Untitled Document

Thus when we are called to give account of what we have done with what was entrusted to us we must give account of 100% of our treasure, talents and time. The act of entrusting is the key to stewardship. Stewards must be trustworthy and utilize all that they are and all that they have for the benefit of God. This is our true vocation as Christian stewards.

Three questions were then used for table discussion: In your faith community what has God entrusted to you? What is your faith community doing with what God has entrusted to you? What would the wider community miss most if your faith community was no longer there? Definitely thought-provoking topics!

There then followed the first of two workshops. I attended the one on Narrative Budgeting given by Canon Geoff Jackson, Senior Development Officer, ACC. He highlighted the necessity of letting parishioners know how their donations are used and what effect they have in the ministry of the parish. A narrative budget must thus tell the story of what is being and going to be accomplished. The process of narrative budgeting begins with the Mission Statement. This latter should be visible, current and contain elements of outreach. Using the mission statement vision statements and action steps can then be created using the areas of ministry relevant to each parish. Mr. Jackson then gave an excellent overview of the successful preparation of narrative budgets and their role in furthering our parish ministry.

Meanwhile John attended the workshop on gift planning given by the Venerable John M. Robertson, the National Gift Planning Officer of the ACC. The general import of this workshop was that there are innovative and highly attractive ways of giving part of our accumulated resources to the church while still protecting our income. The benefits entailed may be enjoyed while we are still living. It was recommended that a skilled financial advisor be consulted to advise parishioners.

Archbishop Hambridge, who is a wonderfully entertaining and challenging speaker, then gave an address on what motivates giving. He maintained that the general model of Anglican giving is one motivated by guilt, resulting in hasty fumbling as the collection is gathered by a bag-rattling sidesman. There are five other things that people can feel motivated by, all of which have validity, but which have inherent weaknesses. These five things are response to budget requirements, response to a specific project, paying down debt, response to a crisis or specific emergency outreach and paying ones fair share. He highlighted the weaknesses of each motivation and then presented his definition of what should be the true motivation of Christian stewardship: “faith responding to the need to give”. The true motivation for giving is a response to God. This is a basic human need and must be satisfied even in situations where resources are plentiful. We give in response to what God has given us. The two principles at work here are the need to recognize the loving nature of God (John 3:16 “for God so loved…) which then motivates our giving. Thus our giving is the symbolic total offering of self in response to the total offering of self by God. The second principle is that giving is not limited to money. It is the way I spend my time, abilities and gifts. “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my love, my life, my all”.

Following lunch, I attended the workshop given by the Venerable Michael Pollisel, General Secretary of ACC, on what is involved in a successful stewardship program in a parish. He stressed that stewardship was a year round process, not something we should address in a panic in November! He gave guidelines for setting up a Stewardship Group which would undertake to assess the needs of the parish in relation to what its parishioners felt was God’s dream for that place. Using the following scriptures (Exodus 3:10-14; Exodus 4:1-17, Jeremiah 1:1-8; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5: 1-11; Matthew 10: 1-10) he noted that when God calls people to do something to bring about His dream there are four common factors. First God specifically chooses people to work for him. Secondly He can answer all the concerns these people had about their abilities. Next God offered a job description and provided the tools to accomplish it. Lastly God required an immediate response from those He was calling. He then talked about the value mission statements and having a long range plan for the parish which reflects what the gathered community discerns as God’s will for us. It is the mission statement carried into ministry. We should not try to do too many things at once but pick one or two that can be carried out successfully and then celebrated. We should allow ourselves to dream and see what new place we are being called into. This is called “movement into God’s future”. Once this dream is identified we then have to assess the stewardship initiatives necessary to achieve it – both in terms of time, talents and treasure.

Many of the points of this workshop were taken up in the final address by Archbishop Hambridge which concerned year round stewardship. We must realize that stewardship is a year-round commitment of life and works to Christ. The mission of every parish is to discover what the people of God are directed to do and take and support the action to accomplish it. Every year we need to ask the same basic question: “What do we believe God is calling this faith community to do over the next year?” He then presented a calendar of stewardship showing how to put this calling into practice.

A short worship service concluded the proceedings.

Alison Bentley, People’s Warden, St. James’ Church

PARISH FAMILY NEWS:
Deaths: Eric Davis, brother of Alan Davis died in England on October 29th
Barbara (Henshaw) Gélinas died on Nov. 19th (Fred Henshaw’s sister)

Wedding at St. James: Tara Baumel and Chris Couture were married on October 21st

MEMORIAL FLOWERS:
A wonderful way to remember your loved ones is to have flowers placed on the altar in their memory. Donations are particularly welcome during the winter when flowers are more expensive. Please call Cherrill Gordon at 458-5010 for memorial flowers at St. James; or Bernice Hall at 458-7913 for memorial flowers at St. Mary’s.

2007 CHURCH CALENDARS ARE AVAILABLE:
St. Mary’s - Bernice Hall 450-458-7913
St. James’ - Margaret Neal 450-458-7909

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD:
A huge “Thank You” to everyone for another successful year. This year 105 shoe boxes were received which was up a bit from last year. The people at the depot where Linda dropped off the boxes were busy shipping out between 5,000 and 6,000. As well as shoe boxes there were many back packs and Tupperware bins. Keep your shoe boxes for next year!!!!

CONCERT AT ST. MARY’S CHURCH: Wed. December 5th
The Greenwood Centre for Living History's presentation of the Greenwood Singers' Carols for a Mid-Winter's Night with readings by David Clayton, Heather Markgraf and Helen Zajchowski . The evening will comprise a wide variety of sacred and secular music and readings particular to the Christmas Season, along with many opportunities for guests to sing their favourite Christmas Carols.

Concert attendees are invited to Greenwood at 6:30 PM for coffee and dessert before the concert (tickets $15.00); or to St Mary's Parish Hall for wine and cheese following the concert which starts at St. Mary's Church at 7:30 PM (tickets $20.00). Net proceeds from the evening will be shared between Greenwood and St. Mary's Church. Tickets are available at Mays' Studio, or may be reserved by telephoning Greenwood at 458-5396. (e-mail greenwood@hudson.net)

ST. MARY’S CAROL SING: Sat. Dec. 16, 4:00 pm
To the sheer delight of all who have heard them before, the Turtle Pond Gang will be at St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday, December 16th at 4:00 pm. to help Douglas lead the St. Mary’s Annual Family Carol (Shout) Sing-A-Long. Cookies and juice, or sherry for those who prefer not to drink juice, will be served. Everyone is welcome to attend this fantastic family event. Bring your own bells, guitars, trombones, violins, trumpets, saxes and voices and join in the fun! Your freewill offering will help defray our costs.

CANDLELIGHT CAROL SERVICE AT ST. JAMES’: Sun. Dec. 17th, 8:00 pm
In the tradition of Kings’ College Cambridge, the Candlelight Service of Nine Lessons and Carols will be held at St. James’ Church on Sunday December 17th at 8:00 pm. Presented by St. James’ Church Choir, it’s director Douglas Knight and our Parish Readers, the Lessons and Carols relate in music and traditional Biblical stories the events leading from Advent through the birth of Christ on Christmas Day to the coming of the Three Kings. The service has become a perennial favourite and imbues a special feeling for the true meaning of Christmas. After the service all are welcome to stay for wine, coffee and goodies served by our choir members.

CHILDREN’S SUNDAY SCHOOL CHRISTMAS PAGEANT: Sun. 24 Dec, 4 pm
This Christmas Eve at 4 o'clock in the evening, the children from St. Mary's and St. James’ Sundays Sunday Schools will enact the gospel of the birth of Jesus. It has become a Christmas tradition for many families to celebrate together with friends and neighbors the very real reason why Christmas is Christmas. We will sing most of the favorite carols, witness frightened shepherds, behold the joy of heavenly angels, and follow Joseph and Mary through their arduous journey to Bethlehem.

We invite any child who would like to participate to join us at rehearsal Sunday mornings 9 am, starting December 17th to the 24th. There will be speaking parts, acting parts, and just standing parts. With all the hustle and bustle this season tends to bring, please come and share with us the true meaning of Silent Night, Holy Night. For questions please call Wanda Smith at 458-0481

SYNOD 2006: by Mary Whittall

I had the privilege of attending Synod 2006. Going to synod is like visiting your extended family. One gets to visit their “cousins” and catch up and share in all the good stuff going on in the parishes. Plus one finds out that that you are not alone with your problems. We share a lot of the same concerns and problems as our cousins. A trip to synod is well worth it!

The synod started with the Bishops Charge. The charge was based on St. Paul, saying to lead a life worthy of what you have been called to do. One of the oldest honours is the title of Canon of the Cathedral. The bishop extended this honour to many very deserving clergy and also to two lay people. Constance Middleton-Hope received the Honorary Lay Canon of the Cathedral.

The theme of the synod was the blessings of same sex unions. The format for each of the four sessions was as follows: Speakers, two minutes of silent reflections, small group discussion, with the following questions, What did I learn that was new to me? What effect did the presentation have on me personally? Followed by an individual written response with the following questions. I learned, I agree, I disagree, and Questions I have

Session 1 Reflections on the Blessing of Same Sex Unions based on Scripture/Tradition/Ritual. This was presented by two priests; one favouring, one opposing the blessing of same sex unions, using the same book of the Bible as reference.

Session 2 Science and Homosexuality presented by Dr. Irving Binik a psychology professor from McGill. Here are some key points from his talk:
-Science does not speak with one voice, and the topic rises more questions then answers
-Homosexuals do form lasting relationships
-Vast majority have no problems such as mental instability
-There is no evidence that therapy can change sexual orientation
-Couples cope better then individuals regardless of their sexual orientation

Session 3 Chronology of Key Decisions, Reports and Events on Homosexuality and the Church. The church does not exist in a vacuum. Social and cultural context is important. The church has changed to reflect the culture. Often the hard subjects, such as sexual orientation, cohabitation and premarital sex are not really talked about. The worldwide church is very diverse and very split on all these issues. The church often walks the fine line between church and culture, and it is important to remember each member of our culture is part of Christ’s Church.

Session 4 Legal and Canonical Issues and Same Sex Blessings. The church in Canada has the legal freedom to set its own restrictions on marriage as long as the civil code is also met.

Many other topics were also presented and discussed at synod. The three I would like to highlight are Financial, the Strategic Plan and Youth.

Financial Key points include: Resources are not infinite so budgeting and planning are important. The key is to ask the question: What can be reasonably done? There has been a review of all various funds to understand the intent and nature of the fund so they can be managed correctly. The dependence on selling assets is time limiting, and may not be a good thing. The diocesan budget is moving towards full disclosure with the new formats and schedules.
Strategic Plan The question is: Where are we right now? The plan is to lay the foundation for the future, renew growth, evangelism and ministry. We need to seek a balance between what we can never have/do enough vs. God has a plan, a mission for each of us. The plan will hopefully help us to refocus, clarify to do a better job, get needed structures in place in order to ensure success through new work, new ideas, hard work, and some times letting go.
Youth concerns included the state of secondary education in the province and the effects of sex and the media.

This is just a “snap shot” of what went on during synod. I would like to thank the following people, Brian Mackey for driving me to the train in Vaudreuil, Connie Middleton-Hope for driving me home, and June Parry for looking after Snoopy.

REPORT ON DIOCESAN CORPORATION DAY, NOVEMBER 18 2006

At this event the Parish was represented by John Bradley, Tom Pound and Alison Bentley. Attendance and participation from the various Archdeaneries were similar to previous years.

The presentation of the 2007 Budget was made in a much clearer fashion than in prior years and budget figures now show the proceeds from“restricted funds” and their application; that were netted out previously. This made for some challenge in comparing with other years, but gives a better picture of the total revenues and expenditures. Despite this new clarity no information was given to show what is being accomplished with the Mission expenditures. We requested such information at the meeting and have formalized our request. We feel our parishioners need to see what is being done with the mission funds we are sending downtown on their behalf.

Of relevance to our parish was the topic of tenant insurance which appears to be an ongoing issue for several parishes. Although some congregations reported a good response from the diocesan insurer in obtaining supplemental coverage for other religious congregations using their premises for instance, others were frustrated with the lack of communication experienced.

All parishes were reminded that they should have the Warden’s Handbook binder which contains much useful information and if they do not have a copy they should request one. Apparently there is one in our church office. The handbook will be updated this year so we should be sure to get a new copy when this happens.

After a break we had a very informative presentation on the work of the Anglican Foundation. This organization will consider grant or loan requests (max 3 per diocese in any year) with need being the major factor in reviewing deserving projects. Those who are interested in the work of the AF can request a copy of the handout from the wardens or visit the AF website at www.anglicanfoundation.org.

Questions were raised concerning the recent Synod motion to follow ethical guidelines re investments. The treasurer replied that a policy was being developed for synod funds, but this does not necessarily apply to Anglican Fund monies which are a separate issue.

Another question arose as to why the Diocese has stopped lending parishes funds for building repairs, etc. The answer was that the diocese needs to manage its funds on a long term, professional basis and such loans do not really fit that criteria. The Treasurer noted that a parish should be able to get a very good borrowing rate at a commercial bank with a diocesan guarantee – which is being done by some parishes.

We then moved on to the performance of the Anglican Fund and again a handout is available for those who are interested. Essentially the Balanced fund is performing well, above benchmark, but the Income fund is today a bond fund which is not necessarily the best deployment in today’s market. Current yields are less than 3% so the fund may need to be reassessed regarding the balance of its investments. The question was raised regarding a parish’s ability to withdraw funds. The answer is that general investments by parishes can be withdrawn or switched between funds. However restricted funds such as proceeds from sale of church buildings are subject to canon 31.

A reminder was given that the changes to the tax act make the gifting of shares very attractive to some donors. Apparently the Diocese has a broker available to handle such transactions at a very low cost. They also have a notary and broker to help with property sale – e.g. sale of a rectory and an architect available for consultation.

A proposal was put forward to move from paying salaries every half-month to pays every two weeks and the comptroller elicited feedback. As this would require parishes to remit the week following each pay, necessitating 26 cheques to be issued vs the present 12, we were not in favour. Salary and stipend increases reflect the basic inflation rate of 2.2%.

Lastly, good news for all parishes was announced regarding the administrative assessment. For the first time prior year deficits will not be rolled in current year Diocesan budget. This will have the effect of reducing our assessments by about 15% (back to near 2005 levels).

Tom also noted that from a discussion with Mark Weatherley, the new comptroller, the big push is on to have a much cleaner, more direct process for any disbursements by the diocese on behalf of parishes, so we need to be diligent with such things as invoice numbers etc.

In general it was a most informative and encouraging morning.

Alison Bentley & Tom Pound

ST. JAMES CHURCH WOMEN AGM AND DINNER: Monday, 22 January 2007
Linda Cobbett and Margaret Lagimodière will be preparing a delicious dinner and the AGM will review our past year. More information later.

VESTRY MEETINGS: St. James – Sunday 28 January after church
St. Mary’s – Tuesday, 30 January

(All Committee reports must be handed into the parish office by 14 of January)

“PULSE” CONTACT INFORMATION:

The Parish Pulse Editorial Team is actively looking for your articles. Please feel free to contact any of them with your ideas or suggestions for an article. (Patti Ann Gannon, 613-674-1376, pattiann@sympatico.ca; Paul Brierley, 450-458-1750, paul.brierley@future.ca; Wilf Hall, 450-458-7913, wghall@sympatico.ca). The deadline for the next issue is Wednesday, December 20th, 2006. The publication will be Friday, December 29th, 2006.

Submissions should be directed to Patti Ann Gannon through: pattiann@sympatico.ca, parishvaudreuil@ca.inter.net, drop off at the Parish Office, fax to the Parish Office at 450-458-8802, or mail to The Parish of Vaudreuil, 642 Main Road, Hudson Heights, Quebec, J0P 1J0.

WEB LINKS RECOMMENDED BY THE EDITORS: http://www.montreal.anglican.org/index-01.shtmlhttp://www.alphacanada.org/
http://www.podm.net/po_how.htm
http://www.montreal.anglican.ca/pc/
www.parishofvaudreuil.com