Happy 2017! A new year has begun whether we’re ready for it or not. I hope that everyone had the opportunity for some restorative time over the holiday season. Winter seems to have settled in for a while, keeping us indoors more than we’d like, but making everything a snowy wonderland.
It will be a year of change at Wesley. Rev. John Anderson has faithfully provided pastoral support to our congregation and pulpit supply for the past four years, and would like to be finished providing pastoral support at the end of June. To begin the process of discerning our way forward, we will be holding our first of two Joint Needs Assessment meetings on Saturday January 28 from 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. This exercise will be led by Rev. Paul Miller and two lay delegates from Waterloo Presbytery. It is important that you attend if you are able. If you cannot attend, or are away, please send me your thoughts and comments and they will be included in the discussion.
As a lead-up to the Joint Needs Assessment, we filled out a short survey before Christmas. Those results were collated and distributed, but I have attached them to this email again. There will be a soup lunch after church on Sunday January 22 to provide an opportunity for an informal discussion about the survey. It is important that we make some decisions about what model of ministerial supervision and decision-making oversight we would like before we get to the needs assessment meeting.
Our church is busy. It takes the work of many hands to keep everything humming along, and for our fundraising and family events to be successful. My sincere thanks to each of you for your dedication and commitment to Wesley, and to the work of our church in the community and in the world. A special thank you to the members of the Executive Committee who oversee all aspects of our church life and do such an amazing job, and to our worship leadership team. We enjoyed incredible worship experiences each and every Sunday.
I was reviewing 2016 and all that went on at Wesley; the Police Choir Concert, the monthly seniors lunches, the Phantom dinner and concert, outreach to the community, the family Christmas dinner, another banner year for Apple Corps, and much, much more. It is truly inspiring what we achieved.
Starting up our community outreach this year, we will focus on the most needed items for Lisaard House. These include: • Paper towels • Tide pods • Liquid hand soap and refills • Paper napkins • Kleenex • Plastic teaspoons • K-cup coffee pods • Bounce unscented fabric softener sheets • Flexible straws Lisaard House fills a unique need in our community and we are very fortunate to have it. Let’s show our support for their work.
Our future is a blank page right now. We will begin to write our story on January 28. Please be a part of creating the blueprint and map to help us go forward.
Peace,
Anne Tinker
“The best time for beginnings is now.”
