Assistant Lay Chairperson Report - January 2016

Submitted by Phil Stamatakos

Below is a table that compares stewardship between 2014 and 2015. The data is as of January 18, 2016 and was collected by Luba Johnson. As the table reflects, total members increased 4% over 2014, and 2015 actual giving was up 4% over 2014 for a total of $222,950. Average donations were up slightly. Number of members 2014: 119

2015: 124 (4% increase over 2014)

New members 2015: 4

Range of donations 2014: weekly: $2.00 to $769.00
yearly: $208.00 to $39,988
2015: weekly: $2.00 to $1,153.85
yearly: $208 to $60,000

Average donation (weekly) 2014: $52.10
2015: $55.47

# of donations that increased 2014-2015 31
# of donations that increased 2015-2016 27
# of donations that decreased 2014-2015 17
# of donations that decreased 2015-2016 19
# of donations that stayed the same 2014-2015 30
# of donations that stayed the same 2015-2016 46
# of new donations – 2015 4
# of new donations – 2016 4
Total of weekly donations 2014: $3,959.86
2015: $4,548.81
Total actual annual donations 2014: $214,250
2015: $222,950
Change in actual annual donations $8,700 = 4% increase

CHARITABLE GIVING

The parish contributed about $44,773 to charities in 2015. Charitable giving is funded through monthly collections taken one Sunday each month during the Divine Liturgy and through funds from the cell towers. The parish's charitable contributions, which are entirely a function of the good will and generosity of our parishioners, have assisted a variety of Orthodox Christian missions and causes at home and around the globe. The parish council believes that the combination of repeatedly giving to charities that are effective in doing good, Christian works, and giving in an "ad hoc" manner as needs arise, provides both the parish and the recipient organization with a number of benefits. Repeat giving permits the parish to become more closely identified with an organization and its objectives and allows the recipient organization to rely upon a relatively consistent level of annual giving; giving to newly identified organizations permits the parish to address immediate needs. The aggregate amount of our charitable giving for the last five years is set forth below:

Year Amount
2015 $44,773
2014 $17,000
2013 $17,055
2012 $12,643
2011 $22,113

From 2011-2014, the parish gave an average of $17,203 per year to charities, so charitable giving of $44,773 in 2015 was more than double amounts given by the parish in the past. Below is a complete list of charitable giving by the parish in 2015. Italicized charities were charities of the month. Non-italicized charities were other causes to which the parish gave.

Month Charity Amount ($)

January Saint Luke mission trips 553

February Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) 1,412
Special clergy assistance 500
Hogar Orphanage 340

March Father Baker’s family 2,014
Maria Pitouras’ burial 4,725

April International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) 2,140

May Support a Mission Priest (SAMP) 2,770 June Ancient Faith Radio 1,306
Saints Constantine and Helen Church 1,000

July Illinois Orthodox seminarian 4,152
Saint Luke mission trips 7,605

August Journey Pregnancy & Life Hub 938
911 memorial 356

September Orthodox Christian Fellowship 820
Father Byron memorial 500

October Ukrainian orphanage 7,000

November Mary and Martha House 1,108
PADS 500 December Coptic Orphans 2,312
Mission trip to Mexico 1,722
Bishop’s appeal for motorcycles to Africa 1,000
Total: 44,773

If you have suggestions for monthly charities, please contact the Assistant Lay Chair.

PADS

This past year St. Luke continued hosting homeless women and children every Monday night (except during the summer) through PADS. Jill Olson continued as the St. Luke site manager with the assistance of a large group of dedicated volunteers. Our guests (mostly women and children) arrive in the evening, enjoy meals (dinner and breakfast) and fellowship in our social room, and women and children (but not men) stay the night and leave in the morning after breakfast with a sack lunch for that day. The participants are extremely grateful for our hospitality and shelter.

We averaged 23 guests per week for dinner, sleeping and breakfast. On average, this number was comprised of 18 women and 5 children. Occasionally, we served men dinner. During the current 2015 PADS season, Jill Olson coordinated volunteers and took inventory of items on hand. Often, she is there to open the shelter in the evening and close the shelter in the morning. Generally, our shelter is running smoothly thanks to all of dedicated volunteers from St. Luke and the food teams provided by St. Luke and the following churches: various Lemont churches, Family Harvest Church, Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church, Our Lady of the Woods, St. Mary Antiochian Orthodox Church and St. Nicholas Church.

Strategic Planning

The Parish Council is developing a Strategic Plan for the parish. The last strategic plan was adopted in 2006 and the Parish Council feels that it is time to reassess our needs and objectives and adopt a new strategic plan. Phil Stamatakos, Steve Hansen, Maria Kopulos and Bob Zubenko comprised a Strategic Planning committee that met several times in 2015. In the Fall, the committee circulated an on-line questionnaire to all parishioners through a website called Survey Monkey. The questionnaire solicited parishioners’ views on a wide variety of subjects, including, for example, spiritual and liturgical matters, buildings and grounds, outreach, evangelism and missions, community and fellowship, parish council effectiveness and education. Fifty-three parishioners provided responses. The Strategic Planning Committee is now evaluating the responses and will work to develop a strategic plan to guide the parish in the coming years.