
The decorations for Advent in 2021 returned to their full glory, including the hanging of the Moravian stars above the Chancel. Many additional decorations were put
up by Frank Calvo, assisted by Norma Lau. Everyone enjoyed the beautification of the Sanctuary in this way.
For our Christmas Eve Worship Service, we were able to return to “in person” worship in the Sanctuary combined with Zoom attendance. As always, we all sang Silent Night, Holy Night, as we usually do. Norman Ortiz went to great lengths to record much special music for the evening, which included many vocalists and instrumentalists, recorded on video over several days and evenings in the Sanctuary.
As we all got used to doing worship on Zoom, several people besides Pastor Deck and Norman Ortiz helped with worship in various ways. Susan Melendez made special slides for the PowerPoint slides that appear on the computer screen for our Zoom services. As always, Susan found beautiful artwork and arranged the words on the screen beautifully. Elders Michael Braymen, Pattie Kempf and Corinne Quinn helped with the running of the Zoom services each Sunday. Trying to press all the right buttons to mute, unmute, switch to the proper slide, take the slides off the screen, etc. is difficult as a one-person job. Michael did a great job in running the PowerPoint. In addition, Corinne did a great job in calling on people for the Passing the Peace, the Offering and Prayers of the People.
Our Music Director, Norman Ortiz, provides the music for our worship, which is highlight in worship each week, lifting us all above the stresses and stains of the pandemic for a few moments with the outstanding music he provided.
In addition, Franc Calvo, and his assistant, Norma Lau, did an excellent job in decorating the Sanctuary for Easter and Advent/Christmas. Nui Tualaulelei and Pattie Kempf also changed many of the banners throughout the year, helping to beautify the Sanctuary and mark the turn of seasons in the liturgical calendar.
I believe we have done a great job adjusting our worship services to the challenges we face during this pandemic.
Respectfully submitted,
Pastor Hampton Deck
for Pattie Kempf,
Worship Committee Chair
DEACONS REPORT 2021
The Deacons of The First Presbyterian Church of Vallejo want to thank the congregation and friends for their continued financial support.It continues to be a difficult time. We didn’t give Easter flowers but gave each member and friend a small box of candy.The candy was delivered by Roberta Hunter,Corinne Quinn,Michael Braymen.and Pastor Deck Thank you Easter cards and Christmas cards wer designed and printed by Susan Melendez.Thank you for the beautiful cards.Cards we’re written by Donna Russell,Corinne Quinn,Roberta Hunter,and Jan McCafferty Thank you.Leona Young sents cards for birthdays,get well and other ones. Thank you Leona. Pastor Deck and Jan McCafferty purchased 60 poinsettias.Each member and friend received a flower. These were delivered by Roberta Hunter Corinne Quinn,Michael Braymen,Pastor Deck and Jan McCafferty Thank you. On Christmas Eve after the service cookies were bagged and given to each person to taken home.Hopefully we can soon gather together for coffee and fellowship with no mask.
The Deacons continues to pray for your concerns,while Pastor Deck light the candles Candles and table are still.,cared for by the Deacons.The Deacons still call and check on members and friends.
The food barrel is still being done. It was emptied once and provided 151 pounds which equals 128 meals.One dollar equals 2 meals. It is hard getting the barrel emptied as the church isn’t always opened.Please continue your support as many people need your help.We we’re able to reach out to the community to assist those less fortunate with donations of money
Christian help center. 300
Salvation Army. 100. Christmas card. 100. Faith food Friday. 200. Food bank Solana/Contra 200. Poinsettia 466.88
Easter candy. 410.55. Member help. 200. Stamps. 33.
The Deacons appreciate all your help and support. Thank you
Sincerely submitted,
Jan McCafferty
GodsBlessings
Deacon’s Fund Treasurer’s Report for 2021 was unavailable. Included is 2020 which is almost the same information per Donna Russell. Questions call Donna Russell.
CLERK OF SESSION 2021
First Presbyterian Church, Vallejo started the year with 57 active members and concluded with 55 active members for 2021. There were no members joining the church and no baptisms in 2021. Two active members passed in 2021: Linda Streeter and Gerald Davis.
Membership information for 2020 was submitted to denomination headquarters in 2020. Membership information for 2021 will be reviewed by Session in January 2021 and then submitted to denomination headquarters.
Throughout 2021 Michael Braymen served as Clerk of Session and Susan Melendez served as Treasurer. Roberta Hunter, Jan McCafferty, Caroline Poage, and Corinne Quinn served as Trustees in 2021.
Leona Young and Josephina Lorico were elected to the 2021 Nominating Committee at June 5, 2021 Congregational Meeting to replace vacancies from Niu Tualaulelei and Alice Wheeler. At the July 4, 2021, Congregation Meeting, the congregation elected Roberta Hunter, Jan McCafferty, Caroline Poage, Corrine Quinn, and Linda Reid to a one-year terms and Michael Braymen and Eric Deck to three-year terms on the Session Board. Eric moved away shortly after and did not serve. Howard Fitzpatrick and Susan Melendez were elected as Elders and Leona Young, Jenny DiStefano, Josefina Lorico as member of the 2022 Nominating Committee at a Congregational meeting on December 5, 2021.
The Session Board class structure for the period July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, was as follows at year end 2021:
Class of 2022 Class of 2023 Class of 2024
Roberta Hunter Pattie Kempf Michael Braymen
Jan McCafferty Howard Fitzpatrick
Caroline Poage Susan Melendez
Corinne Quinn
Linda Reid
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Braymen
Clerk of Session
FINANCIAL SECRETARY 2021
The responsibilities of the Financial Secretary include sorting and securing offerings after all services, as well as all receipts to the Church, such as fees, rents and memorial donations. The receipts are then counted, recorded, and deposited. All deposits are reported to the Church Treasurer at the time of deposit.
Until the Covid 19 Pandemic lockdowns forced churches to transition to online services, Jan McCafferty collected and secured offerings after each service. We sincerely appreciate her dependability and efficiency.
Ken Russell has provided maintenance, back-up support, and training with the Church’s Church Data Master (CDM) Program, and assisted with the preparation of our Annual Contribution Statements. His support and hard work are immensely appreciated.
Donna Russell counts and records all receipts, then deposits all funds into the Church’s checking account at US Bank. She then transfers all the financial data into the Church Data Master (CDM) Program. At the close of the financial year (December 31st) she prepares, produces and distributes Annual Contribution Statements to all Church donors.
Each year the Presbyterian Church USA assesses every member a $30.00 Per Capita fee to cover their administrative costs. This fee is separate from your pledge and donations which are directed to the operation, activities and mission of our local Church. This fee amounts to over $2000.00 for our Church, so members can greatly assist with our non-negotiable expenses by paying the Per Capita fee for their family.
Annual Contribution Statements are being prepared. We will mail these statements to our contributors by the end of January. If you have questions regarding your statement, please leave a message at the Church and we will reply in a timely manner
Donna Russell
Financial Secretary
MUSIC DIRECTOR 2021
We really miss our choirs at First Presbyterian Church. Even though most of us have figured out a way to navigate in the world with or around COVID-19, the performing arts have really taken a hit, including our church choirs. I, for one, look forward to the time when we can again safely congregate in groups to sing and ring to the glory of God, both in rehearsals and during services.
This is not say that I don’t continue to take great pride and pleasure in being a part of the weekly services. Quite the contrary. Over the years, most of my new music purchases were devoted to organ pieces, of which there is an expansive library of both old and modern music from which to choose. The library for piano is not quite as vast, and it has taken a bit of time to become acquainted with this repertoire.
Given that the piano seems to be the best of the keyboard instruments in our church to broadcast over the internet, I have found it necessary to broaden my collection of sacred music for the piano. With the help of the listing of hymns that compliment the lectionary readings, each week brings the opportunity to search for new renditions of familiar tunes set for piano solo by many previously unfamiliar, yet very talented composers.
You might be recognize some of the song arranger names that have frequented our order of worship this past year: Mark Hayes, Joel Raney, Emma Lou Diemer, John Carter, Lloyd Larson, and Jack Shrader, to name a few. Some of the new names include: Brian Culli, Danette Whelan, Brian Buda, Rudy Davenport, and Christine Sullivan Robbins. All of these composers bring their own unique style to the pieces that they compose and arrange, and once their names are discovered and followed, there are indeed more musical gems to be found.
The names most familiar to us remain those whose voices and bell ringing we have heard lift our spiritual hearts every Sunday, and whom we sorely miss seeing in person: Rose London, Karyn Knowles, Maria Matthews, Wendy Yun, Michael Braymen, Frank Calvo, and Niu Tualaulalei. I have been in touch with our musical friends and they are all awaiting patiently for the opportunity to safely meet again both in in rehearsals and in Sunday services.
We express our deepest thanks and appreciation to all the musicians who have devoted their time and talents to produce pre-recorded music that has been used in our services during 2021. Wendy Yun, soprano and Hampton Deck, tenor for solos during Good Friday and Easter as well as duets and solos for Christmas Eve; Johannes Smiell, soprano and his father Joseph Smiell, clarinet for Good Friday; Catherine DeVos, flute and Rebecca Hartman-Baker, violin for Christmas Eve. One word of interest, Johannes was heard for the last time as a soprano in our church. He has since traded in his soprano voice for that of a tenor!
Respectfully submitted,
Norman Ortiz
Music director, organist
PASTOR’S REPORT 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic is finally over, I’m sure we will all very much enjoy going out in public without having to wear a mask or be “socially distant,” and life returns to what we all thought of as “normal” prior to the pandemic. But in 2021 the world-wide pandemic did not end and life continued under the pandemic with various changes. Perhaps the most beneficial change in 2021 was the development of several vaccinations, developed at unheard of speed. Unfortunately, the politicization of the pandemic meant that a large percentage of Americans chose not to get vaccinated. As a result, an estimated 858,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 as I write, and 5,570,000 people have died so far world-wide, with no stopping in sight. The corona virus continues to mutate. Currently the Omicron variant is spreading faster than previous mutations, albeit with milder symptoms for many, but still deadly for some. Therefore, we continue to pray that pandemic will end soon, but in the mean time we all need to be vigilant in protecting others and ourselves.
Perhaps the best news for our congregation in 2021 was the eventual return to “in-person” worship on Sunday, June 20, when Governor Newsome allowed people to gather under specific conditions. Up until that time worship was done two ways, as it was for most of 2020. One way we conducted worship prior to that date was for Norman Ortiz and me to video the worship service mid-week. I would then edit the video recording, putting the words of prayers, hymns, scriptures and the rest of the liturgy on the video screen, and then posting the videos on YouTube on the internet Saturday night. This was very time consuming, but it did allow anyone with a computer to watch our worship service anywhere in the world. The second way we worshipped was to do so by using the computer program Zoom. Zoom allows everyone connected to see each other and hear each other over the internet. So, Norman and I would do the worship service a second time every Sunday morning using Zoom. This meant that anyone who participated in that way was able to do so “live,” meaning we could interact with each during other using Zoom.
Starting on Sunday, June 20th, the session allowed people who wished to come to worship “in person” in the Sanctuary, to do so as long as they wore a mask and sat “socially distant” from each other – which was not a problem in our very large Sanctuary. In addition, we incorporated those who did not attend “in person” into worship using Zoom. Many worshipping congregations did the same, and this became known as “hybrid worship”. In order to do this the Session approved using funds of just over $10,000 to buy the computer equipment, software and a 90 inch television to be installed in the Sanctuary. The television was mounted just in front of and above the pulpit. It is enormous, measuring 6 feet 6 inches wide and 4 feet tall. A Task Force of Corinne Quinn, Michael Braymen, Pattie Kempf and I researched what to changes to make. We went over to Community Presbyterian Church to see their set up, and eventually hired a consultant they had used in order to get key help in developing and installing our computer system for the Sanctuary. Once we had a plan, Howard Fitzpatrick, Michael Braymen, and I installed the large television in the Sanctuary. Michael Braymen and Howard Fitzpatrick worked together to get the system up and running, and then Michael Braymen, Corinne Quinn and Pattie Kempf were then trained to run to operate it. A computer and two screens were installed in the pew just in front of the pulpit, where the operator of this system sits. It is possible to operate our new system with only one person, but most Sundays Michael Brayman runs the PowerPoint presentation from home, and Patty and Corinne both come into the Sanctuary to run the system. Although we have had many technical glitches in running the system, we continue to get better at doing so, and it allows our congregation to jointly meet both in person and virtually using Zoom every Sunday. People have been very patient with the technical glitches we have encountered during worship, and I think everyone has been very pleased to be back together for worship in this new way during the pandemic. This is also meant that Norman and I no longer video the worship service midweek, which saves both of us a lot of time.
Other changes brought on by the pandemic are that Christian education classes for adults have shifted to meeting on Zoom as well. I do a weekly Bible Study class on Mondays from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. on Zoom, and the Spiritual Journey class meets on Tuesdays using Zoom from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom. Session meeting have also shifted to third Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Zoom. Zoom and other computer programs like it have allowed many interactions to continue at a distance world-wide. While this has been a great gift, it has also led do a new term being developed, “Zoom fatigue,” which describes the fatigue from constantly sitting in a chair and looking at a video screen hour after hour. But, Zoom has allowed us to safely adjust to working and seeing each other while the pandemic continues.
The development of COVID vaccines means that I can now safely visit many people who live in retirement homes and other settings that were shut down prior to vaccines being available. This has had great benefits to those who were very lonely during the time no one could come visit them “in person.” In April, prior to the COVID vaccines being available, this Session decided to deliver small boxes of chocolates from Liled’s candy store on Tennessee Street to everyone in the congregation. Session had done the same in December 2020, when poinsettias were delivered to everyone in the congregation prior to Christmas. This seemed to give a boost to everyone who received a poinsettia or box of chocolate because it was a symbol that no one Ihas been forgotten, even though we couldn't physically be together. The delivery of poinsettias was repeated in December 2021 to every member of the congregation. We are all grateful to Michael Braymen, Roberta Hunter, Corinne Quinn for generously doing the deliveries. In addition, Frank Calvo beautified the pointsettias and chocolates as well.
This pretty much summarizes the development of how we adjusted to life during the pandemic. In addition, the Key News is written, printed and mailed out each month, which keeps people abreast of congregational news and plans. But since the pandemic starte in late Marck 2020, very little happens in our church building from day to day.
In 2021 we had a two members of the congregation die. In August, I got a call late one night from a friend of Linda Streeter, saying Linda was missing. Eventually, Linda was found dead in her apartment. Since Linda had no immediate family that we knew of, Session decided to take responsibility for dealing with her body, her apartment and her funeral. A team of Elders, Michael Braymen, Roberta Hunter, Pattie Kempf, Jan McCafferty and Corinne Quinn, took charge of emptying Linda’s apartment and dealing with her finances. They spend many, many hours sorting through and disposing of her personal items. When sorting through Linda’s papers, they discovered that Linda had a few cousins still alive. We eventually contacted her cousin, XXX, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, and send him some of her personal items. I worked with Ed Wilkes of Skyview Memorial Lawn to have Linda’s body cremated, and they generously discounted the price to do so. The Deacon’s paid for the cremation, but eventually Linda’s cousin, XXX, made a generous donation to more than cover that cost, reimbursing the Deacons. Then, on Sunday, October 24, we had a funeral service in the Sanctuary for Linda, which incorporated people from near and far using Zoom. Some of Linda’s personal items were put on tables in the Narthex, and people were able to select a momento from Linda. I especially want to thank the Session members for all their help in taking care of Linda’s effects after her death. Her ashes will be scattered, along with those of her mother’s which we found in her apartment, in the rose garden later this year.
In November Gerald Davis passed away at the age of 86 after a long decline. Gerry was an active member of the congregation, an Elder for many years and a member of the Pastor Nominating Committee that nominated me to be the Pastor back in 1994. His first wife, Linda, was also an Elder for many years and head of the Property Committee. After Linda died from breast cancer, Gerry eventually remarried and moved to Green Valley, losing touch with our congregation. His family asked me to do a private graveside service for him at Skyview Memorial Lawn on Friday, December 10, where his remains were interred next to Linda’s.
In the Spring of 2021 I was contacted by Noelle Abistillas and Bill D’Elia to do their wedding in our Sanctuary. Noelle grew up in our congregation and attended Emory University Law School outside of Atlanta, Georgia, after college where she met Bill. After graduation, they both stayed in the Atlanta area to practice law. I performed their wedding on Friday, August 27, in our Sanctuary, with just their extended family in attendance in person. However, over 50 of their friends from the Atlanta area attended the ceremony using Zoom, which was a first for me and our congregation, I believe.
On a personal note, I was able to return to Snowmass, Colorado, in August 2021 to attend the 10 day silent retreat I have attended there since 2014. In 2020 the monastery and retreat house there were shut down because of the pandemic. It was very nice to return to that sacred and beautiful setting. Attendance was cut in half as a precaution, because each room where retreatants stay was limited to one person instead of two. Centering Prayer remains a very important part of my spiritual practices, and Zoom has allowed me to practice Centering Prayer every morning with others, in addition to teaching it in the Spiritual Journey class I lead every Tuesday. In the fall of 2021 I was also able to return to leading my Centering Prayer class at the California Health Care Facility Prison in Stockton, California, on Thursday mornings, although the Omicron variant has now closed down the prison again. In the Spring of 2021 I was invited to become a part of a newly created Service Team for Contemplative Outreach International. I am one of seven people on the Service Team, and one of two leaders of a Task Force. The Task Force I lead deals with responding to the letters that prisoners send to Contemplative Outreach asking for materials to help them learn and practice Centering Prayer. On September 18 I was also a presenter at the Contemplative Outreach International Conference, using Zoom, which was attended by more than 1,000 people worldwide.
All of this now brings me to address a large challenge that faces our congregation. For many years the Session has been seeking to address major repairs to our very large and aging church building. Elder Caroline Poage has been working for over 3 years with a Contractor to survey the repairs needed and get cost estimates. In 2020 the congregation voted to sell the church manse in order to amass the funds to do repairs, and the manse was sold in June of 2020. However, at that time we did not have a clear estimate of what the repairs might cost. In the Summer of 2021 it began to become clear that the cost of all the repairs might significantly exceed our financial savings. Elder Roberta Hunter suggested that we explore the possibility of leaving our church building and going over to share the building of Community Presbyterian Church. A Congregational Meeting was held on Zoom after worship on Sunday, October 31, to discuss the matter. Since that time, the Session has struggled with what to do. In November, Elders Roberta Hunter and Corinne Quinn went over to Community Presbyterian Church and opened a conversation with their Session, and one of their Elders came to our Stated Session meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, and said that they were open to exploring options with us. As I write, this is perhaps the largest issue facing our Session and Congregation, and it will be addressed at the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 30 2022.
The Session had a Special Session Meeting to address this issue on Wednesday, January 12, 2022. The meeting went very well, with Elders agreeing that we are in no hurry to make a decision this large, and that further research needs to be done and considered. I wrote a letter to the Session prior to that meeting which was my attempt to summarize the financial situation we face. I now include most of that letter, with a few edits, below.
Dear Elders,
Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12, we will have a Special Session meeting to discuss the situation of our congregation concerning spending money to repair the exterior of our church building or leaving our current church building to possibly share the building of Community Presbyterian Church (or some other location).
I would like to “frame” our discussion with a few comments in this email.
First, none of us wants to be in the position we are in as a congregation. By that, I mean that I believe everyone in our congregation would like to stay in our current church building, myself included. If we could wave our hands and have the building repaired, we would all do that. What is driving the situation we face are financial decisions we must make.
Second, to summarize what we are facing, let me review some financial facts from our last Session meeting in December.
Caroline Poage gave us information on the projected cost of doing all the repairs on the exterior of our church building at our last meeting. The projected total cost of those doing all of those repairs form our consultant Oliver and Company is $1,892,201. This cost is only an estimate, and the cost could be more or it could be less. My understanding is that it does not include the cost of hazardous material removal for the repairs, because it is hard to estimate that cost before doing the repairs.
Caroline also gave us the amount of “unrestricted savings” in our assets at our last meeting. As of December 15, 2021, we had approximately $907,542 in our “unrestricted savings” available to spend as needed. This is less than the cost of repairing everything on the exterior of our building. This means we cannot complete the entire list of repairs at this time. Caroline has said that she believes we could do some of the most crucial repairs at this time, and leave other repairs for the future. What is uncertain is where the financing for future repairs would come from.
In December, we also approved an Operating Budget for 2022. That budget projects a deficit of $34,386 in 2022. Of course, budgets are only estimates, and the deficit this year could be larger or smaller than that. But when we have a deficit, currently the only way we can pay for that deficit is to use our “unrestricted savings.” Our Operating Budget deficits have been getting larger for many years, because our income is getting smaller and our expenses are getting larger. This is driven by our congregation having fewer and fewer members, which means that our financial pledging declines most years, and by the increasing costs of paying our bills. For instance, our Property Insurance bill in 2021 was $11,500 and in 2022 it will be $18,500 an increase of $7,000. In addition, cost of living expenses are rising, so we voted to give our entire staff a 5.9% cost of living raise in 2022, to match the rising cost of living. This means our projected cost of paying our staff went from $135,000 in 2021, to $142,000 in 2022, an increase of $8,000.
In addition, we all know that we have members over 90 years of age who together pledge over $60,000 per year. When those members die, we will lose that income. It is possible that those member will leave the church a bequest, but they have told me that whatever bequest they leave the church, it will not be enough to replace the pledge. When these members eventually die, the Operating Budget deficit will increase by at least $60,000. This means that we need to consider how much of our “unrestricted savings” we shouldn’t spend, to have a reserve in order to be able to pay future deficits.
Just in this short summary, you can see the problem.
Third, the financial picture I have just summarized is factual, based on the best information we have. Our financial situation is what is driving the difficult decisions we face. However, all of us have many emotional feelings about the situation we face. Almost all of those feelings – for each of us – are difficult and painful. That is because none of us really want to be in this situation. We all “wish” (based on our emotions) that the situation would just go away. But unfortunately, it is not going away. Whether we like it or not – and we all don’t like it – this is the situation we all face together.
Finally, I suggest that our discussion tomorrow address the financial situation we face. I think it would be helpful for all of us to keep in mind that we all have difficult and painful emotions about the situation. It is healthy and helpful for us to admit that to each other. So I suggest that we keep in mind that the situation we face is the financial situation we are in. It is okay that we might have differing opinions as to what to do about the problem. But it is very, very important that we talk to each other respectfully about this difficult situation. It is no one’s “fault” that we face this difficult situation. Almost every congregation in our Presbytery faces a similar situation. Our joint task tomorrow is to discuss the best way to address this difficult financial situation.
I look forward to wrestling together with this difficult situation tomorrow.
Grace & Peace,
Hamp
In summary, the life of our small congregation continues as we all wrestle with the challenges that the pandemic have brought us. I believe we have done an admirable job of continuing the work of Christ during the pandemic. And, as we enter a new calendar year we continue to wrestle with the financial issues that we face as well. But I feel blessed to have been your Pastor for over 27 years now. I became your Pastor on January 2, 1995, so I am now in my 28th year here. I want to thank all our Elders for their dedicated and hard work: Michael Braymen, Howard Fitzpatrick, Roberta Hunter, Pattie Kempf, Jan McCafferty, Susan Melendez, Caroline Poage, Corinne Quinn and Linda Reid. I also want to thank our hard working staff: Susan Melendez, Norman Ortiz and Cathy Wilcox.
As we move into a new year with new challenges, I am sure God will continue to bring us new blessings as well. Thank you for allowing me to be your Pastor, as we continue together to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as part of the body of Christ in the world.
Grace & Peace
The Rev. Dr. Hampton Deck
Pastor
Table of Contents 2021
Session Committees
Christian Education.............................................................................. 2
Church & World Committee............................................................... 4
Fellowship Committee......................................................................... 6
Outreach.................................................................................................. 7
Personnel Committee........................................................................... 8
Property Committee............................................................................. 9
Stewardship & Finance Committee.................................................. 11
Worship Committee............................................................................. 14
The Board of Deacons
Deacons’ Report..................................................................................... 17
Deacons Treasurer’s Report................................................................. 18
Staff Reports
Clerk of Session..................................................................................... 19
Financial Secretary................................................................................ 20
Music Director......................................................................................... 21
Pastor’s Report....................................................................................... 22
2021 Budget Review............................................................................. 29
Asset Report ........................................................................................... 31
2022 Budget .......................................................................................... 33
Pastor’s 2022 Salary ............................................................................. 35
Memorial Funds 2021............................................................................ 36
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION 2021
Christian Education consists of educating children and adults in the Christian faith.
Children’s Christian Education
Educating our children has consisted in two events: their participation in the Gospel for All God’s Children (GfAGC) (commonly thought of as “the children’s sermon”) in the Sunday worship services, and their attending Children’s Sunday School after the GfAGC. Pastor Deck normally presides over the GfAGC in worship, unless there is a guest preacher. Elder Roberta Hunter normally teaches children’s Sunday School during worship, after the GfAGC is over. Occasionally we have other children attend worship, and when this happens they are invited to come up and participate in the GfAGC and attend children’s Sunday School, or they are given the option of staying in worship with their parents if they wish.
Until Sunday, June 20, 2021, due to the pandemic we were unable to meet on Sunday mornings at the Church building, so the GfAGC was the primary means of educating children in our congregation. Max and Bella DiStefano consistently attended Zoom worship and returned to “in person” worship beginning in June, participating regularly in the GfACC.
Adult Christian Education
Adult Christian Education is led by Pastor Deck. In 2021, all Adult Education classes began to meet using the computer program Zoom, which allows everyone to see and hear each other using either their computer or smart-phone.
For over 10 years Pastor Deck led a class called Journey of Faith: An Exploration of the Spiritual Journey,” which meets on Tuesdays from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. The average attendance at this class is around 5 or 6 people each Tuesday. The format of the class is:
- Sharing What’s on Our Hearts — We close by sharing our lives with each other, which has become a very special time for all of us.
- Then, we intentionally S-L-O-W D-O-W-N. The pace of our lives is normally so fast that we don’t really take time to think about our lives. So, we begin by first singing Taizé songs, and then writing down at least 5 things for which we are grateful while we listen to music.
- Centering Prayer — This is a type of prayer that is more about “listening” than talking. While it is a less well know form of prayer, it can also be seen as a form of meditation. We practice it together for 20 minutes.
- The bulk of our time we practice Lectio Divina This is an ancient way of reading the Bible or some other text. We mostly read from books that discuss the dynamics of contemplative prayer. In 2021 we read from, A Different Christianity: Early Christian Esotericism and Modern Thought by Robin Amis, Dancing with Your Shadow: Integrating the Ego and Self on the Spiritual Path by Kim Nataraja, Intimacy with God: An Introduction to Centering Prayer by Thomas Keating, and An Ocean of Light: Contemplation, Transformation, and Liberation by Martin Laird.
A weekly Bible Study meets on Mondays using Zoom, from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. In the class we look at a Bible passage that Pastor Deck has recently preached on in worship. We always look at the definitions of the Greek words in the Bible text that stand behind the English translation we are used to reading. We also sometimes read interpretation about the passage that Pastor Deck puts up on the Zoom screen for us to read and discuss together. Attendance at this Bible Study averages about 4 to 7 people each week. Many attenders have said that they are pleasantly surprised at how much they learn from the study, after also hearing the sermon based on the passage.
Respectfully submitted,
Pastor Hampton Deck
for
Howard Fitzpatrick
Christian Education Committee Chair
CHURCH AND WORLD COMMITTEE 2021
As we continue to navigate this unique moment in history, our congregation remained steadfast in our resolve to be Christ’s hands and feet in the world by contributing to positive change in the world through our financial gifts during the year 2021. Our congregation, as a FIVE for FIVE CHURCH, received the five Church Wide Special Offerings and contributed to basic mission support. Basic mission support this year remained at $2400.
Our One Great Hour of Sharing Appeal in April yielded $425.00 which supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Presbyterian Self Development of the People and Presbyterian Hunger Program projects domestically and globally. 2021 brought multiple natural disasters to several areas around the world, including hurricanes in the Southern United States and wildfires in Northern California. Your contributions to this offering assist others as they rebuild their lives following life changing events. The Pentecost Offering, collected during the month of May, raised $280.00 to support projects of the Presbyterian Church (USA) which impact youth and young adults. A total of $30.00 was collected for this offering during 2020. This money will be added to 2021’s Pentecost Offering and granted accordingly (40%, amounting to $124.00, will be used to support projects for local at risk youth and 60%, totaling $186.00, will be sent to the Synod to support PC(USA) programs for at risk youth and other initiatives such as Presbyterian Youth Triennium).
During the month of October, our Peace and Global Witness Offering was collected. A total of $710.00 was collected. The Church and World Committee retained 25% ($177.25) and will combine this with 2020’s Peace and Global Witness Offering proceeds ($32.50) to support local peace focused initiatives. The remaining $532.50 was shared by the Presbytery of the Redwoods and the Synod of the Pacific to assist in promoting the peace of Christ by addressing the systems of injustice throughout the world. During the month of December, we collected the Christmas Joy Offering. Total collection for this offering was $475.00 which supports leadership development at the racial/ethnic schools affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and enables the Presbyterian Church (USA) Board of Pensions to assist retired pastors and other church workers in times of financial need. The Church and World Committee also offered a letter of support to Stillman College, the PC(USA) affiliated Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to include in its application to the US Department of Interior, National Park Service, History of Equal Rights Program. The historical preservation grant is to provide funding to restore Winsborough Hall, the first female school and dormitory at Stillman College, as a living and learning center
Throughout 2021, a total of $565.00 was collected for the Cents-Ability Offering. The Presbytery of the Redwoods received $423.75 of this offering and 25% ($141.25) of the offering was retained to provide food for the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano barrel located in our church Narthex. Our contribution to the Cents-Ability Offering was combined with contributions from other churches in the Presbytery of the Redwoods to grant $29,425 to 21 churches in our Presbytery and their community based non profit partners to support their hunger alleviation projects. These hunger alleviation projects, including community gardens, food pantries and soup kitchens providing hot take-out meals, allow churches and non profits in our Presbytery to show Christ’s love to neighbors in need. Individuals in our congregation also contributed to the 8th Annual Pedal for Protein charity bicycle ride, which raised over $60,000 for the 8 Food Banks within our Presbytery of the Redwoods boundaries.
We thank God and you for your prayers and continued financial support that we receive for mission which allows God’s work to be done in the world!
“YOUR PRAYERS AND YOUR DOLLARS REALLY DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!”
Respectfully Submitted,
Corinne L. Quinn, Chair
Members: Michael Braymen and Elissa Shanks Stewart
FELLOWSHIP COMMITTEE 2021
There were no birthday lunches served this year but there was plenty of fellowship! Our members and friends made the best of the situation working around COVID.
Our members and friends were again invited to drive through the parking lot and we would hand them a piece of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. On November 24th we hosted “Drive by Pie” day. Thank you to Norman Ortiz and Pattie Kemp for volunteering their baking skills. We had homemade pumpkin and pecan pie. It was Pastor Deck. Corinne Quinn and myself handing out pieces of pie. We got to actually see people, live and in person. With masks of course!
I look forward to the year we can join together again and celebrate.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Melendez
Fellowship Chair
OUTREACH 2021
OutReach is always working towards finding more avenues to introduce the community to our congregation and our building. We are looking at all the different ways of putting FPCV in the public eye, we are slightly more aggressive with our advertising but we always have to remember that there is a cost to most advertising.
We are a member of Vallejo Convention & Visitor Center, and our advert is permanently placed in the Ferry Building along with our informational leaflets.
We are also a member of Vallejo Chamber of Commerce this allows us to advertise on their website with our special events being sent out to all their members. We attend the Chamber events, to promote our events and our building. Pattie Kempf is a member of the OutReach Committee working for us with the Chamber of Commerce.
We place adverts in the Vista Neighborhood Association News, Times Herald, and the Grapevine. We have banners outside the church to let people know how to connect with us via Zoom plus inviting friends to join us in the Sanctuary.
Don’t forget, everything you need to know about us is on our website which is looked after beautifully by Susan Melendez. Not only does Susan work on our website she also designs our banners that we place outside the building and the graphics for our advertising.
If you have any ideas or thoughts as to how we can promote ourselves please let the OutReach Committee know and we will see how we can move forward with your ideas.
Many thanks to the OutReach Committee members Susan Melendez and Pattie Kempf helpers, always so willing to work on our behalf.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda M Reid
OutReach Chair
PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE 2021
The church had four paid staff and one volunteer staff in 2021:
Senior Pastor – The Rev. Dr. Hampton Deck
Music Director/Organist/Keyboardist – Norman Ortiz
Administrative Assistant/Treasurer – Susan Melendez
Custodian/Maintenance – Cathy Wilcox
Financial Secretary – Donna Russell, Volunteer
There was no turnover in the staff during 2021. All staff are experienced in their positions and each has over twelve years of service with the church. The Rev. Dr. Hampton Deck completed twenty-seven years of service with the church on January 2, 2022.
A 1.3% cost of living raise was given to staff in 2021. Though the place and methods of work for the church changed in the pandemic, the church has been able to keep our staff at their regular pay during this time thanks to the continued giving of the congregation
Performance evaluations were not conducted in 2021, but are planned to be completed in 2022.
Respectfully submitted,
Roberta Hunter
Personnel Committee Chair
PROPERTY COMMITTEE 2021
The Property Committee is charged with the upkeep of the building, along with major furnishings, the grounds, the Manse, and additionally manages the use of rentals of the Church facilities.
The workload of the committee is spread over several people. Committee chair Michael Braymen provides coordination. Susan Melendez prepares the contracts for renters. Howard Fitzpatrick takes care of many small and larger maintenance projects. Cathy Wilcox, custodian, takes care of routine cleaning and maintenance as well as more significant projects. Caroline Poage, who has been working very hard on some large projects which will require outside contractors. Pastor Deck provides institutional knowledge of the quirks of the building and pitches in on many efforts.
The church facilities continue to need significant maintenance and upgrades due to the passage of time. We are always aware of our limited resources and look for the best companies and reasonable costs to benefit our congregation and the building. Caroline Poage, helped by the members of the Stewardship & Finance Committee and to her husband, Ron Lissey, continues to work with Oliver and Co. to get bids and get the outside of the building repaired and painted. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent increases in costs have added complications to this already large project.
The solar panels on the roof continue to produce and offset significant portions of our electricity bill. April through September they produced more power than we used. The lifetime production of the system as of April 2021 was 100,274 kilowatt hours.
We were contacted by the Solano County Registrar of Voters in the summer, asking if they could use our building for the September 14, 2021, recall election. Session discussed this request, approving it, and Elder Michael Braymen took charge of coordinating with the Registrar of Voters for the use of the building.
We continue to offer the use of our facilities as a service to the community. For the past several years, many organizations and private groups meet at and utilize the building, both on a fee or non-fee basis depending on requirements of each group. Prior to the pandemic, the following organizations were paying to use our building. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many of them were unable to use the building. It is indicated which groups continue to use the building during the pandemic and which haven’t. They are:
- Abundant Life Church (continued during pandemic)
- Common Ground (continued during pandemic)
- Little Angels Preschool (continued during pandemic)
- Vallejo Choral Society (resumed use in 2021)
- Alcoholics Anonymous on Tuesday and Saturday Society (did NOT continue during pandemic)
- Al-Anon Thursday evening Society (did NOT continue during pandemic)
- Buena Vista Neighborhood Association Society (did NOT continue during pandemic)
- Mexican-American Dance group Society (did NOT continue during pandemic)
- Occasional rents for small groups, meetings, and weddings etc. (resumed use in 2021)
We are VERY glad that our three main renters/users of the building continued to use the building and pay their rent during the pandemic, since it greatly helps our Operating Budget.
Items of note for 2021:
- Unplugged unused refrigerator, freezer, and microwave in the kitchen to save electricity.
- Updated the lighting in the furnace room.
- Repaired roof of storage shed in courtyard.
- Installed motion sensors and/or photocells for exterior safety lighting.
- Installed new planters by doors to Narthex from parking lot.
- Installed equipment to support use of Zoom with in-person worship services including, computer, web cameras, and 90-inch television.
- Purchased 3 laptops to allow members to worship by Zoom with members who are unable to attend in person.
- There was a hard rain in October with numerous leaks in the Sanctuary, classrooms, and long hall next to the courtyard.
- Session donated a spare piano to a student of Norman Ortiz.
- New law (SB 1383) requires the Church to dispose of food scraps and non-recyclable paper in the green yard waste bins.
Grateful thanks to all who help with the stewardship of the building.
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Braymen
Property Committee Chair
STEWARDSHIP AND FINANCE 2021
Stewardship and Finance Committee is charged with assisting the people of God regarding the Christian stewardship of money, time and talents, ensuring that all offerings are used for the purposes for which they were contributed; and overseeing the accurate maintenance of all financial accounting records of this congregation. The Stewardship & Finance Committee is also responsible for designing and conducting the Annual Stewardship Campaign (“The Pledge Drive”) each fall to raise funds for church operations in the succeeding year.
Pastor Deck continues to design the Annual Stewardship Campaign and draft the Pledge Letter and we are very appreciative of his efforts. Susan continues to do a great job as Treasurer and Caroline tracks the Investment Accounts and reports on their use. Thank you, Susan! The Stewardship and Finance Committee presently includes Donna Russell, the Financial Secretary, Roberta Hunter, Jan McCafferty, Susan Melendez, Rod Lissey and our Pastor, Dr. Deck and of course, myself as chair. Moving forward, I, Caroline, will be the only FORMAL member of Stewardship and Finance. This is not because I don’t appreciate input from other members of the congregation but because, as our congregation gets smaller, these other members have heavy loads with other responsibilities: Donna is our financial secretary and is a deacon, Roberta is chair of personnel and admin, Jan is deacon’s rep on Session, Susan is Treasurer and office and Rod has all he can do to keep Caroline upright! We have made slow but sure progress on the project of repairing and painting the outside of our church. It is a two-prong approach: funding the repair and working with Oliver & Co. to do the work, under the direction of McGinnis Chen, architects.
Let’s talk about the funding issue first. We have the funds based upon the PRELIMINARY budget Oliver & Co. provided us, but we don’t want to use up all our reserves for this work, nor do I want to see all of our reserves used for personnel costs! I would like to remind you that capital funds can only be used for capital projects and not for operating expenses, whereas operating funds or non-capital funds can be used for capital expenses. The Hanns Ave. property was sold on June 19, 2020 for $503,675.06 and we spent $66,537.01 to prepare it for sale. Net proceeds were $437,138.05. Looking further into the future we all need to keep our eyes and ears open for the possibility of convincing members of the community to donate real estate to the church for capital projects, i.e. repairs. See the diagram at the end of the report for further explanation of this need. We are also investigating other sources of funds, but as with AmazonSmile, this will probably require that we are listed with GuideStar. To be listed with GuideStar we must have a Letter of Determination from the IRS, signifying we are a 501c3. (We are a 501c3 according to the California Secretary of State.) To get this Letter requires us to file an acceptable application with the IRS. The format for this application is 28, yes, twenty-eight pages! And to be quite honest, I just don’t have it in me at this time to work on it!
The second issue is the work itself on the church building. This has had some unexpected delays. After consulting with Oliver & Co., we decided we needed to go a different route with one of the contractors. Our focus is on repairing the church, not rebuilding it! We also want a good, thorough job, but not a gold-plated one! Finding a company with the licensing, qualifications, track record and interest has been quite a challenge. It has been that way since we first started considering work on the church. What I am hoping for is to get a team of contractors in place that will be “our go-to” companies in the future, not just this work. Since we are “people-powered challenged”, anything we spend on the building needs to be supported by contractor accountability. That is, like with the roof, if there is a problem with the roof, we call the roofers! That is why I am not in favor of “volunteer labor”, no matter the accolades. A few examples, courtyard drainage and the French drain on the north side of the church. Thankfully Howard Fitzpatrick solved the “geysers in the courtyard” problem, for the time being. Thank you, Howard! But, the French drain is still a problem. Although “The Church” is not “The Building”, the appearance of “The Building” has a great deal to do with how individuals, some within the congregation and some just passing by, view “The Church”. So, let’s not give “The Building” short shrift.
Currently, the Session has in hand a Magnitude of Order estimate from Oliver & Co. We have not dug into what is included in each phase, but the east wing appears to need the most work, with an estimate of $999,818.00 at this time. We don’t know what this would include, but most probably it would not include hazmat remediation, repair plans and a kitty for over run costs (20%). The estimates are much larger than the original ones because of (1) increased scope precipitated by a forensic water intrusion test of the east wing and (2) serious inflation of costs (don’t we know it!) I tried to steer Oliver & Co away from window work, but they held my feet to the fire, correctly pointing out that even if the church spent large sums on a repair and the windows still leaked, the church would not be happy. So, basically, the church is going to need funds to do any of this work. As soon as Session decides on future direction of the church, Stewardship and Finance and interested parties will proceed searching for additional funds. Stay tuned! Current capital fund (12/31/21) is $298,931.88. (B of A checking capital of $397,397.92 minus Investment spreadsheet capital expenditures of $98,466.04)
We on Session have discussed these repair costs and “start-up costs” or pre-repair costs like various surveys, tests, and development of plans for the repair. Let us say that we did not do any of these designed repairs, would we have wasted money? No and let me tell you why: this work would have had to be done anyway and, if the building gets sold, for whatever reason, I think these costs should be added to the selling price and refunded to FirstPresVallejo, approximately $100,000.00 at this time. Of course, these design documents and survey results would be transferred to the buyer. Repairs completed would, of course be part of the selling price. All in all, I think incurring these “start-up” costs for surveys, development of CAD drawings and repair procedures should encourage future caretakers, not discourage them!
We want to thank first and foremost, God, then the congregation, Session, and the Committee members for working so hard to meet budget projections. At the end of 2021 we ended up with an Operating Budget about -$24,000, even though I don’t know the final figure at this time. Because of the irregularity of pledges and a projected deficit for 2022 of about $42,000, we will draw from our investment funds as needed. In addition, there is a separate line item on our Investment Fund spreadsheet for “replenishing the checking account” so we will be able to track our “burn rate”, if that becomes necessary. Speaking of Investment Funds and our current planned projects, we do have a “mental reserve” of a substantial amount that we do not plan to dip into for our “building projects” or “deferred maintenance”. The management of our “USAA stock” which is USISX, was moved by USAA in Nov 2020 from USAA to Victory Capital. Our account is still accessible through USAA portal.
As I mentioned before, we all need to keep our eyes open, our ears to the ground and rev up our networking abilities for one purpose. That purpose is to tell the community of the opportunity to give FirstPresVallejo pieces of residential real estate. The donor would then be given a tax break, pending tax pros opinion. FirstPresVallejo could then sell this real estate and use funds for our capital projects.
I would like to draw your attention to the Investment Fund spreadsheet: the column under “Balance 12/31/21” reflects the stock market The actual costs of various projects are in previous annual reports. May I draw your attention to the bottom of the Investment spreadsheet: there is a sub-spreadsheet regarding the US Trust (Bank of America) statement. The beginning balance was $1,199,367.25 and an ending balance of $527,116.23. This “smaller” balance was caused by moving the cash we had in US Trust into a separate checking account with Bank of America. The current balance in that checking account is $637,397.92 (cell H42). This saves us from paying maintenance fees on this amount. It also gives us some protection in case of a market drop. Of course, on the other hand, we did not profit from the increase in value when the market went up, but we did sleep well, not risking church money! In the future, we probably will consider moving some of this “cash” back into investments. Stay tuned. As our congregation gets smaller, so do our pledges. This year has been better than expected in the amount of rental income received, especially considering the immense challenges facing our tenants (and us) due to COVID-19. We do so appreciate out tenants continuing to pay their rent. Our bills do not go away! The rental income is a GREAT help in reaching out budget goals.
If you, as members of this congregation, ever have any questions about First Presbyterian’s financial matters, please feel free to call upon any member of the Stewardship & Finance Committee for answers.
Respectfully submitted,
Caroline Poage,
Chairman of Stewardship and Finance
WORSHIP COMMITTEE 2021
The purpose of the Worship Committee is to assist the Pastor in providing for the worship of God on Sundays and special days throughout the year. As is our custom and the custom of Christians everywhere across the ages, we worshipped every Sunday morning throughout the year, and on some special days as well. The event that made our worship extraordinary in 2021 was the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
As we did since the pandemic started in March 2020, for the first half of 2021 Pastor Hampton Deck and Organist/Pianist Norman Ortiz recorded a video of worship in the Sanctuary during the week, which Pastor Deck then put up on YouTube.com This allowed people to view the video or worship any time. (Every video still appears on YouTube to this day!) Pastor Deck adjusted the Order of Worship slightly to adjust to the new situation. He took out the middle Hymn and changed the Prayers of the People to verbalizing a few issues we could pray about, lighting a candle of the Candle Table for each issue and saying “O Lord, hear our prayer,” much like we normally do during the Prayers of the People. It took much more time to video record the service, splice the various parts together and upload them to YouTube.com.
Also, as we did for much of 2020, we also used the computer application Zoom.com to allow us to have “live” worship services on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. with people using Zoom on their own computers or smart phones to be able to see and hear the service at home as Pastor Deck and Norman Ortiz did it “live” from the Sanctuary. The Presbytery of the Redwoods also authorized the Celebration of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper for on-line use, meaning that people at home could use their own bread and juice to celebrate communion while Pastor Deck did the communion liturgy on video or on Zoom. So, we continued to celebrate Communion on the first Sunday of each month.
Using Zoom, Pastor Deck made a few further changes to the Order of Worship. The Passing of the Peace became interactive, by having either Pastor Deck or someone else go around the Zoom screen where everyone’s faces can be been, and saying to them “The peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you,” and their responding by saying, “And may the peace of Christ be with you and with everyone else.” The Offering was also changed to become interactive. Each Sunday Pastor Deck would say that if anyone had a financial gift to offer, they could send it to the church address, and we would make sure we used their offering the appropriate way. This was then followed by asking each person on the Zoom screen to say one or two things for which they were grateful, as all offered their gratitude to God. Pastor Deck would then invite people to continue to offer their gratitude to God as we all listened to the Offertory, played by Norman Ortiz. The Gospel for All God’s Children on Zoom happened much like in-person, with Pastor Deck talking with the children and everyone else on Zoom. The Prayers of the People also became participatory on Zoom, with people voicing their prayer concerns, Pastor Deck lighting a candle on the Candle Table for each concern and saying, “O Lord, hear our prayer,” followed by silence and music during which time people could “continue their conversation with God” as Pastor Deck says.
Starting on Sunday, June 20, 2021, the Session had us returned to “in person” worship, once California Governor Newsom allowed it. The session allowed people who wished to come to worship “in person” in the Sanctuary, to do so as long as they wore a mask and sat “socially distant” from each other – which was not a problem in our very
large Sanctuary. In addition, we incorporated those who did not attend “in person” into worship using Zoom. Many worshipping congregations did the same, and this became known as “hybrid worship”. In order to do this the Session approved using funds of just over $10,000 to buy the computer equipment, software and a 90 inch television to be installed in the Sanctuary. The television was mounted just in front of and above the pulpit. It is enormous, measuring 6 feet 6 inches wide and 4 feet tall. A Task Force of Corinne Quinn, Michael Braymen, Pattie Kempf and I researched what to changes to make. We went over to Community Presbyterian Church to see their set up, and eventually hired a consultant they had used in order to get key help in developing and installing our computer system for the Sanctuary. Once we had a plan, Howard Fitzpatrick, Michael Braymen, and I installed the large television in the Sanctuary. Michael Braymen and Howard Fitzpatrick worked together to get the system up and running, and then Michael Braymen, Corinne Quinn and Pattie Kempf were then trained to run to operate it. A computer and two screens were installed in the pew just in front of the pulpit, where the operator of this system sits. It is possible to operate our new system with only one person, but most Sundays Michael Braymen runs the PowerPoint presentation from home, and Patty and Corinne both come into the Sanctuary to run the system. Although we have had many technical glitches in running the system, we continue to get better at doing so, and it allows our congregation to jointly meet both in person and virtually using Zoom every Sunday. People have been very patient with the technical glitches we have encountered during worship, and I think everyone has been very pleased to be back together for worship in this new way during the pandemic. This is also meant that Norman and I no longer video the worship service midweek, which saves both of us a lot of time.
For many years we have done a series of special services across the year. During the pandemic, this also continued, with some changes.
We were unable to hold an Ash Wednesday service in 2021.
On Friday, April 2, 2021 we held an evening Good Friday worship service on Zoom, using the format we have used for years. The choir was unable to participate on Zoom, so Pastor Deck sang the Hymns and Norman Ortiz played selections on the piano in between the reading of “scenes” from the Passion of our Lord, Jesus Christ, from the Gospel of Matthew. Some members of Community Presbyterian Church and Heritage Presbyterian Church joined us on Zoom that evening.
On Sunday, April 4, 2021, Pastor Deck and Norman Ortiz led our Easter Worship Service for the second year in a row, on Zoom, in addition to making a video earlier in the week. The Session had said it was important for Pastor Deck to do his usual Easter “Easter egg in the bottle” children’s sermon, which he did. He also put flowers on the wire mesh cross during the first Hymn, as the congregation normally does. And he and Norman did a special Easter anthem.
For Pentecost in 2021, only the “circle of flames” banners, which hang above the Chancel of the Sanctuary were put up, since you cannot see the “wind” banners which hang above the pews on the video of worship or on Zoom.
All Saints in 2021 also included the usual PowerPoint slides of recently departed “saints” from our congregation.
The decorations for Advent in 2021 returned to their full glory, including the hanging of the Moravian stars above the Chancel. Many additional decorations were put
up by Frank Calvo, assisted by Norma Lau. Everyone enjoyed the beautification of the Sanctuary in this way.
For our Christmas Eve Worship Service, we were able to return to “in person” worship in the Sanctuary combined with Zoom attendance. As always, we all sang Silent Night, Holy Night, as we usually do. Norman Ortiz went to great lengths to record much special music for the evening, which included many vocalists and instrumentalists, recorded on video over several days and evenings in the Sanctuary.
As we all got used to doing worship on Zoom, several people besides Pastor Deck and Norman Ortiz helped with worship in various ways. Susan Melendez made special slides for the PowerPoint slides that appear on the computer screen for our Zoom services. As always, Susan found beautiful artwork and arranged the words on the screen beautifully. Elders Michael Braymen, Pattie Kempf and Corinne Quinn helped with the running of the Zoom services each Sunday. Trying to press all the right buttons to mute, unmute, switch to the proper slide, take the slides off the screen, etc. is difficult as a one-person job. Michael did a great job in running the PowerPoint. In addition, Corinne did a great job in calling on people for the Passing the Peace, the Offering and Prayers of the People.
Our Music Director, Norman Ortiz, provides the music for our worship, which is highlight in worship each week, lifting us all above the stresses and stains of the pandemic for a few moments with the outstanding music he provided.
In addition, Franc Calvo, and his assistant, Norma Lau, did an excellent job in decorating the Sanctuary for Easter and Advent/Christmas. Nui Tualaulelei and Pattie Kempf also changed many of the banners throughout the year, helping to beautify the Sanctuary and mark the turn of seasons in the liturgical calendar.
I believe we have done a great job adjusting our worship services to the challenges we face during this pandemic.
Respectfully submitted,
Pastor Hampton Deck
for Pattie Kempf,
Worship Committee Chair
DEACONS REPORT 2021
The Deacons of The First Presbyterian Church of Vallejo want to thank the congregation and friends for their continued financial support.It continues to be a difficult time. We didn’t give Easter flowers but gave each member and friend a small box of candy.The candy was delivered by Roberta Hunter,Corinne Quinn,Michael Braymen.and Pastor Deck Thank you Easter cards and Christmas cards wer designed and printed by Susan Melendez.Thank you for the beautiful cards.Cards we’re written by Donna Russell,Corinne Quinn,Roberta Hunter,and Jan McCafferty Thank you.Leona Young sents cards for birthdays,get well and other ones. Thank you Leona. Pastor Deck and Jan McCafferty purchased 60 poinsettias.Each member and friend received a flower. These were delivered by Roberta Hunter Corinne Quinn,Michael Braymen,Pastor Deck and Jan McCafferty Thank you. On Christmas Eve after the service cookies were bagged and given to each person to taken home.Hopefully we can soon gather together for coffee and fellowship with no mask.
The Deacons continues to pray for your concerns,while Pastor Deck light the candles Candles and table are still.,cared for by the Deacons.The Deacons still call and check on members and friends.
The food barrel is still being done. It was emptied once and provided 151 pounds which equals 128 meals.One dollar equals 2 meals. It is hard getting the barrel emptied as the church isn’t always opened.Please continue your support as many people need your help.We we’re able to reach out to the community to assist those less fortunate with donations of money
Christian help center. 300
Salvation Army. 100. Christmas card. 100. Faith food Friday. 200. Food bank Solana/Contra 200. Poinsettia 466.88
Easter candy. 410.55. Member help. 200. Stamps. 33.
The Deacons appreciate all your help and support. Thank you
Sincerely submitted,
Jan McCafferty
GodsBlessings
Deacon’s Fund Treasurer’s Report for 2021 was unavailable. Included is 2020 which is almost the same information per Donna Russell. Questions call Donna Russell.
CLERK OF SESSION 2021
First Presbyterian Church, Vallejo started the year with 57 active members and concluded with 55 active members for 2021. There were no members joining the church and no baptisms in 2021. Two active members passed in 2021: Linda Streeter and Gerald Davis.
Membership information for 2020 was submitted to denomination headquarters in 2020. Membership information for 2021 will be reviewed by Session in January 2021 and then submitted to denomination headquarters.
Throughout 2021 Michael Braymen served as Clerk of Session and Susan Melendez served as Treasurer. Roberta Hunter, Jan McCafferty, Caroline Poage, and Corinne Quinn served as Trustees in 2021.
Leona Young and Josephina Lorico were elected to the 2021 Nominating Committee at June 5, 2021 Congregational Meeting to replace vacancies from Niu Tualaulelei and Alice Wheeler. At the July 4, 2021, Congregation Meeting, the congregation elected Roberta Hunter, Jan McCafferty, Caroline Poage, Corrine Quinn, and Linda Reid to a one-year terms and Michael Braymen and Eric Deck to three-year terms on the Session Board. Eric moved away shortly after and did not serve. Howard Fitzpatrick and Susan Melendez were elected as Elders and Leona Young, Jenny DiStefano, Josefina Lorico as member of the 2022 Nominating Committee at a Congregational meeting on December 5, 2021.
The Session Board class structure for the period July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022, was as follows at year end 2021:
Class of 2022 Class of 2023 Class of 2024
Roberta Hunter Pattie Kempf Michael Braymen
Jan McCafferty Howard Fitzpatrick
Caroline Poage Susan Melendez
Corinne Quinn
Linda Reid
Respectfully submitted,
Michael Braymen
Clerk of Session
FINANCIAL SECRETARY 2021
The responsibilities of the Financial Secretary include sorting and securing offerings after all services, as well as all receipts to the Church, such as fees, rents and memorial donations. The receipts are then counted, recorded, and deposited. All deposits are reported to the Church Treasurer at the time of deposit.
Until the Covid 19 Pandemic lockdowns forced churches to transition to online services, Jan McCafferty collected and secured offerings after each service. We sincerely appreciate her dependability and efficiency.
Ken Russell has provided maintenance, back-up support, and training with the Church’s Church Data Master (CDM) Program, and assisted with the preparation of our Annual Contribution Statements. His support and hard work are immensely appreciated.
Donna Russell counts and records all receipts, then deposits all funds into the Church’s checking account at US Bank. She then transfers all the financial data into the Church Data Master (CDM) Program. At the close of the financial year (December 31st) she prepares, produces and distributes Annual Contribution Statements to all Church donors.
Each year the Presbyterian Church USA assesses every member a $30.00 Per Capita fee to cover their administrative costs. This fee is separate from your pledge and donations which are directed to the operation, activities and mission of our local Church. This fee amounts to over $2000.00 for our Church, so members can greatly assist with our non-negotiable expenses by paying the Per Capita fee for their family.
Annual Contribution Statements are being prepared. We will mail these statements to our contributors by the end of January. If you have questions regarding your statement, please leave a message at the Church and we will reply in a timely manner
Donna Russell
Financial Secretary
MUSIC DIRECTOR 2021
We really miss our choirs at First Presbyterian Church. Even though most of us have figured out a way to navigate in the world with or around COVID-19, the performing arts have really taken a hit, including our church choirs. I, for one, look forward to the time when we can again safely congregate in groups to sing and ring to the glory of God, both in rehearsals and during services.
This is not say that I don’t continue to take great pride and pleasure in being a part of the weekly services. Quite the contrary. Over the years, most of my new music purchases were devoted to organ pieces, of which there is an expansive library of both old and modern music from which to choose. The library for piano is not quite as vast, and it has taken a bit of time to become acquainted with this repertoire.
Given that the piano seems to be the best of the keyboard instruments in our church to broadcast over the internet, I have found it necessary to broaden my collection of sacred music for the piano. With the help of the listing of hymns that compliment the lectionary readings, each week brings the opportunity to search for new renditions of familiar tunes set for piano solo by many previously unfamiliar, yet very talented composers.
You might be recognize some of the song arranger names that have frequented our order of worship this past year: Mark Hayes, Joel Raney, Emma Lou Diemer, John Carter, Lloyd Larson, and Jack Shrader, to name a few. Some of the new names include: Brian Culli, Danette Whelan, Brian Buda, Rudy Davenport, and Christine Sullivan Robbins. All of these composers bring their own unique style to the pieces that they compose and arrange, and once their names are discovered and followed, there are indeed more musical gems to be found.
The names most familiar to us remain those whose voices and bell ringing we have heard lift our spiritual hearts every Sunday, and whom we sorely miss seeing in person: Rose London, Karyn Knowles, Maria Matthews, Wendy Yun, Michael Braymen, Frank Calvo, and Niu Tualaulalei. I have been in touch with our musical friends and they are all awaiting patiently for the opportunity to safely meet again both in in rehearsals and in Sunday services.
We express our deepest thanks and appreciation to all the musicians who have devoted their time and talents to produce pre-recorded music that has been used in our services during 2021. Wendy Yun, soprano and Hampton Deck, tenor for solos during Good Friday and Easter as well as duets and solos for Christmas Eve; Johannes Smiell, soprano and his father Joseph Smiell, clarinet for Good Friday; Catherine DeVos, flute and Rebecca Hartman-Baker, violin for Christmas Eve. One word of interest, Johannes was heard for the last time as a soprano in our church. He has since traded in his soprano voice for that of a tenor!
Respectfully submitted,
Norman Ortiz
Music director, organist
PASTOR’S REPORT 2021
When the COVID-19 pandemic is finally over, I’m sure we will all very much enjoy going out in public without having to wear a mask or be “socially distant,” and life returns to what we all thought of as “normal” prior to the pandemic. But in 2021 the world-wide pandemic did not end and life continued under the pandemic with various changes. Perhaps the most beneficial change in 2021 was the development of several vaccinations, developed at unheard of speed. Unfortunately, the politicization of the pandemic meant that a large percentage of Americans chose not to get vaccinated. As a result, an estimated 858,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 as I write, and 5,570,000 people have died so far world-wide, with no stopping in sight. The corona virus continues to mutate. Currently the Omicron variant is spreading faster than previous mutations, albeit with milder symptoms for many, but still deadly for some. Therefore, we continue to pray that pandemic will end soon, but in the mean time we all need to be vigilant in protecting others and ourselves.
Perhaps the best news for our congregation in 2021 was the eventual return to “in-person” worship on Sunday, June 20, when Governor Newsome allowed people to gather under specific conditions. Up until that time worship was done two ways, as it was for most of 2020. One way we conducted worship prior to that date was for Norman Ortiz and me to video the worship service mid-week. I would then edit the video recording, putting the words of prayers, hymns, scriptures and the rest of the liturgy on the video screen, and then posting the videos on YouTube on the internet Saturday night. This was very time consuming, but it did allow anyone with a computer to watch our worship service anywhere in the world. The second way we worshipped was to do so by using the computer program Zoom. Zoom allows everyone connected to see each other and hear each other over the internet. So, Norman and I would do the worship service a second time every Sunday morning using Zoom. This meant that anyone who participated in that way was able to do so “live,” meaning we could interact with each during other using Zoom.
Starting on Sunday, June 20th, the session allowed people who wished to come to worship “in person” in the Sanctuary, to do so as long as they wore a mask and sat “socially distant” from each other – which was not a problem in our very large Sanctuary. In addition, we incorporated those who did not attend “in person” into worship using Zoom. Many worshipping congregations did the same, and this became known as “hybrid worship”. In order to do this the Session approved using funds of just over $10,000 to buy the computer equipment, software and a 90 inch television to be installed in the Sanctuary. The television was mounted just in front of and above the pulpit. It is enormous, measuring 6 feet 6 inches wide and 4 feet tall. A Task Force of Corinne Quinn, Michael Braymen, Pattie Kempf and I researched what to changes to make. We went over to Community Presbyterian Church to see their set up, and eventually hired a consultant they had used in order to get key help in developing and installing our computer system for the Sanctuary. Once we had a plan, Howard Fitzpatrick, Michael Braymen, and I installed the large television in the Sanctuary. Michael Braymen and Howard Fitzpatrick worked together to get the system up and running, and then Michael Braymen, Corinne Quinn and Pattie Kempf were then trained to run to operate it. A computer and two screens were installed in the pew just in front of the pulpit, where the operator of this system sits. It is possible to operate our new system with only one person, but most Sundays Michael Brayman runs the PowerPoint presentation from home, and Patty and Corinne both come into the Sanctuary to run the system. Although we have had many technical glitches in running the system, we continue to get better at doing so, and it allows our congregation to jointly meet both in person and virtually using Zoom every Sunday. People have been very patient with the technical glitches we have encountered during worship, and I think everyone has been very pleased to be back together for worship in this new way during the pandemic. This is also meant that Norman and I no longer video the worship service midweek, which saves both of us a lot of time.
Other changes brought on by the pandemic are that Christian education classes for adults have shifted to meeting on Zoom as well. I do a weekly Bible Study class on Mondays from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m. on Zoom, and the Spiritual Journey class meets on Tuesdays using Zoom from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom. Session meeting have also shifted to third Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on Zoom. Zoom and other computer programs like it have allowed many interactions to continue at a distance world-wide. While this has been a great gift, it has also led do a new term being developed, “Zoom fatigue,” which describes the fatigue from constantly sitting in a chair and looking at a video screen hour after hour. But, Zoom has allowed us to safely adjust to working and seeing each other while the pandemic continues.
The development of COVID vaccines means that I can now safely visit many people who live in retirement homes and other settings that were shut down prior to vaccines being available. This has had great benefits to those who were very lonely during the time no one could come visit them “in person.” In April, prior to the COVID vaccines being available, this Session decided to deliver small boxes of chocolates from Liled’s candy store on Tennessee Street to everyone in the congregation. Session had done the same in December 2020, when poinsettias were delivered to everyone in the congregation prior to Christmas. This seemed to give a boost to everyone who received a poinsettia or box of chocolate because it was a symbol that no one Ihas been forgotten, even though we couldn't physically be together. The delivery of poinsettias was repeated in December 2021 to every member of the congregation. We are all grateful to Michael Braymen, Roberta Hunter, Corinne Quinn for generously doing the deliveries. In addition, Frank Calvo beautified the pointsettias and chocolates as well.
This pretty much summarizes the development of how we adjusted to life during the pandemic. In addition, the Key News is written, printed and mailed out each month, which keeps people abreast of congregational news and plans. But since the pandemic starte in late Marck 2020, very little happens in our church building from day to day.
In 2021 we had a two members of the congregation die. In August, I got a call late one night from a friend of Linda Streeter, saying Linda was missing. Eventually, Linda was found dead in her apartment. Since Linda had no immediate family that we knew of, Session decided to take responsibility for dealing with her body, her apartment and her funeral. A team of Elders, Michael Braymen, Roberta Hunter, Pattie Kempf, Jan McCafferty and Corinne Quinn, took charge of emptying Linda’s apartment and dealing with her finances. They spend many, many hours sorting through and disposing of her personal items. When sorting through Linda’s papers, they discovered that Linda had a few cousins still alive. We eventually contacted her cousin, XXX, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, and send him some of her personal items. I worked with Ed Wilkes of Skyview Memorial Lawn to have Linda’s body cremated, and they generously discounted the price to do so. The Deacon’s paid for the cremation, but eventually Linda’s cousin, XXX, made a generous donation to more than cover that cost, reimbursing the Deacons. Then, on Sunday, October 24, we had a funeral service in the Sanctuary for Linda, which incorporated people from near and far using Zoom. Some of Linda’s personal items were put on tables in the Narthex, and people were able to select a momento from Linda. I especially want to thank the Session members for all their help in taking care of Linda’s effects after her death. Her ashes will be scattered, along with those of her mother’s which we found in her apartment, in the rose garden later this year.
In November Gerald Davis passed away at the age of 86 after a long decline. Gerry was an active member of the congregation, an Elder for many years and a member of the Pastor Nominating Committee that nominated me to be the Pastor back in 1994. His first wife, Linda, was also an Elder for many years and head of the Property Committee. After Linda died from breast cancer, Gerry eventually remarried and moved to Green Valley, losing touch with our congregation. His family asked me to do a private graveside service for him at Skyview Memorial Lawn on Friday, December 10, where his remains were interred next to Linda’s.
In the Spring of 2021 I was contacted by Noelle Abistillas and Bill D’Elia to do their wedding in our Sanctuary. Noelle grew up in our congregation and attended Emory University Law School outside of Atlanta, Georgia, after college where she met Bill. After graduation, they both stayed in the Atlanta area to practice law. I performed their wedding on Friday, August 27, in our Sanctuary, with just their extended family in attendance in person. However, over 50 of their friends from the Atlanta area attended the ceremony using Zoom, which was a first for me and our congregation, I believe.
On a personal note, I was able to return to Snowmass, Colorado, in August 2021 to attend the 10 day silent retreat I have attended there since 2014. In 2020 the monastery and retreat house there were shut down because of the pandemic. It was very nice to return to that sacred and beautiful setting. Attendance was cut in half as a precaution, because each room where retreatants stay was limited to one person instead of two. Centering Prayer remains a very important part of my spiritual practices, and Zoom has allowed me to practice Centering Prayer every morning with others, in addition to teaching it in the Spiritual Journey class I lead every Tuesday. In the fall of 2021 I was also able to return to leading my Centering Prayer class at the California Health Care Facility Prison in Stockton, California, on Thursday mornings, although the Omicron variant has now closed down the prison again. In the Spring of 2021 I was invited to become a part of a newly created Service Team for Contemplative Outreach International. I am one of seven people on the Service Team, and one of two leaders of a Task Force. The Task Force I lead deals with responding to the letters that prisoners send to Contemplative Outreach asking for materials to help them learn and practice Centering Prayer. On September 18 I was also a presenter at the Contemplative Outreach International Conference, using Zoom, which was attended by more than 1,000 people worldwide.
All of this now brings me to address a large challenge that faces our congregation. For many years the Session has been seeking to address major repairs to our very large and aging church building. Elder Caroline Poage has been working for over 3 years with a Contractor to survey the repairs needed and get cost estimates. In 2020 the congregation voted to sell the church manse in order to amass the funds to do repairs, and the manse was sold in June of 2020. However, at that time we did not have a clear estimate of what the repairs might cost. In the Summer of 2021 it began to become clear that the cost of all the repairs might significantly exceed our financial savings. Elder Roberta Hunter suggested that we explore the possibility of leaving our church building and going over to share the building of Community Presbyterian Church. A Congregational Meeting was held on Zoom after worship on Sunday, October 31, to discuss the matter. Since that time, the Session has struggled with what to do. In November, Elders Roberta Hunter and Corinne Quinn went over to Community Presbyterian Church and opened a conversation with their Session, and one of their Elders came to our Stated Session meeting on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, and said that they were open to exploring options with us. As I write, this is perhaps the largest issue facing our Session and Congregation, and it will be addressed at the Annual Congregational Meeting on Sunday, January 30 2022.
The Session had a Special Session Meeting to address this issue on Wednesday, January 12, 2022. The meeting went very well, with Elders agreeing that we are in no hurry to make a decision this large, and that further research needs to be done and considered. I wrote a letter to the Session prior to that meeting which was my attempt to summarize the financial situation we face. I now include most of that letter, with a few edits, below.
Dear Elders,
Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 12, we will have a Special Session meeting to discuss the situation of our congregation concerning spending money to repair the exterior of our church building or leaving our current church building to possibly share the building of Community Presbyterian Church (or some other location).
I would like to “frame” our discussion with a few comments in this email.
First, none of us wants to be in the position we are in as a congregation. By that, I mean that I believe everyone in our congregation would like to stay in our current church building, myself included. If we could wave our hands and have the building repaired, we would all do that. What is driving the situation we face are financial decisions we must make.
Second, to summarize what we are facing, let me review some financial facts from our last Session meeting in December.
Caroline Poage gave us information on the projected cost of doing all the repairs on the exterior of our church building at our last meeting. The projected total cost of those doing all of those repairs form our consultant Oliver and Company is $1,892,201. This cost is only an estimate, and the cost could be more or it could be less. My understanding is that it does not include the cost of hazardous material removal for the repairs, because it is hard to estimate that cost before doing the repairs.
Caroline also gave us the amount of “unrestricted savings” in our assets at our last meeting. As of December 15, 2021, we had approximately $907,542 in our “unrestricted savings” available to spend as needed. This is less than the cost of repairing everything on the exterior of our building. This means we cannot complete the entire list of repairs at this time. Caroline has said that she believes we could do some of the most crucial repairs at this time, and leave other repairs for the future. What is uncertain is where the financing for future repairs would come from.
In December, we also approved an Operating Budget for 2022. That budget projects a deficit of $34,386 in 2022. Of course, budgets are only estimates, and the deficit this year could be larger or smaller than that. But when we have a deficit, currently the only way we can pay for that deficit is to use our “unrestricted savings.” Our Operating Budget deficits have been getting larger for many years, because our income is getting smaller and our expenses are getting larger. This is driven by our congregation having fewer and fewer members, which means that our financial pledging declines most years, and by the increasing costs of paying our bills. For instance, our Property Insurance bill in 2021 was $11,500 and in 2022 it will be $18,500 an increase of $7,000. In addition, cost of living expenses are rising, so we voted to give our entire staff a 5.9% cost of living raise in 2022, to match the rising cost of living. This means our projected cost of paying our staff went from $135,000 in 2021, to $142,000 in 2022, an increase of $8,000.
In addition, we all know that we have members over 90 years of age who together pledge over $60,000 per year. When those members die, we will lose that income. It is possible that those member will leave the church a bequest, but they have told me that whatever bequest they leave the church, it will not be enough to replace the pledge. When these members eventually die, the Operating Budget deficit will increase by at least $60,000. This means that we need to consider how much of our “unrestricted savings” we shouldn’t spend, to have a reserve in order to be able to pay future deficits.
Just in this short summary, you can see the problem.
- We currently do not have enough money to make all the repairs to the exterior of our building.
- We currently do not have enough money to completely cover our Operating Budget which currently runs large deficits, which in the near future will get much larger.
- The money to pay for repairs and to fund deficits comes from the same source, our “unrestricted savings.” So, we must decide what is the wisest use of our limited funds.
Third, the financial picture I have just summarized is factual, based on the best information we have. Our financial situation is what is driving the difficult decisions we face. However, all of us have many emotional feelings about the situation we face. Almost all of those feelings – for each of us – are difficult and painful. That is because none of us really want to be in this situation. We all “wish” (based on our emotions) that the situation would just go away. But unfortunately, it is not going away. Whether we like it or not – and we all don’t like it – this is the situation we all face together.
Finally, I suggest that our discussion tomorrow address the financial situation we face. I think it would be helpful for all of us to keep in mind that we all have difficult and painful emotions about the situation. It is healthy and helpful for us to admit that to each other. So I suggest that we keep in mind that the situation we face is the financial situation we are in. It is okay that we might have differing opinions as to what to do about the problem. But it is very, very important that we talk to each other respectfully about this difficult situation. It is no one’s “fault” that we face this difficult situation. Almost every congregation in our Presbytery faces a similar situation. Our joint task tomorrow is to discuss the best way to address this difficult financial situation.
I look forward to wrestling together with this difficult situation tomorrow.
Grace & Peace,
Hamp
In summary, the life of our small congregation continues as we all wrestle with the challenges that the pandemic have brought us. I believe we have done an admirable job of continuing the work of Christ during the pandemic. And, as we enter a new calendar year we continue to wrestle with the financial issues that we face as well. But I feel blessed to have been your Pastor for over 27 years now. I became your Pastor on January 2, 1995, so I am now in my 28th year here. I want to thank all our Elders for their dedicated and hard work: Michael Braymen, Howard Fitzpatrick, Roberta Hunter, Pattie Kempf, Jan McCafferty, Susan Melendez, Caroline Poage, Corinne Quinn and Linda Reid. I also want to thank our hard working staff: Susan Melendez, Norman Ortiz and Cathy Wilcox.
As we move into a new year with new challenges, I am sure God will continue to bring us new blessings as well. Thank you for allowing me to be your Pastor, as we continue together to serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ as part of the body of Christ in the world.
Grace & Peace
The Rev. Dr. Hampton Deck
Pastor
MEMORIAL FUNDS 2021
House Fund – Maintain and repair the manse on Hanns Avenue.
James Harrison Fund – Income on the fund can be used for camperships to Westminster Woods and for support of Westminster Woods.
E. Milton Grant Scholarship Loan Fund – Scholarships for members of First Presbyterian Church – Vallejo to further their educational opportunities in fields other than Christian Education.
General Memorial – Can be used for any purpose approved by the Session.
Trustee Reserve – Can be used for any purpose approved by the Session.
Organ Fund – To be used for the music program including maintenance and repair of the organ of the First Presbyterian Church – Vallejo.
Louise & Roy Shear Scholarship Fund – Scholarships for members or staff to enrich the Christian life of the congregation.
Al Jenni Fund – Funds are to be used to support the growth of the church.
Luther Gibson Fund – Funds to be used for church maintenance and utilities.
Ekstrand Sunday School Fund – The income is to be used to purchase non-consumable Sunday School instruction materials and supplies that would be used on Sunday at First Presbyterian Church - Vallejo.
Ann Williams Fund – 75% of the income on the fund is to be used for church operations. The remaining 25% of the income is to be deposited back into the fund.
House Fund – Maintain and repair the manse on Hanns Avenue.
James Harrison Fund – Income on the fund can be used for camperships to Westminster Woods and for support of Westminster Woods.
E. Milton Grant Scholarship Loan Fund – Scholarships for members of First Presbyterian Church – Vallejo to further their educational opportunities in fields other than Christian Education.
General Memorial – Can be used for any purpose approved by the Session.
Trustee Reserve – Can be used for any purpose approved by the Session.
Organ Fund – To be used for the music program including maintenance and repair of the organ of the First Presbyterian Church – Vallejo.
Louise & Roy Shear Scholarship Fund – Scholarships for members or staff to enrich the Christian life of the congregation.
Al Jenni Fund – Funds are to be used to support the growth of the church.
Luther Gibson Fund – Funds to be used for church maintenance and utilities.
Ekstrand Sunday School Fund – The income is to be used to purchase non-consumable Sunday School instruction materials and supplies that would be used on Sunday at First Presbyterian Church - Vallejo.
Ann Williams Fund – 75% of the income on the fund is to be used for church operations. The remaining 25% of the income is to be deposited back into the fund.