ANNUAL REPORT June, 2015
OUR VALUES We believe in a triune, relational God who calls us to come together as a diverse community of believers. Therefore, we want to walk together, supporting one another physically, emotionally and spiritually. We strive to be a welcoming, inclusive family that goes through the joys and the trials of life together, acknowledging that God uses this community to deepen and mature our faith. We believe in a God of grace who came to save the world, not to condemn it. Therefore, as we are continuously receiving the gift of God’s grace, we seek to grow in that grace and extend it to others. We strive to define ourselves by what we are for, not what we are against. We believe in a God who is our centre. Therefore where we are on the journey is less important than that we are moving towards a deeper relationship with Christ. We believe and participate in God’s redemptive work in all people, which gives us the freedom to come as we are, and to accept others as they are. We each are on a unique journey to become who God has created us to be. We believe in a creative God. Therefore we are open to expressing our faith in new and creative ways that reflect the beauty and complexity of our creator. We are called to use our creative gifts in worship and service as we engage with our world. We take joy in the diversity of gifts that allow us to delight God and participate in His ongoing story. We believe in a humble God who came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore we engage in sacrificial and active service to those around us. We strive to be good stewards of God’s gifts and talents by serving one another in humility. We aspire to regard others as higher than ourselves, which liberates us to creatively take risks in serving others for God’s glory. 2
We believe in a God who knows us, and who desires to be known. Therefore we embrace a journey of faith that requires us to constantly strive for a personal, intimate and transformative knowledge of God. We strive to be led by God’s Spirit in supporting and encouraging one another in working out our faith. We believe in a God who loves this broken world and wants to reconcile us to Himself. Therefore we are commissioned by Christ to go out into the world, meeting the holistic needs of the local and global community. God calls us to participate in a redemptive work that he has already initiated; in humility, we will partner with others to work alongside and chase after Him.
INDEX Church Clerk’s 4 Lead Pastor 6 Pastor of Worship and Mission 10 Pastoral Care and Seniors 14 Discipleship Ministries 16 Church Office and Communications 20 The Deacon’s Board 24 Elders 26 Mission 28 Life Groups 30 ESL Café Ministry 32 Sunday Morning Bible Study Group 33 ESL Bible Study 34 Property Committee 36 IT/AV Committee 38 Resource Centre 40 Finance 42 NeighbourLink North York 44 Refresh Women’s Bible Study 48 SGC Nominating Committee Report 2015 50 3
CHURCH CLERK’S Report from Joanne
Laing
Historical Events (from January 1 to December 31, 2014) BIRTHS May
Jack Cameron, born to Neil Bickerton and Krysten Cameron July Issac, to James and Kelly Lee Joshua, to Rodway and Leslie Daniels Evan, to Philip and Tara Beatty August Lucy, to Cameron and Yana Welsman December Zane, to Mark Groleau and Naomi Orvis DEDICATIONS Jesse and Joanna James, bring their daughter, January Julianna Willow February Andrew and Michelle Little bring their son, Pax Immanuel May Nathan and Erin Bonney, bring their son, Eliot June Dale and Brenda Forder, bring their daughter, Makayla
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BAPTISMS Cheryl Murdock Theo Spear Laura Copeland NEW MEMBERS Clement Lee Brad Sider Pam Sider Heather Braddock Cheryl Murdoch Theo Spear Sharon Tam Henry Tam Laura Copeland
At the time of this report 187 active members
MARRIAGES Cameron Welsman and Yana Baitakova (June) MEMBERS TRANSFERRED Louise de Roo Doug Mewitt Judy Mewitt Sam Lee
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LEAD PASTOR Report from Gene Tempelmeyer
The 2014/2015 church year has been a healthy and hopeful year for us. We have seen God at work in people in many different ways. Some of the most visible have been: Since my last report Cheryl Murdoch, Laura Copeland, Kevin Lai, Annie Yang, Yiming Gong and Carter Martin have been baptised into the body of Christ. These worship times, along the dedication of more bright and beautiful Spring Garden babies, are times that especially thrill me and leave me both humbled and grateful for the experience of being a pastor. Among our staff team, Greg Kay was ordained to the Christian Ministry in December. This is a wider recognition of Greg’s gifts that have blessed us for many years. In the fall Sam Lee became our Discipleship Pastor and Suzanna Lai joined the team as Church Office and Communications Manager. Both Sam and Suzanna bring skills and insight to the team. Sam quickly added Jeremy Ramansingh and Nazli Bashiri as interns who each bring freshness and joy to our work together. Over the years I have worked with several strong teams and excellent fellow pastors. But I have never been part of a team that pulls together and loves carrying ministry forward with each other as does this team. It is an honour work alongside them and we are all deeply appreciative of the congregation’s consistent love, trust, support and encouragement which make SGC a healthy and fun place to work. Other significant advancements were made from an 6
organizational point of view: After many months of research and work a new Mission Policy was implemented leading to the creation of a Mission Action Team. One objective of the new policy is to better integrate local and foreign mission and to weave missional initiatives within SGC into our mission involving vocational missionaries. To correct widely fluctuating levels of financial support a funding formula is being implemented in communication with our mission partners. Our hope is that these changes will allow us to continue supporting vocational and congregational mission in a sustainable way. Our current budget began to phase in this funding formula; future budgets will complete this transition.
... we love children and see them as a sign of God’s kingdom among us
I don’t think we ever set out to be “the church overrun by children,” but we love children and see them as a sign of God’s kingdom among us. Additionally, our general approach, style and values in ministry are those that seem to connect with the “Millennial” generation of their parents. A combination of our experience and available research into what fosters life-long worshippers led us to several intergenerational worship gatherings each year. It quickly became evident that welcoming children into worship requires teaching children how to meaningfully engage in what we are doing. Each month I have tried to teach children one aspect of public worship. A happy unexpected benefit has been adults who have said to me, “That really helped me understand why and how to we do that!” Like planting a tree, we will only fully know how helpful and effective this effort has been several
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decades from now. A third sign of organizational health has been a continuing commitment by pastors, elders and deacons to regularly meet together as a broad leadership team to discern where God is leading us (rather than deciding where we want to go.) “Pursuing God’s Will Together”, a book we read together two years ago, is not something that we read and put aside. It has given us a new process for listening to each other and listening to God that, when followed, consistently leaves us with a consensus regarding what God expects of us. A summary of this process along with other important information about who we are and how we operate is given to each person considering whether or not to accept nomination as a deacon or elder and to incoming pastoral team members.
What is the key to
For the first time in several years we moving ahead? Let’s ended 2014 with a small financial remain faithful to surplus. Small, but a surplus making disciples who nonetheless. Thank you for your sacrifice and generosity! At the time I’m love God, love each writing this, our donations year to date other, share God’s story and show God’s are a few thousand dollars higher than at this time a year ago. But we have also care. increased our commitments. Donors on the automatic withdrawal system give us added stability through the summer months when many of us are vacationing. If you have been considering going this route now would be a good time to begin! The list of things we have done together since our budget meeting in January is truly impressive. Here are just a few: a
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worship gathering to mark the beginning of Lent revolving around several “prayer stations”; a good crowd of people making Easter meals for ex-offenders; an effort to “put waste in its place” to help us be more responsible with the garbage collection and recycling on our building; a fantastic intergenerational Easter celebration that included baptisms (a similar event for Pentecost Sunday is being planned as this is written); collection of personal care items for Neighbourlink; Good Seed Sunday with lots of people helping clear the ravine and park behind our facility of garbage; the 31st National Initiative for Eating Disorders symposium we hosted in our building; helping Revolutions clean up the Bayview Bike Park; Career Guidance workshops offered to the congregation and community. I have had a great time visiting a number of our Life Groups to teach Hebrews and Galatians. It has been good to see the health in several of our small group settings. What is the key to moving ahead? Let’s remain faithful to making disciples who love God, love each other, share God’s story and show God’s care. Let’s remain faithful to our values. Let’s remain faithful to our beliefs. Let’s remain faithful to the principle of being led by the Holy Spirit. I told you at our last business meeting that 2014 at Spring Garden was good for my soul. That continues to be true! I am so grateful to be here working with you in this era of our church life.
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PASTOR OF WORSHIP AND MISSION Report from Greg
Kay
As I reflect upon my ministry and responsibilities among and with you over the past year, I am deeply encouraged and thankful for what God has been doing in our community. Although this year has had its ups and downs, there has been an amazing sense of unity of Spirit and purpose amongst the pastors, elders and deacons, which is impossible to put a value on. Though two pastoral team members moved on (Jay and Jacob) and I have grieved their absence in my own way, God has also used their leaving to lead us into a new era with two new team members, Sam and Suzanna—God has been faithful, and these changes have been encouraging and energizing in the office. Additionally, back in December I was blessed to have my ministry and God’s call on my life affirmed through my ordination. Regarding my role in regards to missions, this has been an exciting year. We (Marion Cameron, James Wright, Darren Moore, Anne Barron and myself) finished writing and have begun putting into action our new mission policy with a new Mission Action Team (formerly known as the Missions Committee), which has been a wonderful tool for helping us focus on those things which we value and deem important, particularly in regards to supporting and caring for our vocational missionaries and discerning and implementing local and global missional 10
engagement in our community of Spring Garden and Willowdale. I have really been enjoying, challenged and encouraged by working with Andrea Librado as the Spring Garden Based Initiatives team (SGBIT), developing structure (we’ve been calling it ‘blueprints’) around how to evaluate, asses, discern and implement missional engagement both locally and globally, while at the same time continuing to provide leadership for continued and new mission opportunities. In regards to the former, keep your eyes and ears open in the next couple months for our big reveal! In regards to the later, we have been very encouraged to see the excitement and commitment from the Spring Garden community in caring for the earth through our community cleanup day, caring for the
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marginalized through donating and making food for ex-offenders, collecting food bank items for Dufferin Oasis Foodbank, collecting personal care items for Neighbourlink (twice!), resourcing bags for homeless youth, and the continued ministry of the ESL café and bible study (which run completely by the ministry leaders), and finally caring for our neighbours by handing out candy and hot chocolate on Halloween, the upcoming Career Guidance sessions with Derek Smith, and inviting hundreds of friends, family and coworkers to Light of the World. And add to this some exciting conversations we’ve begun having with CBM (Canadian Baptist Ministries) about some possible opportunities for global partnerships in 2016! We are thankful for the past year, and excited for the year to come!
I have had a very
As Worship Pastor, there have been encouraging year many things to celebrate as well. I have working alongside of had a very encouraging year working alongside of many ministry partners who many ministry partners faithfully serve with integrity, love and who faithfully serve skill. Our communal worship is shaped, with integrity, love and lead and resourced by a wide variety of skill. gifted people: the musicians who make up our bands; Colin Chapman and Anne Barron who plan worship and lead the bands; our sound techs and projectionist’s who make it possible for the congregation to engage; Mike and Maria who prepare and clean up our communion; Cheryl Chapman who bakes our gluten free bread; Deborah Bennett who organizes the Scripture readers, and the dozens of readers who do so; the head ushers—Victoria and Cliff Shipmaker, Cam Welsman, and Ken Gillan who had faithfully served for years and sadly has “retired” when he moved to Etobicoke (blessings on you Ken!)—who facilitate our worshiping through giving; those same ushers and our greeters who are our “first face” of welcome on Sundays; the
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artists who create so that we can be drawn into “deeper things”; and the Creative Team (Erin Bonney, Colin Chapman and Jennifer Moore) who shape and create ways that holistically engage us in worship, whether it be set up for the platform, art and image for our worship series’, designing and implementing all of the elements and spiritual practices for our “prayer station” and “lent station” worship gatherings, etc. Regarding the work of the Creative Team, I am particularly excited about a prayer wall we’re working on—coming soon to a narthex near you! In reflecting back over the year of our communal worship together, I am so thankful for the way God has brought all of these people and all of us together in this time. We’ve had great moments of celebration in our Easter and Christmas worship and our Intergenerational Sundays. We’ve been challenged and encouraged to be prayerful for our world in our “prayer stations” Sundays. We’ve walked with Jesus through His Passion in our Lent Stations Sunday, where Psalm 51 and our artists creativity drew us into the story. And we’ve been able to gather together, regardless of the season of year or life, to weekly give witness and worship to our faithful and gracious God. I am also deeply indebted to those who have committedly sacrificed time and energy to support me through prayer, namely Garth Barron, Cheryl Chapman, Ben Reynolds, Anne Barron and Marion Cameron. Praise God, for He has been faithful. And praise God, for He is and always will be! I look forward to seeing how God’s faithfulness unfolds in our community over the upcoming year as we seek to worship and serve Him together.
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PASTORAL CARE AND SENIORS Report from Rev.
Margaret Sutton
This year was one of vision expansion. Several years ago the seniors began praying for the youth of the church. This year we thought we would have a greater impact if we began praying for families with children. We began to do so at the end of May. The Adult Bible Class that meets on Thursdays spent the year studying how God worked in the lives of his believers and the challenges they encountered as they obeyed God’s calling. The group welcomed many visitors over the year and celebrated everyone’s birthday with birthday cake! [the combined age of the “I alone cannot group is well over 800 years of experience].
Welcome & Information Centre
change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples”
This centre was created as a place for first time guests and attendees to obtain information about Spring Garden Church. Mother Teresa This year several additions were added to the centre-a picture depicting our values, a chair for emergency needs, updated information and newcomer booklets and the addition of Purell Hand Sanitizer. When first time visitors visit the table they will receive a small gift.
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Senior’s Ministry Several members are involved in various ministries. Margaret Irwin sends cards from the church. From May/14 to June/15 125 cards were sent:[26 Senior birthday, 11 Baby Congratulation, 14 Get Well, 12 Sympathy, 22 Easter, 31 Christmas, 3 Thank You, 2 Thinking of you, 1 Special Anniversary, 1 Ordination, 1 Wedding, 1 Retirement]. From June 1990 to June 2015 approximately 4,080 cards were sent out by Margaret Irwin on behalf of the church. Mary Thiele arranges the coffee hour with Opal Fuller, Myrna Frost with Neighbor link, Debbie Bennett organises scripture readers for Sunday service and Corinne Sutton-Smith is on worship team. Marian Headley, a member of The Presbyterian Church Choir is presently in the Maritimes touring with the choir.
Ministry of Care This year two new ministries were begun. Peggy Moore is visiting new-moms in our congregation. She prays for the babies and family. Because of the number of new births Peggy is only part way through the list. In the fall a visitation program will begin. More details to follow. Pastoral Care is about helping each other. I am blessed by the encouragement and prayer support of the Pastoral Care ElderCindie Chaise and Judy Tranter, Deacon of Pastoral Care. If you have a need or want to be involved in this area of ministry, I can be reached at [416] 223-4593 ext. 226 15
DISCIPLESHIP MINISTRIES Partnering with Families
The Discipleship Ministry at SGC would not be possible without the faithful service of the 70+ volunteers! It is so amazing to see how many people are involved in serving God and the community. There has been some amazing things that have happened in my first year as the Pastor of Discipleship and I thank God for the way in which He continues to work through His people. We hired 2 interns who have been amazing. Nazli Bashiri and Jeremy Ranasinghe have made my job easier and have done a lot in the short time they have been at the church.
Whole Church Tobogganing It was great to see so many people from SGC (young and old) participating. We had a lot of fun being outside together and watching Gene race some people without getting hurt.
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Intergenerational Worship We had three intergenerational worship gatherings this year. It was a great way for the whole community of SGC worship together. Easter was one of those gatherings in which we had over 80 young people participating in the Easter Egg Hunt.
Children’s Ministry As mentioned before, our ministry would not run without the amazing volunteers who serve our young people. Koon Lee, Debbie Tempelmeyer, Joanna James, Suzanna Lai, Victoria Shipmaker, Heather Prinsloo and Martin Dewar were instrumental in selecting and implementing the new curriculum, recruiting volunteers, training the safety policy, etc. We also have some amazing umbrella leaders who support our teachers. They are Esther Penner, Gord Lee, Heather Prinsloo, Kate Moore, Martin Dewar, Debbie Tempelmeyer, Mary Thiele, Peggy Moore and Suzanna Lai.
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We strive to provide an atmosphere for our children where they are not only learning Bible stories but they are learning and experiencing the love of Jesus Christ. Our goal is to continue in our partnership with parents to raise children who love Jesus as their parents love Jesus. We had 4 dedications this year and are averaging about 56 children.
Youth Ministry The area of youth ministry has been a challenge for us as we started the year off with only a few attending church. In the past year, we have seen God do some amazing things in building up this group. We started a leadership team to give direction to this area and have seen the fruits of their labour in our program. Our Sunday morning studies have stronger attendance. Our Friday night events have also been a great way for our youth to invite their friends and to also connect with the youth from the Earn a Bike program (Youth Unlimited). We focus on one fun event a month and one service oriented experience a month. Our youth retreat has been the highlight so far. We had 12 youth and 4 leaders attend. 3 of the youth were from the Earn a Bike program. We had 3 “sessions� where we had a time of praise and a personal testimony from the leaders. It was a great time of bonding and community building. The feedback we got from the youth have been very positive and they are asking for another one before the year ends. One of the members from our youth group, Yiming Gong, was baptized on Easter Sunday. We are thankful for the way in which God has brought him to our church and ask that you would continue to pray for him as he continues his faith journey. 18
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CHURCH OFFICE & COMMUNICATIONS Report from Suzanna Lai
(Church Office and Communications Manager)
In October 2014, with much excitement and gratefulness, I took over the role of church office and communications manager from our previous church administrator, Jay McIntyre. Thank you SGC family for welcoming me into this role with much love and encouragement. The pastoral team has not forgotten Jay’s faithful service and care he poured into our SGC family over the years. He and his family are greatly missed. I particularly want to thank Pastor Greg for showing me the ropes and getting me up to speed on the office’s administrative responsibilities. I thank him for his patience through my learning curve. Also lots of thanks to the entire pastoral team on their open mindedness and support for experimenting and learning new systems and protocols – and dealing with associated frustration with much grace and understanding. The mandate given to me was to develop systems that seek to support church ministries and increase administrative efficiency of the pastoral team/church office. After gaining a thorough understanding of the office’s organizational needs, I realized that a strong information technology infrastructure was crucial to the improvement of communication, coordination and collaboration among church leaders, congregants, and the pastoral team. Therefore, my work started with a proposal to form an IT/AV Committee under the current Property Committee. One of the first mandates of the IT/AV Committee was to re-evaluate and revamp our existing IT infrastructure. With the help of IT/AV Committee 20
chair, Kevin Lai, a SGC intranet was developed to host a wide array of contents such as ministry specific documents, a comprehensive serving schedule (which includes a weekly email reminder feature), and church ministries and events calendars. Along with an office wide adaptation to the utilization of Google Apps and Emails, the new multifaceted information infrastructure allows better organization of digital documents, more efficient communication among all church leaders and with the church family, and instant collaboration/sharing among ministry contributors. The next project for the church office was to improve our facility use protocol. We needed a protocol to ensure the church facility bookings are properly tracked and recorded. A proposal was forwarded to establish procedures for booking the church facility, re-evaluate our facility use fee structure, and devise a contract agreement for all parties using the church facility. With the implantation of this new protocol and the tracking of facility booking requests using Google Calendar, I am now able to ensure that the church is adequately compensated, minimize the possibly of booking conflicts, and help maintain our church facility. We offer our church building to be used by supported mission organizations/ individuals and our neighbors as an act of worship. We pray people would be blessed by stepping into and using our church building. The third project initiated was the implementation of parking passes. With the increasing density in our neighborhood and our close proximity to the Sheppard subway station, illegal parking 21
in our parking lot during office hours has proliferated. Issuing parking passes allowed me to manage the parking lot with a lot more ease and efficiency, while ensuring that the parking lot is available for church ministries use, facility renters, and our community ministry partners. On the communications front, I continued to develop our church website. Concise and updated contents were regularly posted for the general public to get the know us and for the church family to access ministry information. Weekly update emails were sent every Friday to subscribers. Our church Facebook was collaboratively maintained by me, Pastor Greg, and Pastor Sam. Sunday announcement slide shows were prepared weekly so that the church family can be informed on what was happening within SGC and in the community. I continue to collaborate with the IT/ AV Committee to make improvement on the design of our TV announcement display. This digital display is an important tool for providing ministry related news, introduce our church to visitors, and remind viewers about upcoming events. I’d like to express my gratitude to Clement Lee for putting together our monthly Delve magazine with faithful diligence and creativity. If you enjoyed reading our monthly magazine, please be sure to thank Clement. With help from the IT/AV Committee, a Delve Google Group with a new submission email address was established to ensure better collaboration among all contributors to Delve. I worked with the pastoral team to create and pursue contents that reflected our church’s values and works that aspired to encourage, inspire, and assist the readers’ faith journey. The pastoral team is always looking for feedbacks and suggestions on the kind of contents desired by our SGC family. In February 2015, I rolled out an online directory form to collect and update many outdated contact information of our church members and adherents. Combined with previously collected databases, a 2015 SGC community directory was published for the congregation in both print and digital formats. I hope that an updated directory will help the church office and leadership teams to better communicate with the SGC church family, as well as in between SGC family members. The PrayerLine was previously maintained by Jay McIntyre, Cheryl Chapman and Mary Thiele. Thanks to their passion for prayers, many from the SGC family were prayed for by our prayer warriors 22
over the years. Again, with technological help provided by the IT Committee, the PrayerLine was streamlined to be maintained by Mary Thiele and myself. I was responsible in collecting prayer requests through various mediums and updating them on our website while Mary listened to prayer requests over the phone and recorded prayer summaries onto the PrayerLine telephone voicemail. The PrayerLine number is now hosted by a VoIP system, which allows for more dynamic digital management of the voicemails and prayer summaries. I pray that the prayer line will continue to be a medium where we witness the power of prayer and the healing it brings. Looking ahead into in the next calendar year, I aim to explore and establish more ways of communication between ministries and the church family; improve the design and contents of our current communication platforms; support the pastoral team and church leaders with creative and productive organizational tools; and explore ways to increase exposure of our church to our neighbouring community. This year a lot of the technological and computer support required by the office and the pastoral team were provided by Kevin Lai. I want to thank him for offering a tremendous amount of his time and effort into building an organized and systematic IT infrastructure for the church. We however foresee that a sole reliance on one volunteer worker may not be sustainable for the long run. The office seeks people who can offer assistance in graphic design, computer programming and technical support. If you are able help, please contact me or the IT/AV Committee. We need your talents and skills to make the systems we built sustainable. Overall, the past 7 months have been blessed and fun. Time spent in the office was filled with laugher and lively discussion on all things in life (as all things belong to the Lord). I have already learned so much from each of the pastoral team members. Pastor Gene taught me that a true leader in the Kingdom is kind and humble. Pastor Greg taught me that a faithful follower of Jesus cares about his creation and has compassion for His people. Pastor Margaret taught me that a heart and mind filled with prayers and love can change the world. Pastor Sam taught me that Christianity is not preached about but lived out, especially to today’s teens and youths. I look forward to be continually inspired by the wonderful people I work with, transformed by the Spirit, and utilized as a light in God’s Kingdom through my vocation here at SGC. 23
THE DEACON’S BOARD Report from Derek Prinsloo
(Chair of the Deacon’s Board)
If you read last year’s report, we claimed it was “an interesting one for the Deacons”. Well, it seems we’ve set a trend. While we set some things in motion the previous year, the momentum has certainly continued this year. Teamwork – the Pastors, Deacons, Elders have continued to meet on a regular basis (approx. quarterly) to practice discernment around important matters affecting our church. The result of this is seen in a couple of the following milestones. Discipleship Ministries – this year we were thrilled to welcome Sam Lee to the team as the Pastor of Discipleship ministries! We’re honored to be blessed with someone with this much passion, commitment and love for our youth. The fact that he’s integrated seamlessly with the Pastoral Team has also made this transitional period smoother than we could have hoped for. Speaking of transitional periods, in 2014 we said goodbye to Jay McIntyre as he and his family followed God to serve at Capernwray Quebec Bible School. However, as a result, the leadership team re-evaluated the roles he previously filled and re-distributed them in a new manner. Church Office and Communications Manager – one of the new roles was filled by the one & only Suzanna Lai! She’s brought a 24
previously unheard of level of organizational skills to the office and has whipped the ship into shape. As another aspect of re-allocating resources, we’ve been able to hire 2 interns to help with the Discipleship Ministries. Jeremy Ranasinghe and Nazli Bashiri are doing an excellent job in the roles of Youth Ministry Intern & Children Ministry Intern, respectively. Suzanna also brought along her husband, Kevin, to head up the newly formed IT Committee. By taking a renewed sense of ownership over the IT concerns of the church, we’ve managed to better utilize the available funds and improve the computing life of everyone in the building. Mission – after much hard work, Ann Barron and Greg Kay have rolled out the new Mission Policy. It’s provided a great foundation for us to be able to focus our efforts and resources in a manner that best serves God & the community. We look forward to where God leads us for the remainder of 2015 and into 2016.
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ELDERS
Report from Garth Barron (on behalf of the elders)
The Church Elders shall be responsible to Shepherd the church by living as examples of Christian maturity, by prayerfully discerning the spiritual health of the church, and by offering spiritual advice, support and accountability to the Senior Pastor and to others in the church body. The Elders shall also serve with the Board of Deacons at the Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper, shall respect the spiritual authority of the Pastor over the church and shall serve the pastoral needs of the church. The elders of Spring Garden Church have the privilege of serving the church body in various ways, as the above statement indicates. These avenues of service are responsibilities that we take very seriously. Understandably, prayer is a key part of our task. Over the past year three of the four we have had a elders have been new to the position, strong sense of unity but they have fulfilled their role as elders well, and we have had a strong as we have worked together to support sense of unity as we have worked together to support and encourage and encourage others in our faith community. others in our faith We regularly pray for our Spring community Garden Church body and ask God for discernment regarding various aspects of leadership. Elders, augmented by others in the congregation, are available in the prayer room after each Sunday 26
morning service, to pray with anyone who desires prayer. We are also at times requested to visit, anoint and pray with those who have approached us regarding a particular need in their lives, and we are more than happy to do so. Each elder has the privilege of being paired with a member of pastoral team, with whom they are connected, to encourage and uplift in prayer their area of ministry and personal struggles. The Elders have continued to work with the Deacons and the Pastoral Team in seeking discernment of God’s will on key issues, using the process outlined in the book Pursuing God’s Will Together, by Ruth Haley Barton. This book describes a process for leadership groups to discern God’s Will. On Jan 24th the three leadership groups got together and used this process to discern God’s will regarding how newcomers to Spring Garden can be helped to put down roots here. This discussion is ongoing, and we hope it will lead to some practical steps that will help us to meet this challenge. We are grateful, as elders, for the confidence placed in us by the congregation, and are conscious of our need for God’s guidance. We would deeply value your prayers that God would give us great wisdom and discernment for the tasks ahead.
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MISSION Report from Anne
Barron (Mission Deacon)
In September, after a year-long process, the deacons passed the revamped Spring Garden Mission Policy and much of this year has been spent beginning to implement this new policy. The new Mission Action Team was formed. This team functions with three branches; Vocational Missionary Care, Spring Garden Based Initiatives and Communication. I would like to thank Greg Kay for his pastoral leadership and Jane McClean, Marion Goertz, Andrea Librado and Jacqueline Solomon for serving on this team with me this year. With the implementation of the new policy each vocational missionary who is supported in our budget completed the “Annual Vocational Missionary Effectiveness Communication�. This communication allowed the team to learn about goals and challenges for the coming year. Each missionary met in person or via technology to discuss this communication. There has been ongoing communication between each missionary and a specific person from the team throughout the year. We have also included articles and photos about our missionaries in Delve to help the congregation get to know our missionaries and become involved in their Kingdom work. Please continue to pray for and connect with our missionaries as God leads you. Greg and Andrea have worked hard to make the Spring Garden Based Initiative branch of the mission policy more focused. Through their hard work we have been involved in baking pies at Thanksgiving and making lasagna, brownies and soup mix 28
at Easter to be given to ex-offenders in partnership with Brad Sider and his work with the Mennonite Central Committee. We also connected with the community handing out candy and hot chocolate at Halloween. As well we participated in Good Seed Sunday in April both through our worship that morning and gathering after coffee time to go to the park next door to clean up garbage. Thank you to everyone who participated in these events which help to bring our church family together and to share God’s story and show His care out in the community of Willowdale. We look forward to many opportunities to show God’s care and share God’s story in Willowdale and around the world.
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LIFE GROUPS Report from Garth Barron
The mission of Life Group Ministry at Spring Garden Church is to create, support, and develop small missional communities of people devoted to Christ, to one another, and to lifelong learning, service & growth as followers of Jesus. Currently the number of Life Groups is around 10 (with a total of about 100 participants), down somewhat from last year. About 15 dedicated people serve as facilitators for these groups. We are especially grateful to these individuals and couples for their commitment to small group ministry. The Life Group Ministry Team (LGMTeam) currently consists of Matt Silver, Garth Barron, and Gene Tempelmeyer. Over the past year the team has worked to promote the growth of life groups and the extension of the Life Group ministry to more Spring Gardeners. In the fall we again focused on involving more people in small groups, both by starting new groups and adding members to existing groups, with a six-week DVD-based study curriculum based on N. T. Wright’s book Surprised by Hope, on the subject of heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the church. During this period Gene’s Sunday sermons on the book of Revelation complemented the small group studies. Nearly all life groups used the Surprised by Hope material, and most found that it generated some lively discussion. Our annual Kickoff Dinner on Sept. 14th was an enjoyable time of fellowship, sharing, and food. This year’s dinner was a potluck 30
format, open to all Life Group members, not just facilitators, The event included an introduction to the N. T. Wright Surprised by Hope curriculum. Gene spoke briefly about the purpose and role of Life Groups at Spring Garden, and Matt Silver talked about the challenge of making connections in the Spring Garden community. Other activities during the year included a Saturday breakfast meeting on Jan. 10th for fellowship among group facilitators as well as to provide information on available resources for small group study. As well, we discussed the challenges the parents of young children face in being part of a Life Group. This last topic has become an increasingly significant challenge over the past several years, as young couples with small children have become the predominant demographic at Spring Garden. The Life Group Ministry Team would appreciate prayer as we continue to look for practical ways to make Life Group participation easier for those in this situation. As always, we would also appreciate your prayers for this ministry in general, as we seek to move ahead in faith. Pray particularly for the dedicated group facilitators who have been willing to make room in their frequently busy schedules for this ministry.
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ESL CAFÉ MINISTRY
Report from Garth Barron (Facilitator)
The ESL Café, now in its seventh year, continues to be appreciated by newcomers to Canada in the neighbourhood, providing a comfortable venue for tea and conversation. On Tuesday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 the east lounge becomes a gathering place for students eager to practice and improve On Tuesday evenings their English, and to make new from 7:00 to 8:30 the friends. The time is spent in discussing a wide variety of east lounge becomes topics, reading short stories a gathering place for aloud, as well as some grammar students eager to instruction.
practice and improve their English, and to make new friends.
This year our numbers have been somewhat lower, with 3-6 students coming out most weeks, although fewer on some of the colder Tuesday evenings during the winter. (This winter was challenging for many immigrants from warmer climates!) We are always looking for more facilitators, especially women, since most of our students are women. Expertise in teaching ESL or in English Grammar is not a requirement, so if you’d like to check it out, feel free to contact me, or to simple come out on a Tuesday evening.
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SUNDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY GROUP Report from Garth Barron
Your word is a light to my feet and a lamp on my path Psalm 119:105
The group is now in its seventh year and continues to thrive. There are typically 5-10 participants on most Sundays. Over the past year, we have studied Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians and to Timothy, as well as Leviticus, and we are now beginning to look at the letter of James. Our goal is simple: to become better followers of Christ by knowing the scriptures better. To this end we do a verse by verse study of a NT or OT book. We encourage participants to feel very free to share different views, thoughts and opinions and all discussions take place in a climate of mutuality and respect. Our goal is simple: The discussions are animated and to become better lively! Our aim is not just to know followers of Christ by the scriptures, but to help each knowing the scriptures other to live by them.
better.
We decide as a group at the beginning of each term which book(s) will be our next project. We don’t meet during July and August, but would be happy to have others join us for a new start in September 2015! 33
ESL BIBLE STUDY Report from Ben
The ESL Bible study has been happening for a few years now (since 2011), being an additional opportunity along with the ESL Cafe for newcomers to practise their English. After a temporary hiatus, the study began again this past September. In the fall, around 4-7 students would come. Gradually the numbers have decreased, and on a typical Sunday, 2-4 students participate. Some students have started to attend other churches, others have moved back to Korea or elsewhere. The majority of our students have been either from China or Korea. If you’d like to pray for us, pray that we would also make inroads with other communities too that are present in the Yonge-Sheppard area. With regard to the teaching, we have covered prayer, prophecies concerning Jesus in the OT, the New Covenant vs. the Old Covenant, the greatest commandment, and our future eschatological hope. For months, a series entitled “Who is Jesus?” was the main topic, and we explored the Bible and got to know Jesus better from the pages of Scripture. Two different three week series took place covering his role as Priest, Prophet, and King, and his identity as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We also looked at his character, including his wisdom and humility. We covered a lot of Scripture verses in these investigations, thematically looking at different aspects of Jesus’ life and work. After feedback from the participants which revealed that they wanted to focus in on specific passages rather than covering thematic topics, I decided to do a series working consecutively, verse-by-verse through Romans. We are now on chapter 4. 34
I believe that the study has been helpful for those who are attending, and that they are growing in their knowledge of God and understanding of who Jesus is. One of our participants was baptized this spring, which was very exciting and a cause for celebration.
One of our participants was baptized this spring, which was very exciting and a cause for celebration.
The study is taking place at only one proficiency level, as there have not been enough participants to split up into two levels. We have various different proficiency levels in our study, which makes it a challenge, but a rewarding one. Please keep this ministry in your prayers, as there is a great need for the gospel to go out to the extremely dense population of newcomers to Canada in the Yonge-Sheppard to Steeles corridor.
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PROPERTY COMMITTEE The Property Committee has the responsibility for the maintenance of the building and grounds of Spring Garden Church as well as 106 Spring Garden, the house we own adjacent to the church building. The committee’s mandate is to keep both properties in good condition and to provide a welcoming environment for those entering the building. The committee wishes to thank the dedicated volunteers for their excellent work in keeping things looking good. Thanks as well must go out to Fazil Yussuff of Moe’s Cleaning Services, who does an amazing job keeping our building clean on a weekly basis.
The committee has completed the following projects:
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New garage door for the garage at 106 Spring Garden
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Repaving the driveway at 106 Spring Garden
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New shingles on the west side of the sanctuary roof
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Boiler room air intake upgrade and other boiler related repairs
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Projector changes and wiring in the Youth Room and Children’s Theatre
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Painting the downstairs kitchen and repairs to the cupboards
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Painting the Toddlers room
This year, we have committed to working on proper garbage and recycling with the City of Toronto in order to keep from having to pay for our garbage removal. This will take work from all congregants to place compost, garbage and recycling in the proper containers. We have had changes this year in that we now have Cam Welsman handling the building opening and closing. He is also mowing the lawns and shoveling the walkways. He has replaced Jay McIntyre, who has moved to Quebec with his family. Cam has filled in well for us and is doing a great job. Also, this year we have separated the Information Technology/ Audio Video side of the Property Committee as handling both Property and Information Technology was becoming difficult to handle for one group. Kevin Lai is chairing the IT/AV group. He doing a great job and solves many computer issues on his own. In addition to the projects listed above, a great number of smaller repairs were completed during the past year in order to keep our property in good shape.
Your Property Committee: Neil Bickerton, Wes Chapman (Chair), Don Hopkins, Art Laing, Darren Moore, Wil Tranter, Jim Turner (Deacon), Doug Willson
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IT/AV COMMITTEE Report from Kevin Lai
In the fall of 2014, a new IT/AV Committee (Colin Chapman, Wes Chapman, Kevin Lai, Sam Lee) was formed to manage the computers and audio-visual needs of the church. This report only outlines the changes made after the Committee began work. Numerous changes were made to the computer and network side of the department to upgrade outdated systems, increase IT functionality, improve system stability, improve support for staff, and reduce expenses. We moved to a custom three-tiered IT support model for SGC, so we did not renew the annual IT service contract. We thank Kent Faulkner for over a decade of IT service to SGC. Level 1 Support: office staff manages simple troubleshooting and maintenance Level 2 Support: members of the IT department manage more difficult repairs Level 3 Support: paid professionals handle complex issues on an hourly or per-project basis The main church server was replaced with a new HP Microserver and Windows Server 2012 R2 was installed. The internet service was upgraded to Rogers Cable. The church email service was migrated over to SGC branded Gmail. A church “intranet� was established on Google Apps to facilitate scheduling, coordination, and ministry collaboration. A custom script was programmed for serving schedule email reminders. The network infrastructure 38
was re-organized and faulty parts were replaced. A few office and library computers were replaced or upgraded with help from member donations of parts and time. Incoming faxes are now automatically converted and emailed to the office, saving paper and toner. A backup schedule with custom scripts was established for internal server files. We also started exploring VoIP to replace the telephone systems. The Prayer Line has been migrated over to a streamlined VoIP system. The projectionist computer system was upgraded for Sunday AV presentations. Telecommuting features were also enabled for ministry staff and volunteers. Thank you for being patient with the changes and work-inprogress. We are still working to improve the WiFi reception around the building. We are still working on a stable and secure system for WiFi access. We plan on moving away from the Nortel PBX to a VoIP telephone system. We are also working with the Discipleship Ministry to add functionality to their ministry needs, such as the check-in system and classroom AV equipment. If there are any SGC members interested in serving in the technical ministry, please don’t hesitate to contact the IT Committee.
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RESOURCE CENTRE Report from Karen Cassel
The Resource Centre is online and you can look up and request books from the church website. Go to: http://springgardenchurch.ca Click on: Resource Centre This will take you directly to a search screen where you can input your search terms (title, author, subject, etc.) to discover what is available in the library. You can submit a request for a book, and it will be emailed to me. The Resource Centre provides books, videos, and DVDs for general Christian growth, study, and leisure. The library resources are provided to speak to the needs and events that are taking place in the wider church life. Reading materials are an invaluable resource for personal and spiritual growth. We are able to offer important resources that cannot be found in the public library system.
We are able to offer important resources that cannot be found in the public library system.
A year ago, the children’s books and DVDs were moved from the basement and integrated into the main collection. These books were not previously in the online catalog. Over the winter, I took 40
10-20 books and/or DVDs home every week, catalogued and added them to the database, and printed new card and spine labels. This project was just recently completed. Books on parenting have been listed, and shelved together. If you would like a copy of the list of titles, please let me know and I can provide a print or electronic copy for you. We are so fortunate to have a book budget and have the ability to purchase books to meet our objectives, and to support the teachings we enjoy each Sunday. We continue to benefit from donations of wonderful books, and teaching materials, from Debbie Tempelmeyer (via David C. Cook), as well as other donations from time to time. There is a monthly feature in Delve that gives a synopsis of books and DVD’s recently added, and/or supports the messages of that month. I encourage all of you to come and browse, take home some books to read and don’t forget to bring them back in a timely fashion so that others can also benefit from them. I welcome suggestions at any time.
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FINANCE
Report from Geoffrey Moore (Treasurer)
The following are some of the financial details relative to our Church Body that have occurred over the past twelve months:
2014 Financial Result Operations & Missions The 2014 Budget was set at $519,500 compared to $555,800 in 2013. The Actual receipts for 2014 were $522,531 compared to $503,036 in 2013. This does not include contributions to the Caring & Sharing Fund or the Capital Campaign. The 2015 Budget was set at $525,000 at the February 10th, 2015 Congregational Business Meeting. To March 31st, 2015 donations were $92,548 versus a pro-rated Budget figure of $131,250, a shortfall to Budget of ($38,702). On a cash basis, we spent $21,847 more than we received reducing our cash position to $51,568.
Capital Campaign At December 31, 2014 there was $13,751 in the Capital Fund. These funds will be used to maintain and make improvements to the Church Facility to the 106 Spring Garden Street house
Caring & Sharing Fund The C & S Fund helps those people related to the Spring Garden family who are in a time of need. 42
Donations to the C & S in 2014 were $10,096 and expenditures were $9,926. The Cash Balance at December 31, 2014 in the C & S Fund was $3,004. Audited Financial Statements – were completed for 2014 and will be released in May 2015. Report prepared May 4, 2015
A Note from George Vanderwerf (Assistant Treasurer): Marion Cameron took over the Vice Treasurer’s duties that I have looked after since June 1999. Updated computer programs has been installed. From April 2014 until the year end I worked with Marion to help her as needed. It has been a joy to serve as Vice Treasurer for the last 15 years to December 31st, 2013. Marion is doing an outstanding job as my replacement. I have continued with my other position as Envelope Secretary and issue the annual tax receipts for donations received.
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NEIGHBOURLINK NORTH YORK Report from Myrna Frost
Spring Garden Baptist Church continues to have a dynamic outreach ministry in North York through its participation in the work of NeighbourLink North York. We are one of seven member churches of various Christian denominations who endeavour to meet the needs of the poor and disadvantaged in the North York community. The NeighbourLink Board of Directors is constantly trying to recruit new churches in order to meet the growing needs more effectively. Throughout 2014 the Thankfully our Spring number of requests remained Garden Volunteers are consistent at just over 500 usually able to help not calls for help. More than 400 households were served only with driving but also . Spring Garden Church with shopping, visiting, was able to meet a high doing home repairs and percentage of these needs. helping with moves. Transportation to medical appointments remains the most frequent request and finding drivers is always a challenge. Thankfully our Spring Garden Volunteers are usually able to help not only with driving but also with shopping, visiting, doing home repairs and helping with moves. Many wonderful friendships have developed as a result of the ongoing care of our NeighbourLink volunteers. 44
As the Spring Garden NeighbourLink Co-ordinator, I have participated in both Board Meetings and Church Co-ordinator meetings throughout the year as well as speaking at groups about the NeighbourLink Ministry. NeighbourLink has served the Wllowdale Community for more than 20 years. In November we held a NeighbourLink Sunday when our work was highlighted during the morning service. There was a good response to our request for volunteers but there is an ongoing need for more. At this time we are seeking volunteers to work in our office answering requests for service. We are currently in the process of restructuring our operations , becoming computerized,updating our web-site and reevaluating our goals. We are also in great need of a new office space that is more accessible to the community. We ask for your prayers as we enter into this new and challenging phase. In December several of the Spring Garden Life Groups provided Christmas hampers containing food and gifts for four NeighbourLink families . These were greatly appreciated by the recipients. In September and April Spring Garden had the opportunity to contribute items to the NeighbourLink Personal Care Centre, located at Willowdale Presbyterian Church.
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In December we held our second Fund-raising Christmas Concert. We deeply appreciate all the support and help that we received from the Pastoral staff and members of the congregation . Thank you especially to those who contributed items to the Silent Auction. Plans are underway for a similar event to take place in November. In February 2014 we hired a new Director , Janice Wilson, who is leading NeighbourLink into the future with renewed vigour and creative thinking. It is our dream that NeighbourLink will unite the churches of Willowdale in the common goal of meeting the needs of those who live in poverty and isolation.
It is our dream that NeighbourLink will unite the churches of Willowdale in the common goal of meeting the needs of those who live in poverty and isolation.
We thank all the volunteers at Spring Garden Church who have reached out to those in need this year. Your gifts of time, service and caring have touched many lives and are deeply appreciated and valued. You truly show the love of Christ to our neighbours in this part of our city. We are planning a Volunteer Appreciation event in the Fall. NeighbourLink North York office hours are: Tuesday and Friday_ 9:30 a.m. – noon Phone – 416-221-8283
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REFRESH WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY Report from Tanya Salituro
Greetings fellow worshipers! We are excited and grateful to God for so many sisters in Christ coming together to praise, study the Word of God and pray, every Wednesday morning. From newlyweds and young moms to new Canadians and retired mentors, we are thrilled to have a place where we are encouraged to meet as unashamed Christians. The unique mix of ages in our group allows the young to learn from the wise and the mature to learn from the young. Close to Christmas we asked Pastor Gene to lead us through a group exercise to more clearly decipher God’s will for this group. The outcome was simple and clear. Firmly stick to our christian principles, morals and values in the face of change, always referring back to, and cherishing the Word so freely given to us. And to pray, pray, pray. New for Refresh was having Pastor Gene lead us in the new year on “The book of better things” - Hebrews. Our understanding was 48
challenged and furthered and we are deeply appreciative of the detailed preparation and sincerity he brought each week. Thank you Pastor Gene! As for proof that prayer works: Miracles continue to abound with answers to our prayers, in the short and long term. This we do not take for granted. We also welcome prayer requests! The ongoing prayer support for the Groups of Hope has been most gratifying. From a tiny idea, to a cross continental mission, we salute you, Faith Holwyn and praise the Father on high for carrying his faithful servant safely on a ride that no one could have imagined would be this widely appreciated. Congratulations on the second Groups of Hope book and thank you for leading us through the new sessions this spring. We are so privileged! The Blessings are many. (The babies too!) We praise the name of Jesus and are humbly reminded of his graces weekly. A special ‘Thank You’ to Beth Drummond and Victoria Shipmaker for their support and teaching. For all this we are thankful. Our summertime ‘Prayer in the Park’ will continue Wednesday mornings mid-June through August. Do join us at 10am behind the church. 49
SGC NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT 2015 Deacons Current Deacons
Finishing Year
Matt Silver
2015
Mike Penner
2016
Judy Tranter
2016
Anne Barron
2016
Jim Turner
2016
Koon Wah Leung
2016
Derek Prinsloo
2017
Marion Cameron
2017
Mary Ellen Hopkin
2017
Nominee Gonzalo Librado
2018
Elders Current Elders
Finishing Year
Garth Barron
2016
Darlene Boyd
2017
Jennifer Moore
2017
Cindi Chaise
2017
Nominee
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Barrie Porter
2018
Corinne Sutton-Smith
2018
Nominated Officers Position
Nominee
Moderator
Krysten Cameron
Vice Moderator
Vacant
Treasurer
Geoff Moore
Vice-Treasurer
Marion Cameron
Clerk
Joanne Laing
Nominating Committee Members Current Members
Finishing Year
Wes Chapman
2015
Judy Tranter
2015
Darlene Boyd
2016
Mary Ellen Hopkins
2016
Nominee Peggy Moore
2017
Art Laing
2017
We extend our thanks to those who have served and those who continue to serve our church
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Report Editors Suzanna Lai, Greg Kay, Gene Tempelmeyer
Graphic Designer Tiago Roffe