With this deep snowfall, our deer have come back looking for their food. It is always interesting to me that they return to exactly the same spot where we put it last year. There are five or six ‘regulars’ who show up between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m., a couple of them smaller and younger than the others. There is a definite pecking order to who gets to eat first. There is a quiet, peaceful, gentle beauty about them, and I love watching them.
If you missed church on Sunday, you missed Mary Weismiller’s update on her recent trip to South Africa. She and Chuck spent two months there working with Edna Light in some of the poorest neighbourhoods. Over 350 children, adults, cancer and HIV patients are served at the soup kitchen every day. Most would go hungry without it. Our donations make up almost 50% of their annual budget. Wesley has supported this work in South Africa for at least twenty years now. It has been a wonderful international outreach that has made a significant difference in many lives. Mary will be speaking at church in February to give us a more complete picture of her time there this fall.
Please mark these two important dates in January. On Sunday January 22, we will have a soup lunch followed by an informal discussion of the results of the recent evaluation survey. This will lead up to our first Joint Needs Assessment meeting on Saturday January 28 from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. The needs assessment process has been greatly streamlined, and now consists of two congregational meetings and a report that we will have to draft. Rev. Paul Miller and two lay representatives from Waterloo Presbytery will lead the discussion. Rev. John Anderson has asked to be finished as our Pastoral Supervisor at the end of June 2017, so we will have to put a plan in place for the fall of 2017.
If you are already away for the winter, or are going away and not able to attend these two meetings, please send your thoughts and comments to me and I will ensure that they are part of the discussion. It is important that as many of us participate as possible and that all voices are heard.
It is hard to believe that Christmas is only days away. A huge thank you to everyone who helped with our Christmas dinner on Sunday. It was great fun with lots of good food, laughter and singing. Santa’s visit was the highlight of the evening. We hope to make this an annual tradition.
Our church office will be closed next week, but you can still mail or drop off any givings for which you would like a 2016 income tax receipt. We have worked hard this year to stay in the black on our monthly statements. Every committee Chairperson has kept a keen eye on their budget and all committees are under budget for the year, even though we have had a few ‘surprise’ expenses. Let’s help them by ensuring that our givings line meets or exceeds our budgeted amount.
I hope to see you on Christmas Eve. It is always such a wonderful service of carols and readings, with the highlight being the candlelight during the singing of `Silent Night`. Church is at 7:00 p.m. and cider will be served afterwards if you wish to stay and reconnect with people you have not seen for a while.
I leave you with part of the benediction last Sunday, `Be people of love`. Christmas can be a time of great joy, but also of great stress and heartache. Let`s spread our love in our homes, in our community, and in our world. It is the greatest gift of all.
Peace,
Anne Tinker
“God bless us, every one!” - Charles Dickens
