Vestry Report 2006

I have re-read my other charges and my letters from 2006. They all encourage attendance at the various services, participation in our mission, the importance of giving and especially being active in some form of Christian education. I do not wish to go over the same ground again. You know what is available, it is there for you and I hope you will take advantage of what is offered.

It is time that the community as a whole decides what it wishes to focus on as a Christian community instead of my pushing all the time. I am not here to do Christian mission and ministry for you but to help you find the resources and equip you to do it. We are to do ministry together. This is the motto of our Diocesan Office: “To equip the Saints for the Ministry of God.”

The Advisory Board is in the process of determining where the parish wishes to go in the next few years. It is now seriously considering our social awareness. It seems as if we could be much more aware of what is happening in our village and be more proactive in seeking to address some of the concerns we might have as well as encouraging growth in areas we support. We will also need another couple of main focuses for the future before the process is completed. I will leave it to you to discuss and decide.

I believe that the parish has reached a solid state of stability and structural integrity. People are getting along, we are much more welcoming than we used to be, many are giving more than they used to, the guilds and committees are able to function well with limited input from me, and things seem to be going more than smoothly. However, we must remember that this will only be a temporary state of affairs if we do not build up another generation of committed people to take over the functions currently held by older parishioners. They are several younger people becoming much more active in the parish and we should encourage them and support them.

We must also ensure that we do not become too comfortable and stagnate. I must remind myself of this as well. We need to find new avenues to explore and continue to find ways not just to deepen our own faith but to reach out to those outside of our walls.

Adult education in our parish now takes the form of: Bible Study, Lenten Book Group, Book Group, Movie Evening, Video Series Evening, Workshops and the Meditation part of Sung Compline.

I have spent many years creating a well stocked library consisting of over three thousand volumes. Much of it is devoted to the faith from weighty writings of the church fathers to books such as ‘The Bible for Dummies’. I have collected many introductory books as I assumed that people would use my library as a resource. I welcome anyone who would like to look at the library or seek advice on selecting a book to please contact me and arrange a time to come over, have a cup of tea and find something suitable for you to borrow to read or study.

The options available to this congregation are unequalled by any other rural church (and the urban ones if you look only at what the parish offers) in this Diocese. These options, both liturgical, and educational are not meant to be ‘extra’ stuff that you are committed to do but rather a broad range of options so that at least one of them will suit you to help you in your spiritual growth. It is not intended as ‘overkill’ for the few dedicated members that regularly attend education groups and services. It is to try and get a few more people to join something. I hope that many of you will have the courage and adventurousness to explore at least one of these other ‘church’ options.

This year the parish embarked on a reexamination of the parish and the ministry and mission of its people. I asked the Archdeacon to conduct a formal ministry review of both my ministry and the ministry of the congregation. At the same time we began looking at our immediate past and our goals for the future in the light of the Deanery Revitalisation Project and the Diocesan Strategic Plan. This was spearheaded by the Advisory Board which is made up of the heads and Chairs of the various parish committees and groups as well as committed parishioners active in the life of the parish. A lot of time is needed to perform this task well and I thank all of those committed to this process. It may have been twenty three years since this was last done as I am the first Rector in that time to have remained here long enough to initiate the process. Some of you may have suspected that I am getting ready to leave you as this spring brings me to the five year period that I promised. This is not the case. Rather I am at a crossroads in terms of discernment of my future in this parish. When I came I was asked to provide stability by remaining here for at least five years, to do youth work and to finish the restoration of the church. By this spring I will have come to the end of this mandate. I have stayed. The youth group, which once had twenty two members, is now down to a handful. Only two of them are Anglican and they will both join the others either at CEGEP or in the workforce next year. The Restoration is almost complete. I need to know where this congregation believes God wants them to go next and see if it is a path I discern God also wants me to travel with you. I have some questions regarding my resources as an educator being best employed in this setting. I have made no decision and will not make any decision until this process has been completed. I hope that both my own discernment and that of the congregation will be similar enough for me to remain here for the foreseeable future. If you are not actively involved with this process I would ask that you pray for the Holy Spirit to work within this parish during a time of important discernment. So far we have looked at the where we have come from in the last several years, examined what has occurred during my Rectorship and is exploring where we might wish to go. The Corporation comes to the meetings and a few dedicated members of the parish. However very few people are taking part in determining the future of our parish. We have been attempting to meet every month. Sue Ellen Jones continues as the secretary.

The church is still being rented by a French Baptist group that uses the church and hall every Sunday. They maintain the property and have made improvements to both the church and the hall. I have allowed members of this church to have burials in the churchyard and this has increased our revenues significantly. All Saints retains the monies collected from the renters to use for ongoing maintenance. My thanks to Linda Tessier for looking after the church and grounds as well as the finances of De Ramsey. Without her I am not sure how we would maintain our properties there.

On the first of December I was appointed the new Archdeacon of St Andrews. Archdeacon Gibson resigned after six year diligently working away here in the North. As you already know her mother was killed tragically a few months ago and the cumulative stress of the Archdeaconry, her grief work and the need to slow down and regain her full health led her to this decision. We thank her for all of her hard work and dedication. The new responsibilities will mean that I will not be able to be present at all of the events that I have been used to attending. I have also had to cancel or have others take over about fourteen events I had already scheduled. There are several vacancies in the Laurentians at the moment and I estimate that the next eighteen months will be a time of heavy responsibilities for me. I must attend monthly Episcopal Council meetings as well as the ongoing maintenance of the 27 congregations North of the Island. A parish that has an Incumbent Archdeacon must tighten its belt and help shoulder the responsibility of the governance of the Diocese. As I am the first Rector of Rawdon to become Archdeacon of St Andrews, the parish in its entire history has never had to do this while several of our sisters parishes have had to on several occasions. One can only dodge the bullet for so long. The parish is being subsidized by the Diocese who gives the parish $3000 a year as a token of the time spent doing Archdeaconry duties. I ask for your patience and prayers in my difficult year ahead as I find a way to balance all of my responsibilities and my health and prayer life. A new Archdeaconry Banner has been ordered which will hang in the parish church during my time as Archdeacon. It will replaces the slightly worn, unsightly one hanging in the church now.

The new Ascension Banner was dedicated on Ascension Sunday. The new Pentecost Banner will be dedicated on the Sunday of Pentecost 2007. The church will then have a complete set of teaching scenes, taken with the windows, of the major events in the life of Christ and the feasts of the Church. The new green hangings were dedicated on the first Sunday after Trinity. Ash Wednesday 2007 saw the dedication of the new purple hangings and vestments which makes the new fabric complete (actually we need new red hangings and vestments but they are so seldom used it will probably be some time before they are replaced).

The Bible Study group remains faithful. The group finished it’s in depth study of the Gospel of Saint Mark. We have started a study of the Letter of Saint James. We used Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s book God Has A Dream as our Lent book last year. Three of the youth read the book but could not come to the Thursday morning class and also did a Friday evening course. So altogether there were fourteen people participating in some sort of Christian education last Lent. The Bible study meets the first and third Thursdays of the month and weekly during Lent. Please do come along and join us on Thursday mornings. We begin at 10:30 and end around 12. If you ask the participants of the Lenten book group what they enjoy most about Thursday mornings they will tell you it is the camaraderie – the friendship. It is the being together to share the things that really matter in our lives. It is what other Christians normally call fellowship. Naturally we want to share this with others and so it is always uplifting when others join us.

A Book Group was formed this autumn and meets monthly to discuss a current novel that we have read. Jim Stiller is guiding us through the meetings and in our choice of novels. We read The Strange Event of the Dog in the Nighttime, Plainsong and The Girls so far. The group has been a surprise success with about 12 regular members and a few who have come once or twice. Of the participants almost all do not belong to any other group and some are from outside the church community. At our Christmas meeting we had a wine and cheese party which was good fun.

The monthly sung Compline and meditation has been very well attended, mostly by youth in the community. We regularly have ten to twelve people participate. During the meditation segment we explore different forms of Christian prayer. We have looked at several this year: praying with music, with visualisation, taize chants, the use of rosaries and the use of the Jesus Prayer. Most of the participants have found one form of prayer to have been helpful in their spiritual life.

Compline is the last service of prayer for the day and is short and contemplative. This short service is followed by a brief introduction to different forms of Christian meditation and then the practice of them. A number of youth in the parish have shown interest in this service and it is partially to cater to them that the service was introduced. It is also possible that a number of other people that are not normally attracted to our Church might be interested in this type of service. The services are very much in the style of the Taize community. The Taize community is very much in our news as they are coming to Montreal in April as they were last year with the tragic death of Br Roger, the community’s founder. The simple meditative services he and his community offered drew youth from all over the world to their small French monastery and their influence has been felt in all corners of the worldwide church.

I continue as Regional Dean of the Laurentians until a replacement can be found. Four new priests have come or are on their way to the Laurentians but none are ready to take over as they have yet to even settle in. Therefore I may need to continue for another year.

The United Church and the Anglican Church participate in the Family Fair, the heather services, and the softball game. Two of their youth belong to our youth group. The parish has participated in the Week of Christian Unity, the World Day of Prayer (which we hosted this year), the Remembrance Day service at the cenotaph, and the ecumenical Good Friday Walk. I attended the ordination of the new Roman Catholic Deacon in the autumn. I attended the 50^th Anniversary celebrations of the Orthodox Church and spoke at the reception afterwards about Anglican Orthodox relations. The 24 services at the Heather Hospitals are ecumenical.

The monthly healing service has been sparsely attended. The Pastoral Care Committee has been good at attending and we use the service to strengthen our mission and remember those in need in the community. The Mass for Healing with anointing and the laying on of hands is on the last Saturday of every month. Those who are familiar with this service know that it is a great comfort for anyone suffering physical or emotional pain or stress. It is designed to concentrate on wholeness and peace. It is not only for those who are ‘sick’ but for those who are seeking and feel they need guidance and refreshment. If you are not familiar with these services please try and attend once or twice and see how they make you feel and whether they help focus your life. You may be surprised by what you will discover.

There are 24 services at the Heather Hospitals (12 in each one), 6 services at St Anne’s Residence, and 6 at the Sunshine Residence. The Pastoral Care committee arranges the services and participates. In the coming year I will need to rely some on our Layreader and Canon Fleming to do some of the services.

The annual Rector’s holidays run from May until May. We are entitled to five weeks (including Sundays) every year. As my day off is on a Monday, all civic holidays that fall on a Monday are regulated to a kitty and add up to another week (not including a Sunday). We also get three weeks of Continuing Education every year that do include Sundays. My Oratory retreats are counted as Continuing Education.

I would like to thank the Dean of the Cathedral, The Very Rev’d Michael Pitts, for taking the Service in July and December and to The Rev’d Canon Dr Daniel Fleming DD, and John Clague for taking the other services whilst I was away. I would like to especially thank my brother The Rev’d Fr Ronald Henderson OGS for taking services in the month of January (although I know this should go in next years report).

CONTINUING EDUCATION: May 16^th -19^th (OGS Provincial Retreat) TOTAL: 4 days, No Sundays

HOLIDAYS: June 13^th-15^th(Trip with Daniel from Australia and Bryan); July 11^th – 20^th 1 Sundays (Trip with Fr Peter Hibbert OGS from England); August 15^th-17^th (camping in Mount Trembley National Park) September 26^th-28^th (Newfoundland) October 31^st – November 3^rd, November 28^th-December 1^st (to see my father) December 26^th – 28^th (Vicar General) TOTAL: 30 days, 1 Sunday.

The movie evening meets every month in the Rectory on a Friday evening. We make popcorn and watch a film. This year we have watched Cry the Beloved Country, Elizabeth, and Lillies of the Valley. We have had a good crowd each time.

The winter BBQ and Dance was a great success. The ACW Valentines Lunch to raise money for the orphanage in Zimbabwe was well attended. The Shrove Tuesday pancake supper and card party went well as did the World Day of Prayer at the United Church. The Holy Week and Easter services went well and were well attended. The Easter breakfast was also a well attended community event. We held two Saturday workshops on prayer and on using a Rule of Life. The Family Fair was a delightful day this year with good weather, if a bit hot. The Rev’d Professor Peter Hibbert OGS, the Oratory Archivist visiting from England, preached a fascinating sermon for Vocation Sunday in July. The annual Wexford service and the St John’s Evensong and BBQ went well although the former had glorious weather and the later did not. We ended our summer activities with a friendly softball game with the United Church parish. After a great deal of speculation about what exactly had gone on at the end of the game, a tie was announced. Members of our parish attended both the Diocesan Youth Synod as well as the Diocesan farewell Mass for the Vicar General of the Diocese, the Venerable Peter Hannen. I am pleased to announce that the money that the ACW, myself, the Diocesan ACW and members of the congregation raised for the Orphanage we support in Mutare, Zimbabwe was used by the nuns to purchase land to build a new orphanage. This autumn: the Sunday School began; the parish book group began; The youth group and youth group Bible study began; the parish movie evening began; the Blessing of Pets for the Feast of St Francis went well as usual; The Harvest Supper and Service went extremely well; the Bible Study resumed; the monthly Sung Compline and Meditation service has been very popular; Diocesan Synod was a Conference Synod this year and Derek Morris did an excellent spiel after church about it; the Advisory Board recommenced with its task to look at the future of the parish in light of the Deanery Revitalization Plan and the Diocesan Strategic Plan; the monthly Healing Mass with Anointing and the Laying of Hands resumed; the Wexford Card Party went well; Many of our youth graduated from Joilette High School and swept the board in terms of Awards and the Valedictory Address with Wendy Asbil giving the Graduation speech; the Wexford Party did well again this year; the All Saints Service with the Blessing of Graves, the Baptism of Glenn William Betrand-Eddington, the playing of Steven Mathews, and the All Saints Sunday School Party was a joy; the Corporation attended the W.I. supper as a group by the kind invitation of its President; Remembrance Sunday was well attended; many of us went to the Ordination of the new Roman Catholic Deacon by the Bishop of Joliette; and the Patronal Festival and Community Lunch was made more special by the playing of Steven Mathews and the attendance by so many visitors. The Advent Carol service was well attended considering the temperature and the party afterwards was excellent. Many from the parish went to the Collation service of new Archdeacons on the 10^th of December in the Cathedral and stayed for the reception. The Christmas services went well and were very well attended.

This spring I begin my sixth year of Ministry as the Rector of Rawdon. I continue as Priest in Charge of The Anglican Parish of Mascouche, the Regional Dean of the Laurentians, a member of the Diocesan Task Force on Human Resources, a Governor of the Montreal Diocesan Theological College and I continue to write a monthly column for the Montreal Anglican. I became the Archdeacon of St Andrews effective December 1^stand as such am a member of Episcopal Council and the Cathedral Chapter. I have resigned as Diocesan Youth Chaplain and did not let my name stand for election to Diocesan Council.

The Rev’d Canon Dr Daniel Fleming DD, continues as my Honorary Assistant for Mascouche. He looks after the church for me and takes services there twice a month. The congregation says Morning Prayer on the other Sundays.

My commitment to my Religious Order involves Provincial Chapter and retreat for five days in May and a residential retreat for four days in November. These are taken out of my continuing education time. Every three years I must attend Chapter General in England for ten days.

I attended Provincial Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada in September in St John’s Newfoundland.

During the month of July and August the church was completely repointed and the chimney restored. It was a long time coming and looks great. I have a large bucket of stones taken from the repointing that could be washed and packaged, perhaps with a plague, for sale as a fundraiser if someone is willing to do it.

In June seven members of the parish went on the first annual parish retreat to the Monastery of the Holy Cross Fathers in New York State. It was wonderful weather and a beautiful setting looking over the Hudson river across to the old Vanderbilt mansion. The services and retreat talks were inspiring and provided a good break from the daily grind. There was an excellent article in the last ‘In Touch’ by our Treasurer about the experience.

We still have six faithful servers: Brittany Bertrand, Nicholas Plante, Anne Millar,. Amanda Kimber, Shane MacDonald, and Samuel Stewart. We have two servers for most Sundays and three for major feasts. The second lesson every week is read by the server. There are three server’s meetings with lunch during the year.

I hope that many of you will recommit yourselves to being more regular in your Sunday observance this coming year. We are not losing church members but many of you are attending much less frequently than in the recent past. For some it is because of health and for others it is the old story of just getting out of the habit. Many, many people work hard to keep the church not only running but running smoothly and with a degree of excellence. Our Corporation is dedicated and hard working and seeks to provide you with the best services and options for your Christian life. It is dispiriting for people trying to forge a future for our community to see so few faces at our main gathering. Please try to come as regularly as you are able, especially during this year of parish discernment. If you are unable to make the Sunday service you can attend the Wednesday evening service. If you need a ride there transportation can be arranged. If Wednesday evening do not work well for you there is usually at least one or two other services a week available. If you are unable to make any services please let me or a member of the pastoral Care Committee know and you will be brought Communion on Sunday afternoon.

The services continue as last year: the Wexford service; the Blessing of Pets for the Feast of St Francis; Evensong at St John’s Masonville; the Harvest Festival; All Saints Sunday; the Blessing of Graves for All Soul’s Day; the Patronal festival; the Advent Carol service at Masonville; the Christingle service and the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve; Candlemass; Ash Wednesday; the Holy Week services, including Maundy Thursday, the Maundy Thursday Vigil, the Good Friday Service, the Harrowing of Hell; the Easter Vigil and the Easter Day service; Ascension Sunday; the World Day of Prayer; the Remembrance Day service; the ecumenical Good Friday walk; and the week of prayer for Christian Unity; and a service for Corpus Christi. Baptism Sundays are All Saint’s Sunday, the Baptism of the Lord, the Easter Vigil and Pentecost. There will be renewal of Baptismal Vows and the Blessing of the Font on these Sundays even if there are no Baptisms.

The number of people that participate on any given Sunday at Christ Church is still impressive. As many as 18 people have joined in the worship in one function or another on a given Sunday Morning. Even on a quiet Sunday at least twelve people take part in the service. Currently there are over fifty individuals that take part to help on a Sunday morning.

I would like to thank those members of the congregation who do special work for our parish whom I did not mention elsewhere in this report. I would like to specially thank Sharon Tinkler and the ladies of the ACW for their hard work and generous support of the parish. I also thank the Committee heads for their work with specific areas of our parish’s life: Merle Campbell and Al Parkinson and their committee for the excellent work with preparing and running our huge Family Fair; Derek Morris and Wendy Asbil and their committee for the excellent ‘In Touch’ publications; Brent Parkinson and his committee for their work with the Cemetery. I would also like to thank Lillian Parkinson for her work with organizing funeral receptions and Nellie Dyball for looking after the Parish Hall rentals.

A special thank you goes to Brenda Purcell for her work as our Treasurer. The overall effect of Brenda’s work is that the entire Corporation is much more familiar with all aspects of parish finances. Brenda’s business view of things often gives us a needed perspective on decisions. Robert Ranger is excellent as Deputy People’s Warden and organizing Maintenance. I would also like to especially thank John Clague for his continual work in so many facets of our Christian life as well as his work as Deputy Rector’s Warden. His responsibilities are so numerous I will not even try to cover them. Most of them we are not even aware of. I am afraid I would be lost without him.

The Wardens continue to be strong leaders for our community and we are lucky to have such strong professional women at the helm. Verna and Shirley both have their own areas of interest and so are a good balance in covering all areas of parish life. I thank them both for their time and commitment. The corporation with the treasurer works extremely well together and manages conflict well and, as you can see by this report, gets an extraordinary amount done in a year.

I would like to offer a special thank you to Gordon and Irene Scott for their ever gracious hosting of the annual Harvest Supper.

My thanks to Earle Moore for his dedication to the Restoration of Christ Church.

I have four video & DVD courses to offer. There is: The Arts and Entertainment Network’s eight part (fifty minutes each) series on the History of Christianity; the Arts and Entertainments Network’s two part series on the life of Jesus; the six part (fifty minutes) series ‘Sea of Faith’ about the foundation of the modern theological and philosophical world view; and the six part (sixty minutes) series ‘The Power of Myth’ with Joseph Campbell.

The Youth Group watched the ‘Sea of Faith’ in the autumn on Friday afternoons. The A&E series on Christianity will be shown during Lent and Easter 2007.

This year we had the following guest preachers: The Reverend Professor Peter Hibbert OGS, The Rev’d Dorthy Samuels and The Very Rev’d Michael Pitts, Dean of Montreal.

I have been remiss in contacting Frank T. Dyball, about updating the Website and as a result it is now quite out of date. I will attempt to rectify this this coming spring.

The weekday Masses begin in October and run until Corpus Christi (the Thursday after Trinity Sunday). The weekday Mass is a quieter more focused service than the Sunday service. It is for those who find it difficult to attend church on a Sunday morning as well as for those who prefer a quieter more peaceful service. There is always a short sermon which is more focused than the Sunday sermon. The major feast of the week is transferred to Wednesday evening and so the parish is now observing most of the feasts of the Church. The service includes a short sermon, sung preface, and a gradual and recessional hymn. These are delightfully sung by the small congregation. I would like to thank our Lay Reader, John Clague, for setting up, doing the readings and for taking services when I am unavailable.

We have one Welcomer on the door on Sunday mornings. This person’s sole job is to welcome visitors and guests to our church and to make them feel welcome. This will sometimes mean sitting with them, making sure they have a service card to follow the service without a book, giving them a history of the parish or Anglicanism, or getting them a cup of coffee after the service. The Welcomers will keep track of those who visit and will keep as list of new people from our community that show an interest in our activities. The Welcomer also represents the congregation by bringing the gifts of bread and wine to the altar at the offertory.

Last year we had four workshops. “I Have Come to Give You Life and Life Abundantly”: Exploring Christian healthy living, living with pain and the Sacrament of Anointing and the Laying on of Hands. This workshop was followed by an Eucharistic service of anointing and the laying on of hands in the parish church. “Be Still and Know that I am God”: Introducing Silent Prayer and Meditation, This workshop was followed by a service of meditation in the parish Church. “Everyday Will I Praise You O Lord”: Exploring ways of praying Morning and Evening Prayer in your home and ways to pray with the Bible. This service was followed by a service of Midday prayer in the parish church. “Intentional Living”: Writing a Rule of Life, Spiritual Direction and the benefit of Retreats. In 2007 there will be workshops on the Design and Meaning of the Church Service, the Structure and Symbolism of the Sunday Service and a workshop on the diversity of Anglicanism focusing on High Church and Low Church tendencies.

There have been two youth bursaries of $500 given this year. One to Anne Millar and one to Nicholas Plante to help with books as they begin college.

The youth Bible study group spent the spring and summer studying the Gospel of St Mark in time for them to leave for CEGEP. In the autumn they began the study of the Letter of St James. Earlier in the year they went through The Rev’d Dr Don Cupitt’s six part history of modern theology, ‘The Sea of Faith’. We meet on alternating Wednesdays after school and before Mass and Fridays after school and before Compline. The youth attend the services afterwards.

Six members of the youth group remain with Brittany Bertrand and Scott Worton being the sole Anglicans. We meet roughly twice a month. We have been more focused this last year on learning skills such as time management and ethical decision making. A good bit of the youth activity is now taken up by the Youth Group Bible Study group and the Compline Service.

WORSHIP	2006	2005	2004	2003	2002
Sunday worship	58	59	54	56	53
Holy Eucharist	50	50	50	52	53
Morning Prayer6	6	6	2	1	0
Evensong	2	3	2	3	8
OTHER SERVICES
All Saints de Ramsey	0	0	0	0	4
St George’s Wexford	1	1	1	1	1
St John’s Masonville	2	2	2	2	1
Ecumenical	16	9	2	2	2
Hospital	36	36	18	8	8
Ash Wednesday	1	1	1	2	1
Maundy Thursday	1	1	1	1	0
Good Friday	3	3	3	2	1
Easter Vigil	1	1	1	1	0
Christmas Eve	2	2	2	2	2
Weekday Eucharists	35	54	42	43	54
Feasts	28	33	27	25	17
Mattins in Church	6	6	2	11	38
Evensong in Church	5	7	11	5	46
Sung Compline & Meditation	7	1	0	0	0
Healing Eucharist	3	1	0	0	0
Other	8	0	0	0	0
Church Services
TOTAL:	155	158	141	142	219
ATTENDANCE
Actual Sunday attendance	2801	2874	3056	3074	2653
Average Sunday attendance	51	54	59	58	50
Actual weekday attendance	1079	1777	1746	2069	1729
Christmas attendance	159	157	140	173	189
Easter attendance	145	158	135	169	105
Total attendance	3880	4651	4727	5143	4382
COMMUNIONS
Sunday Communions	2297	2299	2400	2316	1893
Weekday Communions	457	692	841	704	335
Christmas Communions	94	81	81	67	115
Easter Communions	129	143	128	152	98
Total Communions	2754	2991	3241	3024	2228

It has been proposed that the time for the Sunday service be changed from 10:30am to 10:00am.

Our best wishes to our Rector, now the Venerable Edward Simonton OGS upon his appointment as Archdeacon of St. Andrews. We assure him of our continued support. We thank him for his work and leadership during the past year, for the stability and security he has given us. His sermons continue to be thought provoking. We only wish that more of the congregation would take advantage of the many programs that he offers to us.

We must take this opportunity to thank the Venerable Mary Gibson for her support to our parish during her tenure as our Archdeacon. It was with her help and support that we were able to complete several projects under the Quebec Heritage Fund-

Church-re pointing of all exterior stonework with the help of the Quebec Heritage

It is impossible to complete these projects without additional funds. Submissions have been made to he Q.H.F. to cover some funding, private donations have been offered to cover the cost hall lights and the alarm system. Volunteers will be required to paint the fences. Please refer to the reports from each of the committees. We only attempted to cover a few items.

5) ACW who continue to support and provide the Parish with so many fund raising events. The Valentine tea proceeds go to Fr. Edward's African Mission

6) The Torch Bearers -our Sunday School continues it's work solely because of their dedication

We would be remiss if we didn't say thank you to Ralph Purser our organist and Derek Morris our former editor of "In Touch", and a huge Thank You go to the Scott's, Gordie and Irene, for their ongoing tremendous donation of time, place and food for our Thanksgiving and Easter breakfasts. We also thank Lorraine Marfoglia and Joan Tinkler who volunteered to replace John Claque as collection counters. A very important job in the life of our Church

Two students benefited from our Bursary program. We congratulate Anne Miller and Nicholas Plante for their scholastic achievements.

In closing we wish to thank all for your help and support during the past year. We encourage members to consider taking on responsibilities in their church. We know and appreciate that "lives" are busy but please just a little means a lot.

We need new ideas and remain very concerned about the long term. As we face the future new blood and ideas are needed! We are concerned about financial picture and the life of our Parish Again we remind you all to remember our ancestors who struggled to leave us such a wonderful endowment. It is our responsibility now and we must assume our past.

The 2006 Synod Was Held In Mid-October At The Palais Des Congres In Montreal With Over 300 Clergy And Lay Delegates In Attendance From Across The Montreal Diocese. The Two Day Session Under The Direction Of Bishop Clarke Was Well Organized And Tightly Scripted In View Of The Topics To Be Covered.

In Addition To The Usual Financial Reports Which Indicated An Improving Situation, An Update Was Given Regarding The Financial Obligation To The Aboriginal Schools Problems As It Relates To Our Diocese.

These Usual Items Were Then Followed By An Intense Discussion Regarding The Church Position Concerning Same Sex Marriage, On Which I Reported Verbally To Our Parish The Next Day. Suffice To Say For This Report That There Are Extreme Views On Both Sides Of This Topic And In The End Any Decision Was Deferred To At The Very Least The General Synod To Be Held In Winnipeg This Coming Summer.

However, In Order To Be Fair And To Ensure Both Sides Of The Topic Were Stated, Several Presentations From Clergy, Laity And Legal Personalities Were Made To The Synod. In The End, All Reasonable People More Or Less Agreed That This Topic Will Be Dealt With In Time, If Not In Winnipeg, To The Mutual Understanding Of All And For The Good Of The Anglican Church In Canada.

Synod, Having Convened At 3pm Friday Was Concluded At 4pm Saturday , All The Topics Having Been Dealt With.

It Was My Pleasure Along With Father Edward And A Couple Of The Youth Delegates From Rawdon To Be Able To Attend And Take Some Small Part In The Discussions.

The ACW has 16 active members that meet monthly, except in July and August. Our January meeting is usually a supper at a restaurant.

At our meeting in February it was decided that our annual meeting be changed from December to June. Therefore our executive remains the same as last year until elections at our June meeting.

In 2006 we held 32 card parties including three special ones: the Shrove Tuesday one; the Mission one on the last Tuesday of July with proceeds going to Fulford House, and a Christmas one with proceeds being used for Christmas gifts for about 20 elderly or ill church members. This year with the help of a kind friend we had a supper preceding a card party on October 17.

We also had 3 luncheons and sales, 2 rummage sales and 2 funeral receptions. The proceeds of our luncheon in February is given to help support an orphanage in Zimbabwe, through Father Edward.

Each fall some of us attend the ACW day of the Laurentian Deanery and we host it about every third year.

This year our youngest member, Anne Millar, who has helped us since she was a small child is in college so we supported her with a bursary.

Our Umbrella group, the Quilt Guild is a bilingual group of ladies from the area who are interested in quilting and learning new techniques and patterns. They put on an excellent Quilt Show in August which draws women from many areas outside Rawdon.