AVONDALE UNITED CHURCH
NOVEMBER 2015
Avondale United Council
Council Executive:
Chair Bill Miller
Vice Brian Doughty
2nd Vice Heather Herman
Secretary Lauren Francis
Treasurer Eva May Gray
Interim Minister Pirie Mitchell
Ministry & Personnel:
Co-chair Margaret DeLaat
Co-chair Maureen Pratley
Roxie Baker (Rep for Congregation)
Doug Lester (Rep. for Lori Millian)
Debbi Parks (Rep. for Pirie Mitchell)
Sam Parks (Rep. for Dave Blasdell)
Bob Sparling (Rep. for Congregation)
Sarah Wigan (Rep. for Kathi Urbasik-Hindley)
Presbytery Reps:
Jocelyn Miller
Flo Cartwright
Worship:
Chair Jocelyn Miller
Norm Bird
Margaret DeLaat
Jeannette Dyer
Heather Herman
Nancy Patterson
Carol Patrick
Cathy Pearson
Donna Tuffnail
Council Liaison Heather Herman
Board of Trustees (St. John’s):
Chair Brian Anderson
Cathy Pearson
Peter Switzer
John Carruthers
Ruth Sealey
Ian MacLean
Joyce Speake
Jim Thoms
Ron Bailey
Board of Trustees (Central):
Chair Chuck Dingman
Bill Hildenbrand
Bill Zehr
Bob Lightfoot
Keith Thompson
Lorie Dickinson
Norm Bird
Carl Thomson
Don Kyle
Mary Helen Clifford
Karen Pethick
Pirie Mitchell
William Miller
Faith Formation:
Co-Chair Marg Duboyce
Co-Chair Tina Hildenbrand
Jennifer Chandler
Pat Hall
Chris Hunking
Staci Jepson
Terri Sparling
Hilda Emerson
Council Liaison Heather Herman
Congregational Life & Work:
Co-chair Ivy Chung
Co-chair Debbi Parks
Sandy Allen
Doris Barkley
Bill Douglas
Marion Douglas
Cheryl Jacobs
Gwen Kushko
Marg Scott
Susan Wigan
Vivienne Young
Council Liaison Brian Doughty
Stewardship & Finance:
Chair John Patterson
Brian Doughty
Eva May Gray (Ex-Officio)
Barbara Schoch
Carl Thomson
Bill Zehr
Clark Mitchell
Council Liaison Brian Doughty
Property:
Chair Harry Hengeveld
Tom Crozier
Lauren Francis
Sing Chung
Sam Wyatt
David Beaumont
George Finnigan
Gerry Wigan
Don Scott
Council Liaison Brian Doughty
Outreach:
Co-Chair Nancy Brodhagen
Co-Chair Ruth Sealey
Anna Meusel
Bernice Sandham
Brenda Carr
Alan Carr
Carol Anne Doughty
Craig Merkley
Flo Cartwright
Karen Scott
Janice Ward
Ruth MacLennan
Sheila Wolfe
Council Liaison Heather Herman
Pastoral Care:
Co-chair Elaine Bandermann
Co-chair Larke Turnbull
Eleanor Bohnert
Nancy Burnett
Jane Davis
Heidi Dey
Maxine Hart
Sally Hengeveld
Paul Roulston
Kathi Urbasik-Hindley
Council Liaison Heather Herman
From Council Chair
As I sit in front of a blank screen with so many things I want to say, I am not sure where to start. When on vacation in France this fall, Jocelyn and I met a Canadian couple from British Columbia. At the first evening meal, we sat at the same table, and as the discussion evolved, we discovered he had been a candidate in the recent federal election. Being interested in politics, we had a great discussion, talking until the dining room closed that night. What was most interesting in the discussion was what he said about the characteristics of the voting public as he canvassed door-to-door. For the first time in his quarter century of political activity, a number of people slammed the door in his face, swore at him, called him names, and other negative reactions. He said that was the main disappointment of this election, not that he lost, but that he had to endure such treatment. He commented how important it is that we listen to and respect each other and can agree to disagree on the details. As our amalgamation process has progressed, I believe it is commendable how well we have listened to each other and worked beyond the disagreements; may we continue to converse in such a respectful way.
Council has had a very busy few months with many issues that have needed to be considered. We have dealt with staffing issues, closings and openings, rental policy, building renovations recommendations, and the list goes on and on. Most months, we have had more than one meeting, and we have had more congregational meetings during the past six months than I can remember in any year in the past. In some cases, we have synthesized the practices of our two heritage congregations, but in others, we have headed off in new directions. For example, minutes for council and the teams or committees who do much of the legwork of church governance have, in the past, been kept for a month before the council/ team met again and then corrections were made. Often, people barely remember that meeting by the time the minutes are examined. We are taking an electronic approach to this process. The secretaries of both council and the teams will distribute the minutes to those in attendance at the meetings within a short time span; any suggested changes to the minutes will be sent back to the secretary. If there are no unresolved issues, the minutes will be forwarded to the church office manager and the internet administrator, one of whom will post the minutes on our Avondale United Church website so everyone can know what is happening in our faith community. Thanks to those who are working hard to make this system work.
Any time in life when each of us is undergoing change, a conflict sometimes exists between the workings of our brain and our heart. While our brain knows exactly what is going to happen and why, our heart often lags behind, not wanting to let go of what our brain knows is about to happen. I believe that for many of us, the reality of our amalgamation has sometimes tugged us in differing directions. As we move forward, we need to deal with both our thoughts and feelings about the process of becoming one integrated, caring, purposeful community.
To that end, both heritage congregations have had experience with small group ministries. These groups let individuals be involved in a wide variety of activities, from book clubs to movie nights, from lunch bunch to scrapbooking, from spiritual discussion groups to singing groups. The three council chairs met recently to discuss where we were at this point and where we should be going. Heather, Brian, and I would very much like to see our community involved in more varied experiences that will enable us to grow as individuals and let us get to know each other better.
Here is the start of a list of possible areas of interest:
Fitness Group
Hikers/Walking Group or Cycling Group
Fabric Artists – Quilting, Knitting, Sewing (might be three separate groups)
Scrapbookers Group
Woodworkers Group
Book Club
Movie Night
Folk Tunes Group
Should We Be Talking About This in Church Group (discussion on faith, life, and current events)
Snowstar Discussion Group (discussion on the ideas of theologians such as Marcus Borg, Dominic Crossan, Bishop Spong)
Women’s Spirituality Group
Supper Club (potluck)
Out to Lunch Bunch
Men’s Breakfast Group (maybe two groups, one for retired men on a weekday and one for working men on a Saturday morning)
Social Club (bridge, euchre, trivia)
Messy Church
Day Trippers
If you have other ideas for a group, please let one of us know and we will add it to the list. In the near future, we will find out which groups have enough interest to pursue.
As we approach our first Advent season as one community, may each of us find meaning and comfort in the silence and the joy of our celebrations.
Submitted by Bill Miller, Council Chair
FROM THE WORSHIP TEAM
The Worship Team members include: Jeannette Dyer, Heather Herman, Margaret DeLaat, Donna Tuffnail, Nancy Patterson, Norm Bird, Cathy Pearson, Carol Patrick and Jocelyn Miller as Chair.
Our mandate is to collaborate with minister, music director and others to foster meaningful worship, encourage feedback from the congregation, arrange for pulpit and organist supply when required, encourage greater Congregational and lay participation in worship including lay readers and work with Technology Committee (responsible for sound and video equipment for radio and internet).
Our first task undertaken was to oversee the hiring of the Music Director for Avondale United Church. We met in late June to establish procedures and how to advertise the position. At all times, our main focus was to make the process as fair and open as possible. To do that, we involved people outside our congregations to receive the applications and conduct the interviews and make the final decision. It became clear part way through the process that people were not willing to decide on our Music Director without input from the two congregations. We enlisted two members, one from each of the churches to take part in the interview process. The entire Worship Team met to cull the applications and in the end set up 5 interviews from the candidates’ applications. The interview team consisted of four members, two from outside the congregations and one representative from each church. Two members of the Worship Team observed the interviews along with Pirie. The observers had no input in the decision making. We feel that, although it was a difficult and emotional task, it was done with fairness to all and our hope is that we move forward with enthusiasm in our support for our first Music Director for Avondale United Church.
The Worship Team met in August to get to know each other and start planning with Pirie for the upcoming worship season. Pirie set out his thoughts and plans for our services for the coming months and discussion took place. I might add that a few months later, he decided he did not like the focus and sensed that we were not that enthusiastic and presented a new direction. The new plans met with much more support. As a Team, I think I can say that it is always interesting to work with Pirie and he is always open to suggestions and criticism.
As the Fall approached, we started planning for our upcoming services. Lori approached the Worship Team about hosting a choir get together so that the choir members could have some social time as they move forward. The Team hosted a dinner for choir members on September 25th which was followed by a short choir practice. It was great to see the choir members enjoying each others’ company and sitting all together with no regard to which congregations they came from.
As the choir was involved in extra practices, the Team again hosted breakfast for the choir members early on September 20th, prior to the Congregational Meeting so they could begin their practice in time for the service.
It has been a busy fall with the Worship Team arranging for the serving of communion, arranging servers, moving the communion table from St. John’s so that the members of St. John’s have recognizable symbols in the sanctuary.
During the winter months, we will be cataloguing the music from St. John’s to integrate into the Central catalogue so that we have a comprehensive record of our library of music. It will be a large task and will be undertaken with the guidance of Lori.
At the present time, the Christmas decorations at St. John’s are being culled and will be moved to the Avondale location. Central’s decorations were culled last year and I am sure that once the two collections are amalgamated, further culling will be necessary. I am not saying that both the former congregations were pack rats; however, we have collected a lot of stuff. Now if someone would just come and look after my own collection, that would be great.
Along the lines of decorating, the Worship Team is looking for people interested in helping to decorate the sanctuary for the various holidays, ie. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter etc. The Worship Team will have oversight of the process but we are in need of assistance. We especially need people that are not afraid of ladders or lifting. If you are interested, please contact myself or anyone on the Worship Team, we not only welcome, we need your assistance. Eventually, it would be nice to have a team that looked after decorating and our hope going forward is that this will evolve. Decorating for the Christmas season will be done on November 28th starting at 10:00 a.m. and we hope to have lots of folks out with their Christmas spirit as we prepare the sanctuary for the Season.
Also, under the Worship Team’s duties is the preparation of the elements for communion. At present, Karen Pethick and Barb Kyle have been looking after it as they have done at Central for many years. We need some other volunteers hopefully from the St. John’s congregation to assist. Cathy Pearson from the Worship Team has volunteered to assist with the Advent communion in order to learn the procedures.
Our main focus this past month has been planning the Advent services. We have attempted to integrate traditions from both congregations. A list of the services follows.
ADVENT WORSHIP SERVICES AND PLANS
November 29th – the first Sunday in Advent with communion and lighting of the Advent Wreath. Heather Herman will be making a new Advent Wreath using elements from both of our congregation’s wreaths.
December 6th – second Sunday in Advent – lighting the second candle
-in the evening – Blue Christmas Service at 7:00 p.m. for those struggling with Christmas due to events and loss in the past. For those that have not experienced the service, it is truly a spiritual service conducted by Rev. Kathi Urbasik-Hindley, refreshments are served in the Narthex by the Worship Team
December 13th – third Sunday in Advent – White Gift Sunday and Sunday School pageant.
December 20th – fourth Sunday in Advent – lighting the Advent candle and singing and readings.
-in the evening, candlelight service with readings and carols
December 24th – Christmas Eve family service at 7:00
This year to honour both traditions around White Gift Sunday, we are offering you choices in how you wish to take part. A star tree will be set up beginning November 29th with stars with the age and gender of a child or adult. You can take a star and purchase an appropriate gift for that person. If last year is any indication, get your star early as they disappeared fast. The gift should be wrapped in white paper with the star attached and brought to the White Gift Sunday service. The gifts will be forwarded to the Emily Murphy Centre.
As an alternative, or in addition to, mitts, hats and scarves may be purchased and attached to the Sunday School Christmas tree in the area outside Fellowship Hall to be made available for those in the community needing warm clothing as winter set in.
The Sunday School children will be making Christmas decorations for their tree following worship on November 29th. This will be followed by a pizza lunch. It is not just open to families with Sunday School children but to anyone who would like to join in for the fun and the creativity.
The Worship Team has worked together with the Sunday School leadership and the Outreach Team to plan a meaningful Advent season. Our hope is that you will all take part and we have found something in all of our plans that speaks to you as you celebrate this most joyous season.
As you can see, it has been a busy fall for the Worship Team and it has been a privilege for me personally to serve as the inaugural chair of the Worship Team for Avondale United Church.
At any time, if you have any comments or suggestions on the worship services, please do not hesitate to speak to me or any member of the Team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Team for always being willing to assist whenever asked. It has been a pleasure getting to know everyone and working together.
Submitted by:Jocelyn Miller, Chair Worship Team
FROM THE TRANSITION TEAM
Transition Team Members: Volkmar Bandermann, Doris Barkley, Ruth MacLennan, Jocelyn Miller, Carolyn Rae, Mary Raithby, Terri Sparling, Carl Thomson, Jim Tyler (presbytery rep.)
The Transition Team met 4 times in 2015. Frequency of meetings is scheduled accordingly. At every meeting, we review and discuss all goals that were set for the Interim Minister. Goals are revised as the needs arise and as goals are met. Pirie shares with the team various activities he carries out that address the needs of the church. Pirie continues to visit members of the congregation as identified to him through the church office.