COVID-19 Memorial Tree
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
March 21, 2021 March 6, 2021
2020 Glebe-St. James United Church Annual Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1 Who are we? Glebe-St. James United Church Mission and Vision Statement 2 Glebe-St. James and the Spirit of Reconciliation 3 An Affirming Congregation 5 Living Ministry profile 6 A Sustaining and Sustainable Glebe-St. James 11 Glebe-St. James and the COVID-19 pandemic 12 Looking to the future 13 HALO report 14 Church Roll / In Memoriam 15 What are we doing? Our staff From the Minister’s desk 16 Minster’s Benevolent Fund 17 Our staff 17 Our ministries – Glebe-St. James as a community Christian Development Ministry 18 Men and Friends’ Group 19 Ministry of Pastoral Care and Visitation 19 Friendly Callers 20 Prayer Circle 21 Quilting and St. Mary’s Home 21 Welcoming and staying in touch 23 Communications 24 Our website 25 Women’s Intergenerational Group 27 Worship Ministry Worship Committee 28 On-line Worship 31 The Labyrinth 32 Music – ministries serving Glebe-St. James and the wider community Ministry of Music 34 Music Committee and Program 36 Organ renewal 37
Glebe St. James United Church - 2020 Annual Report Page 1 Our ministries – Glebe-St. James in the wider community Christian Outreach Ministry 38 Mission and Service Fund 39 Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster 40 Christian Outreach in our Community in 2020 40 OMRA Refugee Housing Program 43 Refugee support FACES 44 Eritrean refugees 45 Our community partners 45 Glebe Montessori School 46 Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group 48 Stewardship of Glebe-St. James Annual Planning Meeting, January 2020 48 2020 Annual Congregational Meeting – postponed! 49 2019 Financial Review report 50 Approved 2020 Budget 53 Report from Council 54 Glebe-St. James volunteers 55 Building congregational partnerships – discussions with St. Paul’s-Eastern United Church 60 Glebe-St. James governance – organizing for the future 60 Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Regional Council (Region 12) 61 Accessibility and Glebe-St. James 62 Board of Trustees 62 Building and Property 63 Property Guild 64 Greening our building 65 Report of the Safety Coordinator 65 Cleaning services at Glebe-St. James 66 Finance and Administration Committee 67 F&A – 2020 67 Fundraising 68 Home Services Guild 69 Doug Davidson Building Fund 70 Ministry and Personnel Committee 70 Treasurer’s Report 72 Annex HALO final report https://www.glebestjames.ca/governance-and-stewardship#GuidingDocuments
Glebe St. James United Church - 2020 Annual Report Page 2 Introduction
An annual report is an opportunity to remember and to celebrate what we in Glebe- St. James have done in the past year as a faith community. As will be clear from this report, 2020 was a year unlike any other, shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and our response to it. This is reflected in the COVID-19 tree, photographed on the front cover of this report, that Glebe-St. James created in 2020, with one ribbon tied for each Ottawa life lost to the pandemic.”
It is also an important vehicle for us to tell our story to others. It will be posted on our website. In its final form, it will be available to the wider United Church of Canada. In the longer run, it serves as an historical record of who we are and what we did in 2020.
This report includes material from all the major groups and activities within the congregation that will serve as a resource for our annual congregational meeting on March 21, 2021. That meeting will elect a new Glebe-St. James Council and take decisions about the budget, governance and other matters relating to the congregation and its work. It will also approve a final version of the annual report for submission to the Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Regional Council.
The 2020 annual report is divided into two parts. The first is intended to provide the touchstones of who we are as a faith community. The second presents our staff and our work in ministering to Glebe-St. James as a community and to the wider community, in Ottawa and around the World. It also describes our stewardship of the resources – the people, the finances and the building – that enable us to be a church.
I will be finishing my term as Chair of Glebe-St. James Council at the March 21st annual meeting. It has been an honour to serve in this role. I would like to express my appreciation for all their hard work – recorded in this annual report – to my fellow members of Council, to the many other members of the congregation who have volunteered their time and energy, and to the church staff, who make all the rest possible.
David Brown Chair of Council Glebe-St. James United Church
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If you would like a printed copy of this report, or if there is anything, you would like to know about what is discussed in it, please get in touch with our church office:
650 Lyon Street South Ottawa, Ontario K1S 3Z7 (613) 236-0617 E-mail: [email protected]
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Who are we?
Mission & Vision Statement
VISION: Reaching – Into Faith, Out to Others
VALUES: Openness and Inclusion Love and Respect Curiosity and Courage Justice and Hope
MISSION: Glebe-St. James is an Affirming congregation of the United Church of Canada. We strive to accept each other as we are, and we seek to be a welcoming space for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, indeed for all people. We also remember that we meet on traditional unceded lands of the Algonquin.
We come together –
To be an open, safe place to explore spirituality and faith, To sustain and deepen that faith through joyful worship and robust reflection, To put that faith into action as a community of healing and of loving resistance, daring to speak out for justice and healthy outcomes for all, and To work with other organizations as partners for the common good.
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Spirit of Reconciliation
The United Church of Canada, and Glebe-St. James as part of it, is going through major changes as it responds to the changing nature of Canadian society and the role of religious institutions within it. At least as profound – and as a central part of this transition – is a spiritual and cultural change that grows out of the longer-term process of reconciliation with Canada’s Indigenous communities. The United Church has had a relationship with those communities since well before Confederation that stretches through the history of residential schools but that has many other dimensions – both good and bad – as well. Glebe-St. James is part of this journey at several levels.
A respectful and healing United Church of Canada
The United Church has embarked on the process of creating a new relationship in which the Indigenous church is both a distinct but also an integral part of who we are and how we operate. At its most basic, it involves a redefinition of the United Church, of who it includes and how it practices its faith. An important step – symbolic in the best sense – was taken in 2016 to incorporate the four sacred colours of Indigenous spirituality into the United Church logo.
At the 43rd General Council in July 2018, the Caretakers of Our Indigenous Circle presented Calls to the Church, which asked the United Church to recognize and foster Indigenous ministries and faith communities and through that to create a Healing Church that embraces past and current experience in looking to the future. Our Coordinating Minister, Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole, was an Urban Indigenous member of the Caretakers. In response, General Council adopted the multi-faceted program proposed by the Caretakers, summarized in the circle diagram, Dreaming New Relationships for the Indigenous Church.
As part of this initiative, Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole has provided an Indigenous voice on the executive committees of both the United Church General Council and the Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Regional Council, helping to ensure that Indigenous perspectives, including those of urban Indigenous residents, are part of the work of the national church and of the region.
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Glebe-St. James and the new relationship
While many of these developments relate to the emerging Indigenous church and its part in the wider United Church, they also call for individual congregations to take their own initiatives. For Glebe-St. James in 2020 it has been the continuation of a series of steps in a longer journey.
ASWA.ca Each Sunday, a red dress is placed in the Sanctuary as a visual reminder of the need for redress for the missing and murdered Aboriginal women, who are a silent reality of Canadian society.
Each Sunday, as well, at the beginning of the worship service we acknowledge that our worship space is built on lands that have never been ceded by the Indigenous communities that lived here when colonial powers and settlers first arrived. In recognition of this, we have adopted the practice of making an annual payment of $2000 to the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, which serves the Indigenous community in the Ottawa-Gatineau area. A fuller account of the work of the Odawa Centre is found in the Christian Outreach committee report. In addition, the Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole and Dietlind Gardell, a Glebe-St. James Licensed Lay Worship Leader, have been working with Église Unie St-Marc and the Odawa Centre in the development of a support centre for Indigenous individuals in dealing with the Justice system, including the near-by Elgin Street courthouse.
We have also provided a visible connection to Indigenous spirituality with the placement of a Medicine Wheel and an adjacent garden on the grounds of the church, at the foot of the bell tower, facing Lyon Street South and the wider community.
A more in-depth effort to understand and come to terms with the historical legacy and contemporary challenges has been the work of the Glebe-St. James Indigenous study group. A major part of our adult Christian Education program, this group was formed to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for communities of faith to educate themselves in the history of Indigenous relations in Canada. In the Winter of 2020, it sponsored an Indigenous speaker series, in which the first two speakers were the Executive Directors of the Odawa Native Friendship Centre and of the Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health, who spoke about challenges faced by the Indigenous community in the Ottawa area and the services provided by their respective organizations. The series was, however, suspended with the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Complementing these initiatives was Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole’s sermon on March 1, 2020, "The Temptation to Ignore – Wet’suwet’en", which served as a call to action in the season of Lent. Her suggestions of what we can do include: listening to what groups have to say and what they need; getting informed and informing others; speaking up when wrong information or stereotypes are being shared; acknowledging our own discomfort and/or feelings of guilt; not “whitewashing” the experiences of residential school – it was terrible for some, not so bad for others, however, everyone was affected; protecting and/or protesting in solidarity; and writing letters to government officials.
“As we meet together, we remember in gratitude the Algonquin Peoples on whose traditional land we now gather. We acknowledge their story and their stewardship of the land and water, the plants and animals, through many generations.”
An Affirming Congregation
Sadly, due to COVID 19, the Pride 2020 parade was cancelled (although a virtual event was still held) We are one of seven United Church of Canada Affirming Ministries in the Ottawa area. We begin every service with the words “Glebe-St. James is an Affirming Congregation in the United Church of Canada. Everyone and their gender, race, ethnicity, abilities and sexual orientation is welcome and celebrated in our worship”. This is integral to who we are and to how we present ourselves, in worship and in our face to the community. As such, we are a member of Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble (AUSE). We also display our affiliation in our website.
AUSE is an independent volunteer movement that works in partnership with the United Church of Canada. Its website is a resource available to Affirming Congregations. It describes AUSE’s work, and the work it supports, in the United Church, in these terms:
Affirm United/ S’affirmer Ensemble works for the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities in the United Church of Canada and in society. We draw strength and hope from biblical stories of liberation; from the prophetic call to live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with God; and from Jesus’ witness to God’s inclusive love.
Individual AUSE memberships are also available. Membership includes access to the AUSE newsletter, Consensus, which is also available through the Glebe-St. James office. Back issues are available through the AUSE website.
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AUSE asks congregations to adopt PIE (Public, Intentional and Explicit) as the standards to which they hold themselves and their welcome when they become Affirming Ministries. In keeping with that, they encourage members to observe international PIE day (March 14 – known in other contexts as Pi Day!) Glebe-St. James celebrated PIE day in 2020, serving pie on March 15 after the Sunday service. This was our last time together before the onslaught of the pandemic.
Living Ministry Profile
The United Church of Canada asks each community of faith to prepare annually a Living Ministry Profile. Built around a standard set of questions, it encourages the community of faith to keep under on-going review its understanding of its role in the community, its strengths and challenges in serving its members and its understanding of its place in the United Church of Canada.
The Living Ministry Profile takes the place, on an ongoing basis, of the Joint Needs Assessment (JNAC) that was previously prepared in anticipation of hiring a new Minister. It forms part of the documentation called for in the Annual report and is reviewed and endorsed by the annual congregational meeting. In early 2020, preparatory work was begun that was intended to lead to the proposal of an LMP for 2020-21 for adoption at the March 21, 2020 annual congregational meeting (ACM). In the event, the ACM was postponed and eventually cancelled, and preparation of a new LMP was halted, all as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, the 2019-20 LMP that was endorsed by the March 2019 annual meeting is provided here as background. Although the detailed answers might, in at least some cases, have been different in the 2020- 21 report, it is considered that the overall tone and spirit would have been very similar. In particular, the Values, Vision and Mission identified in the 2014 Joint Needs Assessment, which is the reference point for our LMP, remain a central part of our life as a community of faith. An LMP for 2021-22, prepared in light of the experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, will be submitted to the March 2021 annual congregational meeting for its approval.
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Glebe-St. James United Church, Ottawa Living Ministry Profile, 2019-20 www.glebestjames.ca
(Note: This document was endorsed by the Glebe-St. James Annual Congregational Meeting on March 24, 2019 and then submitted to Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region as part of the 2018 Annual Report)
Referring to our 2014 Joint Needs Assessment profile, we have reflected on the following questions:
1. Does the description of our physical community (town, city, region) still adequately reflect who we are? In what ways has our community changed? As a generally well-off neighbourhood close to the centre of Ottawa, the Glebe continues to be under development pressure; the population that we serve is gradually expanding with the addition of high-rises and condo The rising costs of home ownership and low rental vacancy rates that affect major urban areas in Canada are particularly felt in central Ottawa neighbourhoods, such as the Glebe. The Ottawa area is enjoying economic stability and growth, including the opening of a major new light-rail transit system in 2019, but there are significant inequalities and also challenges arising from changing demographics, including meeting the needs of an ageing population and of recent immigrants to Canada, many of them refugees.
2. Do our facilities continue to meet the needs of our congregation and wider community? The facilities continue to meet the congregation’s needs. However, the building, which dates from the early 1900s, requires regular maintenance and renovation. In 2018, this included restoration of one section of windows in the sanctuary as part of an ongoing project and replacement of fire doors and stairwell heating in the emergency exit leading from Fraser Hall. Work is underway to maintain a list of needed repairs to help ensure that they are addressed in a reasonable order of priority. An important part of our community presence, and support for looking after these facilities, is our sharing the building with the Glebe Montessori School, as well as making it available to community groups. We believe we are using our facilities well in supporting community groups and in providing services to the community, but we are looking at ways of making even better use of them.
3. How has our congregational demographics changed over the past year? We regularly welcome new participants into the life of the congregation as newcomers find in Glebe-St. James a church home where they enjoy participating and sharing their gifts, for example, in music, outreach or children’s activities. Despite that, the overall trend is toward a smaller and older congregation. We are looking at ways of keeping up with and involving visitors and of staying in touch with supporters who are in the church directory but not active. There continue to be a small number of families with young children who attend regularly and a highlight of 2018
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was the return of our dynamic Christian Development Minister who leads children’s church.
4. In the past 12 months, how has our congregation responded to the outreach needs within our community, both regionally and globally? We have responded to the need for refugee sponsorships through participation in FACES (First Avenue Churches and Community Embracing Sponsorship), an interdenominational three-church and community refugee sponsorship group, and also through co-sponsorship of Eritrean refugees with Amleset Kidane. A wide range of other outreach partnerships continue. However, a primary issue is volunteer time balanced by the recognition that members volunteer for causes they care about. We continue to provide solid support for the M&S fund.
We are taking steps to support reconciliation with the Indigenous community, including a contribution to the Odawa Friendship Centre, a community organization, in recognition of our occupancy of unceded Indigenous land and a study group on related issues. We have placed a red dress in the sanctuary as a symbol of our desire to see justice in the work of the inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. We continue our involvement as an affirming congregation in the community and have participated in the 2018 Pride parade.
5. In what ways have we assisted our congregational leadership in responding to the mission of the congregation within the community of faith and beyond? Members of the congregation are heavily involved in internal and community initiatives but many are less willing to participate in or to lead committees or other Council structures. A small task group has been working to examine our organization and procedures in light of evolving needs and recent changes in the wider United Church of Canada and to propose amendments to ensure our structure and procedures work flexibly and effectively to support the mission of the congregation within the community of faith and beyond it.
6. In what ways have, we assisted one another within the congregation on our individual spiritual faith journey? Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole continued to lead early Sunday Bible discussion groups, Lenten and Advent study groups as well as an evening discussion group on Indigenous issues in the context of spiritual renewal. The congregation-led Men and Friends Group has had considerable success in bringing together long-time and new members of the congregation. The Women’s Intergenerational group has very quickly established itself as a forum for discussion of spiritual issues. This complements an annual quilting retreat in which many women from the congregation participate. Numerous members of the congregation play volunteer roles in support of Sunday worship. We continue to look for opportunities for individuals in the congregation to tell their own faith stories. More generally, we have a strong ministerial team who support us with meeting the needs of all members and supporters and with the continuing process of renewing our community of faith.
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7. Are there new initiatives that have been undertaken -- or need to be undertaken – to remain faithful to our call within this town/city/region and our world? As indicated above we are involved in a wide range of initiatives, although we are also very conscious of unmet and under-met needs. One major limitation is volunteer time and attention. Funding is also an issue, although we have been able to provide substantial support for refugee initiatives while generally maintaining overall levels of support in other areas.
We identified improving our communications, both within the congregation and with the wider community, as an ongoing priority. We connect with the wider community through articles in the local community newspaper. A regular weekly e-bulletin keeps the congregation informed of happenings within the community of faith and in the broader community in Ottawa. A significant amount of work was done in 2018 to strengthen our Website (www.glebestjames.ca) and this work will continue in 2019. A small group has been looking at ways to update our approach to communications, including better use of social media and ensuring greater integration and coherence among all the different ways in which we convey our message and stay in touch.
8. Are we as a congregation continuing to meet the needs of this town/city/region relating to pastoral care, spirituality and self-care, within the community of faith and the wider community? A focus on strengthening pastoral care over the last several years has resulted in a strong pastoral care ministry led by the Co-ordinating Minister, Teresa Burnett-Cole and Rev. George Clifford, Minister of Visitation. Pastoral care, which includes an active prayer circle, was supported in 2018 by the launch of “Friendly Visitors”, a group of nine people who have received training and have agreed to be visitors for the congregation. The pastoral care visitation ministry extends beyond the congregation to patient visits at the Ottawa Hospital. Two congregation members visit patients who are associated with any United Church in Canada. We have an active Healing Pathway ministry and a Labyrinth for meditation that is advertised and available to all who are interested.
We have also begun to explore ways in which we can better collaborate with partners in the broader community, starting with other UCC congregations in central Ottawa and with other churches and community groups in the Glebe. This discussion is in turn linked to consideration of our long- term prospects as a congregation, in light of our demographic and financial trends.
9. Are we faithful in our use of our resources: financial ($), talents (people) and physical (building)? Do our stewardship goals assist us in meeting the needs of the life and work of our congregation? We continue to make efforts to ensure that we manage well and make effective use of talents, financial and physical resources. We have not had
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a systematic stewardship campaign in recent years but are gearing up to do so in 2019. We continue to have generous responses to fundraising events and the upper tier of our financial contributions remains strong, however we are concerned our financial situation is overly dependent on the contributions from a relatively small group of families. This links to issues about staying in touch with and engaging the full range of our supporters.
10. In what ways do your financial/budget projections for the coming years need to be updated? Are they still accurate? Broadly speaking we feel we have a solid financial foundation, and total congregational givings, including operating, capital and outreach expenditures, have remained essentially constant for several years. There has, however, been a gradual decline in contributions to operating funds and we have been increasingly dependent on fundraising. The Glebe-St. James Service Guild has provided services in exchange for donations and successfully contributed to meeting fundraising targets. We had a balanced operating budget in 2018, after two earlier years in deficit, but we are also giving more attention to ways of ensuring longer-term financial sustainability. We paid off our Presbytery loan in 2018 but in 2019 will face new pressures on our capital budget, including potentially substantial repairs to our roof and organ.
In 2017, Council held a retreat to consider the congregation’s longer-term situation, focusing on a 20 – 30 year time horizon. This arose partly out of a request by the Glebe Montessori School to extend its lease but also from a desire to consider the implications of the demographic and financial trends described above. We expect to continue these discussions and to use them to inform short- to medium-term planning decisions.
11. Does our worship meet the diverse needs of the whole people of God? The anchor for all of our activities is strong worship services, where we are able to draw on our ministerial staff and on five members of the congregation who are licensed lay worship leaders. Music has always been a crucial part of worship at Glebe-St. James and this has been strengthened by the temporary return of our much-loved Minister of Music at the end of 2018 followed closely by the arrival of a new and talented Minister of Music at the beginning of 2019. An active choir provides voices and music leadership in the service and a modern AV system provides visuals for announcements and words for hymns.
As stated in our 2016 Living Ministry Profile, people of diverse backgrounds find security and spirituality; sermons are inspiring and challenging; the needs of our community and world are always before us; and a welcoming atmosphere encourages outsiders to come to our services and stay afterwards for socializing in our church hall.
12. What does it mean for us to be a part of the United Church of Canada? We are the visible presence of the UCC in our community, which is reflected in many of our program events and in our communications outreach, including through the community newspaper. Our Minister has also
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represented the UCC in the community and on Parliament Hill on several occasions with respect to Indigenous issues. We have studied and endorsed all the recent remits on future UCC organization. This discussion has led us to refresh our understanding of what it is to be part of the UCC, a process that will continue as the new national and regional structures are put in place in 2019 and beyond.
13. After reflecting on all these questions, are there things that need to be changed/updated in our Living Ministry Profile? (Formerly referred to as a JNAC Report) The 2014 JNAC Report is still appropriate. In 2018, we used these guidelines to re-staff two ministerial positions – the Minister of Music and the Christian Development minister.
A sustaining and sustainable Glebe-St. James
As will be clear to readers of this Annual Report, Glebe-St. James is an active and vibrant Affirming United Church congregation. From music-rich worship to Christian education to pastoral care, including Healing Pathways, the Prayer Circle and Friendly Callers, and to the welcoming atmosphere of the Women’s Intergenerational Group (WIGs) and the Men and Friends, we are blessed to be part of a community of faith that has time and resources to extend its ministry to members, neighbours and the wider world. We have an excellent staff and good relations with Glebe Montessori School, our many other building users and other downtown Ottawa churches. We seek social justice through Reconciliation, refugee support, and our Christian outreach program more generally. And we achieved a revenue surplus in 2020, as we did in the previous two years.
Maintaining a community-sustaining church in the short run and a sustainable community of faith in the longer run is a continuing challenge. As recorded in recent annual reports, Glebe-St. James has begun to take steps to consider its medium- to longer-term future and to identify options that it has available to meet that future. This included the creation of a Futures Task Force in 2019 that was asked to make a first report to the 2020 annual congregational meeting and a final report to the 2021 annual meeting.
The work of the Futures Task Force was interrupted, however, by an entirely unanticipated event, the COVID-19 pandemic, which in the first quarter of 2020 took control of life in the community at large, as well as Glebe-St. James, and presented major and immediate challenges to the life and work of the congregation.
In many ways, the response to the pandemic brought out the best in Glebe-St. James; it is discussed in the next part of this section of this report. That is followed by a note on the work that the Futures Task Force was able to do in the changed circumstances of the pandemic. That in turn is followed by a discussion of the report of the HALO study of the impact of economic and social impact of Glebe-St. James on the Ottawa community, which was conducted in 2019 but reported in 2020.
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Glebe-St. James and the COVID-19 pandemic
2020 was a year unlike any other. It began with optimism but within weeks was jarred by the COVID-19 pandemic. By the middle of March, the pandemic had overtaken any pre-existing sense of normal and became the defining feature of the year, for Glebe-St. James as a community of faith and for each of its members as families and as individuals.
The year was very challenging and in many ways unprecedented. But members of the Glebe-St. James community more than rose to the occasion, demonstrating resilience and dedication, a great deal of learning and adaptation, and a few lessons to absorb.
The response to the pandemic is a thread that runs through this annual report. No area of Glebe-St. James’ work was untouched and some new areas of activity and capabilities emerged. Some highlights stand out:
• Sunday worship services were suspended in their traditional form after the March 18 service, and the church building was closed for most purposes for the rest of the year. Through to the end of June, however, full services were pre-recorded and made available on the Glebe-St. James website. This was followed by a shift to livestreaming, again using the website, which grew in technical capacity and sophistication through the balance of the year. All through this period, strong worship leadership was provided for adults and children alike by Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole, Stephanie Langill, the Minister of Christian Development, and Glebe-St. James’ Licensed Lay Worship Leaders, who stepped up during the four months that Rev Teresa was on sabbatical. Their work was complemented by the music leadership of James Caswell, the Minister of Music, Robert Palmai, the Minister of Music Emeritus, and members of the choir, who rapidly adapted to the evolving circumstances.
• Connectors brought Glebe-St. James out to the congregation and checked in with them in many ways. These included Rev. George Clifford, the Minister of Visitation, and the Friendly Callers, who maintained regular telephone contact with the entire congregation, along with the Zoom coffee hour, the Holy Zoomers, our Pastoral Care team, the Prayer Circle, the Women’s Intergenerational Group, our committed Outreach team, the Home Services Guild and Dudleigh Coyle’s chilli dinners.
• Several layers of communications provided continuing means for the congregation to stay in touch with the rapidly evolving situation. These included the Website, the weekly e-Updates and Sunday Bulletins, the monthly e-newsletter Good News in the Glebe and articles in the Glebe Report.
• All of this was backed up by Glebe-St. James’ office support, Jennifer Reid, the Office Administrator, and Lori Stinson, accounts, who kept the church administration operating smoothly, even when all regular activities were shut down.
• Our strong partner, Glebe Montessori School, continued to operate, carefully following the safety protocols, all through the year. Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 12
• Our members and volunteers adjusted to the new, and constantly changing, reality and learned how to use Zoom so they could stay in touch and continue to participate in and carry out the work of the congregation. The substance remained the same, even if the medium was dramatically changed.
By the end of 2020 it was clear that the pandemic would continue well into 2021. It was to be hoped that the resilience and new learning that occurred in 2020 will provide a firm foundation for whatever the next year may bring.
Looking to the future
Council established the Futures Task Force in the fall of 2019 to take a look at potential opportunities and challenges facing Glebe-St. James in the years to come. If we could get a sense of what lay ahead, the thinking was that we may be better equipped to plan and take action now to help smooth the road.
Our task proved to be more difficult than initially envisioned. Aside from the obvious problems in trying to "predict the future," we were unsure as to the best way to engage people, deeply and sensitively. And how would we ensure that our work yielded something relevant and useful, and didn't simply muddy the waters? We started with a coffee house style worship service in January 2020 where we collected responses to the questions: Why did I come to Glebe-St. James and why did I stay? And tried to think about how the people at Glebe-St. James 20 years from now would answer those questions. The responses painted a picture of a well- loved church -- spiritual seeking, community, music, a place to recharge before we go into the world. Then a couple moths later, before the Futures Task Force had done much more, we were faced with the pandemic which, of course, affected what we were able to do, particularly in regards to connecting with members of the congregation and others who might have a stake in our future.
We explored what other churches in our position did, along with some of the many resources available from the United Church of Canada. Ultimately, our best way forward was to take to the phones, and Zoom, and consult individual congregants. Over the course of fall 2020 and early 2021, we spoke to over 30 people, and met by Zoom with Council. We are humbled and grateful toward those to whom we spoke for their candour and wisdom. As of this writing, we are continuing our conversations, and plan to widen our reach beyond the congregation.
We hope to make a report available in the spring. It will describe - to the extent that mere words can capture - the love people have for our church along with an incredible level of positivity and some exciting ideas. We will make it as practical as we can, while acknowledging that not everything can be planned or anticipated!
Respectfully submitted,
Jenifer Aitken, David Brown, Don Hall, Marsha Hay-Snyder, David Lee, Crystal Maitland, and Margo Williams Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 13
HALO Canada Study
In the context of the launching of the Futures study, Glebe-St. James participated during 2019 in a national United Church of Canada-sponsored study of the socio- economic value of faith communities, using a methodology originally developed at the University of Pennsylvania and adapted to the Canadian context. The study question was: “if a local congregation ceased to exist, what would it cost the municipality to replace the programs and services provided by that organization to the wider community?” A preliminary summary report was received at the end of 2019 and was included in the 2019 annual report. The final report was received in February 2020 and is available online or by request through the church office.
After considering a wide range of data, the report concludes that Glebe-St. James has a direct “Halo” impact of $3.4M in the Ottawa area. This includes a $2.55M impact by Glebe-Montessori School, which is a major tenant in the building, but another $850K direct impact through Glebe-St. James’ own activities and a somewhat larger indirect impact.
The largest component of the Glebe-St. James’ direct impact is spending, on staff and on the building. A second significant area directly attributable to the congregation is impact on individuals, including suicide prevention, helping people gain employment, helping immigrant and refugee families, promoting the civic engagement of youth and teaching children pro-social values. A third area is social capital and care. This category captures how a congregation uses its program space, its volunteer hours and the social value of its in-kind support. According to the report, Glebe-St. James provides a direct and indirect socio-economic benefit to the community of more than half a million dollars through direct use of its own space, renting space out to community groups, and the considerable offering of community volunteer time – over 3000 hours – both within the church community and with programs such as the Home Services Guild, the Carleton Open Table, the Patchwork Quilt Pilgrimage, Centretown Churches for Social Action, Centre 507, refugee housing and the Carlington Community Chaplaincy.
The report has a number of other interesting insights. It argues that those who attend church do higher levels of volunteering overall, both in their church but also in the wider community; in Glebe-St. James’ case they calculate this secondary HALO impact at $3.7M. They also calculate that the socio-economic impact of Glebe-St. James is 20 times the revenue that would be generated by removing the church’s tax exempt status.
When the report was discussed by Council, most members viewed the report as potentially useful in some contexts but ultimately not really a good reflection of what a church is all about.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 14
Glebe-St. James Roll
Membership as of December 31, 2019 187
Removed from rolls: 2 Deaths: (1 Members, 2 Non-member) 3 Transfer out: 1
Joined Glebe-St. James United Church: 0 Transfer in 0 Joined by profession of Faith 0 Joined by Reaffirmation 0
Membership as of December 31, 2020 185
Baptism (0 adults, 2 children) 2 Weddings 3
Crystal Maitland Clerk of Rolls
Glebe-St. James Honour Roll
In grateful memory, we record the names of the Members and Adherents of Glebe- St. James United Church who entered into rest during the year 2020.
Stuart Anderson (M), March 29, 2020
Mervyn Dee Cameron (A), November 19, 2020
Margaret Finlayson (A), February 9, 2020
In life, in death. In life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone, Thanks be to God.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 15
What are We doing?
Our Staff
From the Minister’s Desk
Events beyond our control, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, made 2020 a year of challenge! As my health can be precarious, I have had to pay special attention to the precautions put forth by public health for our safety.
The year began as any other year. Meetings, a wedding, anti-racism training, and the regular flow of worship planning. Then in March our world was turned upside down by the pandemic. I offered the final weeks of Lent and Holy Week on the internet and then left for a four- month sabbatical. I am grateful for the lay leadership of the Licensed Lay Worship Leaders (LLWL) as well as that of the Council while I was away. Chris Burbridge, Hilda Sabadash, Nancy Huggett, Stephanie Langill, and Dietlind Gardell led the worship and preached. I am so proud of our worship team and LLWLs who stepped in and figured out the technological challenges in order to continue offering worship.
I spent those four months working on my doctoral dissertation. I am pleased to report that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It won’t be long until the work, focused on intercultural worship, is finalized.
Glebe-St. James has continued to be a beehive of activity and I have remained busy on your behalf. There have been three weddings and a funeral (most such events have been postponed until after gathering is safe once again). I also provided pastoral counselling support to several individuals, both in the Glebe-St. James congregation as well as others in the wider community. This is not a part of my job that I readily share with others in the church leadership, however I have dealt with many issues such as homelessness, ill health, suicidality, depression, and grief. Apart from my duties as your pastor, I also continued to serve on an array of committees at the presbytery/region and national church. Despite the pandemic, meetings continued with our format shifted to Zoom calls.
Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region – I am in my third year of serving on the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region Executive. I have been serving as the Indigenous voice now for three years. As we do not have any active Indigenous churches in our region, it means that our Indigenous representatives will always come from urban/rural settler pastoral charges.
Gathering Advisory Board – This Board is a labour of love for me. I have been involved in providing content for Gathering for 18 years and have served on GAB in the past. This is the Board that advises the editors of Gathering magazine. Gathering is used worldwide by reform churches to help plan their liturgical life. For the last eight years I have been regularly writing technical liturgical material for them.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 16
General Council Executive – This is my third year of serving on the General Council Executive. I act as the Indigenous representative. I am one of 18 on the GCE – definitely smaller than the 60-odd voices that used to be around the Executive table. I currently report our activities and decisions to the National Indigenous Council as well as serve on the Sub-Executive between meetings.
Finally, I’d like to share a few words of thanksgiving. Church volunteers are the unspoken heroes of every congregation and Glebe-St. James is no different! Thank you to all who serve on committees, task groups, guilds, and in the Children’s Church. Without you, we wouldn’t be here! A special thank you to the M&P Committee – on behalf of the staff team – you help make the “process” of church work. Finally, thank you to the staff team. It is a delight to come to work when you have such a good group of people with which to work. I have been delighted with the way the staff has come together to get us through the pandemic.
The Reverend Teresa Burnett-Cole
Minister’s Benevolent Fund
This is a small fund that is given for local needs and administrated by Rev. Teresa. It is based on donations by members of the congregation. This fund, which few know about, is just one of the ways that Glebe-St. James meets the needs of the local community. The truth is no matter how much financial support we can give, the need will always outpace it. To that end, I have tried to concentrate on a few individuals, instead of supporting many people with a little help. Due to the circumstances of the pandemic I did not use the fund as much in 2020 as in previous years, but it is still an important resource to have available. Thank you for your donations to the Benevolent Fund – it makes a difference!
The Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole
Our staff
Glebe-St. James is blessed to have a strong and experienced staff team. They provide expertise and continuity to the work of the congregation and are valued collaborators and guides for our many volunteers. Members of the staff may be reached through the Church office.
Teresa Burnett-Cole – Coordinating Minister George Clifford – Minister of Visitation (telephone ministry) James Caswell – Minister of Music Stephanie Langill – Christian Development Minister Jennifer Reid – Office Administrator Lori Stinson - Accounts Alex Totten-Thomas and Saj Patni – Sunday Sextons Tashi Farmilo-Marouf – Nursery Attendant to January 2020 Medhanie Meskel and Aranshi Yohanns (JaniKing) – custodial team
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 17
Our ministries – Glebe-St. James as a community
Christian Development Ministry
The year of the unexpected! As with so many things during COVID-19, Christian Development adapted our ministry to fit the needs and circumstances that were 2020. Admittedly, in March, when Ottawa moved into a provincial lockdown, and our building was ordered closed, having Children's Church without children and without church was a new challenge!
Even though the isolation was difficult, and it did take time to shift the idea of what, "Sunday morning looks like", it turned into a great moment to explore the possibilities of meaningful online worship for children. At first we relied on the work and guidance from youth leaders who already had a strong online presence who made their ministries available. We eventually landed on getting our youngest members together every Sunday morning via online video calls.
As we gathered - while apart - Children's Church moved from a model of Doing together to focus on Being together. This has helped to reinforce relationships with some of the children and served to support them with a ministry of presence. We created an online Sunday space where, through the lens of Bible stories we explore a growth mindset, not focusing on what we've lost or what we can't do right now, but embracing Jesus' message of kindness, gratitude, inclusion and compassionate caring.
A real highlight of 2020 was Rendez-Vous. National UCC organizers were quick to realize that due to the ongoing health crisis, a large gathering in Calgary from August 11-14th was not possible. They pivoted the conference for youth, young adults and their leaders to create an online community of faith, and for Glebe-St. James, it made an event that initially cost $3500+ each in registration fees and return travel free for all to participate! The theme of Rendez-Vous was Bold Faith. Brave Space. Brazen Grace. and over the course of four days we were treated to amazing keynote speakers, real-time online events, music and workshops. It was an inspiring event to see youth-centric worship and experience the energy of Rendez-Vous 2020.
Our current reality is Christian Development Ministries need help to sustain events that build and bring our community together. This year CDM is truly thankful for the support of the wider church and would like to especially thank: families for making Christian education a priority, the Men & Friends group for continuing to make the Shrove Tuesday Pancake supper happen; the Licenced Lay Worship Leaders, Margo Williams and Ruth Burnett-Cole for their help with the Children's Advent service; and the Women's Intergenerational Group for allowing Christian Development to join in their cause of fundraising for winter sleeping bags for White Gifts in 2020.
Stephanie Langill Christian Development Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 18
Men and Friends’ Group
The Men and their Friends of Glebe-St. James normally get together regularly for fellowship and community-building. There is a pot-luck dinner which is shared around the table in the Art Room, and this is often followed by a presentation and discussion on a topic of general interest.
In 2020, as with many other groups and activities at Glebe-St. James, this ‘normal’ pattern did not happen with the Men and Friends’ Group due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There was only one gathering for dinner and fellowship – in January – when guest speaker Jeni Aitken told a capacity group about the ‘Reimagining the Church’ conference she had attended in Hamilton. Dudleigh Coyle was back to chair that session after a year recovering from a serious health issue. In February, members of the group helped prepare and serve the annual Pancake Supper. By mid-March, in-person church activities had shut down and there were no further gatherings of the group. However, individual members continued to serve where possible through activities of the Glebe Home Services Guild, through planning and facilitating the livestreaming of worship services, and through maintenance of the church building and grounds.
Members of the Men and Friends’ Group join with others in looking forward to life after COVID, recognizing that things may never be quite the same as before COVID, but hoping and praying that we can reimagine our fellowship, community- building and service in the months and years to come.
Jim Richardson
Ministry of Pastoral Care and Visitation
The Pastoral Care Sub-Committee is responsible to take the lead on matters relating to the spiritual needs of members of the Congregation. Presently the Ministry provides for systematic contact with members of the Congregation, with visitors to Glebe-St. James and adherents who desire to participate. The contacts can be with healing ministries such as the Prayer Circle, Healing Pathways, Friendly Callers, Friendly Visitors, referrals for visitations and with the Welcoming and Membership Development Subcommittee. The Pastoral Care Ministry also supports the Ministers and staff who have responsibilities, its subcommittees and affiliated task-oriented groups. It also takes the lead in establishing and/or supporting Congregational groups formed to carry out various aspects of pastoral care.
During the year, the Pastoral Care Healing Ministries were busy. They worked with Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole and Rev. George Clifford with their ministry; the Prayer Circle is open to all; the Healing Pathways members participate in the church services; the Friendly Visitors gave of their time and skill providing contact with individuals in need and helping Friendly Callers to contact Congregational members and adherents at least three or four times over the year.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 19
They also made weekly pastoral care visits to the Civic and General Campuses of The Ottawa Hospital (TOH). These visits are open to any member or adherent of the United Church of Canada while in the care of the TOH. The TOH also had an arrangement with the Ottawa Heart Institute to provide pastoral care services there. With the pandemic’s arrival, the volunteer pastoral care visitors could no longer visit. In fact, visiting was severely limited with the shutdowns.
In 2020, under the new COVID rules, 118 dinners were delivered; Marsha Hay Snyder provided some pulled pork meals that were well received, there was some welcomed fish dinners, Bruce Taylor baked all the bread, Jennifer Reid and her dad made all the soup, and 12 kitchens provided the cookies. This was all coordinated by Dudleigh Coyle.
At the time of writing, Rev. George is starting his calls for the eighth time, but he has us all beat because he calls everyone on his lists.
Looking ahead, pastoral care will continue by phone, by Zoom, by live-streamed worship, and by prayer. Other sources of pastoral care can be found with reading groups, meditations, the women’s WIG group, the Men’s Group, and using FaceTime and other new technologies.
We hope that with these choices everyone at Glebe-St. James can feel he or she is not alone.
Adele MacLeod and Hilda Sabadash
Friendly callers
The Friendly Callers (FC's) became more formally organized in early 2020. Individual callers reach out to congregants and adherents on a semi-regular basis to share news, ask important questions, to ensure that our records are up to date, or to ensure that members of our community are well supported or if they need pastoral care. From the lockdown in March to the end of the year, FCs completed five check-ins with everyone on their lists. The Friendly Calls have become an important way of remaining connected during COVID-19, and we intend to continue with this practice for 2021 and beyond.
We would like to recognize the help of Chris Burbridge who recently stepped down as a Friendly Caller and to thank those who continue the work of the Friendly Callers:
Mary Ahearn Barb Coyle Elizabeth Elton Martha Hall Natasha Holbach Donna-Fay Mailhot Hilda Sabadash Brenda Smith Betty Taylor
Respectfully submitted, Pam Fitch, Coordinator FC's Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 20
Prayer Circle
Members: Ruth Burnett-Cole Marilyn Hamilton Eric Dormer Marion Dunning Nancy Huggett John Le Drew Olga Lee Adele MacLeod Beverley Pidduck Hilda Sabadash Karen Smith Janice Vennos
The prayer circle is under the umbrella of the Pastoral Care Committee. Prayer requests come from an individual, the clergy or through the office. Individuals stay on the prayer list for a minimum of 1 month, and no one is taken off without agreement from the person making the request. Privacy of all information is carefully protected.
All prayer circle members pray each day for those on the list. Each member takes a turn as monthly coordinator. As such he/she is responsible for contacting other members with any changes occurring during that month. We thank them for their dedication and constant prayers throughout the year.
The prayer circle meets once a year. The last meeting was in January 2020.
Submitted by Janice Vennos
Quilting and St. Mary’s Home
Patchwork Pilgrimage 2020 – it didn’t happen!
In May 2020, when Judy and Chris would normally be preparing Patchwork Pilgrimage brochures and quilting projects, a hard decision had to be made. Public Health officials were predicting a second wave of the COVID-19 virus to happen in the fall. Did we want to spend a weekend in close quarters with 30 or 40 of our best friends, most of whom happened to be in the worst-hit demographic? The decision became clear when one of our group became very ill with COVID-19 and spent a few weeks in ICU in Montreal. Our quilting super-powers were not going to be able to protect us from the virus!
So, you might wonder how 30 or 40 quilters keep themselves busy during several months of a global pandemic. Through a couple of rounds of emails, we have tried to keep in touch with everyone. Several of the quilters are snowbirds, but they were unable to travel, as were most of the rest of us. Judy holds most of the fabric we use and many people contacted her to consult or “shop” from the fabric stash on her front porch. (One unfortunate development was the theft of a huge suitcase of fabric from the porch, but we carry on.) Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 21
Technology and the internet have been valuable tools for everyone. Whether it has been online quilting tutorials, workshops and classes, or virtual tours of quilt shows and museums, there is something for all to see and do. Local quilt shops have learned the value of online catalogues, and quilters have learned to point and click to order fabric and supplies. Some people belong to quilt guilds that have been meeting on Zoom and, when regulations allowed, there were a few backyard meet-ups and picnics to catch up with each other.
It was no surprise, then, when we announced that we would still like to have a few baby quilts to present to St. Mary’s Home that 50 quilts showed up. What a joy it was to see them in the Sanctuary in November! St. Mary’s Home has continued to operate within the limitations of the pandemic and was most grateful to receive our gift for their clients.
Dear Judy & the Quilting Wonders, Your donation of baby quilts is absolutely fantastic & beautiful. You and the ladies must have put in so much time and effort into making all of those quilts. And just by looking at them, one can see how much love and care went into them. And that will not go unnoticed by the lucky babies and parents who receive them. So, thank you so much for your kindness and continued support! We wish you a very safe and Happy Holiday! St. Mary’s Home
Gracefield Christian Camp and Retreat Centre (a non-profit that was hit really hard by all of this last year) was very understanding and thankfully able to apply our deposit to the next year’s retreat. At this point, we are still not sure if PP 2021 will happen, as the vaccination roll-out has been delayed. We will be sure to keep everyone updated on our status.
In the meantime, the quilting continues, as we are once again in lockdown and we are glad to report that the quilter stricken with Covid-19 has made an almost complete recovery. We are so blessed.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 22
Respectfully submitted by Chris Burbridge and Judy Wolanski
Welcoming and Staying in Touch
Glebe-St. James is a welcoming congregation. Every Sunday in our worship services we make an effort to welcome both newcomers and members of our community of longer standing. In pre-COVID-19 times, we sought to make them feel welcomed and informed during and after the service, including ushers as they entered, Jim Richardson’s announcements at the beginning of the service, and coffee hour afterwards in Fraser Hall, where they were greeted at the door. These in-person contacts had to be suspended when the church moved to on-line services in March, but we hope to return to them before too long.
During the pandemic we have, however, been able to make good use of new channels of communication as well as ones that were already well established, taking advantage of electronic technologies in particular. A centrepiece has been the move to livestreaming of worship services through our website and their subsequent availability in recorded form. As discussed in the next section, on communications, we have been able to adopt a range of on-line communications channels, complemented by the live-voice contact provided by the Friendly Callers and George Clifford, not to mention Dudleigh Coyle and the Home Services Guild. The Worship committee and Friendly Callers are also seeking to identify members of the congregation who are unable, or do not wish, to use the on-line channels and to find alternatives that work for them.
This work is coordinated by the Welcoming and Membership Outreach Ministry of Council, working with the Worship committee. There is more to be done, however, and efforts will continue to be a welcoming church, both while the pandemic endures and after.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 23
Communications
Communications has always been a vital part of every aspect of what Glebe-St. James does. In the era of the COVID-19 pandemic it has become even more so. It takes many forms. The most basic is in the day-to-day interactions that members of the congregation have with each other and with staff. It lies at the heart of our ministries, to each other and in the community. It facilitates the care of our building and other resources.
The essence of our communications activities is letting people know what is happening at Glebe-St. James. These activities are directed not only to current members but also signal our presence in the Glebe: who we are and what we do. They help to bring visitors and newcomers to our door and invite them to participate in our community within a community.
Our communications take many forms. A foundation is provided in the announcements at the beginning of the weekly worship services and the weekly e- Update, prepared by Jennifer Reid, that goes to over 190 e-mail addresses every Wednesday. These present upcoming services and the many activities in which Glebe-St. James and its members are involved. In the Summer of 2020 we launched a monthly electronic newsletter, Good News in the Glebe, edited by Karen Walker, which provides more in-depth stories about what is happening in Glebe-St. James. Another channel of communication that has come into its own during the pandemic is the work of the Friendly Callers, coordinated by Pam Fitch, complemented by the tireless telephone ministry of the Rev. George Clifford.
As discussed below, a more recent but growing presence is our website (managed by Crystal Maitland and Jim Louter. We regularly communicate through the mail. From time to time articles about what we are doing, written by Bob Irving, appear in the Glebe Report, the Glebe community newspaper. We also have a presence on Facebook, where there is a group called ‘Glebe-St. James Community’ and one for the church as an organization (Glebe-St. James United Church); links to these groups are also on the website.
These forms of staying in touch and of passing on what is happening have become even more important during the pandemic and have made a significant contribution to our ability, individually and as families, to continue to participate in Glebe-St. James as a community.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 24
Our Website – www.glebestjames.ca
Through the course of 2020, www.glebestjames.ca went from a place to post information for congregation members (the choir used to check in to see what colours we were wearing on Sunday!) or to tell a bit of our Glebe-St. James story for newcomers looking for a place to worship (what does it mean to be an Affirming Congregation?), to being an essential virtual meeting place for the community to gather for worship, whether in Ottawa, Comox (BC), Ocean Park (Maine), or elsewhere geographically! We’ve learned that other churches have been ‘checking us out’ by visiting our website. We also maintain a presence on Facebook, and now on our YouTube channel and invite all members and adherents of the Glebe-St. James community to participate with content, comments and ‘shares’ when and where appropriate.
When we launched the new look and structure of the website on December 1st, 2019, we knew we still had a lot of work to do. Still, we wanted to put the new site out in time for the Advent season – usually our busiest time of year for web traffic. We frankly then expected to have a good long time in the ensuing months to continue to slowly build content behind the scenes. However, as the world changed in March, so did we!
Here’s some context in numbers:
• pre-rebuild 2019: we had roughly 600 visits to our page a month – not too shabby, really, but not a “trending” page by any measure. • pre-pandemic 2020: after an exciting December 2019 (nearly 1500 site visits!), we levelled out to roughly 1000 page views in January and February – likely a combination of curiosity from the congregation about the new page, but also a lot of repeat traffic from those of us building the site checking to make sure that everything worked! • March-April 2020: with the building shuttered and the virtual worship becoming a reality, we leapt to over 2400 monthly visits in March, and nearly 2600 visits in April (Easter)!
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing - there have been significant learning curves as we’ve shifted from almost no video content (indeed before shifting hosting platforms in spring 2019 – the impetus for the website redesign – we didn’t even have the option to post videos on our site at all!), to recorded video content, and finally to live-streamed video content. We’ve been riding the waves of change alongside the online worship subcommittee, and figuring out how to have our site link seamlessly with Facebook or YouTube has proved challenging. We pre- schedule our YouTube stream to make sure the website can point to the same place that the live-stream is posted, but it still doesn’t quite properly work while the live- stream is actually happening. If you’re a Sunday morning worshiper, you’re likely all too familiar with the error message that pops up: a black screen that has you reading the fine print as it instructs you to click over to YouTube to watch.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 25
After the livestream service has been uploaded to YouTube, this error can be corrected and the video plays nicely directly from our glebestjames.ca site.
The other trick we contend with is that the website behaves just a bit differently on each kind of device (phone, tablet or computer) AND on each different web browser. Something that works well on a phone doesn’t necessarily play nicely on a laptop, and something that looks beautiful on a computer screen looks cramped and wraps strangely on a tablet. An error that appears on Safari might work just fine on Chrome. We try to catch as many of these issues as we can, but if you do ever run into something that doesn’t appear to be working right or is frustrating to use, please send the web team an email and let us know what sort of issue you ran into on what sort of device! ([email protected])
In the fall we also shifted from posting Sunday’s service right on the homepage to using a blog structure in the background, and posting on the Sunday page. This helps the site auto-archive the content – each Sunday gets its own URL address, and you can always go back to revisit a sermon, a reading or piece of special music that touched you or made you think! We’re steadily archiving our spring/summer content in this same manner, but as it take re-doing every link, you can perhaps understand why this is a background project.
Example of the blog archive, always found at the bottom of each service. You can search back through all of the services, or bookmark one that you’d like to come back to!
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 26
Now, running numbers on December 31, 2020, we’ve had over 10,000 site visits, with over 25,000 individual page views since the site launched (if you, say, visit the home page, and then head over to the donate button, and then view the Sunday service you’ve visited the site once, but get counted on three different pages).
In terms of the Sunday services, we regularly have at least 20-25 live-stream worshipers each Sunday @ 10:30am, ballooning quickly to about 50 or 60 “attendees” by later in the day. By the end of the week, each service gets watched a few more times. As the weeks pass, many services reach about 80-100 views – sometimes ranging as high as 250 for special services.
Though the numbers can’t tell the whole story, the website team continues to work to make sure that things are as easily accessible online as possible, keeping us connected as a community in one more way.
~Respectively submitted by Crystal Maitland and Jim Louter, website administrators.
Women’s Intergenerational Group
The Women’s Intergenerational Group (WIG) at Glebe-St. James meets monthly to explore issues that grow our faith and equip us to work towards social justice. In 2020 we considered what it means to be an Affirming congregation, the implications of Canada’s new Food Guide for people living with food scarcity, medical assistance in dying, how digital worship has changed our faith practices, and what makes music so central to spiritual expression and community gatherings. In the wake of the shooting of George Floyd, we talked about the meaning of White Woman Privilege in relation to our own day-to-day lives, initiating the discussion in June, reflecting over the following month, and sharing our self-discoveries in July.
During Advent WIG put our joint talents into action in collaboration with generous folks at St. Paul’s Eastern United Church, assembling and donating 150 COVID-19 kits in response to requests for supplies from Centre 507 and the Odawa Native Friendship Centre. The contents (masks, hand sanitizer, wipes, hand warmers, Kleenex, lip chap, candy and friendly notes) were contributed by several donors; the tote bags were re-purposed conference bags, with patches added to cover logos, and some new bags made from left-over fabric; assembly was done in a family bubble. The whole project came together seamlessly, respecting public health guidelines. An additional 80 bags were provided to the Elizabeth Fry Society for their Christmas project, and 40 bags will be given to the Centretown Emergency Food Centre in the spring. A short fundraising effort realized close to $2500, which covered costs plus the purchase of winter-weight sleeping bags for Centre 507 and Ottawa Innercity Ministries.
Since March, WIG has met using Zoom. While the technology presented some initial challenges, it also made our experience richer, drawing in participants from other churches and other parts of Canada.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 27
Worship Ministry
Worship Committee
At the beginning of the year, we thought the big challenge of 2020 was going to be replacing Rev. Teresa for her sabbatical from April to September. Yes, that was a challenge, but little did we know it was going to be the simple one.
In March the country shut down as COVID-19 spread through the population. Thankfully, we were able to film the spoken word segments of three worship services in the Sanctuary in one morning. It was the last any of us would see of the Sanctuary for a few months!
Good Friday and Easter were recorded in Teresa’s home. It was the first time many of us had experienced the sacrament of communion in our homes. So different and yet so intimate.
Teresa’s well-earned sabbatical began after Easter. Our Licensed Lay Worship Leaders stepped up and filled that huge void at a time when it was hard to imagine how the daily news could get more stressful. Nancy Huggett provided thoughtful and comforting commentary on the first wave of the pandemic and then the Black Lives Matter movement and social unrest related to racism. Stephanie Langill followed up with words of comfort and a special celebration on Anniversary Sunday and then again on Ascension Sunday. Dietlind Gardell led worship on the holiday weekend in May and Indigenous Sunday in June when an insightful sermon was delivered by the Reverend Nancy Best on her Indigenous roots as a minister.
Our pastoral supervisor, Janet Nield, led worship on Pentecost. We witnessed a beautiful example of Godly play and, for only the second time, we shared communion in our own spaces. Janet and Nancy shared Trinity Sunday and we saw the magic of the Trinity candles flickering, going out and relighting themselves. Chris Burbridge and Stephanie shared a Sunday in June highlighting the commissioning of the disciples.
Chris presided at our last recorded service in June and then at the two first livestreamed services in July. As is our custom, services over the summer were shared with St. Giles Presbyterian, Fourth Avenue Baptist and Southminster United Churches. Every church approached the technology differently, and we all learned so much from seeing how we “did” church.
With Teresa’s return in September, our livestreamed worship services began in earnest with a new audio-visual system. It was so good to see Teresa back in the pulpit and it was so hard to accept worship with just a few choir members. The limitations on groups gathering continued and a team of about 10 people (worship leaders, singers and a/v operators) worked in the Sanctuary to bring worship to our church family.
Ruth Burnett-Cole, Margo Williams and Jennifer Reid worked hard to develop a protocol for re-opening the Sanctuary to the congregation on Sunday mornings, which Glebe-St. James Council approved in August. The plan was submitted to and Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 28 approved by the Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Regional Council. On November 15 we held our first hybrid service (in-person and livestreamed). While the numbers of people attending have not been huge (seven or eight), we agree that the energy in the room had changed. There was someone to preach to and some bodies reacting to the music (alas, not singing yet).
We have gone on from there to figure out things like doing a pageant when there are no children in the room. Stephanie has led Sunday School on Zoom each Sunday morning. If you have been driven crazy by the many hours you spend on Zoom for your day job and committee work, Zoom Sunday School sounds like a refreshing walk on the beach. Delightful faces fill the blocks on the screen, all anxious to see each other and tell about what they had for breakfast, or being distracted by whatever else is going on in their homes at the moment. Certainly we miss their presence in the service on Sunday mornings.
Another thing missing for us this year has been the presence of Hilda Sabadash. Her illness has prevented her from participating in both worship and the work of worship committee for much of the year and we have missed her so much. You may remember that a big red reclining chair appeared in the Sanctuary last winter. This was to be Hilda’s special chair which would enable her to attend comfortably. Unfortunately she got to use it only a few times before the pandemic closed things down in March. Hilda was feeling better in September when she was able to lead a livestreamed worship service. Unfortunately, technical issues almost prevented the recording from going out that week and, in the end, the technical quality was not the best.
Here are a few of our highlights for 2020: January 5 – Epiphany – Three Wise Guys came to visit (Dudleigh, Jim Louter and Brad) February 16 – Église Unie St-Marc visited when their worship space was not available at the last minute March 1 – Lent 1 – Teresa delivered an informative sermon on Wet’sueten issues that received lots of feedback in the congregation and on the Glebe-St. James website
March 8 – Diaconal minister Dorothy Naylor delivered an engaging service on International Women’s Day
March 15 – PIE Day – our first celebration of National Affirming/PIE Day (Public, Intentional, Explicit Inclusion of LGBTQ2SIA+ People) – Coffee Hour included pieces of pie for everyone (regrettably our last shared food for some time)
March 22 – first worship service posted to Glebe-St. James website – segments recorded separately in Sanctuary edited together
April 9 – Maundy Thursday – first service recorded remotely
April 10 – Good Friday – Rev. Teresa led us through the Stations of the Cross virtually with local scenes figuring prominently
April 12 – Easter – our first online Communion and beautiful music
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April 19 – Rev. Teresa’s sabbatical began – first of LLWL-led worship
May 10 – Anniversary Service – Sermon on video by guest preacher Rev. Whit Strong, Regional Minister for Pastoral Relations, Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council (who went forward as a candidate for ministry from Glebe-St. James).
June 21 – Indigenous Day of Prayer – Dietlind presided and recorded sermon video by Rev. Nancy Best
July 5 and 12 – first livestreamed worship services from Glebe-St. James! Hurray, we can do it. It’s not perfect, but we’re working on it.
July and August – shared worship services with St. Giles Presbyterian Church, Fourth Avenue Baptist Church and Southminster United Church
September 6 – Rev. Teresa back from sabbatical – first livestreamed service with our new audio-visual technology
October 11 – Thanksgiving – a beautiful virtual choir video of “All Good Gifts” from Godspell
November 1 – All Saints Day – Rev. Teresa preached on The Beatitudes and provided an excellent definition of grieving, something we all need to acknowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic
November 15 – Claire Savage (Candidate for Ministry and Co-ordinator of the Ottawa Centretown Cluster Outreach Project) delivered (via video) a Minute for Mission about the outreach project and heartfelt prayers – a great introduction to Claire for everyone. It was our first hybrid service with a limited number of people in the pews.
November 29 – Advent 1 and beyond – At the time of writing, we are not yet at Christmas, but the traditions of Advent and Christmas are feeling familiar while not exactly the same. The children’s pageant featured colouring pages by the children and a recording of various voices reading the story of the Nativity. Christmas Eve services (the Family Service, and Lessons and Carols) will be recorded and posted on the Glebe-St. James website. With the restrictions of the pandemic, we cannot risk having large gatherings, but it is still Christmas. There are stories of angels and animals in the stable, candles, and music to lift us up at a time when many are feeling down.
Wishing you all blessings of Christmas and all good things for 2021.
Respectfully submitted by, Glebe-St. James Worship Committee – Chris Burbridge, Susan Palmai, Jim Richardson, Hilda Sabadash, Judy Wolanski, Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole (Co-ordinating Minister), James Caswell (Minister of Music) and Stephanie Langill (Minister of Christian Development)
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 30
Online Worship Subcommittee
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Ottawa in March 2020, we began the first of many lessons. How could we continue to offer faith-filled worship to our church family? Luckily for us, James Caswell, our Minister of Music, offered his technical talents.
The first few worship services were recorded in the Sanctuary as separate elements and James was able to edit them together. As the pandemic progressed, our church building closed and all elements (spoken word and music) were recorded remotely. James continued to edit them together but the challenge became greater (for James and the worship leaders).
The Online Worship Subcommittee formed in May 2020. Each member brings a different sort of technical or worship-related talent to the table and each person has worked diligently to make online worship happen for Glebe-St. James. Our expertise includes knowledge of the legacy of Glebe-St. James audio-visual systems and current a/v technology, experience in website management, and experience in the development and implementation of information technology.
Eric Dormer presented a few different scenarios for the hardware and software required to make livestream viable in Glebe-St. James. James Caswell and Eric arranged and installed a robust wifi system in the Sanctuary that has the capacity for delivering livestream (thick stone walls + wifi are not necessarily compatible!).
After several deliberations via Zoom, the subcommittee settled on an audio-visual system based on iOS technology (iPhones and iPad). Two iPhones act as video cameras on tripods in the Sanctuary. The iPad acts as the video switcher with special software (Switcher Studio) and broadcasts the livestream signal. Our original a/v laptop still presents the slides of prayers and hymn lyrics which are now fed into the iPad as well. A new audio board gives us the sound component. Worship Committee and Glebe-St. James Council approved funding (approximately $5,000) to acquire the system in the early summer.
Of course, the equipment does not work by itself. A team of Sunday morning volunteers (minimum of three at a time) work the system (laptop, audio board and iPad) in the Sanctuary. By the end of 2020 we are glad to report we have new recruits to this team and are training them in the various positions.
Livestream worship is not always flawless and we work hard to make sure it performs well. There are some known risks (i.e., many churches have found the livestream gets dropped for reasons unknown, etc.), and then there are always the unexpected problems (i.e., a cable not connected correctly, etc.). We feel that on the whole we are improving the quality of the worship services as we progress. An important part of that is listening to the feedback from our congregation and other viewers. We are developing some FAQs (frequently asked questions) to help with the viewing experience. Watch for them soon on the Glebe-St. James website.
The Worship Committee laid the groundwork for livestream worship many years ago with the introduction of heads-up worship and the use of projections in Sanctuary. The pandemic and closure of the church building have pushed us to Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 31 discover what is possible. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the OWS, we are developing livestream worship services that keep us connected with our faith and church family.
Respectfully submitted by,
Online Worship Subcommittee: David Brown, Chris Burbridge, Martien de Leeuw, Eric Dormer, Crystal Maitland and Jim Richardson
Audio-visual Team: Chris Burbridge, Rebecca Dalton, Eric Dormer, Meg Patni, Jim Richardson, Kylie Taggart, Isaac Thoppil, Joshua Thoppil, Karen Walker
Labyrinth
2020 turned out to be an exciting year for the Glebe-St. James Labyrinth, as well as an unusually quiet one.
The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown meant that we were able to hold only five labyrinth walks in 2020, instead of our monthly events. This opportunity for quiet contemplation has been missed by many of our regular walkers, both members of Glebe-St. James and the larger Glebe community. Unfortunately, like many other cancelled events, there was nothing much to be done about it.
Now for the exciting part.
Many people had commented on the deterioration of the labyrinth’s paint over the last year. An effort to keep the floor of Fraser Hall clean had meant a lot of paint was missing from the design. The lines had disappeared completely in some areas.
As the labyrinth keepers, we (Judy and Chris) were trying to plan a time when the floor could be repainted and find a volunteer crew to do it. Between all the activities going on there, it was hard to find even a single week when the floor could be stripped, repainted, sealed and rewaxed. Even harder to find was a group of volunteers able to do the job.
When the lockdowns and cancellations started happening, it seemed a solution to our timetable problem. Fraser Hall was available. We then found EverLine Coatings, a company that specializes in painting outdoor spaces like parking lots and indoor spaces like warehouse floors. Stephane Beaudoin and his wife Krista had the repainting job done in one day.
The labyrinth now looks great. We think it sparkles! Thanks so much to everyone who helped make this renewal happen.
Respectfully submitted by Chris Burbridge and Judy Wolanski
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Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 33
Music – ministries serving Glebe-St. James and the wider community
Ministry of Music
Well, this has been an exceptional year...to say the least. We started the year with continued energy and enthusiasm being brought forward from Advent and Christmas 2019. It was with great anticipation that we began preparing for Lent and Easter. Only to be stopped short by COVID-19.
Even so, we managed to continue on in varying ways with much thanks to everyone involved in all facets of Worship and church life. As a choir we were able to continue for a very brief period recording hymns and other service music in the sanctuary at various points in the week. After Easter, we switched to virtual hymns and virtual anthems (choristers recording their own parts at their own homes) with some special gifts of music being recorded (safely!) at the church in the sanctuary.
The results of these efforts were twofold: first, we were able to keep many of the choir members engaged and actively singing in this new Zoom format; second, we were able to offer the congregation a small sense of normalcy by continuing to have a musical presence through online worship.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the entire Worship Committee for their support and creativity in keeping us afloat with this new form of worship delivery and for the vision and delivery during Rev. Teresa’s sabbatical. Also, to our Licensed Lay Worship Leaders: a huge thank you for being so patient and so courageous with a very steep learning curve. Thank you, also, to Rev. Janet Neild for her guidance and support during this time.
I know it had been said that I created a monster by taking on the task of creating the online worship services - in retrospect I have no idea how I managed to make that all happen. However, I can say that it was an absolute privilege and honour to be able to do that for the church and the congregation. It was a labour of love...mostly...and it resulted in a final product that will serve as a memory for us of this time. Ultimately, nothing I did would have happened without the hours and hours of work by everyone involved.
And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the tremendous support of the choir members. Our choir maintains a solid membership. While not everyone was able to participate in the Zoom rehearsals or in the virtual music offerings, I’m so pleased that many of the choir members were able to stay engaged in some way. This will indeed serve to make it easier when we are able to come together in person and we won’t have to rebuild the choir from the ground up. There is still a wonderful energy and enthusiasm to sing together - we haven’t forgotten the experience of opening our mouth to sing and hearing not the sound of our own voice but rather the sound of all our voices together.
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Thank you, as always, to Robert Palmai for his continued support, energy, and contribution. I was thrilled to be able to work with Robert throughout the season of Advent. I look forward to continued collaboration.
2020 also saw the rebirth of the Glebe-St. James Music Committee - this is very exciting. I have greatly appreciated the collaboration and support as well as the ideas and energy that have come from the group. Looking forward to continued success in the coming year.
Highlights of 2020
● Virtual choir hymns/anthems/solos/duets ● An archive collection of services on video ● A “new model” of worship delivery in September - livestream (with thanks to the online worship team) ● A trio of singers in church each week to lead music (with some virtual anthems) ● Thanksgiving Sunday: Austin Garrett, tenor and Liz Elton, recorder ● Remembrance Sunday: Charlie Watson, trumpet ● Advent: services with Robert Palmai joining at the piano ● 20 Dec: choir carolling in the parking lot after church ● 22 Dec: Congregational Zoom Carol Sing from the sanctuary
Another COVID disruption: the organ project. While we have had much discussion and several information sessions in 2020, our momentum on the organ project was halted. We were blessed to have the Phoenix digital organ in our midst until the end of July - several months longer than we had anticipated. Indeed, while only a demo model with minimal options and function, it still served to provide a good sense of what a properly designed and installed digital organ could do. The Casavant has continued to be used periodically - Robert offered weekly hymn sing sessions from the organ in the Spring/Summer and we used it for the Advent services and carol sing. It still sounds lovely! I can say that it doesn’t seem possible that this marks the end of my second year as Minister of Music. I thoroughly enjoy my time working with such tremendous people and making music for people who appreciate it as much as the congregation of Glebe-St. James. I look forward to continued success and development in the music program - as soon as we’re back together again!
Respectfully submitted,
James Caswell
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 35
Music Committee Report
Music has always been a very important part of life at Glebe-St. James. This committee was restarted in January 2020 at the request of the Minister of Music, after several years of non-involvement.
Members include: James Caswell (ex officio), Eric Dormer, Elizabeth Elton, Pam Fitch, Barbara Munro, Donna-Fay Mailhot, Bruce Taylor and Karen Walker. The Music Committee is designed to:
● Fall within the purview of Worship Committee ● Act as a sounding board and support team for the Minister of Music. ● Collect feedback and engage the congregation around how the music is received ● Share responsibility of week to week choir management ● Create a broader vision of music at Glebe-St. James
2020 has been a year of abrupt change, but also of creative opportunity. The sudden COVID-19 related restrictions made everyone reflect on the importance of singing, choral music and other shared music in our lives. Who would have imagined that singing with others would be a dangerous activity? Many thanks to Rev. Teresa and the Worship Committee for their ongoing hard work, flexibility, openness of spirit and support of new ways of including music.
Music at Glebe-St. James has traditionally related to the choir and the management of each of the various instruments at the church, in addition to the two community concert series organized by Bruce Taylor. Although discussions began in January regarding the purchase of a new organ, COVID and the closing of the sanctuary has put this issue on temporary hold. In response to the COVID closures, James Caswell provided extraordinary leadership in music, technology and worship. The committee extends thanks and recognition to choir members who learned how to use digital technology in order to participate in choir practice, record hymns and even make video recordings for anthems. But every choir member is still an important part of music at Glebe-St. James, and all look forward to singing together in person. We welcomed a few new choir members in our virtual practices and were delighted to be joined by old friends Joyce Wagland and Nancy MacNider, who returned for our zoom practices from BC and Maine each Thursday evening. In addition to inspiring Christmas musical offerings in the Advent and Christmas services, 2020 wound up with a rousing and inspiring Zoom Christmas carol-sing with many new singers attending.
The concert series, “Concerts in the Glebe” and “Young Artists” were put on hold as a result of COVID but they are expected to restart once restrictions are eased. The committee has discussed ways to support the series more broadly, including but not limited to, advertising the concerts, making connections with worship, and helping with administration and presentation as needed. The technology that has been developed for live-streaming worship services has opened the possibility of virtual or online concerts.
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Plans for 2021 include the development of a comprehensive music budget, in consultation with Karen Walker, Council Treasurer. In addition, the committee expects to finalize terms of reference for the Frances Macphail Scholarship Fund and the Organ Fund, as well as engage music students and other members of the community in raising the profile of music at Glebe-St. James.
Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Elton, Chair, Music Committee
Organ renewal
In regular use for worship services are the Casavant Frères organ and the Steinway grand piano, both fine instruments that lend themselves to an enhanced worship experience.
In 2019, a full report on the organ was requested and it was subsequently determined that the organ is in need of significant work and financial commitment to bring it up to a standard of excellence. Once the report was received, all planned work on the instrument was halted in order to apprise the congregation of the situation, and three congregational presentations were made regarding the organ and its state.
There was an opportunity to rent a digital organ from Phoenix Organs (Peterborough, ON), initially for the period from September through to Christmas 2019; this was extended, however to the end of June 2020. While this demo instrument was not indicative of a properly installed digital organ, it served the congregation well and allowed for a larger expanse of organ repertoire to be played as the composers intended.
In response to a survey, the congregation has indicated that they wish to have an organ as part of the ongoing musical life at Glebe-St. James. Plans were underway in early 2020 to examine the question of how to proceed, looking at a digital organ in particular as a permanent alternative to the pipe organ. These were suspended, however, with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March. In early 2021, Glebe-St. James Council decided to endorse the principal of purchasing a Phoenix digital organ, pending development of a financing and fundraising plan. This question will also be addressed at the 2021 Annual Congregational Meeting.
Our ministries – Glebe-St. James in the wider community
Outreach into the Ottawa and wider communities and working with community partners are two closely linked parts of who we are at Glebe-St. James, an expression of our vision: Reaching into faith, out to others. Several aspects of this work are discussed in earlier parts of this report, notably our work on Reconciliation with the Indigenous community, the support we provide to St. Mary’s Home, and our Music ministry.
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This section of the report has two parts. The first presents the work carried out under the auspices of the Christian Outreach ministry. While primarily focused on activities in the Ottawa area, it also highlights the support we provide to the United Church of Canada nationally and internationally through the Mission and Service Fund.
A second part presents the uses that community partners make of our building. Although they are not part of Glebe-St. James’ own programs, we are able to support a range of community groups serving all ages through enabling use of our building. In many cases these are relationships of long standing that are an important part of who we are. The direct and indirect impacts of these relationships are also discussed in the HALO report, which is discussed elsewhere in this report.
Christian Outreach Ministry
Glebe-St. James is involved in a wide range of Christian Outreach activities, some well established and others that are emerging. At any time, it is a central part our work as a congregation, with significant contributions of both volunteer time and money. As the HALO report notes, volunteer time has a major multiplier effect in the Ottawa community. The importance of outreach activities was brought home in 2020 by the new and at time rapidly changing demands brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Glebe-St. James’ response was reflected in the fact that in 2020 members of the congregation contributed just under $60,000 through Glebe- St. James to the United Church of Canada Mission and Service Fund and to community outreach organizations.
Outreach activities are led by the Christian Outreach Ministry of Glebe-St. James Council. The committee did not have a chair in 2020, but its members brought together members of the congregation who are involved in major outreach activities: Kylie Taggart (Minutes for Mission and Mission and Service Fund), Ross Snyder (Centre 507), Marilyn Hamilton (Centretown Community Social Action Committee – CCSAC), Kim Lewis (CCSAC and Multifaith Housing Initiative), Donna- Fay Mailhot (Refugee Housing – OMRA gift cards), Marisa Romano (Centre 507 and OMRA), Janice Vennos (OMRA), Karen Walker (FACES Steering Committee) and Margaret Ford (FACES Steering Committee). Susan Palmai joined the Ministry during the year to serve as the Glebe-St. James liaison with the Central Ottawa Community Outreach Cluster. Our profound thanks go to all of those listed and to the many other volunteers and donors who contributed to Glebe-St. James’ outreach activities during 2020.
This introduction provides an overview of the work we are doing in the Ottawa area, under the umbrella of the Christian Outreach Ministry. Additional notes provide greater detail about individual areas of work, as well as about areas not mentioned in the summary.
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Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster At the end of 2019, Glebe-St. James agreed to join a new Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster, an initiative supported by six United Church of Canada congregations in central Ottawa to consider ways of pooling their community outreach efforts and resources. The project began in the second half of 2020.
Outreach in the Ottawa Community As a congregation and as individuals we support a number of organizations in the Ottawa community, including in some cases participating in their governance. These are discussed in the note in this report on Christian Outreach in Our Community in 2020. All of the organizations involved were directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and many have been operating at reduced strength, but Glebe-St. James was able to continue to provide volunteer and financial support. In March, Glebe-St. James established a COVID-19 emergency outreach fund with an initial goal of $10,000, to support organizations that were providing front-line support to those who were most affected. In the end, over $11,000 was donated.
Refugee support Glebe-St. James has also been actively supporting two groups of refugees. We are a member of FACES – First Avenue Churches and Community Embracing Sponsorship – formed in partnership with St. Matthew’s Anglican Church and St. Giles Presbyterian Church, our neighbours along First Avenue. FACES has sponsored and supported refugees for a number of years, and the work continued in 2020: see the note on FACES. A second note provides an update on the work we have done over the past few years to support a family of Eritrean refugees.
Mission and Service Fund
Underlying our efforts in the Ottawa community is the generous support that members of Glebe-St. James individually provide to the Mission and Service (M&S) Fund, a national United Church of Canada resource. (For more information about what the M&S fund does at the national level, see their website, listed below). In the absence of a 2020 Annual Congregational Meeting, Glebe-St. James Council voted to set a target of $35,000 for congregational contributions to the Mission and Service Fund in 2020. This is in-line with our support to M&S in recent years.
The M&S Fund provides audiovisual material about the projects and activities that it supports that is regularly used as Minutes for Mission during Sunday worship services. Periodically, we also use the same segment of the Sunday service to provide a Minute for Stewardship, to talk about an organization that Glebe-St. James supports in the Ottawa community.
The M&S Fund itself underwent significant changes as part of the restructuring that the United Church of Canada effective 2019. Its focus shifted entirely to support for United Church mission activities at the local, national and international level. https://united-church.ca/community-and-faith/get-involved/generosity-through- mission-and-service Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 39
Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster
An exciting new endeavour was undertaken in 2020 with the creation of a Cluster of six United Church of Canada congregations based in central Ottawa: Centretown, Dominion-Chalmers, First, St. Paul’s-Eastern, Kitchissippi, and Glebe-St. James. A candidate for United Church ministry, Claire Savage, proposed that a Cluster be formed to work on Outreach projects, hoping that there would be strength in numbers.
The Cluster was formed in mid-2020 and will continue through the Summer of 2021. It is supported by financial contributions from each of the participating congregations. Glebe-St. James is providing the administrative support for the project, including taking Claire Savage on staff for the duration of the project.
Two projects in particular, among others, are being investigated, those being the possibility of beginning the Stone Soup Network in Ottawa and secondly, addressing the needs of isolated seniors. Representatives from the Cluster churches meet regularly and perform the role of a Lay Supervisory Team (LST) whose purpose it is to support Claire in her educational goals and in establishing relationships and connections among the church and community we serve. Susan Palmai is the Glebe- St. James representative on the LST. Community partnerships are also an important part of this ministry, but we are cognizant of established ministries and do not wish to re-invent the wheel if those endeavours are already filling a specific community need.
Claire is an enthusiastic, animated young woman whose excitement for the project is infectious and therefore generating interest and support for our Outreach Ministry at Glebe-St. James.
Beginning a project such as this during a pandemic has created some serious challenges for Claire and the LST, however we look forward to the next nine months of Claire’s internship with hope of a forward-looking, sustainable outcome.
- Susan Palmai
Christian Outreach in Our Community in 2020
Odawa Native Friendship Centre Odawa Native Friendship Centre, which runs a drop-in at 510 Rideau St., is based in the Rideau Community Hub (former Rideau High School building) at 815 St. Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa, K1K 3A7. Indigenous crafts sale and art auction to raise funds. Additional information about Odawa and its programs can be found on its website: http://www.odawa.on.ca/.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 40
An urgent need for space services for Indigenous people awaiting trial downtown (Odawa’s Aboriginal Criminal Courtworker Program) has been answered by Église Unie St- Marc on Elgin Street. They are willing to provide the space, and donors at Glebe-St. James provided the initial $17,500 funding for associated renovations. This partnership with Indigenous services has made the church eligible for a much-needed major renovations grant from the federal government to restore the outside of the building, so both the Church and the Indigenous community should benefit.
The Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole and Dietlind Gardell, a Glebe-St. James Licensed Lay Worship Leader, have been working with Église Unie St-Marc and Odawa to help ensure the successful implementation of the Aboriginal Criminal Courtworker Program.
Activities at 507 Bank Street Glebe-St. James supports several programs that are based at 507 Bank Street, the home of Centretown United Church and one of Glebe-St. James’ partners in the Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster. These include Centre 507, the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee (CCSAC) and the Centretown Emergency Food Centre (CEFC).
Centre 507 In ordinary times Centre 507 is a Drop-in centre that provides nutritious meals six days per week and arranges participation in a variety of activities within the Centre and around Ottawa. Centre 507 also provides access to community resources including résumé help, tax and legal assistance, help with housing and health services, and other needs-based services. In 2020 the Centre was forced to make adjustments by the pandemic, but as the year went on it was able to continue to meet community needs. Additional information about Centre 507 is available on its website: https://www.centre507.org.
Centretown Emergency Food Centre (CEFC) The Centretown Emergency Food Centre (CEFC) provides emergency food services to residents of Centretown, the Glebe, Ottawa East and Old Ottawa South. It is supported by 23 churches in the catchment area. CEFC meets demand for food from people living on social assistance, with disabilities and on low-income jobs. It also serves a higher number of newcomers and children due to the recent increase in amount of subsidized housing available for families in Centretown.
Additional information about CEFC is available on its website: http://cefcottawa.org.
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Centretown Churches Social Action Committee (CCSAC) A collective of 23 churches in downtown Ottawa, CCSAC was started in 1967 by nine churches to respond to social needs in the Centretown area. CCSAC has undertaken many initiatives on behalf of people who are socially and economically disadvantaged in our community. Since 1978, CCSAC’s main project has been oversight of the Centretown Emergency Food Centre (CEFC). CCSAC’s mandate also includes advocacy for social justice, especially for issues relating to poverty.
CCSAC is incorporated. CEFC is not. Church representatives are the CCSAC Board – Marilyn Hamilton is Glebe-St. James’ Board member and Kim Lewis is the Alternate. Grant applications on behalf of CEFC must be signed by members of the CCSAC Executive. There is regular communication between the CEFC Co-ordinator (a paid staff position), the CEFC Management Committee, and CCSAC regarding food needs, volunteer needs, the timing of grant applications, and fund raising.
CCSAC’s looks to supporting churches for help with identification of people who can help with finding fundraising alternatives, support for CEFC with food donations, food drives, and informed sharing of information about CEFC, and continued advocacy on poverty issues such as affordable housing and food security.
Additional information about CCSAC including their newsletters and Annual Reports is available on their website at: http://centretownchurches.org.
Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI) MHI’s mission is to provide and promote safe, affordable, and well-maintained housing in inclusive communities, and to mobilize resources for these purposes. Supported by over 80 faith communities in Ottawa, currently MHI owns a total of 139 units, housing between 300 and 400 people, at four different property sites. Working with a number of organizations, MHI’s most recent project has been the construction of Veterans House, a housing community for veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. The project is nearing completion! See the MHI Web site for the latest newsletter: https://www.multifaithhousing.ca/newsletters.html.
Veterans House construction site! Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 42
Carlington Community Chaplaincy Guided by a God of love and justice, the Carlington Community Chaplaincy fosters a safe, supportive, and empowering environment for everyone in our diverse community. We honour and value all people with our caring presence. Supporters like us at Glebe-St. James, enable the Chaplaincy to provide nutritious food, offer participant-driven programs, and build community. Visit the Chaplaincy Web site at http://www.carlingtonchaplaincy.com/ for stories of what the Chaplaincy means to members of the community and volunteers. The Chaplaincy has received grants from the United Church Mission and Service Fund and is working with the Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster.
OMRA - Refugee housing assistance
Glebe-St. James is one of 6 church congregations that support the not-for-profit Refugee Assistance (Shelter) Alternative Corporation (OMRA), an arm of the Ottawa Mennonite Church which provides rental subsidies to refugees new to Canada. Glebe-St. James’ financial support to OMRA is made possible through the purchase of grocery gift cards by members of the congregation. By written agreement with Loblaw’s, Metro and Farm Boy, the stores return approximately 5% of the gift card sales to Glebe-St. James, which it then donates to OMRA.
Glebe-St. James United Church has supported the grocery card program for over 17 years. There is a core of 30 families who faithfully purchase grocery cards each month. The goal of Glebe-St. James is to contribute $500.00 monthly to "OMRA Shelter" from the grocery card sales. With COVID-19 taking its hold in March of 2020, approximately 10 - 15% of supporters opted to make a direct donation to Glebe-St. James Refugee Housing in lieu of the grocery cards, preferring to order groceries online paying with credit cards. There are others in our congregation to whom we are eternally grateful for their past and ongoing financial support directly to the program.
OMRA is currently supporting 26 families. As families become economically independent and no longer require rental subsidies, funding become available to support other newcomers. OMRA has recently approved 4 new families who will start receiving rental subsidies as they settle in their new homes. New applications will be considered in Spring 2021 when other families reach economic independence.
Information about OMRA’s current projects is provided in their December Newsletter. OMRA is welcoming any volunteer willing to liaison with new families and help them as they settle in their new country. Additional information about OMRA is available on its website: https://omraottawa.org/ Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 43
Jennifer Reid, the church administrator, is owed a big thank-you for assisting with the computer input of the monthly orders and for distributing cards at the church. Marisa Romano, one of the 3 Glebe-St. James coordinators of this program, has served on the OMRA Board of Directors for 7 years.
The coordinators of the program are Marisa Romano, Janice Vennos and Donna-Fay Mailhot
Refugee Support
FACES is a partnership of Glebe-St. James, St. Matthew’s Anglican Church, St. Giles Presbyterian Church and a community group, that was formed in the fall of 2015 to sponsor refugees in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. The initial objective was to sponsor three families over three years. FACES has gone well beyond that, bringing 26 people to Canada under eight formal sponsorships in the last five years. In addition, we have provided financial assistance and start-up support to seven government-assisted refugee families (comprising more than 30 people), made a donation to Matthew House (a non-profit organization that provides shelter, furnishings and community to refugees and those transitioning to permanent housing), and provided support to three asylum seekers.
Mustafa is our most recent (and final) arrival. We “met” Mustafa on the phone when we were trying to get information on the status of the parents and siblings of our first refugee family. An Iraqi refugee himself, Mustafa was volunteering with the International Organization for Migration (IMO) in a refugee camp in Turkey while studying for a Master of Science in Engineering. After a couple of conversations with him, he asked us if we would sponsor him. Being impressed with his initiative, we decided we would.
He sent us a thank-you letter in July of this year on the first anniversary of his arrival in Canada. Here is an excerpt: “There are no words that I can say to convey the appreciation that I feel for all of you during the last year. I don’t know where to start. However, I will not forget that call that I received from a gentleman trying to help a Syrian family in a camp in the middle of nowhere. I thought to myself, “What made that guy who has nothing in common with those Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 44 people, except that he is human trying [to] help his partner in humanity, regardless of the barriers and the differences between them.” I will try to contribute in the future and try to help others like what you did for me because this is what made Canada such a great place and makes Canadians the nicest people and the best people.”
The FACES Steering Committee met in December to allocate the remaining funds to outstanding needs and wrap up the formal partnership. There is some thought being given to sponsoring Mustafa’s sister and her husband (a process that would take 3-4 years) but that would be a new and separate endeavour.
Thank-you for your generous support of FACES over the last five years. You have made an enormous difference in the lives of many people.
Karen Walker FACES Representative
Eritrean co-sponsorships
For several years, Glebe-St. James has worked with Amliset Kidane, herself a refugee from Eritrea, to support her work, in a variety of ways, in sponsoring current Eritrean refugees. At different times this has included direct financial support but often advice and backing of various kinds as well or instead. Most recently, at the beginning of 2020, Amliset has checked in with news that a family member (her grandniece) left behind in Ethiopia was scheduled for required inoculations earlier in the month. Her processing for coming to Canada is still slow, but the family is hopeful. In addition, co-sponsors are needed for additional family members in Uganda, as well as an Eritrean doctor working for the United Nations and his family. Amliset’s family has assembled supporting funds for these co- sponsorships.
Marilyn and Andy Hamilton
Our Community Partners
In the early months of 2020, Glebe-St. James was a hub of activity, used by a wide range of community groups during the week and on weekends. Most of these community partners have been users of the building for many years. The largest presence is the Glebe Montessori School (GMS - toddlers to Grade 6), which is based in the building during the week. The Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG) provides after-school programs, Summer camps and tutoring. Several parts of the Scouting/Guiding movement call Glebe-St. James home. These include the 52nd Sparks and Brownies and three sections of the 36th Ottawa Scouts, who have been associated with Glebe-St. James since 1936: Beavers, Cubs, and Venturers. The Scrabble Club and Gentle Fitness serve older adults at various times during the week. The Canterbury Trebles Women Ensemble also use the space for rehearsals and concerts.
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The COVID-19 pandemic brought most of these activities to a halt by the middle of March, a situation that continued for the rest of 2020. The building was closed for the balance of the year, which meant that most groups either had to suspend activities from March onward or find ways to meet virtually or outdoors, when permitted by public health rules, which varied through the year, according to circumstances. Reports follow on two that under provincial regulations were able to resume use of the building in limited form part way through the year: Glebe Montessori School and the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group.
Glebe Montessori School – an enduring partner
If you visit Glebe-St. James in the daytime during the week, you cannot miss the signs and happy sounds of the Glebe Montessori School. GMS has been a presence at Glebe-St. James since 1996. Currently the school resides in the lower level of our building and uses Fraser Hall and the sanctuary as well. GMS embraces the philosophy of Dr. Maria Montessori and the belief that her method of education not only aids the child during early development, but also throughout life.
GMS has invested heavily in our building, and it continues to maintain a high standard. Glebe-St. James currently has a long-term license agreement with GMS, which makes a significant contribution to our annual Operating Budget. In early 2020 an agreement was reached to extend the lease until 2039. We look forward to working with GMS in 2021 on a number of joint initiatives dealing with fundraising and building maintenance – as well as the more intangible daily ways of sharing a space. This a vibrant partnership with long-term benefits for all concerned.
Along with other schools, and also Glebe-St. James itself, GMS shut down in mid- March in the face of the pandemic, although its staff were able to move successfully to on-line teaching through to the end of the school year. It reopened its doors in September, while carefully following provincial public health regulations. GMS families and staff made seasonal fundraisers for the Holiday Hamper Program and Centretown Emergency Food Centre a success with their generous contributions in 2020. As in the past, we hope Glebe-St. James and GMS can collaborate further in joint initiatives that benefit others.
The following letter from GMS, which was published in the November issue of the Glebe-St. James Newsletter Good News in the Glebe, provides an overview of how the past year went for GMS:
We were delighted to reopen our doors to new and returning students in September, after Glebe Montessori School (GMS) was mandated by the provincial government to close in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the first day of school, even masks couldn’t hide the children’s smiling eyes as we all greeted one another! A new little boy exclaimed with such enthusiasm, “Wow, I have a church in my school!”
Once again, the hum of children actively engaged in lessons, working with Montessori materials, and socializing with classmates can be heard in
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classrooms throughout the school. We are so proud of all our students — toddlers, casa and elementary. The children are adjusting with grace and a positive attitude to all the new protocols and changes in the school environment due to COVID policies and regulations.
Much preparation was required this past summer to ensure that Ontario Ministry of Education, Ottawa Public Health and Ontario Ministry of Health policies and procedures were put in place for the new school year. All our efforts continue to go toward keeping our children physically safe, with smaller cohort groupings, physical distancing, wearing of masks, frequent handwashing, routine disinfection of the physical environment, plexiglass partitions in elementary classes, air- purifiers and round-the-clock janitorial services. Once students have finished working with specific materials in our “hands-on” learning environment, they return each item to a central station to be disinfected for another classmate to use.
Our staff continues to focus on supporting our children emotionally, making sure their individual needs and voices are constantly heard and acknowledged. As psychologist Genevieve Von Lob states, “During periods of uncertainty and change, what our children need most from us is to feel safe, loved and protected,” and this is our ultimate goal at GMS. Despite physical distancing, the community spirit within each classroom and throughout our school remains strong. “Taking Care of Each Other” is the theme we are highlighting.
Through practicing kindness, responsibility, empathy, integrity, respectfulness, cooperation and fairness, we are imparting to students those qualities and actions with which we can best support one another.
GMS is dedicated to providing the best learning environment for its students. Dr. Maria Montessori stated, “If education recognizes the intrinsic value of the child’s personality and provides an environment suited to spiritual growth, we have the revelation of an entirely new child whose astonishing characteristics can eventually contribute to the betterment of the world.”
In 2020, GMS marks its 25th anniversary, and we look forward to being a part of Glebe-St. James and the larger community for the next 25 years and onward! We would like to extend our gratitude to the Glebe-St. James community for its tremendous ongoing support. Our regular meetings with Glebe-St. James representatives have been highly beneficial in maintaining our connectedness and in pursuing our goals to keep both our church and school communities safe and thriving.
We were all greatly moved by Glebe-St. James’ beautiful COVID tree, an initiative that we all embrace. Our best wishes to the Glebe-St. James community for health, happiness, and peace during this holiday season and through the coming year.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 47
Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG)
GNAG is a not-for-profit community organization that is based in the Glebe Community Centre. Among its activities, GNAG offers after-school programs, Summer camps and activities during school breaks. In recent years they have based some of their programs at Glebe-St. James.
In common with other building users, GNAG closed its activities at Glebe-St. James during the early months of the pandemic. When provincial and local public health regulations permitted small groups to meet during the Summer, they used Glebe- St. James as a base for mostly outdoor programs. They followed the same pattern in the Fall when public health regulations allowed them to do so.
Stewardship of Glebe-St. James
Annual Planning Meeting, January 2020
On a snowy January Sunday, the Glebe-St. James community met in Fraser Hall for an inspiring Café worship service with music and readings that focussed on God’s call to us as individuals and as a church. Rev. Teresa led a “Dialogue Sermon” with small groups discussing the questions: “What brought you to Glebe-St. James?” and “What kept you here?”. The responses varied: music, singing, Francis MacPhail’s choir, the beauty of the Sanctuary, children’s programs, New Ventures, Sunday School, neighbourhood family, welcoming, fellowship, theological orientation towards equality, inclusion, reconciliation.
Following the service, members of the Futures Task Force asked those present to imagine Glebe-St. James twenty years from now. Who would be participating and what would they be doing? While acknowledging how difficult it is to express our hopes and fears for the future, we identified values and activities that we think will continue and improve in the coming years: community, connection with neighbourhood and other churches, diversity, including children, families, seniors, working with other groups to serve the homeless, support refugees, care for seniors; worship might evolve to be more multi-faith, focus on spirituality; trying new ideas in worship styles, programs and outreach. Some people made a surprisingly accurate prediction of what the future would hold: live-streaming! Of course, back in January, none of us had any idea that within a few months Worship Committee would be hard at work making that one come true. The Futures Task Force committed to reporting on the dialogue and reflecting in their eventual report.
The Planning Meeting also heard reports on several new developments, including, among others: Teresa’s plans to complete her dissertation during her upcoming sabbatical (starting in April); Worship Committee’s plans for the sabbatical involving leadership from the Licensed Lay Worship Leaders; a new Outreach Cluster of central Ottawa churches for which Susan Palmai had agreed to be the Glebe-St. James representative; building refurbishments and improvements led by Robert
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Palmai and the Tuesday group; the support that Teresa and Dietlind are giving to the Odawa Centre and Église Unie St-Marc; plans to be more intentional and co- ordinated in Welcoming (led by Barb Coyle); the Futures Task Force work on longer-term planning; and organ renewal with the possibility of acquiring a digital organ (David Brown and James Caswell). Jenifer Aitken
2020 Annual Congregational Meeting (scheduled for March 29, 2020 – postponed due to COVID-19)
The 2020 Glebe-St. James Annual Congregational Meeting (ACM) was scheduled to be held on Sunday, March 29th. In the event, it was postponed by a decision of Glebe-St. James Council after the church building was closed earlier in the month by provincial and City of Ottawa public health regulations responding to the rapidly emerging COVID-19 pandemic. The regulations severely limited the size of worship and “social” gatherings, the category under which the ACM would fall. In the face of this situation, the United Church of Canada gave congregational Councils the authority to postpone annual meetings in 2020. In such circumstances, Councils could remain in office, even if they were due for re-election, and take decisions that ordinarily an ACM would be asked to approve, on behalf of their congregation but subject to confirmation when it was safe to hold a meeting. This authority was eventually extended to the end of June 2021.
Glebe-St. James Council kept the situation under continuing review through the year. A major consideration was whether there would be opportunities for all members of the congregation to participate in an ACM, in particular where they did not have access to on-line technologies. In the end, owing to continued uncertainties and safety concerns, it was decided not to have an ACM in 2020 and instead to resume the regular cycle of annual meetings in the first quarter of 2021.
In this context, Glebe-St. James Council took a number of decisions on behalf of the congregation that in other circumstances the March 2020 ACM would have been asked to approve. These are summarized below. In each case, the decision was pending confirmation at the next annual congregational meeting, which is scheduled to be held on March 21, 2021.
The decisions taken by Council on behalf of the congregation and pending its confirmation are:
1. Continuation in office of the Glebe-St. James Council first elected at the Annual Congregational Meeting in March 2018. 2. Approval of the draft 2019 Annual Report and its submission to Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Regional Council. This included approval of the minutes of the 2019 ACM and acceptance of the 2018 Financial Review. Both documents are in the 2019 Annual Report. 3. Acceptance of the 2019 Financial Review. That document follows this item in the 2020 Annual Report. 4. Approval of the 2020 Budget for Glebe-St. James. That document follows the 2019 Financial Review in the 2020 Annual Report.
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5. Agreement to designate a land use fee for 2020 of $2000 to the Odawa Native Friendship Centre in recognition that Glebe-St. James is on the unceded territory of the Algonquin peoples. This was included in the 2020 Budget. 6. Establishment of a 2020 goal of $35,000 for contributions to the Mission and Service Fund by members of Glebe-St. James.
The March 21, 2021 ACM will be asked to confirm these decisions.
2019 Financial Review Report
August 5, 2020
To: Karen Walker, Treasurer Glebe-St. James United Church
Subject: Independent Review of the Financial Statements and Procedures
I have reviewed the statement of financial position of Glebe-St. James United Church as at December 31, 2019 and the statements of operations and changes in net assets for the year then ended. My review consisted of enquiry, analysis and discussion related to information supplied to me by the Church. A more detailed summary of the work I have done can be found in Appendix 1 and my comments are noted in Appendix 2.
Based on my review, nothing has come to my attention that would lead me to believe that the financial statements are not accurate in all material respects. Respectfully submitted by
Jack Livingstone Financial Consultant 613-316-6804
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 50
APPENDIX 1 SUMMARY OF TASKS PERFORMED The following outlines some of the work I performed. It is not an all-inclusive list but it contains the key components. • Given that I am on a counting team, I am well aware of the procedures followed by the teams to record and deposit the weekly donations. Over the last few years I have counted with at least five (5) different members of the congregation and they all take this task seriously and perform it conscientiously. • Chose a random selection of months and ensured that the count sheets for the weekly deposits were signed by two members of the count team, and that the collections noted thereon agreed to the deposit summaries used for posting to the accounting program. See Appendix 2, Note 1 • Ensured that bank reconciliations were performed monthly for all bank accounts. The December reconciliations were agreed to both the bank statements and the financial statements. • Obtained a list of the summer signing officers and noted that the book- keeper is not a signing officer. See Appendix 2, Note 2 • Randomly selected bank statements throughout the year and examined all cheques in the selected months, to ensure that they had two (2) signatures. All cheques for the capital fund account and the refugee account were examined. No exceptions were found for the capital and refugee accounts but 6 exceptions were noted for the operating account (including one block of 5 cheques). This is not considered critical as all signatures appeared to be those of signing officers and none of the cheques were for material amounts of money. • Reviewed a random selection of invoices from various suppliers throughout the year to ensure that they were initialed by the signing officer as evidence that they had seen appropriate back-up when they signed the cheque. See Note 3. • Reviewed cheques that were issued to signing officers for purchases made on behalf of the Church, to ensure that the first signature was not that of the payee. No exceptions were found. • From the detailed trial balance at December 31, 2019, I selected larger expense categories as well as a random group of smaller ones, and ensured that appropriate back-up was available for the line items chosen, that it was approved and that the expense category was correct. See Note 3. • Reconciled the salary expense lines on the trial balance to the year-end summary provided by ADP and/or various T4 and T4A slips. • Obtained a copy of the Montessori lease and agreed the scheduled payments to the trial balance. See Note 4. • Reviewed the minutes of Council and Finance & Admin. See Note 5. • Reviewed the HST Notices of Assessment/Application for GST/HST Public Services Bodies Rebate. There is a minor difference between the year end application and the financial statements but it is insignificant. • Reviewed the statement of Mission and Service donations as received from the United Church of Canada to ensure donations for same were remitted, and reconciled this statement to the financial statements. • Reviewed the statement from Presbytery to ensure that the correct amount of Presbytery Dues were remitted.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 51
APPENDIX 2
NOTES and COMMENTS PERTAINING TO MY REVIEW
1. One of the weekly count sheets was prepared by Jennifer and I can only assume that the original was included with the deposit in error. One other count sheet was only initialed by one of the counters. These are isolated incidents and not deemed to be of any consequence.
2. There does not seem to be a list of regular signing officers. The summer signing officer list has not been updated in several years and still includes Tom Tanner. This begs the question as to whether or not he has been removed as a signing officer at the Bank of Nova Scotia.
3. For the previous 2 years, I made note of the fact that essentially no invoices had been initialed as evidence that they had been reviewed when the cheque was signed. This year, I could make the same comment for the first half of the year, but after my report in June, 2019 there was a significant change in that the vast majority of invoices that I reviewed in the second half of 2019 had the initials of the signing officer. My recommendation this year is to keep up the good work.
4. There is no current Montessori lease so I performed calculations based on information contained in the Minutes of Council meetings and found the total amount received for 2019 to be correct. There is a memorandum that extends the term of the lease but no financial details are included other than that there will be an annual review, with an agreed upon percentage increase. It is my understanding that there have been ongoing discussions with respect to having something more formal.
5. I reviewed the minutes of all Council and F&A meetings throughout 2019 that were in the possession of Jennifer and there were no significant financial items noted.
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2020 Budget Approved by Council on May 20, 2020 pending the holding of an Annual Congregational Meeting GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH PROPOSED BUDGET - 2020 2020 2019 2019 2020 Revised Budget Actual Budget Budget REVENUE Regular Givings $185,000 $189,327 $187,500 $170,000 Other Donations $0 $3,662 $0 $0 Donations to Music Program $0 $734 $0 $0 Building Use $170,000 $175,375 $181,421 $156,000 Glebe Montessori School $153,582 $159,890 $165,921 $147,500 GNAG $8,000 $8,000 $8,000 $4,000 Other Building Use $8,418 $7,485 $7,500 $4,500 Fundraising (net of expenses) $15,000 $14,339 $20,000 $15,000 Concert Series $700 $658 $700 $350 Bazaar $5,000 $6,460 $6,500 $6,500 Great Glebe Garage Sale $2,000 $2,001 $2,000 $0 Glebe St. James Dines Out $4,000 $3,650 $4,000 $0 Home Services Guild $0 $0 $5,000 $5,000 Other Fundraising Activities $3,300 $1,570 $1,800 $3,150 Interest/Other Income $0 $6,649 $0 $0
TOTAL REVENUE $370,000 $390,086 $388,921 $341,000
EXPENDITURES Personnel Costs $193,568 $197,220 $203,576 $198,779 Minister $90,752 $94,924 $97,594 $96,219 CD Minister $17,234 $17,167 $17,632 $17,084 Mnister of Visitation $4,200 $1,484 $1,500 $1,500 Minister of Music $25,625 $25,885 $26,000 $26,000 Church Administrator $40,557 $41,707 $44,850 $43,976 Other staff $15,200 $16,053 $16,000 $14,000 Property Expenses $135,488 $143,444 $139,674 $110,117 Land use $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Insurance $11,403 $9,263 $9,000 $9,000 Janitorial $56,000 $60,651 $63,500 $41,451 Maintenance & small property $14,300 $18,241 $14,500 $14,500 Furnace maintenance $6,000 $7,323 $6,000 $6,000 Electricity & fuel $24,000 $22,228 $23,000 $20,200 Water & sewer $5,500 $8,784 $5,500 $4,400 Other $16,285 $14,954 $16,174 $12,566 Program/Committee Expenses $25,022 $27,262 $25,521 $25,521 Worship $3,000 $1,149 $3,656 $3,656 CD $1,000 $1,013 $1,000 $1,000 Music $1,000 $1,284 $1,000 $1,000 Presbytery dues $11,672 $11,672 $13,713 $13,713 Travel and expenses $1,200 $993 $1,000 $1,000 Other $7,150 $11,151 $5,152 $5,152 Other $0 $0 $5,000 $0 Futures Task Force $0 $0 $5,000 $0 General Overhead $15,200 $14,705 $14,700 $14,700
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $369,278 $382,631 $388,471 $349,117
NET REVENUE $722 $7,455 $450 ($8,117)
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Report from Council
The Church Council is responsible for the day-to-day activities and operations of Glebe-St. James, based on priorities and the budget approved at the Annual Congregational Meeting (ACM) and operating within the rules and procedures of the United Church of Canada. In the ordinary course of events, the Council that was elected by the ACM 2018 would have been replaced at the 2020 Annual Congregational Meeting, originally scheduled to be held on March 29, 2020.
As discussed in the section in this report on the 2020 ACM, however, the Council elected in 2018 remained in place throughout 2020 as a consequence of the extraordinary situation created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Council membership during 2020 is listed at the end of this note – it reflects adjustments that were made both at the 2019 ACM and during 2020.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of Council for their commitment and contribution during this unprecedented year to Glebe-St James, to Council itself and to the many programs and activities that it oversees. The year was in many ways a journey without a map, as Council was required to respond to a rapidly changing situation, at times forcing major adjustments in how both the church and Council itself operated. This included a shift from in-person to virtual meetings, using technology that was unknown at the beginning of the year.
Council meets on the third Wednesday evening of the month, and all members of the Glebe-St. James community are welcome to attend and participate in its discussions. In some months there is, instead, a meeting of the Council Steering Committee, which does not have decision-making authority but which provides an opportunity to think more strategically about issues facing the congregation and also to attend to the challenges of co-ordination and practical problem-solving.
In 2020, there were eight meetings of Council and six of Steering Committee. All but the January Council and February Steering Committee meetings were held on-line using the Zoom virtual meeting technology. Council sponsored the Congregational planning meeting, on January 26th and preparations for the Annual Congregational Meeting (ACM) that was scheduled for March 29th but in the end was not held.
As reflected in other sections of this report, a major Council preoccupation in 2020 was the effects of the COVID-19 restrictions on Glebe-St. James Sunday worship. Council closely monitored the transition from pre-recorded services to livestreaming in the Summer and Fall and then a brief period when limited in-person attendance by members of the congregation was permitted. This included setting up an On-Line Worship Committee to lead the technological, logistical and safety challenges of making this transition. On behalf of Council, I would particularly like to thank Chris Burbridge and members of the committee, who quickly created and maintained a capacity that was, in a very real sense, mission critical.
A second priority concern was staying in touch with the congregation during the rapid change and isolation brought on by the pandemic. A wide range of communications vehicles was brought to bear, some already established and some new, including the
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 54 weekly e-Bulletin and monthly e-Newsletter, our Website, which came into its own during this period, and the telephone ministries of Rev. George Clifford, our Minister of Visitation, and of the Friendly Callers, led by Pam Fitch.
Throughout this period Glebe-St. James volunteers were able to continue their work to a remarkable degree, supporting Glebe-St. James itself and members of our own and the wider Ottawa community. They are listed at the end of this note, again with the profound thanks of all of Council.
We are blessed at Glebe-St. James with a strong staff team. Their contributions are listed at many points in this report, but all deserve particular thanks for their flexibility and creativity in meeting the circumstances of the pandemic. At the risk of overlooking other contributions, I would like to mention the enormous dedication of James Caswell in supporting the transition to on-line worship services and church operations in general and of Jennifer Reid, whose patient good humour made all the difference in sustaining church business during the pandemic shutdown.
Finally, I would like to thank the Glebe-St. James Licensed Lay Worship Leaders who admirably filled the worship leadership role during Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole’s sabbatical during the Spring and Summer. This was in turn supported by Janet Nield, who provided a link to the Regional Council and ministerial support when needed.
- David Brown
Glebe-St. James Ministries and Committees updated February 28, 2021 Based on decisions of Annual Congregational Meetings of 18 March 2018 and 24 March 2019 and various Council decisions
COUNCIL
Chair: David Brown Past Chair: Andy Hamilton Chair-Elect: Jenifer Aitken Secretary: Crystal Maitland Treasurer: Karen Walker Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole (ex officio) Trustees: Don Ray F&A: Dudleigh Coyle M&P: Marsha Hay-Snyder (rep) Christian Development: Ruth Burnett-Cole Communications: Jim Louter Outreach: (vacant) Pastoral Care: Adele MacLeod Worship: Hilda Sabadash Regional Council representatives: David Lee Margaret Torrance Dietlind Gardell (alternate) Additional members (5): Marilyn Hamilton Marsha Hay Snyder Kim Lewis John Muggleton Brad Munro Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 55
STEERING COMMITTEE
Chair: David Brown Past Chair: Andy Hamilton Chair-Elect: Jenifer Aitken Secretary: Crystal Maitland Treasurer: Karen Walker Representatives from M&P, F&A, Lay Regional Council Delegates, Pastoral Care, Welcoming Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole (ex officio) Other chairs may attend as needed
WORSHIP MINISTRY
Chair: Hilda Sabadash Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole, Coordinating Minister (ex officio) James Caswell, Minister of Music (ex officio) Stephanie Langill, Minister of CDM (ex officio) Celebration Guild: Judy Wolanski Ushering Coordinator: James McCulloch Scripture Coordinator: Chris Burbridge Sound system: Jim Richardson Susan Palmai Josh Thoppil Communion Coordinator: Chris Burbridge Labyrinth: Judy Wolanski Chris Burbridge Online Worship: Chris Burbridge Martien de Leeuw Eric Dormer Crystal Maitland Jim Richardson Audio Visual: Chris Burbridge Rebecca Dalton Eric Dormer Meg Patni Jim Richardson Kylie Taggart Isaac Thoppil Josh Thoppil Karen Walker
LICENSED LAY WORSHIP LEADERS
Christine Burbridge Dietlind Gardell Nancy Huggett Stephanie Langill Hilda Sabadash
MUSIC COMMITTEE
Chair: Liz Elton Eric Dormer Pam Fitch Donna-Fay Mailhot, Barb Munro Bruce Taylor Karen Walker James Caswell, Minister of Music (ex officio) Links with Worship Ministry and Concert Ministry
CONCERT MINISTRY
Coordinator: Bruce Taylor Laura Tanner Karen Walker James Caswell, Minister of Music (ex officio) Link with Welcoming Ministry and Music Committee
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CELEBRATION / QUILTING GUILD
Judy Wolanski (Celebration) Chris Burbridge (Quilting) Andy Hamilton (banners)
WELCOMING AND MEMBERSHIP OUTREACH MINISTRY
Rep. on Council: David Brown Mary Ahearn Barb Coyle Dudleigh Coyle Laura Tanner Coffee Hour Coordinator: Chris Burbridge Coffee Hour Greeters Coordinator: Marion Dunning Roll Clerk: Crystal Maitland
FRIENDLY CALLERS
Coordinator: Pam Fitch Mary Ahearn Barb Coyle Elizabeth Elton Martha Hall Natasha Holbach Donna-Fay Mailhot Hilda Sabadash Brenda Smith Betty Taylor
WOMEN’S INTERGENERATIONAL GROUP
Coordinator: Marsha Hay Snyder
MONDAY AFTERNOON CRAFT GROUP
Coordinator: Judy Wolanski
CHRISTIAN DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY
Chair: Ruth Burnett-Cole Kim Lewis Staff resource: Stephanie Langill, Minister of Christian Development Children’s Church: Julia Barry Elaine Leung Adult Education: Eric Dormer Andy Hamilton
PASTORAL CARE MINISTRY
Coordinator: Adele MacLeod Donna Fay Mailhot Prayer Circle Coordinator: Janice Vennos Healing Pathway Coordinator: Hilda Sabadash Healing Pathway Inter-Church Committee and Card Correspondent: Hilda Sabadash Lay Visiting Coordinator: Adele MacLeod Ottawa Hospital Visitation: Adele MacLeod (Civic) Chris Burbridge Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole, Coordinating Minister Rev. George Clifford, Minister of Visitation
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 57
CHRISTIAN OUTREACH MINISTRY
Chair: Vacant Minutes for Mission: Kylie Taggart Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster: Susan Palmai Centre 507: Ross Snyder CCSAC: Marilyn Hamilton Kim Lewis (alternate) Multi Faith Housing Initiative: Kim Lewis Refugee Housing Coordinators: Donna-Fay Mailhot Marisa Romano Janice Vennos FACES Steering Committee: Karen Walker Margaret Ford
COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
Reps. on Council: Jim Louter Crystal Maitland John Muggleton Web Page Managers: Crystal Maitland Jim Louter Broadview Rep.: Dudleigh Coyle e-update Jennifer Reid Good News-in-the-Glebe Karen Walker
COMMUNITY PARTNERS LIAISON PERSONS
Scouts: Kylie Taggart Glebe Montessori School: Dudleigh Coyle David Brown Jenifer Aitken
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Chair: Don Ray Don Hall Olga Lee Hilda Sabadash Margaret Torrance Janice Vennos
MINISTRY AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Rep on Council: Marsha Hay Snyder Pam Fitch Jim Louter Susan Palmai Margo Williams
FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
Chair: Dudleigh Coyle Co-Vice-Chairs: Paul Thoppil Robert Palmai Jennifer Johnson Susan Killam Allan Lumsden Jim McCulloch Peter Thompson Stewardship: Louise Archer Dorothy Phillips Margaret Torrance Treasurer: Karen Walker Property Guild: Robert Palmai Office Administrator (ex officio): Jennifer Reid Fire Safety Coordinator and Building Access Supervisor: Greg Roger Records M’ger/Archivist: vacancy
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PROPERTY GUILD
Lead: Robert Palmai Men’s Dinner Club: Dudleigh Coyle Mary Ahearn George LeDrew Ian McKercher Brad Munro Don Ray Greg Roger Ross Snyder Dave Stinson Heather Stinson Bruce Taylor Karen Walker (gardener)
ACCESSIBILITY GUILD
Lead: Ross Snyder Eric Dormer Martien de Leeuw Dietlind Gardell Marilyn Hamilton Jennifer Reid Bruce Taylor
LAY EASTERN ONTARIO AND OUTAOUAIS REGIONAL COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES
David Lee Margaret Torrance Dietlind Gardell (alternate)
FUTURES TASK FORCE
Jenifer Aitken David Brown Don Hall Marsha Hay Snyder David Lee Crystal Maitland Margo Williams
GOVERNANCE WORKING GROUP
Jenifer Aitken David Brown Adele MacLeod Don Ray
ST PAUL’S - EASTERN RELATIONSHIP WORKING GROUP
Chair: David Brown Jenifer Aitken Chris Burbridge Barb Coyle David Lee Allan Lumsden Susan Palmai Marg Torrance Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole
NOMINATING AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY
Church Council Chair: David Brown Council Chair-Elect: Jenifer Aitken Past Council Chairs: Marsha Hay Snyder David Lee Jim Louter Dudleigh Coyle Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole (ex officio)
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St. Paul’s-Eastern United Church – towards a new relationship?
In mid-November 2020, the chair of Glebe-St. James Council received a letter from St. Paul’s-Eastern United Church, in Sandy Hill, stating that they would like to open a conversation about getting to know each other with a view to a possible future relationship. Such a relationship would need to be consistent with the ministry objectives of the two congregations and could include amalgamation.
This initiative came after several years in which St. Paul’s Eastern has been considering its future in light of a seriously deteriorating financial situation. Earlier in 2020, the congregation decided to sell their building. At the same time, they are hoping to find ways of continuing established activities, which include for students, Indigenous communities, culture, and spirituality, seniors, children, the homeless, and reconciliation. They have identified Glebe-St. James as a community of faith that is compatible and with which they believe they could grow together.
As a general timeframe, St. Paul’s Eastern indicated they would like to have a congregation-to-congregation agreement in principle or understanding by the Summer of 2021.
With the endorsement of Glebe-St. James Council, the chair, vice-chair and several members of Council met on November 24th with the Relationship Committee of St. Paul’s Eastern. The meeting was welcoming in spirit, and it was agreed on both sides that there is a solid basis for pursuing the discussions. Steps were then taken to let the Glebe-St. James congregation know about this development. In the concluding weeks of the year, Glebe-St. James Council discussed how best to proceed, including how to involve members of Glebe-St. James in these discussions, and Council formed a St-Paul’s-Eastern relationship working group in early January.
More concretely, efforts have begun to identify areas for members of the two congregations to get to know each other and find areas of collaboration, including outreach – both congregations participate in the Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster – worship and music. These efforts are expected to continue into 2021.
Glebe-St. James governance – organizing for the future
The Governance working group was set up at the 2018 Annual Congregational Meeting. It has four members: Jenifer Aitken, David Brown, Adele MacLeod and Don Ray. It gave a brief interim report at the 2019 Annual Congregational Meeting (ACM). It had intended to provide a more substantive report to the 2020 ACM, which in the event was postponed and eventually not held. In the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic and the more immediate demands placed on members of Council, the working group was only able to carry out a limited amount of work during 2020.
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The working group was given three separate but inter-related tasks: to consider the implications of changes implemented in 2019 in the larger United Church of Canada; to review and propose any required changes to the Glebe-St. James Constitution, which was last revised in 2008; and to ensure that we have an up-to- date set of policies and procedures to provide direction and guidance for staff and volunteers.
In the circumstances of 2020, however, work begun earlier on reviewing the implications for Glebe-St. James administrative policies and procedures of recent changes in the United Church of Canada Manual was largely suspended, although progress was made in some areas, notably with respect to management of the building and property. This was largely the case as well with respect to a review of the Glebe-St. James Constitution, from the perspective of the new Manual and of changing requirements and capacity at Glebe-St. James.
The Eastern Ontario and Outaouais Region of The United Church of Canada (EOORC)
EOORC is one of the seventeen new Regions of the United Church established in the extensive reorganization that went into effect January 1, 2019. The Regions in many ways broadly reflect, but with some exceptions, an amalgamation of the former Presbyteries and Conferences. Individual congregations have been re- designated Communities of Faith in the new arrangement, and in most areas of work their relationship with the wider United Church of Canada is to and through their Region.
In its first year, much of the time and energy of EOORC was necessarily taken up with the structural, organizational and related management-type issues and decisions that go with bringing the substance of the old system into line with the streamlined and partially re-conceptualised organization. This work continues, but the focus in 2020 shifted much more squarely onto that of supporting the relationships among and between the three levels of the church. Support for Communities of Faith, and the relationships among them, e.g. the collaborative relationship embodied in the Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster, of which Glebe-St. James is a member, should be part of the responsibilities that go with this work.
An over-riding concern in 2020 was meeting the spiritual and logistical challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic situation, in the work both of the Region itself and of Communities of Faith. From March onward, all Regional meetings and programs moved on-line. In addition, Regional staff worked with Communities of Faith to help them adapt to the new situation created by the pandemic, including the need to meet public health and safety requirements in worship and other contexts, but also to make innovative use of new technologies.
Region is equipped to assist Communities of Faith in the areas of financing and budget and has done so for Glebe-St. James on several occasions. In a new development with Region, a staff member, Dr. Jane Dawson, works with Communities of Faith and other groups to create and foster Clusters and Networks;
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 61 in the time of COVID-19 she has offered a number of Zoom courses on varied subjects and drawn many folk from throughout the region and beyond. Jane, who lives nearby and attends Glebe-St. James when obligations permit, also provides advice to individual congregations, including Glebe-St. James, on ways to strengthen and develop their mission and activities.
Glebe-St. James is represented at Region by the Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole and the Rev. George Clifford, and Lay Representatives Margaret Torrance and David Lee. In 2020 Dietlind Gardell was appointed an Alternate Lay Representative. All are ex officio members of our Council. Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole is also a member of the Regional Council Executive Committee.
- Glebe-St. James EOORC Lay Representatives
Accessibility and Glebe-St. James
Progress has been limited this year because of the pandemic. One of the good things coming out of COVID-19 has been the introduction of new technologies such as ZOOM and YouTube that have made services available to those who have access to computers. Once we are able to enter the building again, we look at further work on accessibility, building on work we were doing at the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic took hold. This includes:
• Education and training on United Church of Canada policy and practices, as well as provincial requirements • Monitoring snow clearance and making suggestions for improvements • Assessing signage around the building • Fine tuning of sound systems in the sanctuary and elsewhere • Providing for a possible second ramped entry on First Avenue.
- Ross Snyder and the Accessibility Guild
Board of Trustees
Members: Don Hall, Olga Lee, Don Ray, Hilda Sabadash, Marg Torrance, Janice Vennos
The Rev. Teresa Burnett-Cole is an ex officio member as Minister.
Mandate: In accordance with s.61 of the Glebe-St. James United Church Constitution, 2007, as amended in 2008, the Mandate is as follows:
The Board of Trustees reports to the Annual Congregational Meeting, but it takes direction from the Church Council from time to time. Its duties and procedures are as described in the United Church Manual. These include:
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a) Holding in trust the properties of the Congregation, including manses, church edifices, Trust Funds and Memorials,
b) Dealing with matters relating to investments, capital indebtedness, major renovations or capital improvements, and property acquisitions,
c) Maintaining insurance policies and an inventory of assets, and
d) Acting in legal matters for the Congregation.
Summary of Activities:
During this pandemic year of 2020, the Trustees met once by Zoom and otherwise kept in touch through email.
In response to a request from our insurance company, an updated appraisal of the church property was obtained. On a replacement cost basis, the building including the stained glass, was assessed at close to $10,000,000.00 and the organ at an additional $1,050,000.00. Our policy requires us to maintain coverage on current values and accordingly the required changes have been put in place.
Focus and Priorities for 2021:
The monitoring of revised governance documentation as may be proposed to Council as it affects the Trustees and the continued oversight of insurance matters.
Respectfully submitted,
Don Ray, Chair.
Building and Property
The Glebe-St. James church building is a special place, many parts of it now over a century old. Even after major renovations in recent years, however, by both Glebe- St. James itself and by the Glebe Montessori School in the area they lease, the building also represents a major ongoing maintenance and renovation project. Much of the day-to-day care of the building is overseen by Jennifer Reid, the office administrator, working with Medhanie Meskel, the custodian (see separate note below).
The Finance and Administration committee has an overview of this work on behalf of Council. Within that framework, the lead role is taken by the Property Guild, led by Robert Palmai and Dudleigh Coyle. Although constrained by COVID-19 regulations, the Guild was able to carry out a number of projects during 2020, as indicated in the next note.
Gardening has been an important part of the Property Guild’s work. Karen Walker has maintained the garden along the Lyon Street side of the church, while one of Eric Dormer’s many contributions has been tending to potted plants in the
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 63
Sanctuary, bringing them through the cycle of Winter heating and Summer humidity.
A new area of work is the greening of Glebe-St. James – see the note below about some initial steps taken in 2020. An important area of protective management is the work of the safety coordinator, whose work is also summarized in a separate note.
An important next step will be to develop a longer-term building plan that provides an overview of needed and desirable repair and renovation work. This includes acting on advice we have received about hazardous materials in our building. We are the heirs of our predecessors’ care for the building and will want to ensure that a healthy and viable building is available in the future as well. Interested members of the congregation are invited to join this work!
The Property Guild
The Property Guild works in consultation with Finance and Administration Committee but also Jennifer Reid in the Church Office and Sylvie Rankin at Glebe Montessori School, to ensure that small projects and repairs are carried out before they become big ones. Some of these relate directly to Glebe-St. James, but many of them are in public or shared areas. Fortunately, this work was not affected by COVID-19! In fact in some cases, the work was easier to do while the building was quiet.
Here are some items – in no particular order – that we got done in 2020 (those involved are mentioned in brackets):
• Trimmed back the overgrown lilac trees next to the western entrance to the church on First Avenue (Dudleigh Coyle, Don Ray and Robert Palmai) • Put in new LED bulbs in Fraser Hall – this was part of efforts to green our building (Jim Louter and Robert Palmai) • Cleaned out the storage area in Fraser Hall and discarded damaged tables (Dudleigh Coyle and Robert Palmai) • Replaced rotten boards in the stairs down to the courtyard (Robert Palmai) • Replaced a stolen motion light on the tree over the walkway from the Lyon Street South door. • Took out bushes growing through the fence surrounding the Glebe Montessori playground on Glebe Avenue (Susan Palmai, Dudleigh Coyle and Robert Palmai) • Repaired the aforementioned fence and painted it (Dudleigh Coyle and Robert Palmai) • Installed metal weatherstripping on the bottom of the metal door leading to the Glebe Montessori playground (Robert Palmai) • Raised up the storage shed in the back of the parking lot (Dudleigh Coyle and Robert Palmai)
- Robert Palmai
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Greening Glebe-St. James
As highlighted in the February "Good News in the Glebe", our national United Church (UCC) is committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 80% by 2050, in- line with the Paris Climate Agreement targets and under its The Faithful Footprints Program offers funding/matching grants to local congregations for greening activities. "Greening Sacred Spaces" (GSS), a program of Faith and the Common Good, is funded by the Trillium Foundation, with offices at Rideau Park United Church, will work with us over the next 18 months to analyse our current and past energy use and identify energy savings opportunities. During 2020, interested Glebe-St. James folk participated in a June 21st UCC Webinar and a mid-July site visit with a local Energy Retrofit company. In September, the lighting in Fraser Hall was replaced by LED lighting, with an expected payback period of 9 months. If this greening initiative interests you, join us by signing up for the Greening Sacred Spaces monthly e-Newsletter, and register for GSS ZOOM Webinars at https://greeningsacredspaces.ca Together, we can make a positive difference for the planet...
Greening Sacred Spaces Ottawa WELCOME! Helping YOUR faith community become leaders in working towards a more sustainable future for all Photo by Singkham on Pexels.com Energy Benchmarking
Program The EBP helps faith communities take practical and cost- effective climate action decisions by raising their awareness of, and helping them become more knowledgeable about, their building energy use and emissions.
greeningsacredspaces.ca
Report of the Safety Coordinator
Fire safety annual inspection The annual inspections of the fire safety system and related safety equipment were performed in the summer of 2020. I understand one of the circuits was found to be faulty and the deficiency was subsequently corrected.
First Aid Training A group training session on basic First Aid response to accidents/emergencies was delivered at the church by St. John Ambulance, Ottawa, on January 14, 2020. Three Glebe-St. James staff – Rev. Teresa, Stephanie and Jennifer – along with eleven members of the congregation attended.
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Fire Safety Evacuation Protocol A brief, informal meeting to review past and current practices related to evacuation procedures was held with a number of the ushering cadre in the fall of 2019. As a result, the opinion and input of a professional entity was engaged. A retired Fire Captain in Ottawa recommended Qualpro Management of Ottawa. Qualpro is well known in the field and has conducted a number of evacuation plans for large commercial and residential buildings.
On January 13, 2020, I met with Mr. Jason Gauthier of Qualpro, toured the church facility with him, provided him with current evacuation schematic drawings and notes of Usher roles and responsibilities. On January 15th, I received Mr. Gauthier’s proposal and quote for the review and preparation of an evacuation plan, one that would comply with Ottawa Fire Department standards.
I have been advised that, contrary to earlier information, churches are required by Law to submit formal evacuation plans to their respective local fire departments. It has been some years since Glebe-St. James has conducted a review of its fire evacuation protocol and, in my view, it is timely that we make a thorough review and update of same.
On January 16, 2020, Qualpro’s proposal was provided to the Finance and Administration Committee of Glebe-St. James United Church for its consideration. The Qualpro proposal to assist in the provision of a fire evacuation plan has been put on hold due to the pandemic. Now that we are hopeful that more regular church attendance will resume within the next few months, we plan to re-start the evacuation plan and have a fire code/regulation compliant plan in place for the fall.
- Greg Roger
Cleaning Services at Glebe-St. James
Glebe-St. James has a contract with Jani-King, a cleaning services company, for cleaning in all areas of the building. The caretaker, who formally is a Jani-King franchisee, is Medhanie Meskel. In 2020, many of his family members assisted with the work at Glebe-St. James. The primary responsibility is meeting the cleaning needs of Glebe Montessori School, which is required to meet standards set by the provincial government. They also clean the Sanctuary, Glebe-St. James staff offices and areas used jointly by Glebe-St. James and Glebe Montessori, including hallways, washrooms and other public areas as well as Fraser Hall.
Medhanie took over the Glebe-St. James cleaning franchise in June 2019. During the COVID-19 pandemic Medhanie and his wife Aranshi Yohanns have provided cleaning services to Glebe Montessori School, even while it has had to meet stringent safety standards, and to Glebe-St. James, as its requirements have fluctuated according to the degree of use of the building permitted by provincial pandemic regulations. We have been pleased to have the support provided by Medhanie and Aranshi and their energetic approach to helping us achieve a clean church.
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Finance and Administration (F&A) Committee
As the name implies, F&A is responsible for both Glebe-St. James’ finances – collecting and spending the funds provided by our congregation and community partners – and the day-to-day administration of the church and our building. In both areas, we rely on our staff – Jennifer Reid, our office administrator, Lori Stinson (accounts) and Medhanie Meskel and his staff, our custodians. They are a solid team that has been an important part of our ability to weather the storms of the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank all of them for their dedication and professionalism. We are very well served!
We are also well served by the many volunteers who help make things happen – and work. In ordinary times, this ranges from those who help in the office to the collection counters on Sunday, the Spring and Fall clean-up crews and those who shovel snow in the Winter and mow the lawn and look after our flowerbeds in the Summer. Although there were disruptions and changes in routine this past year, our volunteers are the foundation on which everything we do is built.
One major part of F&A’s work concerns our building, now 115 years old and a perpetual maintenance project. Separate notes discuss work that we have done in 2020 to maintain our building and property and also our cleaning services.
F&A’s other major responsibility is looking after Glebe-St. James’ finances. F&A work closely with Karen Walker, our Treasurer, Jennifer Reid and Lori Stinson to ensure that our money is well spent and accounted for.
F&A also takes the lead on the revenue side of the Operating Budget. We are the group that primes the fundraising efforts that the congregation fully embraces. These were most successful in 2020 – see the separate notes on fundraising and on the Home Services Guild. Thank you all. Another important contribution to our budget is Building Rental, which worked well, although at a reduced level during the pandemic, thanks to Jennifer, who was the “adult-in-charge.”
- Dudleigh Coyle, Chair, F&A Committee
Finance and Administration in 2020 – an A+++ year
2020 was an extremely solid financial year, and Glebe-St. James maintained its strong A+++ financial rating. We balanced the Operating Budget; our official givings were close to $188K; and our unofficial givings close to $210k. Total revenues in the Operating Budget continued to be very solid. We have a steady financial reporting team supporting our efforts, led by our Treasurer, Karen Walker.
In 2020, notable strengths include the following:
• Cash reserves in the Operating Budget nudged $70k at the end of 2020; no cash reserves were used in 2020 except for $6k in November. We have developed a group of givers who are pleased to “pay forward” a portion of their annual contributions to the Operating Budget so that we are well supported for cash flow throughout the year. Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 67
• We continue to attract a stable group of core givers. In 2020, 71 families gave 94% of the total givings to the Operating Budget. Overall, 162 families and individuals gave to Glebe-St. James. Of these, 125 gave to the Operating Budget.
• Of the approximate $279k in donations received by GSJ only 65% went to support the Operating Budget. Other areas receiving support included the Mission and Service Fund, Centre 507, Odawa Friendship Centre, Carlington Community Chaplaincy, Centre Town Churches, Refugee Housing and others. This year, at the beginning of the pandemic, we established a special Glebe- St. James COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which was over-subscribed.
• In 2020 Glebe Montessori School (GMS) signed a 20-year lease to stay in our building. GMS provided 35% of the revenue to the Operating Budget.
Conclusion:
Glebe-St. James is on an upslope and getting stronger. By focusing on our strengths we will continue to thrive.
All good.
- Dudleigh Coyle
Fundraising
Fundraising is important for two reasons. Most visibly, it is a source of revenue that provides valuable flexibility for the Glebe-St. James budget. It also provides an opportunity for community building, within Glebe-St. James and more widely. Fundraising events allow for easy connection with newcomers, and they bring people together.
2020 was a successful year for fundraising at Glebe-St. James. Mostly in spite of, but in some ways because of, the COVID-19 pandemic, we raised nearly $22,000. Our thanks to everyone who contributed, in time and financially, to this magnificent result! Thanks also to the many people who helped to organize these events and make them happen.
The main fundraising program in 2020 was the Home Services Guild, which is discussed in a separate note – it raised just short of $20,000 for the operating fund. A variety of smaller projects raised the balance.
In the circumstances of the COVID-19 and the restrictions that it has imposed on social gatherings – including Glebe-St. James fundraising events – there are several well-established fundraising activities that had to be suspended in 2020 or that operated in a very limited way. These are mentioned here as a reminder that they will return, once the pandemic and public health safety rules permit: • Glebe-St. James Goes Out for Dinner – dinners in May and June hosted by members of Glebe-St. James Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 68
• During the Great Glebe Garage Sale in May we receive donations from users of our washrooms, we rent space on our lawn to vendors, and in some years we also sell goods including coffee and muffins • Frozen Food made by members of Glebe-St. James – at various times throughout the year • Home Service Guild activities – see the separate note on this highly successful initiative that has become an important part of Glebe-St. James’ life • Glebe-St. James Fall Bazaar – held in November, featuring the Bazaar regulars but in recent years some new tables as well, including one sponsored by Glebe Montessori School • The Concert-in-the Glebe series, which raises funds for the music program. • Throughout the year, we rent space in the building to community groups.
In past years we have had joint fundraising initiatives with Glebe Montessori School, and we look forward to doing so again.
2021 will be another strong year for Glebe-St. James fundraising. We will have the objective of $15,000 in support of the Operating Budget, and we will continue to look for ways of supporting the Doug Davidson Building Fund. An additional fundraising challenge may arise, depending on what we decide to do about our organ. We look forward to the full support of the congregation and of the Glebe community.
- Dudleigh Coyle
Home Services Guild
The Home Services Guild is a team effort. We are out in the community, and our members and partners go beyond our congregation. We provide services where they are needed, by and for members of Glebe-St. James and of the community.
Established in 2017, the Home Service Guild has become an important part of Glebe-St. James fundraising. In 2019, the Guild put its efforts into supporting the Doug Davidson Building Fund. In 2020, in the circumstances of the pandemic, we focused on supporting the operating budget, raising nearly $20,000 and making a considerable contribution to Glebe-St. James’ healthy end-of-year financial results. This was in a year where many of our traditional fundraisers were not possible due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
Our projects are wherever the needs are. In 2020, the Guild was busy: COVID-19 Masks, Quilts, Stuff to auction (including through the Glebe-St. James Fence), Filling out tax returns, Gardening, Lawning (mowing and looking after), Booklet production, Odd Jobs of all kinds, and yes the wildly popular Chili dinners! Glebe Montessori School was a valued customer through the year, and Glebe-St. James was a strong supporter. All good. Guild 1 COVID 0.
In earlier, more “normal” years our work has included: cement work; porch/deck work; painting; plumbing; furniture moving; woodworking projects; quilting;
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 69 binding; window washing; interior design; basement organizing; new front walk; income taxes; clean-outs; limited very limited snow shoveling; and house sitting. We have a very strong “gardening/ yarding” division to go along with our furniture repair division. There are several successful spin-offs waiting to return to the right conditions: Frozen Food, Book Sale, GSJ Fence and GSJ on Kijiji. We have a great partner in The Glebe Centre through Abbotsford Community Support.
In 2021, the Guild will focus again on supporting the operating budget. Bring your projects on!
- Dudleigh Coyle
Doug Davidson Building Fund 2019
The Doug Davidson Building Fund is the fund in the Glebe-St. James accounts that is used to address non-routine building expenditures. It is named in honour of a former Glebe-St. James property manager who made a substantial gift to the church. For a number of years, it was primarily used as a fundraising vehicle for paying off a $350,000 loan provided by Ottawa Presbytery to help manage the costs of major improvements to the heating system and foundation. This loan was retired in 2018.
In 2019 the fund was used for work on the roof and asbestos remediation.
In 2020 no building-related projects were undertaken, using the Fund.
The Doug Davidson Fund as of December 31, 2020:
Starting Position $9,521
Revenue: Donations $6,885 Total revenue +$6,885
Expenses: Bank charges $ 191 Projects $ 0 Total Expenditures -$191
Year-end position: $16,215
Ministry and Personnel Committee
2020 has been a year of extraordinary circumstances. M&P has met regularly to address the needs and concerns of our staff during very stressful COVID 19 times.
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The year began in a quiet fashion until mid-March 2020 when church life changed. First there was the pandemic when our Prime Minister famously said, “Go home. Stay home.” No more in-person worship services for the church. Our minister Teresa Burnett-Cole and our Minister of Music, James Caswell continued to produce meaningful recorded services until Teresa left on a much deserved sabbatical following our Easter Services to return in September 2020.
James did an outstanding job in working with our Licensed Lay Worship Leaders (LLWLs) and the choir to collate all the various recordings of sermons, minutes for mission, virtual anthems and solos to create expressive, sensitive services. Janet Neild graciously served a communion service and was available for pastoral care needs. James continued this exceptional service until the end of June and now works with the audiovisual team in his capacity as Minister of Music.
Teresa returned renewed and refreshed in September to experience the world of live-streaming worship. During pandemic times, some activities were suspended or delayed but the church re-opened in November 2020 to welcome in-person worshippers back to the sanctuary in limited numbers (15). There are some positive points to be made about a pandemic and one of those is the technology of virtual meetings by Zoom. Teresa will begin a Zoom Indigenous series of education in early 2021.
Jennifer Reid has held our administrative life together during these strange times. Always available to assist in a cheerful, humourous, positive but socially distant fashion, Jennifer has been steadfast in her commitment to Glebe-St. James; she helped develop a COVID protocol for church users. She met the challenges of working from home, internet dysfunction, and anything else that came her way.
Each Sunday morning, Stephanie Langill meets the children of Glebe-St. James on Zoom to conduct Children’s Church and then rushes to the sanctuary to participate in worship with a children’s story. Unfortunately, Tashi Farmilo-Marouf, our nursery attendant, had to leave us early this year due to health concerns.
Although not staff members, we recognize the brilliant work of Eric Dormer, Chris Burbridge and others in establishing our electronic system for live-streaming services. Our services will continue to be live-streamed into the future.
As Minister of Visitation, George Clifford has kept in touch by phone with each and every congregation member during the pandemic. Not only has he done this once, but repeatedly!
This year we took on the responsibility of addressing the M&P needs of Claire Savage, a candidate for Ministry and the coordinator of the Central Ottawa Outreach Cluster (COC). Cluster activities will be covered in a separate report.
We invite the congregation to share praise or concerns about staff or lay personnel, in signed correspondence with our committee.
Pam Fitch Teresa Burnett-Cole Marsha Hay Snyder James Caswell Jim Louter Jennifer Reid Susan Palmai Claire Savage Margo Williams Stephanie Langill Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 71
Treasurer Report
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH DONATIONS December 31, 2020
2018 2019 2020 OPERATING Regular Givings $181,572 $189,327 $188,505 Other Donations $1,405 $3,662 $2,133 Memorials $405 $1,217 $100 Other $1,000 $2,445 $2,033 Donations to Music Program $2,277 $734 $500
SUB-TOTAL $185,254 62% $193,722 69% $191,137 73%
OUTREACH1 Mission & Service Fund $35,516 $33,668 $32,500 CCSAC $651 $652 $835 Carlington Chaplaincy $805 $997 $3,124 Emergency Food Centre $2,986 $5,034 $9,182 Centre 507 $7,561 $2,909 $6,130 Multi-Faith Housing $362 $362 $409 Refugee Sponsorship $7,220 $2,860 $0 Odawa Native Friendship Centre $1,012 $6,226 $4,612 WIGs Project $0 $0 $2,280 Other $50 $1,614 $630
SUB-TOTAL $56,162 19% $54,322 19% $59,702 23%
DOUG DAVIDSON FUND Bequests $16,785 $5,904 $0 Donations $33,039 $20,554 $6,885
SUB-TOTAL $49,824 17% $26,458 9% $6,885 3%
SEGREGATED FUNDS2 $5,722 2% $6,133 2% $4,532 2%
TOTAL DONATIONS $296,962 100% $280,635 100% $262,256 100%
Notes: 1. Includes $11,550 in donations to the COVID fund. 2. Organ fund and Macphail Scholarship fund.
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Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 73
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 74
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH INCOME STATEMENT OPERATING FUND December 31, 2020 2020 2018 2019 Budget 2020 REVENUE Regular Givings $181,572 $189,327 $170,000 $188,505 Other Donations $1,405 $3,662 $0 $2,133 Memorials $405 $1,217 $0 $100 Other $1,000 $2,445 $0 $2,033 Music Program Revenue $2,277 $734 $0 $530 Building Use $162,331 $175,375 $156,000 $165,012 Glebe Montessori School $150,571 $159,890 $147,500 $157,187 GNAG $6,000 $8,000 $4,000 $4,350 Other Building Use $5,760 $7,485 $4,500 $3,475 Fundraising (net of expenses) $27,135 $14,339 $15,000 $21,791 Concert Series $722 $658 $350 $240 Bazaar $4,173 $6,460 $6,500 $0 Great Glebe Garage Sale $875 $2,001 $0 $155 Glebe St. James Dines Out $3,975 $3,650 $0 $0 Home Services Guild $13,783 $0 $5,000 $19,589 Other Fundraising Activities $3,607 $1,570 $3,150 $1,807 Interest and Program Revenue1 $11,270 $6,649 $0 $1,774
TOTAL REVENUE $385,990 $390,086 $341,000 $379,744
EXPENDITURES Personnel Costs $199,676 $197,220 $198,779 $195,295 Minister $90,434 $94,924 $96,219 $90,846 CD Minister $23,986 $17,167 $17,084 $15,874 Mnister of Visitation $4,181 $1,484 $1,500 $3,683 Minister of Music $25,663 $25,885 $26,000 $26,379 Church Administrator $40,687 $41,707 $43,976 $45,582 Other staff $14,725 $16,053 $14,000 $12,933 Property Expenses $136,573 $143,444 $110,117 $118,556 Land use $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 $2,000 Insurance $9,253 $9,263 $9,000 $13,386 Janitorial2 $55,203 $60,651 $41,451 $48,857 Maintenance & small property $18,909 $18,241 $14,500 $6,447 Furnace maintenance $5,325 $7,323 $6,000 $13,875 Electricity & fuel $22,971 $22,228 $20,200 $19,649 Water & sewer $5,452 $8,784 $4,400 $4,647 Other $17,460 $14,954 $37,937 $9,695
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 75
2020 2018 2019 Budget 2020 Program/Committee Expenses $30,854 $27,262 $25,521 $34,677 Worship $1,851 $1,149 $3,656 $11,802 CD $1,199 $1,013 $1,000 $214 Music $3,523 $1,284 $1,000 $773 Dues $13,182 $11,672 $13,713 $13,713 Travel and expenses $915 $993 $1,000 $0 Other3 $10,184 $11,151 $5,152 $8,175 General Overhead $13,187 $14,705 $14,700 $15,290
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $380,290 $382,631 $349,117 $363,818
NET REVENUE $5,700 $7,455 -$8,117 $15,926
OPERATING RESERVE at Dec. 31 $45,584 $53,039 $68,966
Notes: 1. Includes Flower Fund donations, Observer subscription fees, quilting retreat fees, and CD & Youth fundraising. 2. Includes GMS janitorial cost of $39,529 in 2018, $40,655 in 2019 and $39,111 in 2020. 3. Includes activities funded by Program Revenue (see Note 1) .
During 2020 there were sufficient assets on hand at all times to meet our obligations as they fell due.
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH MUSIC PROGRAM December 31, 2020
Operating Organ FPM Fund Fund Scholarship Revenue Donations $500 $2,340 $2,192 Piano Usage Fees $30 $0 $0 Concert Series $240 $0 $0
Total $770 $2,340 $2,192
Expenses Piano Tuning $249 $0 $0 Sheet Music, etc. $523 $0 $0 Honorariums $0 $0 $150
Total $773 $0 $150
Net Income -$3 $2,340 $2,042
Remaning budget allocation $997 Balance in Fund $7,960 $4,320
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 76
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH INCOME STATEMENT-REFUGEE HOUSING December 31, 2020
2018 2019 2020 REVENUE Grocery Coupon Revenue $119,480 $122,048 $104,000 Donations $1,920 $1,678 $7,110 Fundraising
TOTAL REVENUE $121,400 $123,726 $111,110
EXPENDITURES Grocery Coupon Cost $113,295 $92,916 $99,346 Service Charges $357 $300 $255 OMRA $6,600 $30,480 $9,542
TOTAL EXPENDITURES $120,253 $123,695 $109,143
NET REVENUE $1,147 $30 $1,967
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH COMPOSITION OF SEGREGATED FUNDS December 31, 2020
2018 2019 2020 ORGAN FUND1 $3,369 $5,620 $7,960 MACPHAIL SCHOLARSHIP FUND2 $3,253 $2,278 $4,320
TOTAL $6,622 $7,898 $12,280
Notes: 1. $3,059 organ rental in 2019. 2. $975 disbursed in 2019 and $150 in 2020.
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 77
GLEBE-ST. JAMES UNITED CHURCH DOUG DAVIDSON FUND December 31, 2020
Starting position $9,521
Donations $6,885 Bequests & Memorials $0
TOTAL REVENUE $6,885
Bank Charges $191
TOTAL EXPENDITURE $191
Year end position $16,215
Glebe-St. James United Church – 2020 Annual Report Page 78