St. George S of Forest Hill Anglican Church Kitchener, Ontario

Parish Council Minutes St. George’s of Forest Hill Anglican Church – Kitchener, Ontario Tuesday, Oct 28, 2014 – 7:30 pm - Thompson Hall

Chair: Vivian Harris Secretary: John Ryrie Devotions: MaryLynn Forrest Refreshments: Vivian Harris

Call to Order: 7:35 p.m. Vivian

Roll Call: Mike Stredwick, Nelson Cuthbert, Vivian Harris, MaryAnn Millar, Reta Risto, Valerie Cuthbert, Father Don, Lesley Burland Prong, Gary Knoop, Mary Shaw, Janet Hartry, Judy Proctor, Charlotte Cromarty, Cheryl Fox, MaryLynn Forrest, Anne Taylor, Karen Baker, Murray Gamble, John Ryrie, April Couzens-Brown

1) Regrets: John Dale, Murray Gamble, John Shaw (at bridge)

2) Devotions: MaryLynn - from Jesus Today

3) Agenda – Additions or revisions Vivian - addition - 8 (c) Anglican Foundation

MOTION: (Ryrie/Proctor) BIRT the Agenda for Parish Council be adopted as amended. Carried.

4) Reading and Acceptance of Sept 23, 2014 Minutes Vivian

- comments about RENEW came from over 100 parishioners, not necessarily 500 comments as reported

MOTION: (N. Cuthbert/Fox) BIRT the minutes of the previous Parish Council Meeting, September 23, 2014, be accepted as amended. Carried

5) Business Arising from the Minutes a. Wardens Succession Plan Mary Ann Millar - Father Don continues to contact suggested parishioners; two so far have turned down the invitation.

b. Turkey Supper Nelson/Val - the supper went very well – we cleared about $1450 – lots of people helped out

c. Marilyn Graham Gift Nelson - a wonderful framed needlepoint of the church; what do we do with it? Charlotte will be coordinating a thank-you card. Suggestion – put a donation basket by the needlepoint in the narthex, ask for contributions, and then direct the raised monies to a church initiative that Marilyn selects. The consensus seemed to be that the needlepoint should be permanently displayed somewhere in the church. To be determined.

d. Parish Visits – any changes? Fr Don - Bishop Bob is still scheduled to attend our 9 and 11 a.m. Easter services in 2015

e. Decluttering – how is it going? - the green bin is gone; a successful week. Our chairs went to the Mennonite Relief Fund. Various rooms have been thoroughly cleaned of old 'stuff.' Highly therapeutic!!

6) Standing Committee Reports a. Stewardship Vivian H. - the prepared printed report regrettably is at home! From Marc Mennel – one parishioner wrote a note of thanks and provided some financial report after receiving The Dragon Flyer as a former and out-of-town parishioner, which is noteworthy in terms of the previous discussion about continuing to mail out the Flyer to these individuals - Nelson showed Council two laminated boards of photos of parishioners taken for the most recent church directory. They will be hung in an appropriate place in Thompson Hall.

b. Finance (see attachments) Anne T.  Foster Child Fund is in good shape for next year.  Camp fund – loss of $603 in 2014; stabilization is still at $5000+, which is a healthy amount to support the camp in 2015 - we are still behind in donations – about $6000. We will need as good a Christmas as last year, or better ($35,000 for December – more than double a regular month). Our expenses are in good shape.

MOTION: (Taylor/Burland Prong) BIRT the minutes of the Financial report be accepted as presented. Carried.

c. Worship Mary Ann M  next meeting on Nov. 18th  the Junior choir, when they sing, have a big impact on Sunday school – usually double the number of youngsters. Can someone inform the Sunday school ahead of time? MaryLynn will make a note of this issue, and talk to John S.  Some effort should be put into inviting guides, sparks, brownies, etc. to the Nov. 9th church parade service, emphasizing that this is a children's service – Lesley can act as an official leader (i.e., overseer) for the young people.

d. Outreach Reta R  Our collected meat will be delivered this week, along with meat patties and frozen vegetables from our freezers  next thing – Angel Tree will go up at the end of the month  winter coats – Reta is continuing to collect these  our recent Clothes Closet – an amazing variety of adults and families showed up and stayed around and chatted. A notice on KAJIJI seemed to prompt a lot of attendees. Lots of clothes were taken by mums and dads; lots were left over. Even T-shirts and bathing suits were popular (!!), along with some adult clothes. More help will be needed to repeat this initiative; it's a lot of work for only three people.  Next meeting – Nov. 13th at 7 p.m.

e. Property Murray G - a very successful church clean-up this past Saturday; 60 bags of leaves were packed up; a trailer load of branches and debris was taken to the dump  Nelson took Council on a visual photographic 'walk ' around the church to review various deteriorations of the building  roof shingles are old and distressed, especially the west-facing surface

3  west-facing sacristy window – one pane has been cracked for some time; we may block off the lower half of the window when it's replaced; it's only now a functioning single pane of glass  rosetta window - paint on the exterior wood is in very bad shape  east roof – in better shape than west side  a new window is coming around Dec. 1 for the front of the church – about $3,500  the front road-side sign is deteriorating  the rectory front window – to be replaced, as it is in very poor shape (about $4,300)  Father Don has paid for a new concrete walkway in front of the rectory  we have perhaps five years left in the rectory roof shingles - Nelson handed out a sheet listing and detailing the main repairs, with their respective approximate costs

MOTION: (Ryrie/Proctor) BIRT Parish Council request the Executive to a) move ahead to reroof the slanted roofs of the church as soon as possible, and repair the leak in the flat roof on the west side, at an approximate cost of $50,000, b) secure the financing through a mortgage, if necessary, and c) inform the parish of a special vestry meeting on Nov. 16th, to be called to review and approve this expenditure. Carried unanimously.

f. RENEW Nelson & Valerie C.  Nelson and Valerie met with Linda McGregor  we need to narrow down our own RENEW priorities to five (or fewer) bullets  we need to know exactly what we are focusing on  the Men's Breakfast went very well – to be repeated in November

7) Fr. Don’s Report Fr. Don  narthex stained glass window – this was originally given by a relative of a current parishioner; this current parishioner has come forward prepared to restore it; it is out being fixed  Deanery Council – Nov. 4th at St. George's at 7 p.m. (Eucharist) for 7:30 p.m.  Christmas Memorial Service - 1st Sunday of Advent at 7:30 p.m.

8) New Business a. Deanery Outreach committee MaryLynn - this committee has been up and running for two years ; the archdeacon has approached the deanery’s churches about sponsoring another refugee family (last time the cost was about $2000 per church). - a substantial discussion ensured; although St. George's is looked at for leadership, the timing doesn't seem quite right in the context of RENEW and other St. George's concerns and priorities.

b. Communication Needs Nelson C - we will continue to keep the calendar updated

c. Anglican Foundation Father Don  established in 1957 at the General Synod; the annual cost in 1957 was $50 for membership. The cost in 2014 is still $50. We have only been a member for one of our parish's years.

MOTION: (Stredwick/ Baker) BIRT that St. George's pay for the 2015 membership to this Foundation. Carried.

9) Correspondence Nelson C - – a thank you from Forest Heights Collegiate for the use of our parking lot while the school’s parking lot was under construction - a thank you gift of $1000 is coming - Marion Kidd – a letter in September requesting our furthering of a community garden on our property - would compete with the summer camp - our soil isn't very good; providing water would be a challenge - our property at the back is already being abused, by debris and garbage, etc. - such an initiative would require someone to actively and regularly oversee it

MOTION: (V. Cuthbert/Baker) BIRT this issue be tabled to next month's meeting. Carried.

10) Upcoming dates and events: Vivian a. Wed. Oct. 29th. 6.00 p.m. Bishops Dinner at Galt Country Club b. Wed: Oct 29, 30 and Nov 5, 12 - Beer & Bible 7:30 p.m. at Casey's Restaurant c. Sat. Nov. 15Th – Men's breakfast at Country Boy d. Sunday Nov. 16Th – Special Vestry Meeting – after the 10 a.m. service e. Wed: Nov 19 - Book Club - 7:30 p.m. f. Sat. Nov. 22Nd – Christmas Market g. Sat. Nov. 29Th – Messy church a. Thurs: 30, Nov 6, 13 - Bible Study Fireside Room at 1:30 p.m. h. Sat Nov 1, 8, 15, 22 - Home Caregiver Support Program - see Br Mark i. Sun. Nov. 9th Cathedral Choir. 5.00 pm. Evensong. Potluck at 6:00 p.m. j. Sat. Nov. 22nd. Cathedral in London - Reign of Christ Service. 4 p.m. k. Sun. 30Th – Christmas Memorial Service

11) Next PC Meeting: Tues. November 25 @ 7:30 p.m. Chair: Mary Ann Millar Devotions: John Shaw Refreshments: April Couzens-Brown

12) Adjournment: Mary Ann Millar. 9:30 p.m.