Ray of Light Christian Preschool

• Twenty-five Easter Boxes were delivered to the Shoebox Ministry to help homeless families.
•  Ray of Light’s (ROL) expenses were 14% below actual income through April.
• The 4-year-old Ray of Light preschool children presented a Spring Program to the parents and congregation of Epiphany Lutheran Church (ELC).
• Two new ROL Classrooms passed the State’s inspection.  Our new license increased our capacity to 133 students.
• A ROL brochure was sent to 2,032 addresses within eight zip codes surrounding ELC.
• ROL opened its door for the second year with two new programs: Pre-k and 3-year-old classes offered three days a week.   A total of 38 students were enrolled for 2009-2010 school year on Opening Day.
• The new Pre-K curriculum “Imagine It” allows the children to enter Kindergarten with the ability to read and pronounce words using phonics skills.  Our Pre-K teacher is a former Chandler Unified School District Kindergarten teacher.
• Our Children’s Ministry Leader, Mary Meyer, led chapel services for Ray ROL throughout the school year.
• All ROL students began a new program: Spanish lessons taught once a week by a teacher fluent in Spanish.
• ROL kicks-off their “Gold Canyon Candle Fundraiser”.  Between the school families and Epiphany members, the preschool earned $635.
• Chandler Police Department “Officer Robin” visited ROL to discuss basic safety skills for our students.
• ROL students visited Epiphany’s Pumpkin Patch for a morning of fun!  They learned about the different kinds of pumpkins that are grown in the U.S., listened to a story about how pumpkins related to Jesus, and had fun decorating their own pumpkin.
• ROL held their “Thanksgiving Feast” for the 4-year-olds and Pre-K classes.  The children dressed as Native Americans and Pilgrims enjoyed a meal of turkey with all its trimmings.
• Pre-K and 4-year-old students shared some of their Christmas songs during ELC’s 11:00 am service.
•  ROL’s second annual “Christmas Program” was performed by the Pre-K and 4-year-olds in Epiphany’s Sanctuary.  A joyous evening was shared by their parents, relatives, friends and ELC’s members.
•  “Happy Birthday Jesus” parties were held at during all classes celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
• Students of ROL collected a total of 95 pairs of socks for the Shoebox Ministry during their annual Sock Drive.

Epiphany’s Children’s Ministry Team

• Our Sunday school attendance averaged 30 children per week.  Our new Concordia Publishing House curriculum was well-received by our students and teachers. 
• The opening worship time focused the students’ attention on Jesus and taught them songs to remember for a lifetime.
• A streamlined sign-in process saved time with the transition into classrooms and helped parents learn about upcoming events ELC.
• $225.25 was donated for the Phoenix Rescue Mission for meals for 100 adults.
• The Children’s Ministry families collected 177 pairs of underwear, 12 men’s undershirts, 5 bras, 22 toiletry boxes, and dozens of new socks which were donated to ROL’s Shoebox Ministry.
•  A large Family Christmas Eve Service was held at 4:30 p.m., focusing on the theme “Savior of the Nations, Come”
•  A Giving Tree – with more than 60 tags – was placed in the Narthex (i.e. Sanctuary Lobby) for families within the congregation and at nearby Knox Elementary School who were struggling to buy presents for their children.  All requests were fulfilled.

Vacation Bible School

• Our summer 2009 Vacation Bible School (VBS) had an increase of 15 kids from VBS program in 2008. 
• There were an average of 87 kids per night and an average of 80 volunteers per night. 
• The total number of volunteers for the whole program exceeded the number of children enrolled. 
• Of the kids who attended VBS 2009, about 59% were guests of ELC.
• A new cadre of volunteer elementary crew leaders emerged from the congregation of ELC. 
• Four students received their first Bible.

Youth Ministry Team

• On the first Sunday in June, nine junior high youth attended a Christian summer camp at Camp Delores.
• Fall Confirmation enrollment reached a new high of 17 students.
• The youth challenge themselves with a 30-hour famine to raise $1069 for World Vision.  World Vision is a non-denominational and highly respected ministry that meets the needs of the poor throughout the world.
• The youth raised over $500 at an Italian dinner so offset expenses and enable them to attend National Youth Gathering in New Orleans during the summer of 2010.
• While others shopped on “Black Friday,” eleven youth decorated the Sanctuary for Christmas Season.
• On the first Saturday of each month, five to 12 youth joined the Friends of the Needy in Gilbert in preparing food boxes for the hungry.
• The youth and adults collaborated in 2009 to meet manpower needs for major events such as Friends of the Needy, Pumpkin Patch, and Christian rock concert tour.

Adult Ministries

• The 2008-2009 ministry year saw a record attendance in Dedicated Education Hour studies (a.k.a. Sunday School Hour) with 1500+ attendees for classes offered in throughout the year.  This new number was in comparison to 1300 attendees in 2008 and 1000 in 2007). 
• A new class - Parents of Teens provided guidance on how to raise Christian teens for teenage parents.
• Our small group ministries held steady attendance with the small group leadership position temporally vacant. 
• ELC’s Women’s ministry (renamed GROW: God Renewing Our Women) gained momentum and completed a number of successful events.
• On December 12, 2009, the G.R.O.W. Group held its second annual Christmas Tea.  Nearly 70 women attended compared to 39 attendees in 2008.  As an added bonus, you women from ELC’s Youth group volunteered as servers.
• An inaugural group of the Ministry of Mothers Sharing (MOMS) was launched in the Fall of 2009, meeting the unique needs of mothers.
• The Consecrated Stewards program resulted in a net gain of pledges towards our general operating budget.
• Despite the recession, God continued to provide to meet the financial needs of Epiphany. 

Community Outreach Team

• The year 2009 saw the creation of the Community Outreach Team, which immediately grew with every meeting.
• Three congregational coordinators were chosen to work with Thrivent Financial for Lutherans to coordinate matching funds to extend ministries within the congregation and to the community at large. 
• Our second Pumpkin Patch was held from Oct. 13-31 with nearly 150 members and friends of Epiphany serving as volunteers.  Three charities received the net proceeds of this event: Habitat for Humanity, My Sister's Place and Alleluia Student Ministry at A.S.U. 
• Volunteers from ELC helped prepare meals and assist with other tasks at Alleluia Lutheran Student Ministry at A.S.U.
• The Chandler CARE Center received 404 tubes of toothpaste from Epiphany for their Holiday Back-to-Basics Program.
• One Small Step, a local charity, received three bundles of clothing plus the assistance of three volunteers from ELC.
• The Lutheran mission in San Mateo, Mexico received a large load of food and clothing donation during the Thanksgiving weekend.
• Habitat for Humanity received a cash donation of $1,625 from ELC.  Volunteers from ELC worked several weekends to build a home in Oro Vista (a suburb of east Mesa).
• Non-perishable food items were collected throughout the year for the Chandler Christian Community Center.
• A total of $3,350 was raised for the Fan into Flame mission emphasis of our denomination.

Prayer Shawl Ministry

•  During the year of 2009, the In Stitches Prayer Shawl Ministry presented 65 handmade prayer shawls and afghans to the worshipping community of Epiphany and their friends & relatives; for the ministry of Chaplain Gerald Garrett at the U.S.M.C. base hospital in Twenty-Nine Palms, CA; the U.S.A.F. Chaplain at Dover Air Base, DE for family members attending the Dignified Transfer of Soldiers returning to the U.S.; and for the Prayer Shawls for Fallen Soldiers ministry.

Multimedia Ministry

• The multi-media/video ministry grew from two volunteers to seven volunteers in 2009.
• Starting with the Easter sermon, all sermons were made available by podcast in 2009 via our website.
• The number of new visitors to our website increased 32%.
• A weekly e-News @ Epiphany e-mail newsletter was created with 135 e-mail addresses in its database as of 12/31/09.
• Epiphany began a Facebook page during 2009 with 88 fans at the end of the year.

Ironmen

• The third Saturday each month breakfast was held for all male members of Epiphany and their male guests.  Average attendance at each breakfast was 30 members, friends and guests.
• During January through March, the IRONMEN sponsored a 12-session Bible Study led by David Grimes, a NASCAR Chaplain.  The last session was celebrated with a barbeque lunch and featured a motivational speaker.
• In January, seven Epiphany members and three guests attended a Hog Hunt trip to Texas with tremendous Christian fellowship and outreach.  An unexpected blessing was the substantial amount of meat provided for the IRONMEN’s annual Wild Game Dinner in February.
• On February 8^th, the IRONMEN hosted their annual Wild Game Dinner with 30 attendees and 6 guests.
• The IRONMEN began a kitchen renovation project in July of 2008.  By the end of 2009, new stoves were purchases, new countertops were installed, plumbing fixtures were upgraded, cabinets were painted, door and drawer hardware were replaced, and vinyl flooring was replaced with porcelain tile. 
• On November 7^th, the IRONMEN sponsored their 3^rd annual Golf Tournament at the Springfield Golf Club.  A total of 72 men participated in the golf tournament – 21 members and 51 guests.  Proceeds in the amount of $1,500 were donated to I.C.A.N.  (Improving Chandler Area Neighborhoods), a non-profit organization that works with local at-risk youth. 

Choir

• A blessing to the choir this fall was the addition of two new singers, both of whom were high school students.