Committees
Committees of Sun Valley
The committees of Sun Valley carry out the day-to-day operations of the church, develop activities and programs for our church family and the surrounding community, organize events, plan and prepare worship services and Sunday school classes, and share the love of God and our congregation with those around us.
Please read about our committees and the activities they provide. Join us throughout the year at events that seem interesting and entertaining to you. If you find a committee that is doing work you find meaningful and important, please come join us and be a part of celebrating God through the work of the church!
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Worship welcomes children with a moment for them, special children's bulletins, and the Sunbeams choir
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Child care is available during worship for ages infant through kindergarten
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Contemporary and traditional hymns are sung during worship
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Special music enhances worship as we express our joy and love for God
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Additional services are planned for special times like Maundy Thursday, Christmas Eve, and Rally Day (outdoors!)
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Large Print bibles and bulletins are available
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Handicapped accessible places are also available
Session
The Session is the governing body of the church; a group of elders elected by and from the congregation. As defined by the Book of Order: "The session shall have responsibility for governing the congregation and guiding its witness to the sovereign activity of God in the world, so that the congregation is and becomes a community of faith, hope, love, and witness. As it leads and guides the witness of the congregation, the session shall keep before it the marks of the Church (F‐1.0302), the notes by which Presbyterian and Reformed congregations have identified themselves throughout history (F‐1.0303) and the six Great Ends of the Church (F‐1.0304).
In light of this charge, the session has responsibility and power to:
a. provide that the Word of God may be truly preached and heard.
b. provide that the Sacraments may be rightly administered and received.
c. nurture the covenant community of disciples of Christ
Book of Order, G-3.0201
Sun Valley elects 9 elders, 3 elders each year so that there are always 9 elders, to be the Session. Regular terms of elders are 3 years long. Elders chair or assist with the following committees: C.E., Evangelism, Finance, Memorial/Endowment, Capital Improvements, Nominating, Outreach, Personnel, Stewardship, and Worship. One elder also serves as the Clerk of Session. Elders may also participate in other committees and groups around the church, as they are able to specially requested to do so.
Board of Deacons
The Deacons are the caretakers of the church. As defined by the Book of Order: "The ministry of deacon as set forth in Scripture is one of compassion, witness, and service, sharing in the redeeming love of Jesus Christ for the poor, the hungry, the sick, the lost, the friendless, the oppressed, those burdened by unjust policies or structures, or anyone in distress. Persons of spiritual character, honest repute, exemplary lives, brotherly and sisterly love, sincere compassion, and sound judgment should be chosen for this ministry."
Book of Order, G-20201
Sun Valley elects 9 deacons, 3 deacons a year so that there are always 9 deacons, to be the Board of Deacons. Regular term of deacons are 3 years long. At Sun Valley, deacons help with funeral and other lunches, maintain a SunShine (card) ministry, maintain contacts with "at home" members and church friends through visits or phone calls, and share prayer concerns with the congregation. Deacons also assist in providing communion to folks at home when requested.
Christian Education
The Christian Education Committee engages our congregation through educational offerings that teach, lead, and develop people of all ages so that we may all have a better understanding of and closer relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Our committee organizes and helps to lead Sunday school classes for children and adults, vacation bible school for children during the summer, and youth group throughout the year. We also create many fellowship events where our church family can gather together and enjoy each other’s company as we share together.
Our group hosts many exciting and fun events throughout the year such as sledding and pizza party in the winter and youth group events like a journey through a corn maze at Skellys in the fall. Spring and summertime brings us nice weather and lots of outdoor activities. In June we celebrate Children’s Day with a worship led by young people in our congregation.
We join together with United Church of Beloit for our Vacation Bible School at the end of July. Rally day kicks off our new Sunday school year in September. We raise funds for UNICEF and celebrate with a Halloween party in October. During November, our Sunday school classes will participate in a food drive to support CARITAS. Finally, we celebrate the beginning of Advent and the Christmas season with our Advent Adventure meal and program in December.
We invite anyone with an interest in participating in the mission of Christian education to join us; we meet on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in the church lounge.
Worship
The Worship Committee is a fun, happy committee and the satisfaction in working to make Sun Valley a special place to come and worship is evident in the dedication of each member. The committee is always open to welcome new members!
The normal duties of the committee include:
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Assist and consult with pastor with worship services
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Prepare and arrange for servers for monthly Communion.
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Oversight of the Music program and provide input to Personnel of staff if requested
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Recommend and submit yearly budget to Budget Committee for pulpit supply and miscellaneous Worship expenses.
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Assist organists & choir directors in their duties.
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Recruit musicians, ushers, greeters, lay readers and acolytes.
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Always work in concert with all committees of the church.
Additional, miscellaneous duties include:
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Decorate the church seasonally: make, buy, borrow and maintain materials for decorating.
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Maintain and clean the storage areas where decorations and worship supplies are kept.
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Maintain and clean the candelabra and communion ware
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Change banners for display on an as needed basis.
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Care for and place flowers, plants and silk arrangements in Sanctuary for special events and seasonal displays.
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Arrange for Outdoor worship service(s).
This committee meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month and anyone is welcome to join us.
Evangelism
The Evangelism Committee encourages members of the church to participate in reaching out to people with the good news of Jesus and receive people into the congregation so they might develop a relationship with God in a Christian community.
The committee’s responsibilities include reviewing membership rolls, encouraging and promoting inactive members of the church to become active again, keeping regular communication with members of the church who have not attended regularly, assisting the Pastor in hosting new member gatherings, and assisting new members in becoming a part of our ministry at Sun Valley.
We also promote Sun Valley, which includes advertising, brochures, websites and social media. We have organized our Bring a Friend Sunday, which encourages our congregation to bring guests to share worship with. A light lunch usually follows the Bring a Friend Sunday, where we can meet our guests and thank them for sharing worship with us.
The committee also supports the church’s annual Strawberry Festival. We host this event to raise funds for our benevolences we support. Those missions include Caritas, The Dutter House, Beloit Hospice, Beloit Domestic Violence, and Family Promise. Please visit our festival website www.sunvalleystrawberryfest.com for more information on this annual festival.
We meet the first Tuesday of the month at 6:00 pm and we encourage everyone to attend!
Outreach
The Outreach Committee plans activities to enrich the spiritual life of our community beyond the church walls. The committee also works with the congregation to provide meals and hospitality to Family Promise throughout the year. One of special things the committee is honored with is presenting church members with small appreciation gifts on special occasions.
Stewardship
The Mission of the Stewardship Committee is to encourage our congregation to have a better understanding of their responsibility as Christians. Helping them to understand that everything we have is God’s that we are charged by God to use these gifts wisely as we pursue his desire for us to spread his teachings.
We do this with Minute for Missions and articles in the Echoes. We promote special offerings throughout the year, such as One Great Hour of Sharing, Peacemaking, and the Christmas Joy Offering. Each fall we prepare for the coming year with our Annual Stewardship Drive and Dinner.
We encourage continual financial commitment from our members during the year through their pledges and also sharing the responsibility of providing the skills and talents to further God’s work through our congregation.
Finance
The Finance Committee is responsible for oversight and communication to session regarding the church’s financial status. The committee:
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Reviews church financial statements monthly.
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Recommends budget changes during the year.
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Assists Stewardship Team with annual campaign.
All meetings are open to the congregation. Anyone interested in serving on this important committee is welcome to do so.
Memorial Endowment
The Memorial Endowment Committee is a sub-committee of the Sun Valley Presbyterian Church Finance Committee. It oversees investments and their use, which have been gifted to three major funds:
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Memorial Funds - Gifts donated in memory of a deceased may be designated for a special area of church need such as Christian Education, Music, Scholarship Fund, Library, etc. or undesignated to be used where needed. These funds are kept in a separate account at our Bank.
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Buildings & Grounds Reserve Funds - Gifts to this fund are used primarily for church structure improvements and maintenance. Funds from this account have been used to put on a new roof, repave the parking lot, renovate the kitchen, add air conditioning, build a handicap ramp, renovate the front entry, purchase computers, etc.
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Endowment Funds - Various people have willed or gifted money to our Endowment Fund with the understanding that the principal originally given will be held as a whole, however the income or growth of this money will provide funds to support special programs and projects of the church. Currently funds are being transferred to the Outreach Committee and the Buildings and Grounds for improvement projects.
The Endowment Committee was formed in March of 1991 under a plan approved by the Session, which has been updated, with the latest revision being approved in December of 2003. The original plan did not include Memorial Funds, however in June of 1995, a revision merged the Memorial Committee into what is now known as the Memorial Endowment Committee.
Originally funds for Buildings and Grounds and the Endowment were invested through the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation. In August of 1997 the Funds were transferred to various American Funds working through M&I Bank of Beloit which is now BMO Harris Bank.
Capital Improvements
The Capital Improvements Committee helps improve and maintain the church building and grounds. With some very successful campaigns over the last few years, we've had some wonderful improvements to our church starting with remodeling our front entrance and a new roof on the A-frame building in 2013.
In 2016, we were able to install a new lift at the church to help assist those guests that are unable to take the stairs to the fellowship hall. We've had years of struggles without this lift and we are excited that we were able to raise enough to get it installed!
This fall we remodeled the ceiling and lighting in the fellowship hall with a more modern and energy saving tiles and lights.
We continue to improve the church with the help of all of our talented church members. Everyone is welcome to join the committee and help with ideas and implementation.
Nominating
The Nominating Committee consists of two elders serving on the session and nominated by the session and four members of the congregation. The Nominating Committee seeks and then presents to the congregation the proposal of nominees to be elected by the congregation:
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Persons to serve as the next year’s class of ruling elders
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Persons to serve as ruling elders, filing vacancies left in unexpired terms
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Persons to serve as the next year’s Nominating Committee
The presentation of the nominees is made at a Congregational Meeting. The chair of the meeting then asks the congregation for any additional nominees and the election proceeds.
Personnel
The Personnel Committee provides a link between church employees and the Session of the church. We also do annual performance reviews of the employees and allow them to share joys as well as concerns or job issues they have. Other responsibilities include:
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Recommend position descriptions for all staff.
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Review and recommend to session compensation packages for all staff.
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Recommend personnel policies to the session.
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Encourage professional growth and development for all staff.
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Provide for a review process to assist in work planning. Act as a support group for the pastor and other members of the staff.
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Confer with the pastor on any important issues of concern.
Technology
The Technology Committee maintains, researches and suggests improvements for any of the technological components of the church such as computers, printers, and sound systems.
We are always looking for additional members that have experience in the technologies of the church.