PARISH OF VAUDREUIL

PARISH PULSE – FEBRUARY 2009

From the Rector:

What a different feeling! With my retirement in May, Karen and I are coming to the end of a long journey in ministry. Our final service will be on April 26^th. On May 7^th 1970 I was ordained Deacon, and thus will have been in active ministry for 39 years. Karen and I have been married for almost 31 of those years.

This is one of the very best parishes in the whole diocese. We are an enthusiastic and engaged parish, celebrating our faith. We worship with both tradition and delight. It has been a privilege to work with the members of our corporations over these seven years. The level of talent and commitment is high.

In both congregations we have laughed together, and cried, and we have sung with all our heart, we have studied, and planned, and eaten together, and met together in other places in Hudson, supporting our community along with the other churches and many of our friends. We have celebrated our community, and the milestones of our lives.

Welcome to Sue Campbell, who has been brave enough to become St James’ People’s Warden in a time of transition. It is good (but not surprising!) to see the response of many to St James’ appeal for funding of the building project. It is a three year commitment, and Karen and I will be keeping up our commitment to this over the next three years! If you have not yet been personally contacted, why not ask about it? Give me a call, or any one of the Corporation, and we’ll get the ball rolling. We should be able to upgrade our buildings without using resources meant for our life and ministry together.

Welcome to Terry O'Shaughnessy, as she takes on chair of the parish Pastoral Committee. We are a parish that does ministry as a community, and this goes beyond the efforts of any particular group. The work of the Priest is only a part of what we do together. The Pastoral Committee will continue to deepen and increase our caring for each other and people around us. In the meantime, Call me! (458-5372); email me jbradley@parishofvaudreuil.com and let me know what I can do for you or someone you know.

God bless you.

ST. JAMES’ VESTRY MEETING:

The annual vestry meeting was held on Sunday 1^st February. There was a good turn out of members of the congregation and the meeting, which was preceded by lunch, was by all accounts a success.

The format of the meeting followed the standard agenda as published in the Vestry Book. A quorum was declared at the beginning of the meeting and this was followed by a prayer led by Fr. John. Following this the minutes of the meeting of February 3rd, 2008 were adopted.

A review of the Rector’s report as published in the vestry Book was presented by Fr. John. John talked of the strength of our congregation and organization as a whole and thanked all those involved in specific functions and responsibilities of the church. He addressed our need to continue to focus on the development of our young people and that this area continues to be our greatest challenge for the parish. John talked of his time at St. James’ over the last seven years and how much both he and Karen have struggled over their decision to retire.

Marcus Owen reviewed the Warden’s report. Having talked to the positive successes of the past year he specifically challenged the meeting to give feedback to the Corporation saying that the Corporation is sensitive to the needs of the congregation. He cited the fact that the questionnaire that was distributed to nearly two hundred has only elicited sixteen replies. He went on to thank Kelly for her detailed report on youth that clearly demonstrated that there is much action in this ministry and that unfortunately the number of young people involved does not reflect the work that is going on. He indicated that there is a general feeling that the parents of the youth need to be involved in the process and in light of this there is to be a joint initiative with St. Mary’s. Marcus also talked of the success of the Buildings Restoration Campaign and thanked those who have contributed thus far; he cautioned that there is a long way to go and that a relatively small number of the congregation had been approached so far and that the remainder would be called upon in the coming months. Following Marcus’ review a presentation was made to Carol Goodger on behalf of the Corporation, for the many, many years of dedication to the running of the kitchen and other services to the church.

Following the acceptance of the various other reports as presented in the Vestry Book Tom Pound gave a detailed and excellent accounting of the finances of the church. Tom highlighted the year as one of highs and lows; but a solid financial year overall.

• Expenses generally controlled to budget levels.

• More was accomplished in repairs to rectory and music related items (library, organ and piano repairs) than planned.

• First part of restoration of tower and south wall completed for less expense than planned.

• Givings missed budget, with a slight decline to 2007 – the first year to not show growth in 4 years.

• Rental income fell about 10% short of budget due to the loss of two rental groups.

• Endowment and Reserve funds gave up much of the gains accumulated in the past years due to the very sharp market declines – however these are long term investments and are expected to recover over time.

• Successful start to the Buildings Restoration campaign – despite the timing vs. financial markets.

• Fantastic news of three major gifts from the Estate of Anne Ward – strengthening the churches finances in the areas of Mission and Outreach, Buildings and Grounds and Legacy fund to provide income to support the church’s Ministries.

A number of motions were tabled and unanimously adopted. Key amongst these motions was the approval to proceed with the second phase of the QRHF eligible building restoration work and approval of the Corporation’s proposal to invest in other repairs and upgrades to the buildings. The budget for 2009 was approved providing funding to all current church ministries. We will need to grow our givings to the church by 2.5% to fully cover expenses.

Fr. John announced that he had asked Marcus Owen to continue for a further term as Rector’s Warden and that Marcus had accepted.

Graham Campbell presented the Nominating Committee report which was adopted, as follows:

People’s Warden	Sue Campbell
Deputy Warden	Alan MacLeod
Delegate to Synod	Dianne Hooper
Alternate to Synod	Mark Drake
Youth delegate	Michele Babbage
Deanery Delegates	Chris Garner
	Ian Sinclair
Auditor	Ron Nesbitt
Advisory Board Members - At – Large	Margaret Clayton
	John Zacharias
	George Cockburn
	Alexandra Shandling
	Meg Sinclair
	Irene Lunt

PARISH FAMILY (milestones of recent weeks)

BAPTISM:

Gavin John Simpkin, son of Marcia Fergie and Mark Simpkin was baptized at St. Mary’s on January 11th.

DEATH:

Ed Kingsland died on January 14th and his Memorial Service was held at St. James on January 31st.

ALPHA COURSE BEING OFFERED IN OUR COMMUNITY:

Alpha is an interdenominational program that explores the basics of the Christian faith through a series of videos and discussion groups. The series of 12 sessions will take place in Reid Hall at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, 413 Main Road, Hudson. They will be held Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. starting on February 11.

Many in our community have already found Alpha to be a very renewing faith experience. There is no charge and no long-term commitment; just a chance to explore the Christian faith in a very relaxed atmosphere.

For more information, contact Christine Garner at 450-458-4268. Please check out the website at www.alphacanada.org. for more information.

YOUTH NEWS

On the 21st of February some of our youth are headed to Crossroads, downtown; service starts at 7:00 pm. If anyone else is interested in joining us please let me know and we can car pool.

Youth Conference Synod. The theme is “Discipleship What Is It?” This is a three day, two night event for the Youth of the Diocese of Montreal. This event will be taking place Friday, March 13^th – Sunday, March 15^th. All Youth between the ages of 13-21 are encouraged to attend. The registration deadline is Friday, 27^th February, so call me (514-445-6386) as soon as possible if you would like to attend.

A reminder that YOUTH MEETINGS for teenagers 11 plus, are held every Sunday (with the exception of the fourth Sunday of the month) at 11am in the YOUTH ROOM which is located in St. James’ basement. They last approximately one hour.

Saturday, 22nd of February will be the first movie night of the year! The feature film will be Part 1 of the Star Wars Trilogy. This trilogy is possibly one of the most successful modern tales of good vs. evil! In the three movies Darth Vader and the menacing Galactic Empire fight the rebellious freedom fighters for control of the Galaxy and The Force, the spiritual power that links all living things. Even though we're just starting to watch these movies, the purpose of them is to examine the mythic tale of a journey and relate it to the stories of our own journeys and to see how the archetypal characters in the trilogy relate to us. It also provides an opportunity to relate the tale to biblical stories, such as, for example, the story of David and Goliath. Everyone is welcome to come and watch the movie (bring your friends) and partake of the free popcorn and drinks. Movie start time is 6:00 pm and runs for approximately 2 hours with a short intermission if needed. Location is St. James Church.

SAVE THE DATES. On the weekend of Friday, March 20th we will be having a WINTER RETREAT for ages 11 plus. The retreat will be a three day, two night excursion to Tamarcouta. Youth of the Parish are encouraged to attend, and to bring as many friends as they would like! Plans for this event are still in the works and at this point I am looking for volunteers who might be interested in leading various workshops on Saturday the 21st of March in the afternoon. If you are interested in helping, or know of someone who might be, please contact me at 514-445-6386.

And that’s a wrap. Kelly Babbage Youth Coordinator

ST. JAMES ADVISORY BOARD MEETING: Wednesday 11 February 7:30 pm

CROSSROADS: Saturday 21 February, 7pm

Contact Kelly (514-445-6386) if you need a ride to St-Georges downtown.

BADEN POWELL BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Sunday 22 February 11:00 am

Scouts and Guides around the world will be celebrating the birthday of Baden Powell. As sponsors of the Cavagnal Scout group St. James' will be hosting scouts and guides at their 11h00 service on Sunday 22nd.Please come and show your support for these young people and celebrate with them at this special service.

YOUTH FORUM: Tuesday 24 February

If you have young people in your family in the confirmation age group, 12 years old and up, please mark the evening of Tuesday February 24th in your calendar. The parish is organizing a youth forum the object of which is to get input from families on the next steps in moving our youth program forward. You will be contacted in the near future with further details.

ST. MARY’S ANNUAL PANCAKE SUPPER: Tuesday 24 February 5:30 pm

RSVP: Elizabeth 450-458-4380 or Elsie 450-458-5226

COMMUNION AT MANOIR CAVAGNAL: Friday 27 February 10:00 am

YOUTH CAMP: the weekend of March 20th

Camp Tamaracouta has been booked for a weekend of Christian Centred Fun. The weekend is March 20th. Please put these dates in your calendar and encourage the youngsters in your family to attend - it promises to be a fun time. More details will be made available at the Youth Forum if not before.