St. George’s Anglican Church
Diocese of Niagara
St. Catharines, Ontario
PARISH
COVENANT
LIVING THE VISION
PUTTING FAITH INTO PRACTICE
LIVING THE DIOCESAN VISION
June 2011
The Reverend Canon Robert Fead+
LIVING THE
VISION
For the past three
years Bishop Michael Bird and a number of clergy and
lay leaders in our Diocese of Niagara have been
reflecting on a “diocesan vision.” The vision is a
way and means of evaluating where we are as a
diocese and where we would like to be in the future.
The overall theme of the vision is The Pursuit of
Excellence in Ministry. The goal of our diocesan
vision is to have a diocese where our clergy, people
and parishes are all working towards “Following
Christ passionately, pursuing excellence, practicing
justice and growing”. In order to achieve these
goals, the leadership team, has come up with five
“petals” that parishes can concentrate on in order
to achieve the overall goal.
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Prophetic
Social Justice Making
As Christians we
are called to active social justice making. Jesus
was often the voice for the poor and the
marginalized in his society. Projects such as the
Community Breakfast Program, Bethlehem Projects and
Community Care (to name a few) which so many of our
parishioners are involved in, is a testament to our
commitment to care for those who are less fortunate
in our society and try to make our world a better
place for all God’s children.
One of the
suggestions for parishes in this regard is to
promote lifestyles which are consistent with the
sustainability of the planet. We are encouraged to
take a leadership role in the stewardship of our
environment. Churches are challenged to find ways to
decrease our carbon footprint. This is no easy task
in a big, old building like ours but we are
presently looking at ways to reduce our hydro usage.
Also we added more efficient programmable
thermostats throughout much of the building.
Accomplishments
Our parish already does a great amount of outreach
in order to make our community a better place to
live for everyone. The Breakfast Program, four
Alcoholics Anonymous programs, Bereavement Support,
as well as, our involvement with Bethlehem Projects,
Alzheimer’s Society of Niagara, the Canadian Forces,
just to name a few.
Last year we challenged ourselves to go beyond what
we are already doing and welcomed the Out of the
Cold program each Sunday evening. I am amazed as I
am walking up the sidewalk from the parking lot to
the office how many people who use this program stop
me to thank St. George’s for welcoming them.
Presently the program feeds upwards of a 160 people
a hot meal on Sunday evenings and dozens stay
overnight in the Gym, grateful for a warm place to
sleep.
For a number of years the Diocese of Niagara has
been supporting Bethlehem Projects with an annual
$2500.00 donation. Due to financial constraints in
the Diocese, as well as an ever increasing demand
for outreach support, I took this commitment on as a
local outreach project on behalf of the Lincoln
Deanery. I am happy to report that the parishes in
the deanery were able to send Bethlehem Housing and
Support Services a cheque for $2500.00. It is our
goal to repeat this pledge in 2011 and beyond.
This year the Breakfast Program celebrates its
fifteenth anniversary of feeding those in need 365
days a year. We marked this occasion with a
volunteer appreciation night on Tuesday April 26.
Bishop Bird was present to offer his thanks on
behalf of the diocese and to thank us for the
example that St. George’s is as a faith community
focused on caring for the poor. Our member of
Provincial Parliament, Jim Bradley, was also present
to thank us on behalf of the Province of Ontario.
The needs in our community are always growing and we
need to continue to find ways to offer support and
aid to those in need. If you have ideas for a
ministry either in the parish or to the wider
community please let Val or I know how we can
support you.
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Effective
Resource Management
Our Corporation,
with a great deal of help from our Treasurer Jim
Jenter and our Building and Property Manager, Bill
Holman, take this responsibility very seriously. The
challenges with a building as old and as large as
St. George’s can, at times, feel overwhelming. There
is always something to repair or replace and of
course none of it comes cheap. We all owe a debt of
gratitude to Jim Jenter who does an unbelievable job
of keeping track of every penny in and every penny
out. DETAILED monthly economic statements presented
to the Corporation as well as Parish Council ensures
that our finances are open and transparent and that
we are in deed getting the most out of every dollar.
Each year our Property Committee puts together a
“Five Year Plan” that ensures that we are looking
after our buildings and property in a responsible
manner both from a physical as well as an economic
point of view.
One of the goals of
Effective Resource Management is to model a theology
of abundance rather than scarcity. This is the
principle of recognizing that everything that we
have comes to us from God and ultimately belongs,
not to us, but to God. As Mother Teresa once said
“God has lots of money, the problem is He gave it to
us to distribute on His behalf”. Rather than
spending a great deal of time talking about how
little we have, it is about talking about how much
we have. If we are honest, the vast majority (not
all) of us can easily say that we have more than we
need. If this is the case then deficits should be a
thing of the past.
Accomplishments
At
St. George’s in the past number of years we have
also been innovative in finding secondary sources of
income to help take some of the pressure off the
budget as well as responsibly invest in our future.
For example, the money received from donations from
those using our lower parking lot during the week
goes towards supporting St. George’s outreach
programs. The rental income from the Montessori
School is invested in our Heritage Account. The
rental income from Hulse and English Funeral Home
and other community organizations goes towards our
operating budget.
A
couple of years ago we also established an “Anglican
Church Ministries Foundation Investment Fund” with
the diocese. I am pleased to say that our
investments in 2010 made approximately 9.39% and saw
an increase of $120,683.83 in the Foundation and
Endowment accounts. Also the Rectory and the Rectory
Lands Accounts realized an increase of $19,498.24
(The Diocese owns the principle on these two
accounts but allows us access to the interest on
these accounts). As of the end December 2010 all our
investments with the diocese totaled $1,309,628.62.
Although this is good news, we keep in mind that the
markets continue to be volatile as the worldwide
economy continues to try and stabilize itself.
Christians are called to be good stewards of all
that God gives us. Christian stewardship is rooted
in the principle that everything we have is a gift
from God, to be used for His glory and ultimately
belongs to Him and not us.
Vestry meetings and
reports often focus on the wise use of money and the
obligation we all have to support the work and
ministry of the church as it proclaims the Gospel to
the world. This year we miraculously made our budget
with only a minor shortfall. At some points of the
year we were into our heritage account upwards of
$80,000.00. Part of the financial challenges we face
are based on the fact that many of our expenses,
such as, insurance, maintenance contracts, Diocesan
Mission and Ministry assessment, need to be paid at
the beginning of the year. As a result, we start off
behind budget in January and we remain in a deficit
position until December 31. This grows in the summer
months to a practically desperate situation. Much of
our income for the year comes in during November and
December. For example in November and December of
2010 our income for those two months alone was
$160,253.54.
This “income blast” saved our budget!
While this is good news on the one hand, it perhaps
points to a bit of a negative pattern. A pattern
whereby we wait and see what is left over at the end
of the year to give to God. But as a wise person
once said; “Give God what is right, not what is
left”. We also continue to rely too heavily on our
top five givers.
Another part of our stewardship commitment is the
obligation to take care of the buildings and
property God has entrusted to us. As you know the
challenges of maintaining this big and very old
building are never ending. This year we have had
unexpected challenges such as rotten windows in the
lounge that needed to be replaced, ongoing and
expensive plumbing issues throughout the building, a
total breakdown of the electrical panel in the
elevator, and another roof leak into the organ
chamber. In recent years we have done a marvelous
job of maintaining and upgrading the church building
but we have done very little to the halls. Last year
we started a renovation project for the parish
halls. The architectural designs include new
washrooms in the parish hall downstairs, gym floor,
lighting and electrical wiring in the Swan. The
total estimated cost of the work is $250,000.00. We
are presently seeking a Trillium Grant to help pay
for the project. We also have a $250,000.00 memorial
bequest that was left to the parish. Unfortunately,
a couple of family members are challenging the will
and as a result it has been tied up in the courts
for two years. I was told last week by our diocesan
lawyer that we can expect to wait up to another year
and a half for a decision. Needless to say it has
been a very discouraging experience!!
The Corporation, along with the property committee,
will continue to evaluate the project and find ways
to do at least a portion of it. The downstairs
washrooms are considered a high priority.
We also this year undertook projects to make our
building more energy efficient. Thanks to Sheldon
Pettit approximately 100 energy efficient light
fixtures were installed to help cut down on the
hydro bill as well as reduce our carbon footprint!
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Life
Changing Worship
The most important
thing that we do as a community of faith is gather
on Sundays to worship almighty God and to give Him
thanks for His abundant goodness. Although this
“petal” of the vision is called “Life Changing
Worship” the reality is that the primary purpose of
our worship is not so that our lives can be changed,
but we worship and give thanks to God primarily
because “our lives have been changed!” That being
said, it is our hope that every time we gather to
celebrate the Eucharist and listen to the Word of
God we are drawn into a deeper and more meaningful
relationship with Jesus and with each other. During
my seven years as your Rector, I have tried to
emphasize that our attendance at Sunday Eucharist is
not an option for committed Christians but rather an
obligation. How can we fail to give worship and
thanks to God who gives us so much! Our Sunday
worship of God simply can not be something we do
when there is nothing else better to do. Besides
what could be better than listening to God speak to
us in His word and have the real presence of His Son
come to us in His Body and Blood?
In this day and age
there is a tendency among some of our Anglican
brothers and sisters to devalue our ritual,
tradition and Sacraments. Sometimes I hear, usually
from other Anglican clergy, that they are outdated,
boring and irrelevant. I believe that much of this
comes from a failure to understand what these
rituals, traditions and sacraments really mean, as
well as a feeling of being threatened by “newer”
“evangelical” communities that do a marvelous job of
entertaining the masses with much singing, clapping
and dancing. While this may have some value on a
superficial level, it is not the Eucharist! While I
acknowledge that from a modern understanding of what
is considered entertaining our Anglican Ritual may
not be able to compete with our evangelical brothers
and sisters, I propose that we have something
greater and more meaningful here. This of course
does not mean that we should not explore newer
musical traditions and forms, and that we should not
find ways to make our celebrations more user
friendly and easier to understand, and therefore
easier to appreciate. Our Celtic Eucharist is a good
example of taking a different form of music and
prayer while remaining faithful to the overall
tradition.
To this end, it is
my hope that we provide several opportunities to
learn the real meaning behind our rituals,
traditions and sacraments. Perhaps a discussion
about how we can make them more user friendly for
all. Are there innovative things that we can do that
do not undermine our liturgical heritage passed on
to us from the apostles?
Also our weekly
celebrations are meant to convey the reality of
“communion”, not only with God but also with each
other. Therefore it is vitally important that we
continue to foster a culture of hospitality to
everyone that walks through our doors. No one should
ever say “that they came to St. George’s and no one
welcomed them.”
Accomplishments
Worship continues to be our most important
responsibility. We have strived to ensure that our
Sunday celebrations are Eucharistic, beautiful, and
filled with a noble simplicity.
John Butler has worked hard to ensure that the choir
continues to grow and to have available talented
voices and music worthy of the dignity of God. We
value our musical tradition and this year a generous
parishioner established a $350,000.00 endowment on
our behalf. Half of the interest received from this
fund will go towards offsetting clergy salaries and
the other half is being set aside to help offset
choir costs and to have some money available to pay
section leaders a modest stipend. This money has
given us the opportunity to hire two more
wonderfully talented, professionally trained
vocalists who have helped to make our worship even
more beautiful and inspiring.
Our Remembrance Day Requiem was once again a great
success attracting approximately 300 worshipers.
Also we continue to offer a monthly Celtic Liturgy
when appropriate, and this past Christmas Eve we
welcomed some of our First Nations brothers and
sisters who helped us celebrate a Huron Carol
Christmas with the children.
We also had our First Nations brothers and sisters
help lead our worship on the Aboriginal Day of
Prayer. We have a number of parishioners, and
members from the wider community, gather on every
other Tuesday with members of the First Nations
community to participate in a time of prayer and
meditation in a traditional “Drum Circle”. Our
participants find that understanding native
spirituality and tradition have helped to enhance
our own Anglican spirituality and tradition.
We participate in worship because we owe God our
worship and thanksgiving. It is simply not an option
for a Christian but an obligation. When we look at
all the great blessings that God has given us how
can we keep from singing His praises and giving Him
thanks!
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Outstanding Leadership for Ministry
This “petal” is
about all of us living out our baptismal covenants
in shared ministry. It is about all of us getting
involved in the ministries within the parish and
also in the wider community. Each one of us are
called not only to offer God worship on Sunday but
to live out the faith we celebrate every day of our
lives by serving others. Christianity, above all, is
a religion of service. Jesus said: “I came not to be
served but to serve”. The Reverend Val Kerr and I,
as well as our honourary clergy, intentionally try
to model this in our own ministries. You will see
our clergy serving the wider church by sitting on
numerous diocesan, provincial and national bodies
within the Anglican Church of Canada. You will find
our clergy serving on the boards of Bethlehem
Projects, the Alzheimer’s Society of Niagara;
serving in the Canadian Forces; specializing in
Bereavement Support Ministry, Marriage Preparation
Ministry and the list could go on. I am so proud to
say that not only do our clergy serve in all those
capacities but so do so many of our parishioners. We
are doing good work in the name of Jesus!
Accomplishments
Our
goal is to get everyone in the parish involved in
something. I firmly believe that our worship and
spirituality takes on greater meaning and
significance when it is actually put into practice.
This year we have been more intentional about
celebrating the ministries of leadership the members
of our parish family offer to the wider community.
It is an opportunity for us to thank these wonderful
people for representing St. George’s as a loving and
caring faith community. Examples this year are as
follows:
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The Breakfast Program received a “Peacemakers”
award for its outstanding dedication and service
to the poor in our community.
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A member of the clergy received a Volunteer
Appreciation Award from the City of St.
Catharines for her outstanding work as the
President of the Board of Directors for
Bethlehem Housing and Support Services.
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A parishioner received an award for her
volunteer service to Ina Grafton Gage for over
800 volunteer hours in one year.
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A parishioner received an award from the Thorold
Historical Society for her work of promoting our
heritage and history.
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A Parishioner received the Order of Niagara for
his work in the parish and with a number of
volunteer agencies in the community.
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A member of the clergy was part of a team of
military chaplains that received a commendation
from the Chief of the Defense Staff for the
support given to soldiers and their families
during the Afghan conflict.
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A parishioner received an award for her years of
service with the Trillium Foundation.
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One of our parishioners donated $10,000,000.00
to establish a Niagara Health and Bioscience
Research Centre at Brock University.
There were obviously many more examples that we
could give and many of you are engaged in mission in
ways that we do not even know about. This year we
plan to send out a survey to every household to get
some sense of how our parish family is making a
tremendous impact in our community. Fortunately,
this will be a difficult task because we do so much
it is almost impossible to track but we will try! It
is important to celebrate these various mission
endeavors not only to thank those who represent us
so well in the community but also to model for
others ways that they can live out their baptismal
commitments.
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Flourishing Culture of Innovation
Innovation is about modeling creativity and finding
new ways to do ministry. One of the things
Christians in all denominations are accused of is
overusing the statement; “We never did it that way
before”. While we acknowledge that Jesus is always
the same yesterday, today and always - we are not.
We change and we are called to grow and find new
ways to do ministry and to welcome others into our
midst. Some of the changes in the Anglican Communion
in the past number of years have been difficult and
painful for many. There are few definitive answers
about how all these questions will be worked out. We
have heard of some of our family members in the
communion going to the Anglican Network in Canada
and now, more recently, to an Anglican Ordinariate
within the Roman Catholic Church. At St. George’s it
has been a mission of mine for us to stay out of
these internal communion squabbles and to stay
focused on our mission to bring Christ to the world.
The challenges in the wider communion will be dealt
with by those who are called to discern what God is
calling us to do i.e. the Archbishop of Canterbury,
Primates, the House of Bishops, and General Synods.
We are called to worship God, celebrate the
Eucharist, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless,
cloth the naked and welcome all!
Accomplishments
One new project presently being worked on is “Genext”.
A number of the “younger” members of the parish have
been planning ways for their particular age group to
get together and grow spiritually and socially.
Lydia Gallaway has been planning and organizing
“Welcoming Packages” for new comers and families of
the baptized.
I have noticed over the last year or so that Nancy
Little has been inviting friends to join her at
Sunday Eucharist and some of them are now regular
members of our parish family! Way to go Nancy!!
Val started a Tuesday evening “Drum Circle” which
introduced us to another way of meditating.
Sue Chapman, Janet Veale and Lydia Gallaway started
a Thursday once a month lunch after the 12:10
service.
Jim Streadwick and George Novis have been around the
building once a week painting and fixing up things.
They see something that needs to be done and they do
it! This program is being expanded to include more
volunteers.
Cliff Scott started a model “Flying Club” on
Saturdays. He had an idea to invite people
interested in the hobby to the gym to fly model
airplanes. I said “go for it”! It is going strong
and starting to grow.
Joyce Hawksbee started up a small group of people
interested in getting together for prayer and bible
study. I said “go for it” and she did!
These are just some examples of innovative people
coming up with innovative ideas to build up the
community of faith. I want to encourage these kinds
of innovative ideas. If you have an idea or
particular project or ministry you would like to
initiate speak to me or Val and if we can give you
some support in it we will be happy to do so. Part
of being a community that fosters innovation is a
willingness to try new things. Some will succeed and
some will seem like failures; but we will always
learn and that in itself is a success.
Another example of innovation in recent years is our
relationship with St. Barnabas. We have worked
together to encourage our two congregations to
participate in each others special liturgies and
events. This past year we launched a joint website
with the mission statement that we are “two places
of worship, with two unique Anglican traditions
working together to provide ministry in downtown St.
Catharines”. We have aligned our mid-week Mass
schedule so that at one place or the other we have a
Eucharistic celebration every day of the week but
Monday. We have held joint Sunday celebrations a few
times a year. Last year our Corpus Christi
celebration was a wonderful witness of our common
faith. We share a weekly news bulletin. We offer a
first Thursday of the month Holy Hour in the hopes
of fostering some passionate spirituality together.
Conclusions
It will be our goal each year to examine the vision
commitments we made the year before and celebrate
our accomplishments. Each year, for each one of the
“petals” in the vision, we will challenge ourselves
to do at least one thing more. This will ensure that
our parish community and the ministries that we
offer never become stale or stagnant. We want to
encourage you to come up with innovative ideas for
ministry and then empower you to take “ownership” of
these ministries. The clergy will always be here to
offer support and encouragement but the continued
goal will be for each one of us to discern where God
is calling us to serve and then respond to that call
the best way we can.
There is a wonderful story in the tenth chapter of
St. Luke’s Gospel where Jesus sends out seventy of
his disciples. Jesus told them that the harvest is
plenty but the labourers are few. He sent them out
with no money, no bag and no sandals, just told them
to GO and to trust in God’s providence. I am sure
they went with fear and trepidation and not entirely
sure what they could possibly do to spread the
Kingdom of God. Later in the chapter St. Luke tells
us that these disciples returned with great joy
absolutely astonished at what they were able to
accomplish in Jesus’ name. Jesus sends us out as he
sent them. If we GO, and if we trust, God will
accomplish great things through us. This faith is
echoed in our very beautiful doxology we proclaim at
the end of the Eucharist:
“Glory
to God, whose power, working in us, can do
infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to
God from generation to generation, in the Church and
in Christ Jesus, forever and ever. Amen.
Let us continue to
give our very best to God!
The Reverend Canon
Rob Fead+
Rector