Trinity United Church

Transcription

1 Trinity United Church 2016 Annual Report 15 Tupper Street South Portage la Prairie, Manitoba R1N 1W7 TRINITY MISSION GOAL: Open our hearts and minds to welcome each person as a child of God. 1

2 Annual Congregational Meeting Trinity United Church Sunday, February 5, 2017 Agenda Call to Order & Opening Prayer Enabling Motions: Voting Privilege & Adoption of the Agenda Minutes & Business Arising a. Worship and Music Worship.. Junior Choir... Senior Choir.. 8 Atmospherics/Décor.. 9 b. Learning Together & Reaching Out Sunday School.. 9 Library 10 Games Night. 10 Refugee Project. 11 c. Community and Caring UCW 12 Study Group Grief Team. 14 House Groups Christmas Caring Gifts. 18 Card Ministry. 18 Pork Barbecue.. 18 Breakfast at Trinity Handivan Hot Blizzard Folk Fest 20 Affirming Task Group.. 20 Annual Statistics/ Memorial Fund Gifts 21 d. Broader Church Presbytery.. 22 M&S Profiles f. People Resources M and P.. 23 Minister s Report Leadership Team. 26 Structure Task Group.. 27 Nominating. 28 g. Material Resources Trustees. 30 Flowers Property. 30 Trinity Treasures Sale. 31 Stewardship.. 32 Profiles of Giving.. 32 Financial Reports.. 33 Letter from the Auditor. 38 Correspondence New Business Quorum for Leadership Team Installation of Leadership Team Adjournment & Benediction 7 8 2

3 TRINITY UNITED CHURCH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2016 Sunday, January 31, 2016 Attendance: Owen McKenzie Val Garlick Jocelyn Baker Sadie Cochrane Patti Brown Greg Cochrane Jennifer Baker Robin Young Waind MacDonald Alan Brown Craig Finnie Yvette Brown Debbie Nelson Heather Brown Mitchell Omichinski Dianne Sloane Thomas Jones Charlotte Jones Bob Jones Doug Muckley Brian Doherty Joyce Bergson Steve Bergson Brenda Moorhouse Bev Bachalo Kelly Haapamaki Verna Blight Mabel Brown Sandra Falk Dave Falk Cynthia Jordan Joyce Ross Barbara Bradley George Greenlay Carol Zacharias Gloria Ross Mary-Liz Miazga Evelyn Miller Sylvia Lyall Jeannie Crandell Jean Mutala Kim Guy Carole Whyte Barb Gillespie Irene Larcombe Sandy Bazin Amy Chappellaz Ena Dickenson Larry Muirhead Linda Muirhead Ethel-Mae Greenslade Sue Hiltz Sheldon Hiltz Barbara Jones Lesia Case Beth Kerr Auna Marie Brown Stella Capp Barb Palmer Ferne Green Julie Baker Jean Finnie Garry Brown Call to order: Owen McKenzie called the meeting to order at 11:57 a.m. Opening prayer was joined in unison. Debbie Nelson (for the Affirming Ministry Task Group) led those in attendance in an engaging activity to help us work towards a vision statement for the church. Enabling motions: 1. That the privilege of voting on temporal matters be extended to all adherents. MOVED: Val Garlick SECONDED: Linda Muirhead CARRIED 2. That the proposed agenda be accepted as amended. MOVED: Barb Jones SECONDED: Jocelyn Baker CARRIED Minutes & Business Arising: That the minutes of the February 2015 congregational meetings be accepted as printed. MOVED: Bev Bachalo SECONDED: Bob Jones CARRIED 3

4 Reports Owen McKenzie took time to express appreciation for all that has happened in the church over the past year including: worship and the 3 s, stewardship of Time, Treasure and Talent. He thanked the Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Church Décor, the Sunday School, the Library, Games Night, the Refugee Project, UCW, Fall Retreat Day, Grief Team, House Groups and all the extra projects that they put on, Christmas Caring Friends Gift Project, Card Ministry, Pork BBQ, Breakfast at Trinity, the Parade Float, Winter Folk Festival and Affirming Task Group. A short discussion took place on why the number of marriages in the church were so low. On the up side our Baptisms were up. Memorial gifts received in the past year were dedicated for Congratulations and Thank You for exceeding our target for donations to M & S. Who Does What Owen McKenzie expressed appreciation to Rae Trimble Olson whose term on M & P has come to an end at this time. He noted that Stephanie Northrup has agreed to join Amy Chappellaz as a Sunday School Team Coordinator when Stephanie Verhoeven s term ends at the end of this school year. We are looking for people to join the Property Team, as well as more presbytery reps. Lesia Case offered her perspective on the role of a presbytery rep. Angela Mills has agreed to be part of the Leadership Team. Bev Bachalo offered to fill the vacancy on M & P. Motion: That the nominating report be accepted as presented, including Bev Bachalo and Angela Mills to their new positions. MOVED: Auna Marie Brown SECONDED: Amy Chappellaz CARRIED Motion: That Debbie Nelson be accepted as the chair of the Leadership Team. MOVED: Linda Muirhead SECONDED: Barb Jones CARRIED Financial Statement & 2016 Budget: Greg gave an overall look at the finances of the church. He thanked the members for giving more in their offerings, the UCW for their continued support and the noted support from special events and he also made mention of the extra income from space rented to outside programs. We noted that while we had budgeted for a deficit in 2015, we ended the year with a slight surplus. Motion: That the Financial Statement be accepted for 2015 as presented. MOVED: Greg Cochrane SECONDED: Sue Hiltz CARRIED 4

5 Greg gave an overall presentation of expenses. He wanted to remind us that the expenses of the church are continuing to go up. Rentals were noted from Big Brothers and the Nursery School. He did note that our profits from our special events are dropping. Our investments are not making great interest at this point. We again have budgeted for a loss in Motion: That the 2016 Budget be accepted as presented. MOVED: Greg Cochrane SECONDED: Larry Muirhead Motion: That we amend the budget as follows to allow for a small increase in caretaking hours: Increase Wages by $1000 to 160, Increase EI, CPP by $60 to $ Increase UCC Benefits by $20 to $26, Which would result in the following changes: Total Personnel Costs $206, Total Operating Expenses $267, And Projected Net Operating Deficit of $ Auna Marie Brown made an amendment to the budget and would like to increase the hours for the caretaker and result in an increase to the budget. MOVED: Auna Marie Brown. SECONDED: Yvette Brown. Amendment Carried. Budget Carried as Amended. Motion: That we accept the review report from Hambly & McKay and engage them for next year s review. MOVED: Dianne Sloane SECONDED: Auna Marie Brown CARRIED Those moving into leadership positions were installed. Barb Jones moved that we offer a vote of appreciation to Jacquie Bennet as our office administrator for all her hard work. Debbie Nelson also offered words of thanks to all the staff and to Owen McKenzie as our out-going leadership team chair. Correspondence: None New Business: None Adjournment: Debbie Nelson adjourned the meeting with a closing blessing at 2:03 p.m. Patti Brown Secretary, Leadership Team Owen McKenzie Chairperson, Leadership Team 5

6 Trinity United Church, Portage la Prairie, MB Congregational Meeting October 2, 2016 Brenda Brand Byron Buchanan Otto Mutcher Mary Domes Linda Muirhead Joan Pongoski Eileen Mutcher Kendra Johnston Brenda Moorhouse Doug Muckley Margaret Loewen Ena Dickenson Carol Zacharias Carol Wiebe Natasha Ross Amy Chappellaz Ethel-Mae Greenslade Ray Wiebe Joyce Ross Lynn Switzer Sue Hiltz Beth Kerr Don Blight Marian Switzer Larry Muirhead Debbie Nelson Doddy Blight Owen McKenzie Thomas Jones Julie Baker Barb Bradley Jean Harkness Robert Jones Waind MacDonald Yvette Brown Harvey Fraser Elaine Verwey Stephanie Verhoeven Mary-Liz Miazga Sheila Fraser Barb Gillespie Winnie Walsh Beverley Hyde Marnie Kilcup Linda Wright Jim Moorhouse Joan Hewson Charles Kilcup Rob Rintoul Hilda Harkness Evelyn Miller Jean Finnie Jennifer Baker Sylvia Lyall Gloria Ross Alan Brown Dianne Sloane Ferne Green Cornie Furdievich Heather Brown Val Garlick Barbara Jones Colleen Cochrane Lesia Case Joy Bray Robin Young Brian Doherty Dave Falk Marion Thompson Evelyn Rheaume Jeannie Crandell John Walsh Florence Jackson Randy Owens Patty Nodrick Will Thomas Mark Verwey Jason Hannah Darren Nodrick Gillian Harkness Diane Stevenson Fredda Fraser Courtney Leiman Carole Whyte Terry Lee Betty Boyachek Heather Owens Cindy Curry Alan Wright Frank Case Sherrill Collett Randi Curry George Greenlay Beverley Bachalo Marlene Coltart Kelly Haapamaki Alice Boychuk Morris Boychuk Jean Mutala Vanessa Wallace Jackie McIntyre Call to order: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Debbie Nelson during announcement time. Motion: That Deanna Mitchell be elected as secretary for the Leadership Team, effective immediately. Moved: Diane Stevenson Seconded: Val Garlick Carried Motion to adjourn: Moved: Owen McKenzie Seconded: Jennifer Baker Carried 6

7 a. Worship and Music Worship As the primary moment when the whole community comes together, worship is at the heart of our life and work as a congregation brought us many varied opportunities for worship including: - An opportunity to reflect on how our faith informs our response to current events during Lent as each week s sermon drew from the news of the week exploring the question What in the World is Going On? - Weekly Lenten Morning Prayer services on Wednesday mornings at 7:30 that invited us to explore spiritual traits and practices which help us to stay grounded as we engage with current events. - An ecumenical Good Friday service shared with McKenzie United and St. Mary s Anglican at McKenzie on the theme It is Finished - A lively Easter Sunday service which focused on Easter traditions from around the world including flying bells from Western Europe, communion bread from Eastern Europe, giant sparklers to remind us of all the places in the world who celebrate Easter with fireworks, an egg race from the United States, an Ojibway prayer from Canada and so much more - In June, we decided to explore who children s stories both new and old could invite us to think about our faith with a new story being featured each week. - Our joint summer services shared with First Presbyterian and McKenzie United this year looked at favourite Bible stories. - In September, we decided to give the Season of Creation a try and focused on Wisdom in Creation through various stories throughout the month. - On Thanksgiving Sunday, we welcome Helen Northcott, a former student at the Portage Indian Residential School, as our honoured guest and listened as she shared some of her story with us. - Our Stewardship Theme this year was highlighted on two Sundays in October and two Sundays in November. It invited us to have some frank conversations about the role that money plays in our lives as individuals and as a church with the theme Let s Talk Money - Advent saw us focus on the Sounds of the Season with a daily reflection song and question as well as popular Christmas songs featured each Sunday in worship. - We hosted the joint Service of Remembrance and Hope for those who are grieving or sad at Christmas-time here at Trinity in cooperation with Good Shepherd, St. Mary s, First Presbyterian and McKenzie. - Christmas Eve was celebrated with two worship services that continued to build on our Advent theme with feature songs. At the early service we considered biblical stories and Christmas stories of outsiders. At Christmas Rudolph and the shepherds found out that God seeks out those on the outside, and sends them into the world to use their unique gifts. At the late service, We Need a Little Christmas invited us to ask what we really need this Christmas. In 2016, we had 23 funerals, 5 baptisms and no weddings. What we get out of worship depends on what we put into it. Thanks to everyone who contributes their time, talent and energy to our worship life here at Trinity. Beth Kerr/Julie Baker 7

8 Junior Choir The junior choir consists of a dozen or more children that come together to sing in church about once a month. (9 services in the past year). The children range in age from 4-11 and sing with great energy and spirit. Over the past year they have learned songs with a lot of words- which is no small feat for some who cannot yet read. We listen to a CD of the songs (that Julie and I pre-record with Elaine in August) before we get together to practice the Thursday before we sing. It seems to be working well and allows for some flexibility with busy schedules. If children aren t able to make the practice on Thursday they can still join us on Sunday morning. To the parents of these busy children I say thank you for helping them participate in the active work and service of the church. To the children themselves I say you are lovely and it makes me happy to spend time with you singing. Thank you for sharing the gift of song with each other and the congregation. Looking forward to more singing together. Jennifer Baker Senior Choir And so another year has come and gone. The choir has practiced every Thursday evening and sung on Sundays except for holidays, giving a musical interpretation to the message. The choir has continued to develop its repertoire in music, exploring some that might not normally be considered sacred music. An example was one of the Christmas series, O Christmas Tree. The music started with the familiar carol of evergreen branches and morphed into The Quiet Curve of Evening which ends with the clear message that God is always with us. Similarly, the ministry team, time and again, crafted the spoken word into what the music offered and the experience was a deeper understanding of the recurring theme of love for all. There is much to be said about a music program with a combination such as that. We thank Beth and Julie for providing that possibility for the choir. We also thank Elaine for sharing her time and extraordinary talents to make possible such a program. We thank choir members who come faithfully through all their many facets of busyness to learn to present the message musically. And we thank you, the congregation, for your support. The choir is sometimes asked to sing at funerals and many of you join us for that thanks! We are always looking for new members to join the choir speak to the music leadership team if you are interested and/or have questions. Music Leadership team, Julie Baker, Debbie Nelson, Carol Zacharias There are two ways of spreading light be the candle, or be the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton 8

9 Atmospherics/Décor The atmospherics at Trinity are created to add the dimension of visual aspects to the theme the day. They include a weekly display and the seasonal decorations. They are determined by close communication with the ministry staff in order to get as close to the essence of the message as possible often themes are so abstract that it s quite a stretch! Carol Zacharias and friends There is a vast assortment of items available - some stored here and others loaned from the people of this church. Together we make it happen each week more and more of you are noticing and talking about what the display might mean. It is totally possible and acceptable that it may mean different things to different folks. Special days or seasons call for a step-up of the entire décor of the sanctuary. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and a select few others require such treatment. There is a small interest group not officially organized that helps out both with set-up and clean up. A big THANKS to you all the stage sets for Christmas this year took the better part of a week to set up and less than an hour to take down, thanks to those of you that gave a hand! A special thanks to Barb Jones for time and energy always to listen and help with tweaking the details! Blessings to all! b. Learning Together & Reaching Out Sunday School Trinity is fortunate to be a gathering and learning place for a marvellous, interesting and engaged group of children. Sunday School in 2016 continued to follow the path we created with a number of changes in our 2015 season (new curriculum; new sign up resource). We continued to offer a Sunday morning program to three age groups (age 3 grade 1, grade 2-4 and grade 5-8). Leadership is offered by a large group of adult volunteers sometimes for only a session here or there, or sometimes for several weeks in a row. Thanks to Carol Zacharias we continue to offer music exploration with our two younger groups once or twice a month.. Thank you to all of the children who engage us with energy and good questions; who bring Sunday School to life, week after week. Thank you to all of the adults who support our Sunday School with their energy and time. Thanks to Amy Chappellaz and Colleen Cochrane, who take on the task of overseeing our program, keeping our supplies organized, and recruiting all of those adults to support and deliver it. Thanks too to Beth, who works with me and shares my enthusiasm and commitment to intergenerational worship and education in the family of faith. Julie Baker Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become. - Brooke Hampton 9

10 Library Does Trinity have a library? Of course it does! Not just a collection of books, but a proper library catalogued and shelved according to subjects or areas of interest. Did you know the library has over 1,500 items in it? They range from magazines to more specialized areas such as theology and other religions. Thanks to many folks, we receive donations of books and other materials and we thank them for that. The library could use many more readers or browsers. So do consider looking for a book or even a video you would enjoy. You might be surprised at what you can find. Barb Jones Games Night This program was initiated in 1990 by Trinity United Church Outreach as an affordable evening for the mentally challenged to meet, socialize and participate in games that would provide some learning experience, as well as social skills and fun. Originally we had a fairly large volunteer base, as well as more participants than we now have. We had two dances per year, along with a picnic in the park and Christmas party, as well as a regular games night with games and lunch provided on the other seven evenings. Recently our participant numbers are down as staff at group homes seem to have a problem coming; however folks who live on their own or in foster care are very enthusiastic and come regularly. If anyone knows of someone who would enjoy coming we would be happy to have them. Most evenings are on the 4 th Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. There is no charge except for the special events. Two new volunteers and two children have joined us and this has helped tremendously. We have also received great support from the congregation with supplying prizes for our bingo and food and drinks for our lunches. We had our annual Christmas light tour on December 19. We then enjoyed pizza, hot chocolate, carol singing with Noreen Pongoski and gift exchange. A fun evening enjoyed by all. Ferne Green 10

11 Portage and Area Coalition for Refugees In October 2015, we began work with other area churches and interested community members towards sponsoring two families of refugees through the Blended Visa Office Referred (BVOR) program with the Diocese of Rupertsland, Anglican Church of Canada, acting as the Sponsorship Agreement Holder. Thanks to your generosity, we quickly raised the core funding for this sponsorship and in January 2016 we were paired with two families of 5 both originally from Syria. In preparation for their arrival, we found housing and outfitted two homes. Again, the generosity of our community was evident in the abundance of furnishings and household goods offered. Unfortunately, the wait ended up being much longer than anyone could have imagined and one of our families changed in the middle of things. However, on November 2, we were delighted to welcome the Bakr family who arrived from Turkey (originally from Syria) at the Winnipeg airport. This is a family of 5 with three adults (parents and their 19 year old son) and two teenage daughters (13 and 15). This family was a replacement family that we were given when one of the families we had been waiting for since January was refused this summer. We did not know much about this family at all when they arrived but have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them. They are settling in well and many of the key initial appointments have happened in terms of banking, immigration, school registration, public health, adult English classes and so on. Many thanks to the team who have organized all of this and particularly from Trinity to Robin Young and Stephanie Verhoeven. On December 7, our second long-awaited family arrived in the midst of a prairie blizzard and were greeted at the airport by friends from Winnipeg because the highway was closed before we were able to bring them to their new home on December 8. The Al Hallaq family are also originally from Syria but had taken refuge in Lebanon. This family has two parents and three children (a boy age 6, a girl age 12 and a boy age 17). They too have opened bank accounts, registered for school, signed up for ESL classes and so much more. Many thanks to Jennifer Baker for finding housing on short notice when the government surprised us by telling us they were coming in 10 days and to Auna Marie Brown who has been our key connection with this family. After many months of waiting, we are delighted to be getting to know this family in person. Because of a slight shortfall in our finances due to the delayed arrival of our families, we launched a Make Room at the Inn campaign during Advent. We are very grateful for the additional financial support that will help see us through our year-long commitment to both families. We are delighted to welcome these families to their new home. We believe that this is a great community from which to start a new phase of life. If you would like to get involved, there is still time. In particular, we have a continuing need for drivers as well as language practice people. Speak to Beth or contact the church office if you can help. Thank you for your support. Beth Kerr If the only prayer you said in your whole life was thank you that would suffice. Meister Eckhart 11

12 c. Community and Caring UCW Trinity UCW has 46 members and an average attendance at meetings of 16. We meet at 9:30 a.m. the third Wednesday of every month except for July and August. At our meetings we have worship, a short business meeting, a program, lunch and fellowship. If you would like to become a member you can contact a UCW member or the church office. We welcome new members at any time. This year a Life membership was given to Susan McLaughlin. Catering is done by our three catering groups. Thank you to all who have helped this year as part of these groups. General UCW meets the first Wednesday of the month and they coordinate the catering groups. Some of our projects this year were an Irish Stew lunch in March, a spring tea in April, selling petunia plants in the spring to support Child & Family Services (Chance to Grow Program), the Lions Manor July birthday party, a Produce, Pastry and Preserves Sale in September, a tea in November with the theme Here Comes Winter, and a sale of Christmas dainties in December. Some members attended the rally in Neepawa on October 6. The UCW did a thorough kitchen cleaning, including the cupboards, in May and in November. The UCW purchased our Fair Trade coffee, a new baby change table, and a coffee maker this year. Used clothing was gathered and in October, 14 boxes of clothing were sent to Red Sucker Lake. We collected used postage stamps and the money from selling the stamps was sent to The Leprosy Mission. Thank you to all those who saved their used stamps for us. We will continue to collect the postage stamps so please continue to save them. When cutting out the stamps please leave the cancellation mark and one half inch or more of paper around the stamp and mark. The main portion of our funds raised was given to Trinity United Church's operating budget ($12,000), and the Mission and Service Fund ($ ). We also supported the UCW Conference Bursary, St. Andrews College, Rock Lake Camp, the Chance to Grow Program, the Leprosy Fund, ARC Industries, the Salvation Army, and the Refugee Committee. Trinity UCW appreciates the continued support of the congregation. We look forward to being of service to our church and our community in Respectfully submitted Barbara Bradley, Secretary UCW Purpose To unite women of the congregation for the total mission of the church and to provide a medium through which they may express their loyalty and devotion to Jesus Christ in Christian witness, study, fellowship and service. 12

13 Bank Balance January 01, $4, Bank Balance December 31, $3, Income Trinity United Church General U.C.W. Financial Report Alottment 2, Thank Offering Spring Tea 1, Fall Tea 1, Kitchen Rentals Catering 13, Stamp Sales , Balance January 01, , , Expenses To Trinity United Church 12, Mission & Service 3, Groceries 3, Kitchen Supplies Conference Bursary Fund St. Andrew's College Rock Lake Camp Membership MB/NW Ont. Conference UCW Ads for Teas Memberships to Rally ($2/member) Flowers & Gifts Miscellaneous Expense Baby Change Table , Balance December 31, , , Barbara Gillespie, Treasurer 13

14 Study Group - We Make the Road By Walking This Fall, we began a new adult study group on Friday mornings at 10:30. The group draws its inspiration from a different chapter of Brian McLaren s book We Make the Road by Walking each week. Brian s book invites us to look again at scripture and see how the dominant themes might relate to our everyday lives. Many thought-provoking discussions have resulted. New members are always welcome. The reading for each week is short (only 3 to 5 pages) and there is a copy of the book on reserve in the library or we can help you get your own copy. Beth Kerr Grief Team The congregation at Trinity is always considerate of others in the time of need, so the Grief Team tries to help as much as they can when someone suffers a bereavement. Our ministers and our devoted visiting committee try to give comfort and support wherever it is required. If you would like to join our team, please contact any member of the committee. Brenda Moorhouse, Iris Yuill & Barbara Bradley House Groups House Group A June 2016 House Group A has been relatively strong group with our members all pitching in as much as they are able to fill all of our job slots. When, at times, all jobs cannot be filled by our house group members, requests to other congregation members have been met with success. We are looking forward to 2017 with our "new and improved" and bolstered house group. Our fundraising project during the month of June was an online campaign with Mabel's Labels; personalized, peel & stick, super-durable labels that safely go in the laundry, dishwasher and microwave. A reminder to everyone that this campaign remains open indefinitely. Take a moment and check it out at Under the "Support a Fundraiser" tab scroll down to Trinity United Church (Portage la Prairie) and place your order. Trinity receives 20% of all profits. For our outreach project we assisted with the Games Night year end picnic in the park. Athletes from Portage's own Special Olympics Team, the Portage Stampeders, were also invited to the picnic. Everyone in attendance enjoyed a mosquito filled evening of fried chicken, ice cream, baseball, disc golf and friendly conversation. A great time was held by all. A special thank you to Ferne Green and other congregation members who have faithfully offered "Games Night" as a truly valued activity for those who attend. Amy Chappellaz 14

15 House Group B January & October 2016 We started off the year with an air of anticipation as to the impending arrival of one of the expected refugee families. This carried over to our plans for January as house group for the month. We organized a collection of small household items that would be useful to the families in their new Canadian homes. We were grateful for the support of our church family as the collection baskets soon filled with towels, kitchenware and other household items. We know now that it took a few more months than we expected before those items would be used by the new Canadians, but they have helped to establish a welcoming environment for the Bakr and the Al Hallaq families. We also hosted a Comfort Food potluck supper in January to provide an opportunity for our church family to gather and share good food and conversation. October found us planning another opportunity to eat together! Thanks to the organizing skills of house group members Marian Switzer and Brenda Moorhouse, we enjoyed a beautiful harvest lunch of homemade soups and pies after worship on October 30. We had a wonderful turnout for this lunch and everyone seemed to enjoy the event. We decided that our outreach project would be to make a quilt to support Rock Lake Camp s bi-annual quilt auction. This fund-raising event will be held in Killarney on April 21, Sandra volunteered to organize the making of the blocks and the finishing of the quilt with the help of Trinity family and friends. The quilt is now near completion and will make an appearance at a coffee-time in March before being sent off for the auction. Thanks to all who helped with this project. We continue to appreciate the willingness of our house group members to take on anything asked of them. Individual situations and health conditions have changed and we feel blessed that you still feel committed to helping out as you are able. We look forward to adding some new members to our group this year and hope that you enjoy the experience of working with Group B and co-leaders Auna Marie Brown and Iris Yuill. Auna Marie Brown and Sandra Falk House Group C September 2016 The highlight of September was our Days for Girls event organized by Dianne Sloane, held on Tuesday, September 13 in the parlour, where we prepared sanitary kits for young women in third world countries where their lives were negatively impacted by their time of the month. The event included about 8 members of our group and 7 other participants. I highly recommend this Outreach activity for other groups and Dianne has contact information for this. We helped with TriniTidings September We assisted with Communion on September 11. We had about 20 of our group members sign up for duties that month and continue to be a cohesive group. Peggy Tidsbury 15

16 House Group D May 2016 This House Group was so quick to sign up filling in the schedule, requiring no persuading. The various roles fulfilled each played a role on making everyone feel welcomed and important to the enrichment of our faith community. When Worship Service flows so smoothly with no or limited distractions, our clergy leading each of us in our faith journey can foster growth in our faith process. Paula and I felt so fortunate to have the opportunity to serve with such wonderful folk. We thank each of you for the opportunity. Owen McKenzie House Group E March & November 2016 March was a very busy month. Our choice for outreach was to request extra food products for the Salvation Army; with the oncoming Easter weekend, it seemed to be a logical choice. We had a couple of requests for assistance from the UCW to help with the St. Patrick's Stew Lunch and for one of the days at the Soup Kitchen. It was also the month of Trini-Tidings. Preparing them for hand-out at church and mailing. We had asked for some extra help with the Easter morning celebrations so there was ample supply of chocolate eggs, muffins, fruit, hot cross buns and extra goodies as well. Thank you to the congregation for assisting with the food and goodies. Thank you to Group E for making my job easier. The month would not have been as successful without your cheerful willingness to step up. A special thank you to Kim who made our coffee and tea hot for Easter morning. Thank you to Julie, Beth and Jacquie for their guidance. November was a busy month: 2 communions, Trini-Tidings and the Advent Lunch. We were able to fill all positions with our group other than help with cleanup of the communion table. Thanks to Annette Lytle for her help. Thanks to the group of volunteers that helped with the Trini-Tidings and to Cynthia Jordan for handing some out at the tea. Advent lunch was held November 27 after service. Very well attended. Planned for approx. 100: 90 people came. There was a musical recital to start off the Advent season. Many thanks to our musicians for taking part. They were wonderful! Details of lunch can be found in the Advent Folder in church office. Money from the lunch was donated to the church. Thanks to the congregation for helping with supplies for the lunch and attending to help start the Advent season. 16

17 Thank you to each member of group E for volunteering and doing such a terrific job. Thanks to Trinity staff, Julie, Beth, Jacquie and Don for help in setting up and generally making things easier. Heather Brown House Group F February & December 2016 In 2016 our house group was responsible for the months of February and December. During our February month we partnered up with the Hot Blizzard Folk Fest Interest Group and provided volunteers for the Sunday afternoon event. Despite the weather not cooperating, we had a great time with the small crowd in attendance. Our group also hosted Valentine's Day hot chocolate and home baked treats after church on February 14. Our outreach project was a Canadian Tire money collection which resulted in givings of $ The Canadian Tire money was used to purchase shovels, tool boxes, hammers and tape measures for the two households being prepared by the Portage Refugee Coalition for two families from Syria. In December we had the pleasure of supporting the Service of Remembrance and Hope and two Christmas Eve services as well as the usual Sunday services. We held a coffee and treats event before church one Sunday as well as a carolling night with all proceeds of $ going to the Portage Refugee Coalition. Earlier in the year we were preparing for the families to come to Portage and in December we were able to continue the support with them both here! Our group has been blessed with members who enjoy helping with different aspects of the services, from kids who want to light candles, to teens who enjoy running the AV, to adults who like greeting or reading scripture. At times it has been a challenge to fill every slot, as in December when we gratefully accepted help from several people outside our group. With house group changes in 2017, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to those who have been part of House Group F. F group is now dissolved and we have all been assigned new groups and will move into new possibilities. It has been my pleasure to work with you all. I am so appreciative of the opportunity to get to know people in my church through house group participation. Respectfully submitted by, Stephanie Verhoeven House Group G April 2016 Our house group was responsible for April 2016, thank you to everyone in the group for so readily and willingly filling in the spots which greatly reduced the amount of phoning for me to do. We had 4 regular Sunday services, one communion and one baptism service to assist with. The candle lighters are found outside our group as we have no young families but it is never a problem to find willing children for this. The first Sunday we hosted the Masons for their divine service, they lit the candles, read scripture and provided us with lovely bag pipe music. We also hosted a workshop with Jan McIntyre with the United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Israel. A pizza and salad lunch was arranged for those that wished to stay and have lunch before the workshop. 17

18 Barbara Palmer gave a very informative minute for the Portage Soup Kitchen on the first Sunday and we used this as our outreach project. She decorated 2 soup pots and for the four Sundays they were at the usher stations for people to put in loose change, loonies or toonies. People were very generous and we collected $300 for the Portage Soup Kitchen. Thank you to everyone that contributed to this project. It has been a pleasure working with everyone in Group G, however due challenges with enough people and scheduling seven groups our number of house groups have been since reduced to five groups. Group G was one of the groups that was split up and have been added into other groups. I see some of my old group working already in their new house group for January, and I am also looking forward to being involved with a new group. Iris Yuill Caring Friends Christmas Project In December we connect with our members that are not able to attend church, shut-ins and those in nursing homes. Jacquie, Julie and Beth prepare the list for us, this year again we ordered red carnations in rose bowls. The rose bowls were donated which helped us with our budget, thank you so much to Edith Furdievich for her generosity. Jacquie had written in the Christmas cards and each one was labelled with name and address for us, we delivered 42 rose bowls and cards on December 9 - a cold Friday afternoon. It was a little challenging dealing with flowers at those temperatures; however it brings a bit of cheer to those that need it most. Many thanks to those that helped us deliver: Amy Chappellaz, Evelyn Arnott, Debbie Nelson, Hans Stasiuk, Jim and Brenda Moorhouse, Linda Muirhead, and Dave and Sandra Falk. Patti Brown & Iris Yuill Card Ministry In 2016 a total of 110 cards were sent to people s homes and hospital. This included sympathy, thinking of you, get well, birthday, baptism and graduation cards. Alice Boychuk Pork BBQ The 20 th annual pork BBQ was held on Friday June 3 and was a financial success raising $ This event is very well attended by our own families but also the community at large. There are several BBQ fundraisers held in May and June on Fridays so organizers must be aware to stay away from the dates of the Lions Prairie Manor Foundation, Portage Hospital Foundation and Sunset Palliative Care BBQ, as those would be a real conflict. We followed in the footsteps of the previous year and had leadership approval to use compostable paper plates. This move greatly reduces the number of volunteers needed to help with clean up. Since we are not an artist pair we decided to forego with the past decorations and did away with place mats, our artsy people noticed the lack of decorations but I don t think the ones that came to eat noticed anything missing. We also raised the adult price 18

19 to $10 which did not seem to be a deterrent, since we are serving a big meal including dessert. We had to do some phoning to fill in donations of food and workers but mostly due to people not being at church to see the sign-up sheets, people are very willing to donate and help at this event as a rule. There is a binder at the office with all the detail of previous years; which is a valuable resource for future coordinators. We sold more take-out orders than in previous years; however we need to develop a better plan to fill those. They are to be ordered in advance but there were several that came to the door and wanted them to take-out. We were not equipped with plastic cutlery for them and were trying to fill their plates to go while sit-down customers were going through the line as well. Thank you to everyone that donated food and time to help with this fundraiser, it is a lot of work but a very enjoyable event at Trinity. Huge thanks to Jacquie for her tremendous help with signup sheets, printing tickets, getting float money etc. and Bill for auditorium set up and take down. Patti Brown & Iris Yuill Breakfast at Trinity Many from Trinity and friends have enjoyed the delicious food and warm fellowship at the Saturday breakfasts at Trinity. A big thank you to all the teams who shared their time and talent to make this happen for our faith community. A big thank you to all of you who came and shared the morning with each other. We look forward to the breakfasts in Respectfully submitted Owen McKenzie Handivan For the spring and fall communion Sundays at Trinity in 2016, the Handivan Coordinator graciously arranged drivers to pick up and return people for the morning at Trinity. The church hired the Handivan for the minimum requirement of 3 hours. The riders and others have donated to the church towards the use of the Handivan to offset this expense. 6 9 people from Queens, Windsor, Dalton & area and Odd Fellows have been using this service. The riders have been very appreciative. The Trinity Escorts have enjoyed assisting the people. The Handivan drivers have been great and have also enjoyed the experience. Since this was a successful worthwhile venture for both Trinity and the Handivan organization, we have begun this service again for Even though Owen and I originally set this up we would like to give a big thank you to Jacquie in the office for keeping us all informed - with her letters to the riders, her receiving phone calls from the riders and her phone calls to the escorts about the upcoming Sunday riders. Her willingness to add this to her list has helped it to continue to run smoothly. Also a big thank you to all the escorts. You helped make the ride fun and safe. And for sure a thank you to all of you who used the service. I believe you enjoyed visiting with one another and because so many of you used this resource it makes it worthwhile to continue it for Paula McKenzie 19

20 Hot Blizzard Folk Fest 2016 In February 2016, Trinity's elegant sanctuary housed the fourth edition of Manitoba's winter folk festival, "Hot Blizzard." Last year's festival radiated spirit and achieved success on all fronts. The inaugural event with its newly rebranded name "Hot Blizzard" was met with an ironic challenge. A seemingly unfortunate weather anomaly - yes, a blizzard - shut down highways and stranded most of the attendees and musicians at home. In spite of this, the unfazed attendees and musicians who could be at the festival pulled together and created the most heartfelt, spirit-filled festival one could imagine. The new name was quickly embraced and the true meaning of the folk festival was experienced; several local musicians played longer sets, and the public jam session lasted for three hours! In the end, the festival managed to avoid a deficit and did well financially, raising $330 for the UCW and $1,090 for the church, after expenses. Josh Wright Co-organizer Affirming Task Group In June 2015 the Affirming Interest group was convened to embark on the journey towards Trinity becoming an Affirming ministry. Affirming Ministries in the United Church publically declare their commitment to inclusion and justice for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Although Affirming Ministries make an explicit statement about issues of sexuality and gender, their commitment to justice is far broader. Affirming Ministries honour and celebrate diversity. They declare in words and actions that God loves and accepts people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. One of the first tasks was to organize hosting a production of Listening for Grace, a play by Ted & Company Theatre Works who use humor and professional storytelling to talk about issues of faith and social justice through live shows. Listening for Grace, performed on October 16, 2015 at Trinity, was a play about relationships, sexuality and the church. It s about the father of a gay son who gets to hear many perspectives as he struggles to come to terms with his son s homosexuality. The intent of the play was to allow people from all corners of the Church to hear their own voices and the voices of others in a way that encourages further positive conversation. Although the play had a small audience of about 80 people, the feedback on the performance was very positive. I d like to express my thank you all those helping hands and hearts that made this event possible. The interest group continued to meet to determine a plan to towards becoming an Affirming ministry. The plan includes such things as encouraging further dialogue through articles in Trini Tidings and reflections in Sunday worship; developing a vision statement and an action plan for how Trinity will continue to live out a commitment to justice and inclusion. It is hoped that in the coming year Trinity will be in a position to successfully apply for official status as an Affirming Ministry. All are encouraged to be part of the process. Debbie Nelson 20

21 TRINITY UNITED CHURCH STATISTICAL INFORMATION 2016 Number of Households under Pastoral Care (Member & Adherent). 496 Number of Baptisms. 5 Number of Marriages. 0 Number of Funerals and Memorial Services Conducted. 23 Members Received. 3 Members Transferred Members Removed by Death Total Confirmed Membership Resident & Non-Resident (December 31, 2016). 415 Gifts to the Memorial Fund Trinity United Church administers a Memorial Fund. Through this fund, gifts can be made to the church in memory of friends and loved ones. During 2016 gifts were given to the Memorial Fund in memory of: Bruce Cantley Ken Smith Wilton Brown Bunnie Muhly Frank Sissons Frank Miazga Glenn Arnott Irene Quigley Bert Bazin Grant Harkness Doug Barber Norman Quigley Mildred Zimmerman Gillian Harkness Eileen Greenslade Chad Miller Phyllis Askin Aileen Young Joan Brown Loreena Pogue David Guy Dorothy Lewis Lynne McKibbin Marg & Wally Pehura Ken Ferguson Donna Lewis Roy Tibbett Jake Kok Derek Ferguson Elsie Mulder Ken Yuill Shelly Ferguson Amy Thomas Rose Metcalf Gifts were also received to the Mission & Service Fund in memory of Joan Saunders, Margaret Walsh, Irene Quigley, Rick Blight & Gillian Harkness. A gift to the Building Fund in memory of Muriel Lyons, and a gift to the General Fund, in memory of Audrey & Hamilton Sullivan, were also received. 21

22 d. Broader Church Presbytery Agassiz Presbytery met at Carman in April with Ken Thomas as Presbytery Chair, at Rock Lake Camp in September and at Neepawa in November with Lynne Sanderson as Presbytery Chair. Sarah Bruer (MacGregor) is Presbytery Chair-Elect. Trinity Presbytery representatives include Julie Baker, Beth Kerr, Lesia Case, Charlotte Jones and Dianne Sloane. Carol Zacharias, now past chair of National Music United, continues to be a member at large. Brenda Brand, also from Trinity, is a member at large of Agassiz Presbytery. Owen McKenzie attended one presbytery meeting in 2016 on behalf of Trinity and assisted with the oversight visit to Pembina Parish. Presbytery Executive members and the Pastoral Relations committee meet at Trinity United Church. Julie Baker is Chair of the Pastoral Relations Committee, and Lesia Case is also a member of this committee. It has been a busy time for Pastoral Relations with the changes in the Presbytery. The United Church of Canada is considering a great number of organizational changes. Through votes called Remits, the church is being asked to consider some of those changes. During 2016, Agassiz Presbytery made decisions regarding Remit numbers 1, 2, 3,4,5,7 and 8. Remit #6 will be discussed again at the meeting in February For more information about the content of these Remits, you can speak to any presbytery representative. Oversight visits were made to Trinity Church by Neepawa, and Trinity visited Pembina Parish (Darlingford and Morden). Conference President Joey Dearborn visited Agassiz Presbytery in September. No Conference meeting was held in 2016, but the Conference Staff Executive met in Kenora. Trinity Church will host Conference in May 2017 in Portage la Prairie. Agassiz Presbytery became an Affirming Presbytery by a motion passed at the November meeting in Neepawa. Rock Lake Camp reported a good year with campers from 46 Manitoba towns and 4 out of Province towns including Calgary, Canmore, BC, Lampman, SK and Ottawa. In all, 219 campers, 220 weekenders and 20 ministers and volunteers used the camp in Some repairs were done in the camp and full accreditation was received in August. The Quilt, Art and Craft Auction, (fundraiser for the camp) will be held at Killarney Shamrock Centre, April 21, The UCW annual fall rally was held at the Neepawa United Church with Jan McIntyre of Clearwater, MB as guest speaker. Trinity Church Presbytery members, Lesia Case, Charlotte Jones, Dianne Sloane Due in part to our generous support for the Portage and Area Refugee Coalition, we did not meet our fundraising goal for M & S this year. $36,101 was donated for the general work of the Mission and Service fund in Canada and around the world and $120 was designated to World Development and Relief for a total of $36,221. In addition to this, we raised $630 for special appeals called Supra Gifts. Donations made through the Gifts with Vision catalogue are not included in these numbers. M&S Profile Contribution Range Number of Contributors Annual Gift $ $2,438 (includes loose) $ $ 4,916 $ $ 4,870 $ $ 4,150 $ *12 $19, $36,101 *UCW donation appears as one contributor. 22

23 f. People Resources M and P We continue to meet regularly, spending time with staff to support them and address any concerns they may have. Beth found much of her energy directed to the Refugee Coalition this year. Her coordination of information, ensuring that all members were updated on this very frustrating process, was essential. Thank you Beth for your skill in wordsmithing, your energy and leadership. As many of you know, two families arrived in our community at the end of the year. Beth continues to have a central role now they are here. Julie continues to be busy with responsibilities and care of our congregation, and also the wider church in her role as Pastoral Relations for our presbytery. Her energy still amazes us. Thank you, Julie. The foundation of any organization is its administrative staff. Jacquie begins her tenth year with us. She does so with great humour, patience, and a great memory. How fortunate we are that she is part of the Trinity family. It seems that changes in staff centre around our caretaker position. This year is no exception. For medial reasons, Bill Carruthers had to take medical leave for some months, and resigned in December. We interviewed for this position again, and offered a three month term position to Don Morrison. With Bill s resignation, we offered an additional three month extension to Don and he has agreed. Thank you Yvette, Mary Liz, Louise, Henry, Evelyn and Bev for you commitment and support. Thank you Julie & Beth for your leadership and humour. Auna Marie Brown 23

24 Beth s Report As usual, 2016 was a busy year around here. The single largest new thing in my work was supporting the Refugee Project. It began when a member of our Leadership Team asked the question what are we going to do about the refugee situation? While I have never doubted that it was the faithful thing to do, the ecumenical refugee project which grew out of that honest question is the most difficult thing I have done this year. While both families are delightful and it is a source of great satisfaction to know they are beginning new lives here in a place of safety, the process of getting them here has been very stressful. Learning to work together with people from other churches and community groups has taught me a lot but has sometimes stretched my patience to the breaking point. It always seemed like we were working without enough information to do an urgent task which we didn t want to mess up because the lives of vulnerable people who had already been through so much were in the middle of it all. While our work with both families continues throughout most of 2017, I am hoping that now that they are here and we have some things in place in terms of organization that work will feel less chaotic this year. Another particularly challenging and worthwhile thing that happened this year was welcoming Helen Northcott, a former student at the Portage Indian Residential School, to share in leadership of our Thanksgiving Sunday service. This is the most difficult worship service I offered leadership for this year (and maybe even in my 15 years of ministry). Helen was a student at the former Portage Indian Residential School who wanted to come back and walk through the front doors here (which they were not allowed to do as students who were brought in through the back and told not to look at anyone because they were not worthy to gaze on white people). It was a great but difficult honour to welcome Helen and to hear some of her story about her time here in Portage and the deep wounds that experience left. The work of Truth and Reconciliation is particularly challenging for us here at Trinity given our connection with the Portage Residential School. We know that this is not a story about some other people who were bad people who oppressed others but a story of how people who were striving to be good Christians participated in a system which robbed other people of their human dignity and language and culture and which allowed abuse to continue unchecked. The complexity of this work here is a gift because it means we must wrestle with what it really means to strive to do justice in an imperfect world. I wonder what new challenges and adventures 2017 will hold. Yours in the struggle to be faithful, Beth Kerr 24

25 There is a story I particularly like. I wish I could remember where I first heard it: A woman went into a marketplace, looked around, and saw a sign that read: God s Fruit Stand. Thank goodness. It s about time, she said to herself. She went inside and preparing herself for a taste beyond imagination, she said, I would like God s perfect banana, a perfect cantaloupe, a perfect peach and six perfect strawberries. God, who was behind the counter, shrugged and said, I m sorry. I only sell seeds. Julie s Report Sometimes in the life of the church, especially at annual report time, we look over the year gone by and try to find the perfect fruit that we grew or ate together. And I m sure there was fruit I enjoyed eating some at Saturday breakfasts! And I am grateful that once and a while I get to experience the fruit of something planted by someone long before me from another place and time. But today I m thinking that perhaps I should be looking back at our year and noticing the seeds that were planted. I think of the seeds of relationship sowed at birthday parties, anniversary parties, pool parties, Lenten coffee conversations or morning prayer breakfasts (or Saturday breakfasts, or Sunday lunches or UCW teas or.). I think of seeds of change as I discussed decisions we call Remits in the United Church of Canada, and started to work with our local arrangements planning group for the meeting of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario in Portage in I think of seeds of discontent as I met struggling people, angry hurting people, or worked with people in churches facing challenging circumstances through my work with pastoral relations in Agassiz Presbytery. I think of seeds of inclusion, openness and building bridges as I met refugees making their home in Canada, hosted the Provincial Masons in worship, was introduced to members of the Portage Islamic Association, worked with ecumenical neighbours to offer special worship services, or walked the streets of Portage in a Pride Parade. I consider seeds of healing and reconciliation as I learned more about the experience of attending the Portage residential school or sat in a sharing circle. I think of seeds of joy and curiosity as I had conversations with children through Advent. (Several times I thought we should just take over the whole church service and keep talking!) I think of seeds of grief and compassion that were planted time and again as we held funerals for those who loved and were loved. I think of seeds that don t yet have names but have been planted through interactions with the neighbours, strangers, friends and regulars who have graced our building and our ministry. (Or that time in February I went an led worship very early on a Sunday morning at the Lions Club convention!) I m sure there were some seeds of worry and doubt some weeds thrown in there too. But seeds of doubt and discontent can still have valuable yields. I trust that together we will water and feed, cultivate and tend to the ones we care about; the ones God wants to see growing among us. In the end, I don t know what may grow from any of these seeds, and so many others that have been planted within me within us within our church over the past year. I ll leave that to God. Instead, I shall be grateful for the seeds, and set forth to plant and tend more seeds that matter. It is an honour to work with and among you. May God guide us in the year ahead. With you in the furrow, Julie Baker 25

26 Leadership Team As I reflect on the past year at Trinity I am in awe by the amount of activity, both within the church and in the community at large. You will read about many of them in the rest of the annual report. There was a return of familiar activities as well as some new ones. These activities would not be possible without the dedication of many volunteers. Our volunteer base is a blessing that we need to nurture and continue to grow. We celebrated the addition of new members to our church family through baptisms, confirmations, and transfers of memberships. Sadly, we also had to say goodbye to many loved members of Trinity. We undertook a new endeavour to improve access to service for congregation members who have limited ability to attend Sunday services due to lack of transportation. We engaged the Portage handivan to bring these members to Trinity for worship on Communion Sundays. Thanks to the volunteers who assist with this outreach activity. Trinity enjoyed an oversight visit this year by members from Neepawa congregation. This provided us an opportunity to share many of our successes at Trinity, but also to reflect on the challenges ahead to remain a vibrant and relevant church. This past year saw new opportunities for our Trinity family to grow in faith and understanding living out our mission goal to open our hearts and minds to welcome each person as a child of God. We made space in our building for the Portage la Prairie Islamic Association for prayers and worship. We marched in the inaugural Portage Pride Parade. We welcomed Angela Roulette to host healing circles and a Christmas dinner at Trinity. On Thanksgiving Sunday, we were honored and humbled to have Helen Northcott join us for worship, sharing her experiences as a survivor of the Portage la Prairie residential school system. This return to Trinity for the first time since leaving the Portage school was an important part of Helen s healing journey. After a year of anticipation, we welcomed two refugee families to our community, giving them an opportunity to live in a safe and free country. I would be remiss if I didn t acknowledge the dedication of our Ministers and staff at Trinity. We would be lost without them. I also want to thank the members of the Leadership Team for their service. We were happy to have Deanna Mitchell join our team in October and assume Secretary duties. I want to recognize the contributions of Owen McKenzie, Iris Yuill and Kristin Zwarich who have completed their terms on Leadership. Finally, thanks to all those who serve our church community in so many ways, individually, on teams, house groups, interest groups, UCW, teachers, musicians, singers. You enrich our lives in so many ways. We are a truly blessed church family. Respectfully submitted Debbie Nelson, Chair 26

27 Structure Task Group/Structure Implementation Group In December 2012, the congregation of Trinity United Church launched into a new way of organizing ourselves. This year, The Structure Task Group worked with the House Groups leaders to review how the 7 groups were functioning and to consider possible alternatives. The decision was made to amalgamate into 5 groups, as this would provide each group with 2 opportunities each year. By merging the groups, it is anticipated that fulfilling the various responsibilities will become more manageable for the house groups, and there will be an increased opportunity to build relationships with different Trinity people. If you re interested in joining a house group or learning more about what that looks like, please let us know. If you re not interested in being part of a house group, but would like to help with some of the different Sunday worship tasks, please connect with Jacquie at the Trinity office, and she can ensure that your name is available, in case a house group is looking for extra assistance. The Structure Task Group has also taken on the responsibility for recruiting individuals to serve in various capacities at Trinity, and will be exploring visioning possibilities for the congregation. My great appreciation goes to the members of the Structure Task Group, Auna Brown, Sue Hiltz and Iris Yuill thank you for your continued commitment to this ongoing process. Thank you to Beth for her ongoing support and to Jacquie for her patience. If you have any questions or are looking for more information about any of these possibilities, please contact the Trinity office or any member of the Structure Task group. Thanks for continuing to be part of this ministry Trinity is a great place because of people like you! House Group Schedule January 2017 Group C February 2017 Group A March 2017 Group E April 2017 Group D May 2017 Group B June 2017 Group C September 2017 Group D October 2017 Group E November 2017 Group B December 2017 Group A Respectfully submitted by, Val Garlick 27

28 OUR PEOPLE RESOURCES - WHO S DOING WHAT We continue to have two committees which are required by The Manual of The United Church of Canada: The Ministry and Personnel Committee, and the Board of Trustees. The Manual also indicates that the UCW is entitled to be represented on all committees, however, at this time {per UCW decision February 2002} the UCW sends representation only to the Leadership Team. BOARD OF TRUSTEES (have already been elected without term limit) Kim Guy (chair), Bev Bachalo, Dave Falk, Larry Muirhead, Steve Bergson MINISTRY PERSONNEL COMMITTEE (2 year term, renewable to a maximum 6 years) Chair Auna-Marie Brown 2018 Final Term Members Mary-Liz Miazga 2019 Final Term Henry Verhoeven 2019 Final Term Yvette Brown 2018 Second Term Bev Bachalo 2018 First Term Diana Aune 2019 First Term STRUCTURE SUPPORT TEAM (this team may recruit other members as implementation progresses) Val Garlick, Iris Yuill, Auna-Marie Brown, Susan Hiltz, Sandy Bazin, vacant REPRESENTATIVES TO AGASSIZ PRESBYTERY (no term limit; at this time Trinity is entitled to four representatives) Lesia Case, Charlotte Jones, Dianne Sloane, vacant LEADERSHIP TEAM (The term of the chair person is 4 years: 1 year as chair elect, 2 years as chair, and 1 year as past chair. Leadership team positions have 3 year terms, renewable once.) Past Chair n/a in 2017 Chair Debbie Nelson (Year 2) Chair Elect Angela Mills Secretary Deanna Mitchell (Year 1) Treasurer Greg Cochrane (Year 4) M and P Liaison Auna Marie Brown UCW Rep Representatives to be chosen by the UCW on a rotating basis Presbytery Rep Lesia Case, Charlotte Jones or Dianne Sloane Members - Brenda Moorhouse (Year 6), Patti Brown (Year 4), Cindy Curry (Year 1), vacant 28

29 Group A: Amy Chappellaz Group B: Auna Brown & Iris Yuill Group C: Peggy Tidsbury & Donna Matthews Group D: Stephanie Verhoeven Group E: Heather & Alan Brown HOUSE GROUP LEADERS INTEREST GROUPS Most interest groups function according to level of interest, and recruitment is done by groups themselves as necessary. The Leadership Team tries to be aware of as many of these groups as possible. Listed below are interest groups that are confirmed for 2016/17, but others may emerge. Grief Team Coordinators Brenda Moorhouse, Iris Yuill, vacant Senior Choir Leaders Carol Zacharias, Debbie Nelson, Julie Baker Junior Choir Leader Jennifer Baker Offering Counters Coordinated through the office TriniTidings Coordinated through the office Card Ministry Bev Barber Caring Friends Patti Brown & Iris Yuill Library Barb Jones Breakfast at Trinity vacant Atmospherics/Décor Carol Zacharias Flowers/Flower Beds Brenda Moorhouse & vacant Soup Kitchen Trinity Friday Coordinator Linda Muirhead Games Night Coordinator Ferne Green Hot Blizzard Folk Fest Coordinators Linda Omichinski and Josh Wright Trinity Treasures Sale Coordinators Iris Yuill & Patti Brown Pork Barbecue Coordinators vacant Refugee Coalition Auna Marie Brown Affirming Task Group Debbie Nelson Local Arrangements to host 2017 Conference Meeting Kim Guy & Owen McKenzie Trinity Transportation Strategy Paula & Owen McKenzie TEAM COORDINATORS Sunday School Amy Chappellaz & Colleen Cochrane (supplies) Property Garry Brown Stewardship Randy Owens 29

30 g. Material Resources Trustees On September 14, 2016, the Trustees met with The Portage Ukrainian Nursery School representative, Lori Carpenter, and then with Dawn Froese of Big Brothers/Big Sisters to reflect on the year and review any changes that were foreseen by both groups. Big Brothers/Big Sisters were really happy with the space meeting their needs and sound reduction working well. There are still some physical changes that they require but mostly just small repairs of which the property committee has been notified. They have benefited greatly from Jacquie s assistance and the planning that happens when space is booked. Funding for BBBS has been tight this year and they had to make a staff reduction in June. They currently have 54 matches and kids with whom they do other programming. They are always looking for in-school mentors (one lunch hour a week) and after school mentors (here on Wednesdays). They could always use men! Renewing their lease will take place next October, The Portage Ukrainian Nursery School loves where they are. They are having issues with the entrance door (green), which is sticking, and they are worried about it not being properly locked. Also it requires more weather stripping. The Property Committee will be notified of that. Notice was given of an increase in rent from $1100 to $1150. There were no other issues to deal with over the rest of the year. Respectfully submitted by Larry Muirhead on behalf of the Trustees: Kim Guy, Dave Falk, Julie Baker, Bev Bachalo, Beth Kerr, and Steve Bergson Flowers The flower beds at the church have once again proved to be a colourful attraction around our building. Thanks to everyone who contributed watering hours, planting hours and donations of annuals and perennials. Growing tips are always welcome. If there is anyone interested in helping as a planting partner, they would be most welcome. Please be in touch with Brenda Moorhouse. Brenda Moorhouse Property With no major undertakings, the Property Team spent the year tending to church maintenance and repair. We had some minor furnace problems, hopefully solved, replaced one of the hot water tanks and had Sofelco Welding build a steel lawnmower shed to house our mower, weed trimmer, garden hose etc. to replace the plastic garden shed we were using, as it was getting vandalized. It was sold to a church member for a nominal cost and the property committee delivered it. As we were short a person, Doug Muckley volunteered to join the property committee and we look forward to his help for upcoming projects. Garry Brown 30

31 Trinity Treasures and Best Offer Sales Trinity Treasures Sale continues to be one of Trinity s fund-raisers. Because there was no Manitoba Northwestern Ontario Annual Conference last year, we were able to have in the last week of May that may have been part of the resulting success we raised more money than ever before this time! A big THANKS to all of you! Since we have cleaned up many of the storage spaces in the building, we have limited space to gather items during the year. However, again all of you have taken that in stride and brought your items starting the first week of May until sale days. Thank you to Jacquie and Bill (custodian at that time) for collecting donations. Then, you have responded generously to requests for help with sorting, displaying, pricing, working the sale - selling, clean up and of course, buying at the Sale. It is totally amazing the quantity and quality of items that continue to make this event possible and such a success! It is an event made available in the community by you and continues to be that for you! Watch for details of the 2017 sale in TriniTidings and bulletins in the next few months. Trinity Treasures Interest Group 31

32 Stewardship The Stewardship Strategy Team (SST) consisting of Jim Moorhouse, Diane Stevenson, Owen McKenzie, and Beth Kerr have been meeting regularly since Trinity s launch of this stewardship strategy team concept in The team usually meets over the lunch hour with an agenda to discuss strategy, issues, and processes surrounding Trinity s financial and stewardship health. The group would welcome anyone interested in joining our discussions. One of our important goals of the team is to help develop, support, and execute the launch of a campaign that is designed to communicate the message that Trinity has financial needs which must be met to sustain the wide scope of programs that Trinity offers to its members and the community at large. Although we focus more on the necessary financial needs, we recognize strive to convey the message that donations in the form of volunteer hours is another main pillar that keeps Trinity functioning as we know it today. This goes without saying that Trinity requires a certain minimum amount of resources to function in terms of volunteer hours, paid staff hours, and donation fund development which are all necessary expenses. We will need to keep a vigilant effort forward to ensure we seek out activities to meet at the very least, our minimum resource requirements. We look forward to supporting the work of Trinity and the positive impact that it has on the congregation and the community at large. Randy Owens Stewardship Strategy Team Resident Profile of Giving 2016 (Operating) Contribution Range Number of Contributors Annual Gift $ $6,015 (includes loose) $ $ 3,859 $ $ 7,012 $ $ 5,403 $ $ 9,804 $ $16,112 $ $19,806 $ $40,120 $ $41,494 $ *10 $50, $199,772 Non-Resident Gifts to All Funds 2016 Number of Contributors *UCW donation appears as one contributor. Amount Contributed Annual Gift 39 $ $ 2,622 5 $ 301-1,000 $ 6, Totals $ 9,393 32

33 Revenue 2016 Other (Honouraria, GST, Observer) 4% Special Events 4% Offering 77% Rentals 10% UCW 5% Expenses 2016 Building 11% Office 4% People Resource 79% Presbytery 4% Trinity United Church s registered charity return has been filed for Programming (Program Supplies & Interest Groups) 2% 33

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