Celebration Church Anglican Network in Canada – Barrie Ontario
Parish Profile
Introduction:
• Who We Are Celebration Church is a group of ordinary people who are figuring out what it means to love and follow Jesus. We are committed to loving and serving our community and sharing God’s love with our neighbours. We are part of the Anglican Network in Canada. • Our Vision To assist people to Connect with God; Grow in Jesus; and where we all have a passion to Serve His world.
Our Congregation:
• History Our congregation celebrated its inaugural worship service on January 9th, 2011 in the fellowship room of Inniswood Baptist Church and have since moved into their gymnasium. We enjoy a good relationship with our leasors. • Demographics We have 69 members with an average attendance of 63.
Our Community:
• Barrie, in Simcoe County is a community built around the shores of Lake Simcoe’s Kempenfelt Bay, one hour north of the Cosmopolitan City of Toronto. Due to its proximity to the Greater Toronto Area, many Barrie residents commute daily to work. • Barrie, as a tourist destination, has much to offer in the areas of water sports/recreation, golf courses, ski resorts, hiking and biking trails, ice fishing, snowmobiling. • Our downtown parks, host many summer festivals, tournaments, triathlons, picnics and concerts. • Population of Barrie is 156,000 (2019) • A good fellowship of community pastors who work together to put on public prayer and worship events. (I.e. Canada Day Worship, Haiti Relief)
1 Our Worship:
• We have designed our worship to make it as easy as possible for anybody to join and feel at home. Everything is projected onto the overhead screen. • Our worship team is led by a worship pastor combining ancient and new. Our worship is Holy Spirit led and joy filled – and a wonderful celebration of God’s presence! • While we have Anglican roots, we are informal in our style and it is our desire to be a worshiping community of people from ALL backgrounds who are learning to follow Jesus. • The normal pattern of Sunday worship is a Communion service. Generally, we follow more abbreviated and modern rites which are in accord with the ANiC guidelines for modern liturgies. Following the church calendar – for the most part, holding special services for Advent/Christmas/Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Easter. • Once a month, we offer a quiet, traditional earlier morning Eucharist service before the regular family service. • Children are encouraged to use the available flags during worship songs in the service. • Before the children leave for their Sunday School classes, they are prayed over by the congregation as they stand under a prayer canopy. • Each Sunday, special prayer teams of 2 are available to pray for individuals during the Communion.
Children and Youth:
• Since our inception, we have partnered with Inniswood for teaching our children and youth which has been of great benefit to both churches in the area of available teaching staff. • Both churches have in place the Plan to Protect screening for abuse prevention and vulnerable sector protection. • Due to our church demographic, we have few children in our congregation.
The Bible is the Foundation of Our Congregation
• Purpose - Begin/Connect with God – Grow in Jesus – Serve His World - Our life verse is Acts 8:8 “and there was Joy in the City.” • Vision - Easy to begin with God; as in the story of Jesus’ visit with Zacchaeus Luke 19 and 22. - Discipleship – based on Psalm 1 – growing deep roots in God. • Values - Worship - The Word of God - Mission - Prayer - Loving Relationships
2 Our Priorities:
• Envisioning Objectives - Guided by Bishop Charlie Masters’ five priorities for ANiC churches. - To set clear, measureable and purposeful direction for the future. - Upon completion of the envisioning process, three action teams were created to address the priorities as a result of that process – Local and Global Outreach, Congregational Development and Worship Space.
1. Local and Global Outreach - called the ‘Do Something Committee’. - helping with city-wide special holiday dinners for the needy, both financially and with volunteers. - involvement with local high school special class to assist with special days and ‘over and above needs’. - ‘Wake-Up Sunday Morning’ radio broadcast on local Christian radio station 100.3. - foreign Mission involvement – Panama, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Arms of Jesus, Haiti – Sponsored child, Waldo. - involvement at Christmas with Samaritan’s Purse Shoeboxes for Children. - ARDFC – one of our members is working closely with the organization at the invitation of Bishop Charlie Masters - Barrie Food Bank – donations and volunteers - Pregnancy Resource Centre - Keele Correctional Centre in Toronto – our Worship Pastor works at the Centre – our people give generously to the needs of the men at the Centre. - Prayer Shawl Ministry – dedicated knitters and crocheters make shawls for people who are ill or grieving.
2. Congregational Development - Fellowship Lunches in people’s homes - Congregation Christmas dinners - Church Picnic - Valentine’s Event - Revised Friendship Register used each Sunday for Prayer requests and Thanksgivings to be prayed for by the intercessory Prayer Team on Tuesdays
3. Worship Space Enhancement - purchased, after fund-raising, Sound Dampening Screens for the gym - headphone mics for the worship team. - sound system has undergone a number of improvements. - the projection system has also gone through a number of updates over our nine years. - presently, choosing banners to enhance the Sound Dampening Screens.
• Small Groups - Men’s Breakfast Group meets every Wednesday morning for prayer and study. - Tuesday mornings – Intercessory Prayer Group meets to pray for the requests from Sunday as well as the needs of the church and beyond. - Tuesday afternoons – Ladies’ Bible Study – held at the church and attended by a number of ladies from our own and other churches. - The Worship Team meets weekly to pray, and practice for Sunday worship. - Home studies have always been important to our church.
3 Our Priorities continued...
• Prayer - Intercessory Prayer is very important to our church – group meets Tuesday mornings to pray for the requests from Sunday’s Friendship Registers as well as the needs of our congregation – the sick, those needing jobs, thanksgivings for answered prayer, city, country and world situations. - Friendship Registers – small booklets available every Sunday along each aisle for people to write out their prayer requests. - Every Sunday there is opportunity for individual prayer during Communion by people trained to pray with others.
Our Church:
• We lease the use of the gymnasium on the campus of Inniswood Baptist Church 460 Yonge St., Barrie for Sunday morning services. • On Tuesdays, we also rent two meeting rooms. • We have use of a storage room for our own equipment. • The 8 round tables we own are stored in a shared area. • Sound system equipment is relatively new as well as our projector for the services; mic system, keyboard, music stands are in good repair; instruments are generally owned by the team members. • Budget - $173,000 for 2020 • We are incorporated • Staff - Full-time pastor (home office) - Part-time worship pastor - Honourary Pastor - Steering Committee – 9 members (3 pastors, 2 wardens, 4 volunteer lay members) – meets monthly in homes. - Finance Committee - Warden, Treasurer, 2 lay members - Bookkeeper, Envelope Secretary
Challenges:
• Growth in all demographics with a focus on younger families. • Getting new families to our Sunday worship, church events and programs. • Encourage regular attendance • Cyclical attendance – winter snowbirds; summer cottagers. • Increase number of people volunteering for leadership areas: children, youth, small groups. • Our worship space • Our desire to bring our Outreach and Missions givings back to 10%. • Also, back to 10% givings to ANiC. • Equipping all members to confidently follow Jesus in a world that increasingly does not understand or value Christian heritage. • Find our uniqueness in the community of Barrie.
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