2024 PARISH COUNCIL PRESIDENT’S REPORT (January 28th, 2024)

Dear Parishioners of St. Herman’s,

I’m lucky to be able to say that 2024 has been another great year at St. Herman’s Orthodox Church in South Minneapolis. Before we get too far into 2024, I’d like to take a few moments to highlight some accomplishments from 2023 and to extend my heartful thanks to a variety of St. Herman’s parishioners.

One of the most noteworthy accomplishments of 2023 goes to the completion of the first phase of the basement remodel. The first phase included a new ceiling and new overhead lighting. These may seem like humble improvements, but they’ve made a huge impact on the space. The lighting is brighter yet somehow easier on the eyes and the sound absorbing ceiling makes the space much more peaceful and conducive to conversation and fellowship. You will also notice the bulletin board in the basement has gotten a much-needed overhaul. It now not only conveys useful information but does so in a much more attractive fashion. A thank you goes out to Presbytera Nancy, Laurie Rother, Dan Tkach, Joe Miller and Marisa & Dan Gremillion for the help throughout the remodel.

With the increased number of people attending Liturgy on Sundays, our Coffee Hours have become quite the production. Coffee Hour serves a very important role in the liturgical life of an Orthodox Christian. In some ways it is an extension of the Liturgy. Yes – the coffee and food are definitely something to look forward to (especially at St. Herman’s) but even more so is the time for us to build relationships, greet visitors, and to serve the Church in a very concrete way. A few years ago the brilliant idea to form rotating Coffee Hour teams was thought up to more evenly distribute the workload associated with putting on Coffee Hour. The formation of these teams has drastically reduced the workload and made it easier for new parishioners to get involved. Communication between teams has been critical and the work done by Susanna Tabeling and Cindy Beaver in producing and maintaining a church directory has been invaluable in keeping parishioners connected. Along with them, a huge thank you to Laurie Rother, Presbytera Nancy and to all the Coffee Hour team leads and members.

The same ‘team’ approach has been taken this year and applied to broader activities within the parish. Fr. Paul and Presbytera Nancy have come up with “Areas of Service” at St. Herman’s and assigned team leads to each area (I don’t know if ‘assigned’ is as apt a word as ‘brought attention to’). The goal is to create teams of parishioners to help with the behind-the-scenes responsibilities that keep the parish humming along. More information can be found in the upper righthand corner of the bulletin board in the basement. They may not be the first to say it, but I’m sure the team leads are grateful for the help so thank you to Father and Presbytera for bringing some of the often-overlooked day-to-day activities to light.

Looking ahead to 2024 there are a couple items I would like to draw your attention to that will be focused on by the parish council. The first is new signage for the exterior of the church building. Much like the basement last year, the St. Herman’s Church front sign no longer meets our needs in informing the outside world of our parish and drawing in inquirers. Tom Kolden and Cheryl Doely have assembled a team and spearheaded the effort in looking into replacements and improvements to our front signage. More to come on this and thank you to Tom and Cheryl. The second notable project for 2024 will be the second phase of the basement remodel. This phase will include new flooring, fresh paint, and a number of other general improvements.

In closing, I would like to sincerely thank Jonathan Peasley for his many years of service as a member of the parish council. Jonathan has worn many hats throughout those years as a reliable trustee and a fantastic secretary. Thank you, Jonathan. We welcome Nick Kelly this year onto the parish council as secretary. Nick has also taken on the role of our FOCUS liaison and has been doing a fantastic job. It seems like every year I have a longer list of people to thank. It seems like every year this report becomes easier to write. There are countless other people not mentioned specifically in this report that deserve thanks. The parish would not be what it is without you. The increased number of inquirers and parishioners each week is a testament to that. And for anyone desiring to get more involved, I’d like to take this opportunity to encourage you to do so! There are countless ways to donate your time or talent and always a need.

Respectfully,

Caleb Tkach

Parish Council President

Annual Report to Parish