Vestry2016

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report

Agenda 57th Annual Vestry Meeting February 7th , 2016 1.

Incumbent takes the chair

2.

Opening Prayers

3.

Remembering parishioners called home to be with the Lord (pg. 4)

4.

Appointment of Vestry Clerk

5.

Diocesan and Area Pastoral Letters (pg. 5)

6.

Minutes of 56th Annual Vestry (2015) (pg. 8)

7.

Rector’s Report (pg. 11)

8.

Curate / Youth Minister’s Report (pg. 13)

9.

Children’s and Families’ Ministry Report (pg. 14)

10.

Wardens’ Report (pg. 15)

11.

Financial Committee Report for 2015 (pg. 17)

12.

Financial Report for 2015 (pg. 19)

13.

Update of Other Funds including Jubilee

14.

Budget for 2016 (pg. 27)

15.

Property Report (pg. 28)

16.

Envelope Secretary’s Report (pg. 29)

17.

Elliott Trust Fund Report (pg. 30)

18.

Appointments and Elections

19.

Resolutions (pg. 51)

20.

Questions about all other Ministry Reports

21.

Other Business

22.

Adjournment and Closing Prayer

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Table of Contents Agenda

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Table of Contents

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In Remembrance and Parish Statistics for 2015

4

Diocesan Pastoral Letter

5

Area Pastoral Letter

6

Minutes of 56th Annual Vestry Report

8

Rector’s Report

11

Curate / Youth Minister’s Report

13

Children’s and Families’ Ministry Report

14

VBS Report

14

Wardens’ Report

15

Finance Committee Report

17

Statement Regarding the Audit

18

Financial Report for 2014

19

Budget for 2015

27

Property Report

28

Stewardship Report

29

Envelope Secretary’s Report

29

Elliott Trust Fund

30

5 Purposes Committee Reports

31

Ministry Group Reports

42

Resolutions

51

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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In Remembrance We give thanks for the lives of those who have gone home to be with the Lord in 2015.

Joe Arnold

Elizabeth Little

Stuart Brown

Barbara Poole

Robert Crowley

Yvonne Poulton

Dorothy Evans

Beverley Rygg

Belza Greene

Parish Statistics 2015

2014

2013

Baptisms

8

18

3

Confirmations

0

10

0

Marriages

2

2

4

Deaths

9

12

7

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter to Vestries, 2016 to be read or circulated on the Sunday of the parish’s annual vestry meeting

To the Clergy, Churchwardens and Parishioners Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

As you gather today in the annual vestry meeting of your parish or congregation, I want to express my gratitude for your faithfulness in living out our diocesan mission to Worship God, Proclaim the Gospel and Embody in word and action the reconciling love of Jesus. The Area Bishops and I are especially thankful for the leadership of the clergy, churchwardens and officers of your parish. I am deeply mindful of the prayer, "grant that we may never forget that our common life depends upon each other's toil" and that is so true of our life together as members of the Church. Thank you!

This year we have witnessed an almost unprecedented humanitarian crisis as the world's refugee and near-refugee population has surpassed 50 million people. The generosity of responses from so many is heartening. More than 40% of our parishes are in the process of sponsoring a refugee family either directly or in joining with other parishes or faith groups in assisting in a sponsorship. The Diocese has made a grant of $500,000 available through the Ministry Allocation Fund to support congregations in reaching out. Details of this grant will be circulated in the next few weeks.

I have asked Vestries to consider a motion about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report on Residential Schools. "Answering the Call for Reconciliation", a booklet prepared by our Social Justice working group, gives a concise background to the issues. This is an important matter for our Church. Many indigenous people are Anglican. The Anglican Church had a major role in residential schools. We have been given a mandate by our Lord to be agents of healing and reconciliation. However you decide to deal with the motion, I hope it leads to wide discussion and action in your parish.

In my Charge to Synod, (see www.toronto.anglican.ca/2015/11/13/archbishops-charge-to-synod ) I took as my theme "things old and new", a recognition that we need both to honour and use, to the best of our abilities, the excellent resources of our Anglican tradition. As well, we need to think and work outside the box, to find new and creative ways to respond to God`s call to mission in our own neighbourhoods. Not one or the other; both are required today.

This requires us to be "encouraging and continually re-centering the community in which we know that both the resources of stability and the risks of change come from the Spirit." "Re-centering" is critical. It is remembering what is at the heart of it all: God's unquenchable love for the whole of Creation revealed in Jesus Christ.

I have a continuing concern that we deepen our own understanding of our faith in Jesus Christ and our ability to speak of that faith reasonably and confidently, and to give voice "to the hope that lies within us" as St. Paul writes. I hope that you will find ways in your parish (or even better, working with other congregations) and on your own, to pursue that this year. Bible studies, discussion groups, book clubs and prayer circles are opportunities to gather and practise articulating the joy of a life that is rooted and grounded in Christ.

May you have a productive Vestry Meeting today and may you find this to be truly a Year of Grace.

Yours faithfully in Christ Jesus,

The Most Rev'd Colin R. Johnson Archbishop of Toronto

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135 Adelaide Street East Toronto ON M5C 1L8 Tele: 416-363-6021 (800-668-8932) Fax: 416-363-7678 Website: www.toronto.anglican.ca Email: ppoole@toronto.anglican.ca

A Pastoral Letter to Vestry 2016 Dear sisters and brothers in Christ;

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Incarnate Lord Jesus Christ as you gather to meet in Vestry. Vestry is both a time to look into the rear view mirror to reflect on the activity of God in the life of your parish in 2015 and a time to lay plans for the future and set sail into 2016.

A friend of mine from public school days knows that she is dying. She has determined to face her death and to live her life as fully as she can. She is travelling with her family to interesting parts of the world, celebrating the little joys of life, following her doctor’s advice, communicating with her many correspondents, and asking for prayers in the context of the faith that sustains her. At the end of her emails she includes a quotation: “You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust your sails.”

The prevailing headwinds of society seem to swirl around fear. The stock markets had a volatile year in 2015 and voices tell us the outlook for 2016 is not much better. The economy of the world seems to be sputtering and Canada is caught in the downdraft. Companies are laying people off work, thus creating enormous family and community challenges. The politics of fear mark elections on both sides of the 49th parallel. In many countries ordinary men and women live with the daily reality of exploding bombs, beheadings, oppressive governments, and corrupt leaders. I am told one in every 124 people on the planet is displaced from home. Add to that acts of inhuman violence, most recently in Paris, but also in Boston, Norway, Charleston, or London, and the seemingly ever-present security measures at major events and gatherings in the free world.

Fear, it seems to me, constantly blows its bitter wind, as it has done throughout history. The Great Depression of the late 1920s is remembered by very few today, more will remember the Second World War, the Bay of Pigs, the FLQ, Vietnam, 9/11, Syria—all these events are wrapped in fear. Indeed, I am deeply grateful to all those who in one way or another are bringing hope, new life, love, and shelter from the winds of fear to those presently coming to our shores from other lands.

Even the narratives of our sacred literature are filled with stories of fear. Ordinary people, people like you and I, encounter fear in their lives. Joshua and the Israelite people learn that Moses will no longer lead them to the Promised Land; the Israelites must face Goliath; a startled Mary receives the visitation of Gabriel; the shepherds in the field are greeted by angels whose first words urge them to fear not; Ananias is fearful in the presence of Saul as were the early Christians in the face of the oppressive Roman Empire—these are but a few of the hundreds of examples of human fear contained within those biblical pages.

Our generation has not invented fear. Fear is a real human condition. It must be faced one way or another, either head on or by adjusting one’s sails, but it will not prevail.

On more than a hundred occasions, scripture simply says “Be not afraid.” Why? Because God is there, God is present, God was with them then, God is with us now. Fear will not go away unless it is faced and dealt with. That is a key message of the Christmas season just celebrated, a season fading in our memory—Emmanuel, “God is with us”.

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson Key messages about facing fear, delivered to me in my childhood, often involved courage and bravery. ‘Be brave,’ I was told as the doctor was readying to push a needle into my skin. ‘Be courageous,’ even though the bully once again had me in his sights. There is some truth to these rallying cries. As I have aged, however, I have found that it is in fact faith that trumps courage and bravery as an antidote to fear—faith that God is still in charge of God’s universe despite the voices saying that is not so, and faith that God will work in and through me.

There is no doubt that you and I live in a society whose headwinds are dominated by fear. The church living in the context of such a society is not immune to that fear. Will we survive? Will we have enough money? Will someone take on that job? Perhaps those voices will be heard at Vestry. Our challenge is not to be beaten down by the prevailing winds of fear but to live as people of faith, confident that the God who has journeyed through life with us so far has not abandoned us but is, still, Emmanuel.

I find it helpful to be reminded that we are not a church that has a God, but rather it is God who has a church. It is God’s church, through which God proclaims God’s mission, to God’s people, in God’s world.

In God’s church we are not alone, but are in community with others who have chosen faith in Jesus Christ as their Way through life. In the community of the church we find acceptance, itself an antidote to fear. In being accepted we are reminded that no matter who we are, where we have been, what we have done, God loves us. In the church, God has given us a community in which we can find strength in times of trouble, by which we can face the storms of fear in our lives, and through which we can stand up to the evils of this world. Mathew 20:28, “Remember I am with you always.”

So, as you meet in Vestry and address the necessary business and concerns of the parish, may the God who stilled the storms on the Sea of Galilee and calmed the fears of the disciples bring you the faith to move with confidence into the future.

Yours in Christ

The Right Reverend Philip Poole Area Bishop of York-Credit Valley Bishop Suffragan of Toronto

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Minutes of 56th Annual Vestry Meeting - Sunday, February 1st 2015 (84 parishioners in attendance) The 2015 (56th) Vestry was called to order at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, February 1st, with Stephen Peake saying a prayer of thanksgiving for the lunch and a prayer of grace for the meeting. Next, Stephen read the names of those parishioners who were called to be with the Lord in 2014 and he led a moment of silence to remember them. Stephen asked for a motion to have Hazlon Schepmyer named the Vestry Clerk; Jocelyn Beckles put forward the motion, it was seconded by Doreen Tunney and carried unanimously.

Stephen reviewed the letters from the Bishops then asked for any comments on the minutes of the 2014 meeting. One parishioner noted a mistake in the minutes: under the financial report for 2013 there is reference to 2014 in the third paragraph. Donna McLean moved acceptance of 2013 minutes, Paul Moore seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Stephen reviewed his Rector’s report and offered special thanks to: (i) the outgoing Wardens - Emily Moore and Lorraine Bryan; (ii) his fellow clergy - Victor Shepherd and Tom Smith (iii) the church staff - Kate Smith, Grace Terrett, David Poole, Arthur McGlashan and Liz Isajiw (iv) two outgoing, inaugural Purpose Committee chairs - Lesley Nevins for Fellowship and Sheelagh Reades for Evangelism (v) the Treasurer - Doreen Tunney One parishioner asked about the option of having an open purse for Tom Smith given that we are not able to pay him a salary because he is not a Canadian citizen. Stephen explained that we are not allowed to collect money to give to him as it would jeopardize our charitable and tax status. Another parishioner asked if the Vestry report can be posted online and Stephen agreed to have it posted on the website as soon as possible. Stephen asked for any questions about the Curate’s report but there were none. Tom was unable to present the report himself because he was one of four leaders at Pioneer camp with the youth for the weekend.

Emily Moore, outgoing Rector’s Warden, and Lorraine Bryan, outgoing People’s Warden, presented the Wardens’ Report and began by thanking everyone who works behind-the-scenes to make St. Bride’s such a wonderful, vibrant, viable community built on a foundation of prayer. They offered special thanks to: (i) Dave Findlay for returning to be Warden after his original four-year term was completed (ii) Jim McInnis and Rick Penton for their continuous support as Deputy Wardens (iii) Stephen and Sarah Peake for their formal and informal ministry There were no questions about the Wardens’ Report.

Doreen Tunney, Treasurer, presented the budget. See Appendix A for the slides that summarize: offerings/income, expenses, financial results coming into 2014, long-term plan for Reserve Fund (i.e., keep it at $40,000), closing balance for 2014 and places/ partners who received money from financial donations. Doreen drew attention to the fact that our inability to pay Tom until he is a Canadian citizen made a major difference in the expenses for 2014. As well, financial donations were much higher than budget which shows that when the church asked, the parishioners came through (total $574,771).

Doreen explained that we were instructed by the auditors to consolidate all of our project funds. The Capital Projects Fund now captures all of the projects that are not part of operating/running the church. This fund also includes the projects from the Jubilee Campaign expenses. See Appendix A for a list of projects that make up the Capital Fund.

Doreen also showed slides summarizing: the income from parishioners and granting agencies for each project; a breakdown of the Jubilee Campaign items that were transferred; donation receipts, funding and disbursements; the transfers and the outstanding balances/proposed disbursements.

When the floor was opened to questions from parishioners, one person asked for confirmation that we will pay Tom once his paperwork and documentation are in order. Stephen confirmed that we will. Another question was raised about the payment plan for paying down the loan. The answer provided was that paying down the loan will continue to be a priority.

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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Mikail Viegas presented the 2015 budget which was created with the same process as last year (i.e., asking individuals to explain what they will need for the year and how much it will cost). He pointed out that we expect our expenses to go up in 2015 because our staff contingent will go up (e.g., Julie comes off of the books/payroll then Tom and Kate Smith come onto the books/payroll).

Appendix B includes the slides outlining the proposed income and expenses in the budget. At the conclusion of his presentation, Mikail reported that from the net amount of $21,000, $10,000 goes to debt reduction and $12,000 goes to the Special Reserve fund.

One parishioner asked about the diocesan assessment and its relationship to the number of parishioners. Stephen explained that the assessment is similar to taxes in that there is a very detailed formula used to calculate it and the formula includes number of parishioners. Stephen also clarified that the congregation receives many benefits from being part of the diocese such as grant money for windows, curates, A/V (almost $15,000 for each).

At the conclusion of both presentations, Doreen Tunney put forth a motion to approve the 2014 financial report; it was seconded

by Paul Moore and carried unanimously. Then, Mikail Viegas put forward a motion to accept the proposed 2015 budget. It was seconded by Dave Findlay and carried unanimously.

Rick Penton presented the property committee report and thanked the committee members (Brad Sinclair, Dave Topley, Dave Poole, Rick Penton, Harley May, David Finlay, Denys Reades, and Stewart Bryan). Rick also thanked Linda Sinclair, Wendy Davies and Heather Lowe-Murray for their work on the kitchen.

Highlights of the committee’s major projects in 2014 include: (i) upgrading the kitchen (ii) remediating the asbestos in the building (iii) updating the electrical work for the Audio/Visual project (iv) recalibrating the elevator’s pressure sensors Rick explained that the church was cited by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) because Thyssen-Krupp did not ensure that the elevators had appropriate sensors when they were installed. We are now in compliance and have changed to an elevator service company called Bruce which has proved to be very professional and is working hard to keep us up to standard.

Some smaller projects in 2014 were: lighting improvements, lawn and garden maintenance, railing improvement outside of the rainbow room, completing a formal, ten-year building inspection mandated by the Diocese. Some of the 2015 projects include: upgrading security with Tyco, installing shut-off valves for outside taps, installing gutter leaf guards.

Rick summarized some of the upcoming major projects such as: accessibility upgrades, minor roof repairs as well as replacing light fixtures in the upper narthex and main hall. Estimated costs are $95,000. Rick also looked longer term and presented a slide outlining projects that are proposed in the ten-year report. Rick presented a slide summarizing the projects from the last decade to demonstrate that we’ve been spending about $100,000 each year on capital projects There were no questions following the Property Committee report. Rick moved acceptance of the report, Des Williams seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Ica Payton presented the Envelope Secretary’s report and concluded with a special request for parishioners who are not using PAR to consider it prayerfully and for those who are using PAR to consider increasing the amount of their donations. There were no questions for Ica. She moved acceptance of her report, Brad Sinclair seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Courtenay Warren presented the Elliot Trust Fund report and demonstrated that the monies continue to be spent properly/ invested according to the instructions from the benefactor. There were no questions and Courtenay moved acceptance of his report. Wendy Davies seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Stephen Peake and Emily Moore reviewed the slate of appointees. See Appendix C for a complete list.

Bill Kingston moved that Donna McLean be elected for Deputy People’s Warden. It was seconded by Bonnie Kuehl and carried unanimously.

Wendy Davies put forth one omnibus motion that all candidates presented on the election slate be elected. Catherine Soplet

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Minutes of 56th Annual Vestry Meeting - Sunday, February 1st 2015 (Continued) seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

David Findlay moved that the Resolution on signing authority, which is taken straight from the Diocesan Canon, be accepted. It was seconded by Edwin Lewis and carried unanimously. See Appendix D for all Resolutions.

Doreen Tunney moved that the Resolution for choosing Norton McMullen as our auditing firm for 2015 be accepted. It was seconded by Donna McLean and carried unanimously.

After the Resolution for church outreach partners was presented, three questions were raised and answered: (i) Funding for the mission trip that Bridget Poole and David Kingston took to Bangladesh was provided through donations to Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship. (ii) Bishop Robertson is now working in the Diocese of the Yukon instead of the Arctic Diocese so his affiliation on the formal list of outreach partners has changed. However, both dioceses are included on the list of outreach partners. (iii) Funding for Rachel Jeffers-Wilson’s mission trip to Peru was made possible because the Wardens agreed to support her and added her agency to the list of outreach partners for 2014.

Brian Dixon moved acceptance of the Resolution outlining the outreach partners for 2015, Ica Payton seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Dee Nevett moved that all the reports in the Vestry report be accepted, Wendy Lewis seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously.

Stephen Peake opened the floor up for Other Business and the following information was shared: Brian Dixon thanked everyone for donating Canadian Tire money for Compass Clients. He will continue to collect the money and use it to purchase household items such as toilet paper.

Des Williams announced that, as the chair and sole member of the Stewardship Committee, he has aligned himself with the Property Committee given their common interests/activities. He also reminded parishioners about the Caribbean night report in the Vestry report.

Stephen Peake’s final message was a reminder for parishioners to consider three opportunities: (i) co-chairing the Property Committee with David Findlay (ii) leading the Christmas Miracle on Miracle Day and the Friday before it (sorting clothes) because Hanna Davis and family will be out of the country (iii) working with Des Williams on the Stewardship committee At approximately 1:30 p.m., Stewart Bryan moved that the meeting be adjourned, Jocelyn Beckles seconded the motion and it was carried unanimously. According to the attendance sheet, 84 parishioners attended the meeting.

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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Rector’s Report 2016 It seems that every year, as I reflect on the past year and sit down to write my Vestry Report, I find a gratitude within myself for all that God is doing through people in our congregation. Many of the highlights you will find within this Report Book, so I won’t repeat everything here. However, as you read through this Book, perhaps you will take a moment to give thanks to God for the leadership and commitment that underlies the various activities of this past year.

Most of you know that our church is structured around five primary areas of ministry: outreach, evangelism, worship, fellowship and discipleship. The intent behind this structure is to continually remind us of why the church exists and what God calls us to be about. We have people making sure that we are engaged in all of these areas ministry and mission-- the biblical mandate for the Church. I am grateful for those who have participated and led each of these ministry areas over the past year. Without your commitment, it would be easy for the church to be about little more than Sunday mornings and a few church meals. But St Bride’s is actively engaged in evangelism (reaching out into our community with the Good News of Jesus Christ); outreach both locally and around the world; worship including special worship events in our own congregation and also joining with other Clarkson churches for Holy Week services; fellowship—good meals but also special social events and coffee hours through the year; and discipleship which includes all aspects of our learning through retreats, small groups and special workshops. And so, I am especially grateful to Bill Kingston, Jane Moore, Emily Moore, Bonnie Kuehl, Karen Colenbrander, Hanna Davis and Neal Samuel for taking on leadership or co-leadership of these Ministry Teams at St Bride’s.

In order for these ministries to happen, we need to look after the physical building God has entrusted to us, and we need to be able to pay our bills. The Property Committee and the Finance Committee have once again done an exceptional job and I’m grateful to those involved—especially Dave Findlay and Mikail Viegas for chairing these groups, and Doreen Tunney our Treasurer.

One of the exciting outreach efforts of St Bride’s in 2015 came right at the end of the year. Late in the summer, I was approached by three members of the Church all on the same day, asking if we could do anything in response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis. We invited the leader of AURA (Anglican United Refugee Alliance) to come and speak to our congregation about what is involved in refugee sponsorship. Forty-five parishioners turned out for that evening, and the overwhelming response meant that the process moved ahead quickly. We determined that we would need about $40,000 to sponsor a family for a year, along with donated household items, and a commitment from a core group of people to do the leg work involved.

Within one week of asking the congregation for financial support, we received over $40,000. All of the necessary donated items were in place within a few weeks, and we had a leadership team in place consisting of Iris Kingston, Elizabeth St Onge, Des Williams, Shelly Maguire, Beth Robinson, Ed Yohanna (who speaks some Arabic) and myself. This team, along with the support of many in the congregation, welcomed the Al Hussein family to Canada on December 30th. By January 2nd they were moved into a townhouse, and as I write this report, the three young children are now attending White Oaks School and their parents, Riad and Aisha, are about to begin ESL classes. This has been an exciting venture for our congregation as we make a real and meaningful difference in the lives of the Al Husseins. Please pray for them as they begin their new life here.

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Our staffing situation has been fairly stable in 2015. The only change came when Kate Smith had to step down as our Children and Family Minister in order to teach full time. Bridget Poole has taken on this role, and I’m grateful to both Kate and Bridget for their ministries with children in our church. The Reverend Tom Smith was ordained priest in 2015 and has continued in his role as Curate and Youth Minister. Under his leadership the Youth Group continues to thrive.

Liz Isajiw joined the Ministry Team as Interim Organist/Pianist, while Arthur McGlashan was on sick leave for the first half of the year. Arthur was able to return in the late summer, and Liz has been able to stay on to fill in when needed and to lead a second Praise Team. Arthur and Liz are both great to work with, and are an important part of our worship life at St Bride’s. Grace Terrett and Dave Poole both continue to be a vital part of our congregation’s life, and it is a pleasure working with them as well. We are truly blessed to have the team of staff that we do.

As I conclude my report, I want to say again how tremendously grateful I am to be a part of such an engaged and vibrant and faithful Christian community. There are so many who give selflessly of their time and talent and resources to make St Bride’s the church it is. I am always reluctant to start listing names because so many are involved—some up front, and some behind the scenes. However, I do especially want to thank our four wardens because they put in an enormous amount of time and energy. Jim McInnes and Rick Penton who took on the Senior Warden roles in 2015, and they were joined by Beth Robinson and Donna MacLean as Junior Wardens. I am very grateful for their ministries and for the support they provide me personally. Finally I want to specifically thank Hanna Davis who is stepping down from leading the Outreach Team, but will continue to organize our annual Christmas Miracle. I also want to thank Dave Findlay as he steps down as Chair of the Property Committee.

And, of course, I also want to thank my wife Sarah and my boys, Daniel and Tom, for their love and support!

2015 has been a good year at St Bride’s. God has led us in new and fresh directions, and called us to continue to reach out to the world which so desperately needs to hear the Gospel. I conclude by thanking all of you for making our church such a great place to be. May God continue to guide and lead us as we move forward in service to Him.

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Canon Stephen Peake Canon Stephen Peake, Rector

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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Curate’s Report Am I the Curate? I suppose so, but it feels more like Assistant Priest.

I’ve never felt like a curate, who is only getting his two years of training in, until he can shove off to his “own” church. Saint Bride’s is my church. All the same, I am being trained, and very well.

Stephen has allowed me to take the lead in just about every form of church ministry. Without his encouragement and your support, how would I be prepared for what lies ahead? And I do feel prepared. But I do not know what lies ahead. I know that God has been good to me and Katie and the kids, because he gave us Saint Bride’s (my ordination in June!) And I’m certain that he will be good to us in the future. I’m sure the other curates in the Diocese of Toronto are doing well, but how can you do better than at Saint Bride’s?

Youth Ministry Report The Youth Group has continued to have a strong year.

By the time this report is read we will have gone to our second annual winter retreat at Ontario Pioneer Camp. This year even more kids came than last. And week to week, there are 20-30 kids, most are still from unchurched families.

We have gone over various biblical teachings (for example: faith, lordship, truth, dating, families) and spent a considerable amount of time together. There has been an overnight at the church, Thanksgiving dinner, small groups and leadership development.

I’m very grateful for the support from the church and consistency of the Youth Volunteers. And most importantly, I’m so very proud of our youth. I love going every Friday. Don’t get me wrong, it’s exhausting! ( I drink a monster energy drink before Youth Group to get ready!)

But I do love it. I love being around them. And hopefully, they will see one day that what drives this love is not sentimentality, but Jesus Christ.

Yours in Christ,

Tom The Reverend Tom Smith Curate and Youth Minister, St Bride’s

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Children’s Ministry at St Bride’s I started working at St. Bride’s doing Children and Families Ministry in September 2015.

Pumpkin carving in October An event intended to foster fellowship and creativity in the church. 3 families attended, consisting of 11 people total. Families painted and carved pumpkins together, helped and bonded with one another.

Family Arts Bible Study Family Fine Arts Bible Study helped families see how the Arts are present within the church and how they can be used for understanding God and growing spiritually. Families created artwork stemming from Bible studies or spiritual themes. Over the four weeks we had a total of 18 people participate.

Advent Event – Advent Calendar Making The Advent Event happened after the 9:15 service on November 22nd. 4 families (a total of 18 people) attended.

Families enjoyed a pizza lunch, and made Advent Calendars which they could hang in their homes. Each day of the Calendar had a bible verse, activity, craft, and/or prayer to lead/guide families in the Advent season, and help children to understand.

Children’s Christmas Pageant There were 25 kids in the pageant, with 5 + adults helping alongside the parents. We filmed the pageant and had live parts to it in order to satisfy, not only the sound and flow of the performance, but the children’s desires to perform live as well. There were two filming days, and one rehearsal during the Sunday school program. Kids practiced and knew the songs. Kids and parents enjoyed watching themselves/their children on screen.

Bridget Poole Children’s and Families’ Minister, St Bride’s

VBS 2015 I would say that VBS this year was a success. It was filled with teenaged volunteers, some great moms and dad's helping with games and activities and wonderful Grandma's and St. Bride's Sunday School teachers in the Kitchen. I have to say that it always amazes me how many of our parish members contribute to make this annual event a success. From pool noodles to black ice, it's amazing what people bring. We had some of the amazing contribution from VBS regulars such as Cate Wallace and Harley May and his boys, to new helpers in many other roles. The Everest theme was really enjoyed by the kids as they got to know their "buddies" and prayed with their groups about how God can help them heal from hurt, and they even talked about big topics like forgiveness and God's mercy. My favourite part was watching all the kids engage in all the VBS praise and worship songs, with all the actions belting out the words "My God is powerful". Definitely a fun start to the summer and a real blessing to our kids.

Great job, everyone!

Kate Smith

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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Wardens’ Report 2015 was a busy and successful year. We have many people to thank for making this happen.

In February 2015, we welcomed two new deputy wardens to the team and they have eagerly assumed many of the tasks that were needed to be undertaken. The two new wardens, as well as one of the senior wardens attended the Parish Leadership Workshop.

We appreciate the leadership that we have received from the property committee to try to keep the “Mortar and Brick” portion of St. Brides together for another year. We have also worked closely with the treasurer and the finance committee, to keep the corporation in good financial shape and appreciate their guidance. Our various committees have had a very successful year and have brought many interesting events to St. Brides this past year. You can read more about these events in their individual reports but to mention a few, we have enjoyed the Tage Steel Band performance, the Bud Roach concert, our Annual Picnic and the back to church BBQ. We had a great afternoon and evening with the Pan Amazing Fiesta. The Caribbean night was another treat for the congregation again this year. Many other activities such as the Vacation Bible School, the Ontario Youth Party Dance, and the youth retreat were also well received by those who volunteered the time and materials to such worthy causes, as well as by those who attended.

There is another group of volunteers who give freely of their time and talents and who mostly go unnoticed. These are the people who work behind the scenes to look after such items as our website, the church database software, the scheduling program (which we fully implemented in 2015), and our audio Visual requirements. Other people in this category look after cleaning out the pews, arranging the books, looking after the gardens, making weekly phone calls, the chancel guild and those who fold bulletins for the various services. We have probably missed some, but all of them are greatly appreciated by the wardens, for the efforts to keep St. Brides as a great place to worship. We are blessed by the talents of all those people who belong to the music ministries at St. Brides. We observed our annual Remembrance Day Ceremony in November. Thank you to all of you who took part in the ceremony. We also rang the bells on September 9 at 12:30 to recognise Queen Elizabeth’s lengthy reign.

The Wardens’ official business commitments have been completed as needed. All supplier, staff and rentals agreements and contracts were signed as required. Contracts for the rental for the premises for the Teachers Union, The French Language Summer Camps and the Cedarglen Nursery school are in place and these rentals have all provided significant revenue to the parish.

It is unfortunate, however, Liz Tsuji has given informal notice of termination of Cedarglen Nursery School.

This will end at the completion of the school year and we will be actively looking for a replacement for this rental income. Thanks to Liz for the many years she has operated the school on the premises.

During the summer, new Server and Lay Readers robes were purchased and we will continue to replace more of the Lay Readers robes in 2016.

There has been a change in the status of the Diocese in Tanzania. We can no longer support this outreach program. We are looking at ways to send the funds that have already been donated to this ministry in Tanzania but we will no longer be accepting funds for this outreach ministry.

The Christmas Miracle and our support of the Compass were very much appreciated by all who benefitted from these programs. Thanks to all of you who supported them.

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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16

Annual Vestry Report

In 2015, the parish made the decision to respond to the recent Syrian Refugee crisis and sponsor a family coming to Canada; a new committee was formed to support this initiative. We are happy to report that the Al Hussein family have now arrived and have settled into their new home in Clarkson. The parish responded immediately to the family’s needs through the generous contributions of prayer, money, household items and time. The financial commitment to the family is for one year; however we hope that that we build a relationship that will go far beyond that year. Thanks to Ian McBride (AURA www.auraforrefugees.org) for meeting with our Refugee committee to officially kickoff the initiative.

Our Stewardship committee was faced with the challenge to raise additional funds for much needed maintenance within the Church. The parish responded to the need and the committee was able to meet and actually exceed its goal. Both the fundraising for the Refugee initiative and the additional 2015 Capital needs were successful in reaching their goals and we appreciate the generosity of all of you who have contributed. Unfortunately, having two major fundraising events in one year may have had an impact in reaching our goal for parish giving.

The parish have discussed that we have a few key capital project ahead of us in the coming years; we are confident that we have the right support of our Committee members and parishioners to make the right decisions that best support our parish. On a positive note, we are starting off 2016 with a very generous donation to the capital fund that will help with the projects identified by the Property Committee.

The Church was notified that the Elliot Fund would no longer be administered by the Anglican Foundation as they are not handling financial matters go forward. We have moved the fund to the Diocese of Toronto. The money is currently in a GIC but will be moved to the consolidated trust fund as of January 1, 2016. This is the same repository as our other funds.

In 2015, we were excited to welcome Liz Isajiw, who was hired as our backup organist and also accepted a position as leader of our second praise team (which will involve a number of our youth). Grace Terrett will continue her leadership of the original praise team. Kate Smith was in the Leader role of Family Ministries but was offered and accepted a full time teaching position in the fall, so had to step down. Thank you Kate for your contributions! We were very fortunate that Bridget Poole was able to step forward into this position.

It was great to see the continued growth of the active youth group under Tom Smith’s leadership in 2015. They enjoyed their time together and contributed within the church, as was seen with their participation with the Christmas Miracle, where they organized to help buy gifts for kids in their age group. Tom has done an amazing job with the youth in our parish. Gerry Fairhead has been appointed Honorary Assistant at St. Brides. Victor Shepherd has agreed to serve as interim priest at a Baptist church in Etobicoke so he will be formally removed as honorary pastor at SBC and reinstated later.

It is important that we recognize and thank all of the staff, for the work that they do to support the needs of the parish under Stephen’s strong leadership; those people include our Ministers, our administrator, our property manager and our organist. Our parish is very fortunate to have such a dedicated team! Thank You!

Yours in Christ,

Jim McInnes, Rick Penton, Donna McLean and Beth Robinson A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Page 17

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Finance Committee Report The Finance Committee meets every month to review the operating income and expenses by month and year-to-date. This is then reported to Parish Council at each meeting.

In the fall we begin preparation of the next year’s budget for approval at Vestry. In addition, we review capital expenditures, both actual and forecasted, to ensure funds are available as required. The financial statements for last year and the proposed 2016 budget appear in another part of the Vestry report.

An important part of this process is to participate in, and review the results of our annual audit and act on recommendations provided by our auditor. We saw positive results this year as we continued to follow their advice to focus first on budgeting income and then developing an expense plan to balance.

The most recent audit yielded minor recommendations as the auditors determined that we had implemented all of the major suggestions that were critical to our operational success going forward.

Once again we must thank all the members of the committee but in particular Doreen Tunney’s commitment and dedication each week to all the financial needs of St Bride’s.

Finance Committee members:

Tom Smith, Jim McInnes, Donna McLean , John Nevins, Canon Stephen Peake, Rick Penton, Doreen Tunney, Beth Robinson and Mikail Viegas .

Mikail Viegas Finance Committee Chair

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report

1516 Clarkson Road North Mississauga, Ontario L5J 2W9 Telephone Fax Email Internet

Our Five Purposes

905-822-0422 905-822-4042 info@churchofstbride.com www.churchofstbride.com

The following Financial Statements for year ending December 31, 2015 are unaudited.

Worship Expressing our love for God

Outreach Showing compassion to others

The audited Financial Statements will be available, upon request, when the audit has been completed.

Evangelism Inviting others into relationship with God

Discipleship Growing and maturing in Christian faith

Fellowship Caring for each other in God’s family

Doreen Tunney Treasurer Church of St Bride Clarkson

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Page 19

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Statement of Financial Position Dec 31,2015unaudited

ASSETS

Dec 31,2014audited

Dec 31,2013audited

Assets 85,466

71,825

90,232

225,000

25,000

75,000

Accounts Receivable

14,580

40,723

32,156

Prepaid Expenses

17,760

16,115

15,170

342,806

153,663

212,558

0

532,901

508,251

Elliott Trust-with Diocese CTF

400,001

0

0

Legacy Fund-with Diocese CTF

103,784

104,573

100,000

Rectory Fund-In Trust (Diocese)

421,102

424,306

405,745

924,887

1,061,780

1,013,996

825,751

862,925

726,245

2,093,444

2,078,368

1,952,799

Dec 31,2015unaudited

Dec 31,2014audited

Dec 31,2013audited

26,289

12,456

29,309

0

150,000

150,000

Cash GIC

Restricted Investments Elliott Trust-Anglican Foundation

Capital Assets Building & Equipment

Total Assets

LIABILITIES Current Accounts Payable & Accrued Liabilities Loans payable Total Accounts Payable & Accrued Liabilities Loans Paid

26,289

162,456

179,309

150,000

0

0

976

11,248

(2,607)

48,738

41,738

39,738

8,446

(151,544)

(121,961)

812,759

863,618

726,245

Fund Balances General Fund Internal Funds: Special Reserve Fund Capital General & Projects Fund Property Fund

2,333

0

9,160

Jubilee Campaign Fund

44,157

63,117

92,364

Memorial & Special Events

17,644

10,645

4,910

Outreach Funds

57,214

15,310

11,371

0

532,901

508,251

Elliott Trust Fund-with Diocese

400,001

0

0

Legacy Trust Fund-with Diocese

103,784

104,573

100,000

Rectory Fund-with Diocese

421,102

424,306

405,745

1,917,155

1,915,912

1,773,490

2,093,444

2,078,368

1,952,799

Curacy Fund

External Funds: Elliott Trust Fund-with Anglican Foundation

Total Fund Balance TOTAL LIABILITIES & FUND BALANCES

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report

Statement of Changes Year ending December 31, 2015 Excess Balance

(Deficiency) of

(Deficit)

Revenues over

Beginning

Revenues

Expenses

General Fund

11,248

454,994

465,766

(10,772)

500

976

Special Reserve Fund

41,738

0

0

0

7,000

48,738

(151,544)

164,922

12,876

152,046

7,945

8,447

(50,859)

0

812,759

Capital Fund Property Fund

863,618

Expenses

Balance Transfers

Ending

Curacy Fund

0

7,000

4,667

2,333

0

2,333

Jubilee Fund

63,117

840

4,800

(3,960)

(15,000)

44,157

Memorial Fund

10,645

13,886

5,742

8,144

(1,145)

17,644

Outreach Fund

15,310

69,734

28,530

41,204

700

57,214

532,901

14,137

547,038

(532,901)

0

0

0

400,001

0

400,001

0

400,001

104,574

2,368

3,158

(790)

0

103,784

424,306

24,185

27,389

(3,204)

0

421,102

1,862,927

697,073

634,200

62,873

(7,500)

1,867,441

1,915,913

1,152,067

1,099,966

52,101

0

1,917,155

1,773,490

739,440

597,018

142,422

0

1,915,912

Elliott Trust Fund Anglican Foundation Elliott Trust Fund Diocese of Toronto Legacy Fund Diocese of Toronto Rectory Fund Diocese of Toronto

TOTAL PRIOR YEAR TOTAL

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Page 21

Church of St Bride, Clarkson General Fund Statement - 2015 Income Opening Balance Open Collection Parish Seasonal Youth Ministry Total Offerings Chancel Guild Christian Education Evangelism Events/Sundry Revenue Flowers Interest Rental - church Youth Ministry Event Revenue Elliott Trust Fund Dividends Legacy Fund Dividends Rectory Fund Dividends Other Income Transfer from Jubilee Fund-Family Ministry Total Other Income Total Income

Expenses Advertising Anglican Foundation Loan Interest Audit Fee Catering Chancel Guild Christian Education Church Maintenance Church Utilities Diocesan Assessment Discipleship Evangelism Fellowship Flowers Insurance Miscellaneous Music Ministry Office Expenses Parish Outreach Salaries and Benefits Synod Costs Travel Youth Ministry Total Expenses Receipts over Expenses Transfer (to) from Special Reserve Fund Transfer (to) Fund Repayment Audit transfers Net Operating Fund Balance includes C/Fwd

2015 Actual-unaudited 11,248 5,800 356,072 10,844 1,652 374,368 963 2,785 4,043 5,889 3,510 275 26,211 895 15,076 4,148 16,831 80,626 15,000 95,626 469,994

2015 Budget 402 7,000 385,000 22,000 1,500 415,500 300 4,000 3,000 2,000 500 27,000 500 21,000 3,500 16,000 77,800 25,000 102,800 518,300

2014 Actual (2,607) 6,673 364,314 19,125 1,369 391,481 234 2,696 0 1,340 3,222 835 28,372 0 18,701 3,947 16,014 75,360 17,000 92,360 483,841

2015 Actual-unaudited 103 5,625 12,000 3,328 2,481 4,482 24,167 22,596 71,524 0 3,351 604 3,916 13,767 0 3,258 12,831 9,200 267,940 420 1,308 2,865 465,766 4,228 (7,000) (7,500)

2015 Budget 250 7,500 12,000 2,000 1,300 6,500 37,000 24,000 71,524 500 1,500 1,000 2,000 15,500 50 3,500 13,000 8,000 284,000 1,000 3,000 1,500 496,624 21,676 (12,000) (10,000)

976

78

2014 Actual 153 7,500 12,000 2,206 1,682 6,143 30,285 23,807 69,157 0 1,334 675 3,315 14,521 0 2,195 14,350 6,200 268,073 0 2,353 299 466,247 17,595 (12,000) 0 8,260 11,248

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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22

Annual Vestry Report

General Capital Fund 4,735

Balance at Jan 1, 2015 Receipts Parishioner donations

119,055 1,304

Transfers Disbursements

119,055 2,500 0

(1,196) 0 122,594

Balance December 31, 2015

Capital Needs Fund 0

Balance at Jan 1, 2015 Receipts Donations

12,286 16,415 100

Pledges Transfers

5,420

Disbursements Balance December 31, 2015

28,701 100 5,420 23,381

2009 High Roof (66,075)

Balance at Jan 1, 2015

0 0

Receipts Transfers

0 (66,075)

Disbursements Balance December 31, 2015

2012 North Transept Window (86,899)

Balance at Jan 1, 2015 Receipts Parishioner donations Our Faith/Our Hope Rebates Transfers Disbursements

4,280 11,166

15,446 0 0 (71,453)

Balance December 31, 2015

2014 Audio/Video Project Balance January 1, 2015 Receipts 7,500

Transfers Disbursements

162 4,650

Balance December 31, 2015

(2,688) 0 7,338 4,650 0

2014 Kitchen Project Balance January 1, 2015 Receipts Transfers Disbursements Balance December 31, 2015

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

1,720 2,845

1,142 2,806

(617) 1,720 1,703 2,806 0

Page 23

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Curacy Fund 2015 Balance at January 1, 2015

0

Receipts From Diocese

7,000

7,000

Disbursements To General Fund

4,667

Balance December 31, 2015

4,667

2,333

Jubilee Campaign Fund 2015 Balance at January 1, 2015

63,117

Revenue Donations

840 840

Disbursements Guest Speakers Roatan for purchase of materials

800 4,000 4,800

Transfers To Operating-Family Ministry

15,000 15,000

Balance at December 31, 2015

44,157

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report Elliott Trust Fund 2015

Balance at January 1, 2015 with Anglican Foundation Canada Loan outstanding

382,901 150,000 532,901

Investments adjustments 3rd quarter market revaluation Fund closure From Anglican Foundation Outstanding loan retired

14,137

14,137 547,038

397,038 150,000.00

397,038 150,000 547,038

Balance at September 30, 2015

0 400,000

Balance at October 2015 with Diocese of Toronto GIC Interest from October - December 31 to General Fund 2015 year ending market revaluation Balance at December 31, 2015

1

1 400,001

Legacy Fund with Diocese of Toronto-CTF Balance at January 1, 2015 Revenue 1st quarter fund revaluation 2nd quarter fund revaluation 3rd quarter fund revaluation 4th quarter fund revaluation

104,573 3,593 2,193 4,557 2,368 (790)

Investment Interest to General Fund Balance at December 31, 2015

103,784

Rectory Fund with Diocese of Toronto-CTF Balance at January 1, 2015 Revenue 1st quarter fund revaluation 2nd quarter fund revaluation 3rd quarter fund revaluation 4th quarter fund revaluation

424,306

14,577 8,898 18,491 9,608 (3,204)

Investment Interest to General Fund Balance at December 31, 2015 A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

421,102

Page 25

Church of St Bride, Clarkson Specified Accounts within Memorial & Specified Accounts ACW Account Balance at January 1, 2015 Receipts Transfers Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

814 505

505 245 191

436 883

Caribbean Night Account Balance at January 1, 2015 Receipts Transfers Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

1,054 1,548

1,548 1,000 282

1,282 1,320

Christmas Miracle Balance at January 1, 2015 Receipts Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

3,080 1,911

1,323 3,080 1,911 2,492

OverPlus Account Balance at January 1, 2015 Deposits Donations Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

2,056 492 205 718

697 718 2,035

Rector's Discretionary Account Balance at January 1, 2015 Donations Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

1,455 225

838 1,455 225 2,067

Memorials Balance at January 1, 2015 Donations Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

1,413 4,106 0 5,520

4,106

Other funds Balance at January 1, 2015 Donations Disbursements Balance at December 31, 2015

2,494

2,315

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

3,147 2,494 2,315 3,326

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Annual Vestry Report

Outreach Funds Balance Brought Forward January 1, 2015 Ministry Donations Camp Fund 302 Camp Koinonia 1,000 Caring and Sharing 605 Church Community Volunteers 50 Compass 4,275 Diocese of the Arctic 1,290 Diocese of Yukon800 FaithWorks 2,844 I.V.C.F. - David Kingston 1,935 I.V.C.F. - Matt Lindo 3,635 Open Door Ministries 100 Primates World Relief 50 S.A.M.S - Canada 200 L.A.M. - Chile and Roatan 150 Syrian Refugee Family 44,878 8,360 Tanzania Fund - M. & R. Krizanc Total donations 70,474 Ministry Camp Fund Camp Koinonia Caring and Sharing Church Community Volunteers Compass Diocese of the Arctic Diocese of Yukon FaithWorks I.V.C.F. - David Kingston I.V.C.F. - Matt Lindo Open Door Ministries Primates World Relief S.A.M.S - Canada L.A.M. - Chile and Roatan Syrian Refugee Family Tanzania Fund - M. & R. Krizanc Total Disbursements

15,310

Disbursements 27 1,000 605 50 4,275 1,290 800 2,844 1,935 3,635 100 50 200 150 1,500 10,109 28,570

Balance at December 31, 2015 Note: Balances carried forward: Camp Fund: $2,019.75 / Refugee Family Fund: $43,378.36 / Tanzania Fund: $11,815.92

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

57,214

Page 27

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

St. Bride’s 2016 Proposed Budget Income

2016 Proposed

Opening Balance Open Collection Parish Seasonal Youth Ministry Total Offerings Chancel Guild Christian Education Evangelism Events/Sundry Revenue Flowers Interest Rental - church Youth Ministry Event Revenue Elliott Trust Fund Dividends Legacy Fund Dividends Rectory Fund Dividends Other Income Transfer from Jubilee Fund-Family Ministry Total Other Income

Total Income

Expenses Advertising Anglican Foundation Loan Interest Audit Fee Catering Chancel Guild Christian Education Church Maintenance Church Utilities Diocesan Assessment Discipleship Evangelism Fellowship Flowers Insurance Miscellaneous Music Ministry Office Expenses Parish Outreach Salaries and Benefits Synod Costs Travel Youth Ministry Total Expenses Receipts over Expenses Transfer to Special Reserve Fund Transfer to Fund Repayment Net Operating Fund Balance includes C/Fwd

976 7,000 400,000 18,000 1,500 426,500 400 3,500 500 3,000 3,500 1,000 17,000 1,500 14,000 4,000 16,000 64,400 15,000 79,400 505,900 2016 Proposed 250 0 9,000 2,000 2,000 5,500 35,000 26,800 75,610 500 1,500 1,220 2,000 13,825 50 3,500 13,000 10,000 284,000 250 2,000 2,800 490,805 15,095 0 (15,000) 1,071

2015 Actual-unaudited 11,248 5,800 356,072 10,844 1,652 374,368 963 2,785 4,043 5,889 3,510 275 26,211 895 15,076 4,148 16,831 80,626 15,000 95,626 469,994

2015 Budget 402 7,000 385,000 22,000 1,500 415,500 300 4,000 3,000 2,000 500 27,000 500 21,000 3,500 16,000 77,800 25,000 102,800 518,300

2015 Actual-unaudited 103 5,625 12,000 3,328 2,481 4,482 24,167 22,596 71,524 0 3,351 604 3,916 13,767 0 3,258 12,831 9,200 267,940 420 1,308 2,865 465,766 4,228 (7,000) (7,500) 976

2015 Budget 250 7,500 12,000 2,000 1,300 6,500 37,000 24,000 71,524 500 1,500 1,000 2,000 15,500 50 3,500 13,000 8,000 284,000 1,000 3,000 1,500 496,624 21,676 (12,000) (10,000) 78

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report

Property and Maintenance Maintaining and upgrading our church and surrounding property continues to require significant effort.

In the past year we continued to upgrade and maintain our church and property. We completed all the remaining tasks to complete the upgrades to the kitchen. Improvements to the lighting and doors in the main hall were also completed. Modest improvement to our security system were also completed.

Outside, the lawn and gardens continue to improve due to the efforts of Marion Hill, Grace Terrett, Ada and Brian Dixon, Edmead Turner, Donna McLean, Jackie and Bruce Wright, Mas and Liz Tsuji, and others. In addition 3 dead or dying trees were also removed. Gutters, and eave troughs were replaced but more work is required.

Moving into 2016 we need to repair the lower roof and west end gables. We will also need to explore the cost of upgrading the capacity of our elevator and upgrade radiator thermostats throughout the church.

We will also be working to develop options to repair or replace the South Transept window and repair or replace the bell tower. We will be seeking opinions from the congregation on these major projects.

In conclusion, we will continue to repair and upgrade our church and are thankful for the continuing support of the congregation. It is estimated that these efforts will continue to require financial support of approximately $70,000.per year.

Dave Findlay Property and Maintenance Committee Chair

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Page 29

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Stewardship The Capital Needs Budget was set at $25,000. The campaign to reach this goal started the end of May, 2015 and we needed to achieve this goal by December, 2015. Thanks to the generosity of our congregation, we met and exceeded our goal in the allotted time, raising $28,100.00. Thanks be to God. Sincerely in Christ, 2015-Capital Needs pledges and donations

Des Williams, Stewardship Chairperson

Amount

Income Total Donations

7,280.00

Total PAR

5,106.00

Total 2015-Capital Needs pledges

16,415.00

Total 2015-Capital Needs pledges

28,801.00

Expenses Lighting upgrade

(5,420.32)

Capital Needs Balance December 31,2015

23,380.68

Envelope Secretary’s Report In 2015 we had 300 offering envelope sets printed and 230 assigned. 50 were unused and 20 were never picked up.

Below is a comparison of the use of envelopes in the years 2015 and 2014:

2015

2014

230 (77%)

240 (80%)

Sets used occasionally

20 (7%)

20 (7%)

Sets never used Regular contributors using PAR

50 (16%) 79

40 (13%) 74

Sets used regularly

We also have a few parishioners who prefer not to have envelopes, but like to support St. Bride’s:

2015

2014

10 20

6 20

Number of families on Parish List Percentage that supports the church

344 81%

344 83%

Giving of $40 month or less Percentage providing most of the funds

5% 76%

10% 73%

Gave regularly Gave occasionally

“But just as you excel in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving” 2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV). Let us all rise to the challenge in 2016.

Respectfully submitted,

Ica Payton, Envelope Secretary Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report

Elliott Trust Fund Committee Report for 2015 The Trust Fund Committee is made up of a Chairperson, four members at large, (two men and two women) who are elected at the annual Vestry meetings, and four ex-officio members: the Rector, the Senior Peoples’ Warden, the Rector’s Warden, the Chair of the Finance Committee and the Treasurer.

Committee for 2015 Chairperson: Courtenay Warren; Members at Large: Dave Findlay, Bob Kay, Marg Sprague and a vacancy; Exofficio members: The Rector, Senior Peoples Warden, the Chair of the Finance Committee and the Treasurer.

The income from the trust is administered by the Treasurer. Under the terms of the late Stephen Elliott’s will, the Church Wardens are responsible for the use of the income derived from the assets of the Fund and the capital, and may approve the use for: i. Youth Ministry of the Church of St. Brides, Clarkson. ii. The education of youth members of the Church of St. Brides, Clarkson. iii. To support ministry and/or outreach programs of the Church of St. Brides, Clarkson.

In 2015, allocations continued to be made to Youth Ministry, the Education of Youth Members and in support of Ministry and Outreach Programs. No new applications were received in 2015.

We had our annual meeting with the Anglican Foundation in June 2015. During the meeting, the Anglican Foundation announced that they would no longer be managing the Elliott Trust Fund. Therefore the Anglican Foundation agreed to terminate their agreement with the Church of St. Brides respect to managing the portfolio of the Elliott Trust Fund. The termination of the agreement was made effective as of September 30, 2015.

As of September 30, 2015, the Anglican Foundation reported the following, Elliott Trust Investment at market value

$397,038

St. Bride’s Development Fund Loan outstanding

$150,000

Total

$547,038

As a result of the termination of the agreement, proceeds in the amount of $397,038 were paid to the Church of St. Bride by the Anglican Foundation. With respect to the $150,000 loan outstanding, both parties agreed that the loan has been effectively repaid upon termination of the agreement on September 30, 2015 and that the parties have no further obligation to each other.

In October 2015, there was $400,000 in proceeds from the disposition of Fund and 3rd quarter interest payments that were received from the Anglican Foundation and deposited into the Consolidated Trust Fund of the Diocese of Toronto. It was agreed that the Diocese of Toronto will manage the portfolio of the Elliott Trust Fund such that 30% of the Fund’s return on capital be reinvested back in the capital of the Fund and the remaining 70% be disbursed to the Church of St. Bride on a quarterly basis.

We look forward to continuing success in 2016 in meeting the late Mr. Elliott’s wishes.

Respectively submitted;

Courtenay Warren, Chair of Elliott Trust Fund

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

St Bride’s Five Purposes Committee Reports Discipleship Growing and maturing in Christian faith

Evangelism Inviting others into relationship with God

Fellowship Caring for each other in God’s family

Outreach Showing compassion to others

Worship Expressing our love for God

Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

Page 31

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Annual Vestry Report

Discipleship

Spring retreat May 2nd 2015 with speaker Canon Susan Bell

We had 9 adults, 9 youth with Tom Smith leading and 3 children with Kate Smith leading. It was an amazing day of learning and growth for all. In a great location (Canterbury Hills Conference Centre). We hung out with the youth and worshipped with them. Susan opened our minds and hearts to rethinking how we share and invite people to know Christ.

Fall Retreat did not happen for various reasons, predominantly lack of people able to attend. We may try again in 2016.

Bonnie Kuehl and Karen Colenbrander Discipleship Committee Co-chairs

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Evangelism and TREK 2016 Notes from the “E” Team

The primary concern of the evangelism Team is to reach out to those who do not have a relationship with God through Jesus, and the focus is to engage with the neighbourhood in ways that connect them with St. Brides. This involves encouraging congregational participation in evangelistic activities, greeting people when they arrive at church, organizing Christian courses, hosting newcomer’s get-togethers, organizing concerts and other events that support the goal.

The educational course chosen this year was “The Parenting Children Course” for parents of children 0 to 10 years, based on Christian principles relevant for parents with or without a church background. The course was facilitated at the Early Learning Centre in Clarkson Village so as to appeal to residents of Clarkson/Lorne Park as well as our church members.

We hosted a Newcomer’s Lunch in May where we introduced new members to St. Bride’s mission and purpose and premiered the new St. Bride's video. The video was produced as a new and interesting way of presenting the life of St. Brides to newcomers and to those searching the web for a new church.

We also hosted the second in a series of Coffee Mornings for the parents and guardians of Cedar Glen Nursery School in mid February. Here we intentionally reached out to those people coming to pick up their children at the nursery on our premises. The hot beverages were appreciated on a cold day and it stimulated good conversations and built connections.

This year we reached out to the community in some new and interesting ways. St. Brides teamed up with More Than Gold, a not-for-profit Christian organization that has been involved with major world sporting events for over 40 years. As a result of their presentation at St. Brides, eight of our members signed up and were trained to work at the Hospitality Centres of the Pan Am Para-Pan Games. A few St. Briders offered their homes and hosted volunteers coming to assist at the games and our PanAmazing Fiesta was a third outcome of their inspiration.

The main attraction of our PanAmazing Fiesta was the big screen viewing on the church lawn of the opening ceremonies from the Rogers Centre. Over two hundred people attended our event during the course of the evening. More than half were from the community while sixty members of the church volunteered to run the events. Local businesses and churches supported the Fiesta by posting advertising flyers on their premises and the local newspaper “Snapd” covered the event and published an article about St. Brides in its August issue. We are grateful to the Diocese for their financial help and to the congregation for their support with prayer and financial donations enabling the event to be debt free and free for all participants.

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Our concert programme began with the Tage on Steel Ensemble on Saturday August 8th on the Church lawn. The audience, comprised of St. Briders and people from the neighbourhood, thoroughly enjoyed the reggae music and the steel drums orchestral rendition of favourite gospel hymns and secular music. A free will offering was collected and given to Tage on Steel to be used by them for the charities they support. The orchestra attracted a larger congregation at our 10:00 AM Sunday service the following day as they participated in the service playing the Prelude, Communion Hymns and a rousing Postlude. We were blessed by their presence and worshipful music.

Bud Roach, a Canadian Tenor of international reputation, and Dr. Erika Reiman, his piano accompanist, staged a concert at St. Bride’s in November. Bud’s musicality was enjoyed by an appreciative audience, as well as his educational and entertaining introductions. The goal of the concert was to reach out and provide a classic concert for the community in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. While the concert was not intended to be a fund raising event, refugee donation envelopes were included in the concert programme and $2,000 was contributed to the campaign from the donations and profit realized.

Again this year, we helped to promote the Back to Church Sunday Service and BBQ and we supported the Clarkson Business Improvement Association with their annual Clarkson Village Halloween party by setting up a St. Bride’s table. Each week our greeters welcome everyone as thy come to worship as we try to reach out to our visitors.

All of these activities require promotional material to be produced so we can “market” the events to the congregation and the community at large. We are grateful to Grace Terrett for her expertise in desk top publishing and for her creative ability in producing all of the professional invitation cards and advertising material for the multitude of events staged this year. Thank you to Sheelagh Reades for faithfully rolling out the Welcome Cart every Sunday for Coffee Hour and for keeping the information on it and the Welcome Board in the Lower Narthex up-to-date.

Thank you to Kate Smith for facilitating The Parenting Course and the volunteers who took care of the offspring during the sessions. Thank you also to: Jennifer Topley for coordinating the production of the St. Bride’s video, Bridget Poole for her creative ideas, Jeff Packer for filming, Hazlon Schepmyer for narrating it and Cliff DeWolfe for editing the production. Thank you to the PanAmazing Fiesta Committee and volunteers, particularly Lesley Nevins for co-chairing the event. Her infectious enthusiasm and attention to the logistical details with a lot of hard work made it a successful festival. Thank you also to Jane Moore and the Fellowship Committee for their ready assistance in hosting our special events.

I am delighted that Tom Smith, Hazlon Schepmyer and Derek Burgess joined our Evangelism Team this year. I also appreciate the dedication of: Jacquie Briscoe, Bridget Poole, Jennifer Topley and Sheelagh Reades for their loyalty, inspiration and hard work. We pray God will bless our work for Him.

Respectfully submitted by

Bill Kingston Chair, Evangelism Committee

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson Fellowship

The Fellowship Committee continued on with activities started in previous years that welcome church members both new and old. The mission of fellowship is to foster the sense of community in the St Bride’s family.

Beginning in March, hosts and guests signed up for Hospitality Get Togethers. This year we matched 15 hosts with 74 guests. Reports say that this is a welcome way to get to know each other better over the course of the year. Thank you to the hosts who persevered when it came to coordinating a date for all their guests.

On May 23rd, 65 fans attended a Blue Jays Game. The beautiful day more than made up for the poor showing by the Jays. Maybe our enthusiasm on this outing pushed the Jays into a winning streak later in the season.

Hopefully, our hopes and prayers for the Jays will help them again this coming year.

On June 14th, the Fellowship Committee helped the Good News Club with their year-end picnic. In spite of the rainy day, church members enjoyed the BBQ and the donated goodies. The picnic is a wonderful intergenerational event. In the future, working with the Good News Club should be a role for the Committee at the picnic. The Pan Amazing Fiesta organizers asked for the Committee’s help catering the food on July 10th. The community as well as church members and friends were invited to attend. We had a lot of volunteer help with the food. The Fiesta was a great success judging by the amount of food we served!

On September 27th, the Fellowship and Evangelism Committees organized a Corn Roast and BBQ for Back to Church Sunday. We had a beautiful day and celebrated Canon Stephen Peake’s 10 years as Rector at St Bride’s with Blue Jay themed gifts and a cake. In October, the Committee sent out “Thinking of You” cards to students in the St Bride’s family attending college or university. We enclosed a Tim Hortons gift card and a note wishing them well with their studies in the coming year.

At the Christmas Coffee Hour on December 20th, we enjoyed some holiday cheer with cider and Christmas goodies. Catherine Soplet played Christmas music on the piano as we mixed and mingled. The children’s craft corner provided some special creative activities.

January 24th we hosted the Volunteer Thank You Coffee Hour. All the committees and ministries were acknowledged with a big” thank you” for all those who give so much of their time and skills to the church community over the year. Our booth at the Ministry Sunday coffee hour in November solicited ideas for Fellowship Committee sponsored activities in the coming year. We will be holding a games night and other events to foster our mission of fellowship at St Bride’s.

Respectfully submitted by

Emily Moore and Jane Moore Co-Chairs, Fellowship Team

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Outreach Ministry Reports All Saints, Sumbawanga - Tanzania Tanzania Update In February 2015 we sent $9,999 to Tanzania in support of the following projects in 2015:

Support for five students (Ipyana Mwabulili, Happiness Balletse, Isaac Kapelela, Martha D. Mgani, and Naomi John): $5,765 

Computer and printer for St. Mathias school: $1,399

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Work on the lower farm (to feed poor): $1,285

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Food for the sick programme (lishe flour, sugar, maize flour, beans, etc.): $1,200

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Sunday school materials: $350

In August, Bishop Kasagara of Rukwa Diocese, Tanzania wrote a letter to our Toronto Archbishop, raising his personal concern about St. Bride’s support of All Saints church in Sumbawanga, Rukwa. This concern was symptomatic of a longstanding dispute between All Saints and Bishop Kasagara over the legitimacy of his episcopal election. St. Bride’s had tried to stay out of the dispute, believing it best resolved within the Anglican Church of Tanzania and believing efforts were being made to make this happen. After discussions between Stephen and Archbishop We will Johnson, the Archbishop decided that because of the current political tensions within the Anglican Communion it would be best for St. Bride’s to no longer continue to directly support these community development projects. This was conveyed pray for to Bishop Kasagara in a Nov, 10 letter from Archbishop Johnson.

Daniel Mtweve

In compliance, St. Bride’s has ceased to collect donations for our projects with All Saints, Sumbawanga. Rick Penton is looking for another suitable Canadian charity that would be willing to send the funds collected in 2015 to support our (not All Saints) projects in Tanzania. We will continue to pray for Daniel and his team in Tanzania and Rick will from time to time update the congregation on developments in Sumbawanga.

Peace, Love and Hope,

Rick Penton

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

and his team in Tanzania

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Mission Partnership with Emmanuel Church Coxen Hole (Roatan, Honduras) Thank you for your prayer and financial support of this church planting and church building project in Central America. Emmanuel Church is located in Coxen Hole, the main town on the island of Roatan off the north coast of Honduras. Along with a smaller church at Brick Bay, it is under the leadership of Rev. Nelson Mejia and his Canadian born wife Rev. Kara Mejia (nee Thompson). A six person short term mission team went from St. Bride’s in May 2014 to help Hondurans construct the Kelly Nelson Stephen Kara foundations and all the rebar for the columns. The walls were completed to half their final height during 2014, while the upper part of the walls was completed with the help of a team from 4 churches in Fredericton in March 2015.

The congregation grew throughout 2015 and now varies between about 75 and 100 each Sunday, with a strong children’s program.

After all the materials for the roof were lost in early January 2016 when the boat on which they were being shipped foundered, new roof trusses have now arrived at the site just in time for the arrival of a short term team from the Miramichi on January 27th to help with the roof. A team from New Song Church in Port Perry, Ontario (Rev. Brent Stiller) hopes to arrive on March 9th.

They were intending to work on the installation of the doors and windows, but they may be completing the roof! Both training and evangelistic outreach are planned while the New Song team is there.

Nelson and Kara ask that we at St. Bride’s pray for:   

Strengthening of the congregation in Coxen Hole and developing leaders in the congregation The two Canadian teams going down, for adaptability, cooperation and for safety Ongoing outreach into the local community near the church – both spiritual and practical Respectfully submitted,

Denys Reades

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Christmas Miracle 2015 We would like to thank the congregation and community for generously supporting the St. Bride’s Christmas Miracle program by volunteering their time; donating gifts and food; offering financial support; and most importantly for their prayers as we reached out to many families in our community again this year.

We supported 106 individuals represented in 26 families (40 children, 16 Teens and 50 adults). We provided them with Christmas boxes filled with a stocking for each child; a Santa bag for each teen; a new gift for each family member; food or grocery gift cards for Christmas dinner; gently used clothing and household items (where requested); a Bible, and a children’s Nativity story book. Of the 26 families we sponsored, 5 were adopted. We gratefully acknowledge the efforts of those individuals, families, and groups who organized such a large undertaking.

In addition to our traditional families, we were able to assist over 60 individuals through Open Door by means of grocery gift cards, and gifts for various ages.

Thanks to those who made a financial donation. Your funds allowed us to purchase 6 teen Santa bags; 10 gift cards for gifts, 15 grocery gift cards, 40 stockings and a number of coats and snowsuits.

Thank you to the children, parents and staff of Cedarglen Nursery School for adding essential items for our mitten tree.

All left over used clothing items and supplementary items donated, supported additional families through the Open Door, Square One. Where we can’t list everyone who participated time and efforts, our much needed co-ordinators must be mentioned. These people made Christmas Miracle possible in our absence: •Neal Samuel and family for taking the lead.

•Susan Mitchell for supplying the Children’s Nativity Storybooks.

•Jackie Wright for coordinating the used clothing drive.

•Tom Smith and the Youth Group for shopping and sorting used clothes on the Friday night.

•Lori Rogers for collating the CM sign up boards and calling all the volunteers.

•Jennifer Topley for coordinating all the winter wear requests.

•Jim McInnes for organizing the Fri night set up with the youth.

•Lorna Kay and Margaret Sprague for keeping everyone organized at the front desk.

•Lou Schulte for leading the opening prayer.

•Grace and Glenn Davis for running the kitchen.

Thank you for another successful year of giving!

In Christ,

Hanna and Steve Davis Co-Chairs of St Bride’s Christmas Miracle

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Outreach Ministry Reports These ministries are actively supported but not over-seen by St Bride’s Church

Caring and Sharing Caring and Sharing Mission Statement Jesus said, “Freely you have received; freely give!” Matthew 10: 8b In response to God’s blessings, Caring and Sharing was founded as a means of expressing His love for all people by providing food for anyone in crisis.

Caring and Sharing has had a very busy year, and is celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2016. The fourteen zones and drop off houses continue to attempt to address some of the needs forwarded by the various agencies each week, with the food supplied and delivered by the many members involved.

Among the agencies referring to us were Catholic Cross Cultural Services, Peel Children’s Aid Society, Peel Health, The Compass, Victims’ Services of Peel, Peel District School Board and the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board. All of this operates on donated revenue of around $3,000, insurance being the largest expense of just under $2,000.

The annual meeting at the end of October was well-attended, and two excellent presentations were shared by Betty Turzer and Martha Fini recounting their experiences with C & S and what it has meant to them over the years. Many thanks to all the members, prayer partners and financial supporters from the Church of St. Bride.

Dee Nevett on behalf of Margaret Sprague, Programme Coordinator and St Bride’s Church Representative

Church Community Volunteers (CCV) St. Bride 's is one of seven churches providing rides to medical appointments for seniors who are no longer able to drive. We also provide a 'Fun and Fitness' program at Sheridan Villa every Wednesday morning.

We are seventy five members strong, of which thirteen are from St. Bride's. We undertake such responsibilities as driving, telephone reception and helping at the Villa. New volunteers are always welcome, or if you need our services, please contact the CCV office at 905 -822 -3377 or speak to Patience Vincent, Joan Morris or Ada Dixon .

Patience Vincent,

St Bride’s Church Representative

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These ministries are actively supported but not over-seen by St Bride’s Church

The Compass It has been my privilege for a year now to be the representative for St. Brides on the board of the Lakeshore Community Outreach Centre – known by almost everyone as “The Compass”.

I have been on a steep learning curve, getting to know the organization better. In addition, a lot of work has been going into the development of an up-dated strategic plan.

First, some statistics: Christmas is the busiest time of the year at The Compass, even busier than Thanksgiving. In December, approximately 22,500 pounds of food was received from the Mississauga Food Bank, and directly from supporting churches and community organizations. The shelves have been restocked, and help was provided to 397 families. Nearly 200 turkeys were distributed, and Christmas meals were provided on December 9 at First United Church in Port Credit. On Christmas Day a meal was served on The Compass premises, with music and entertainment, to great reviews. Approximately 40 clients and 30 volunteers participated. Another church (St. Dominic’s on Cawthra Road) has joined those supporting The Compass, and the geographical area served now extends from the Etobicoke Creek in the east to the Oakville border in the west, south of the QEW. As I think everyone knows, The Compass is more than just a food bank, and St. Bride’s members continue to play a strongly supportive role in its many aspects. Thanks to Edwin Lewis, our food donations are regularly delivered. Patrick Vincent and Rick Penton provide important support for the men’s group, with help from our ACW in providing meals. The men’s group now has a “matching” women’s group, which may provide a further avenue of service. The summer barbecues which are very popular with The Compass clients were held again this past summer, with St. Brides providing food and volunteers for two of them, with Jim McInnes, as our “demon barbequer”!

So what is in the future? The current lease on the Lakeshore Road premises expires in about two years, and it is unknown whether a renewal will be possible. Should The Compass try to buy its present building? If a move is necessary, where should The Compass go, and should it buy or rent once again? A detailed document is being prepared, setting out choices for the future, and reconfirming The Compass’s vision and objectives. However, it is not yet ready for public release. When it is complete, I will be pleased to share it.

In the mean time, I would ask for your prayers for those actively involved in the strategic planning process, so that The Compass may continue to shine the light of Christ into our community.

Finally, once again a huge thank you to those many in our congregation who volunteer their time, provide food, financial support, even the Canadian Tire money – keep it coming; 2016 holds the promise of being challenging year – if the weak economic outlook forecast by many proves accurate, demand for The Compass services may increase significantly, so again - please keep The Compass on your prayer list.

For more information on The Compass programming, check the website at www.thecompass.ca.

Brian Dixon, Board Member and St Bride’s Church Representative A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Worship - Music Ministries Music continues to be an integral part of worship at St. Bride’s and is led by differing groups that provide a variety of sacred music. This fall saw the introduction of a second Praise Team under the direction of Liz Isajiw and is a multigenerational group that encourages the youth to use their skills to lead music mainly at the 9:15 service. Thank you to Liz for taking on this new group, and also for acting as supply organist last year. The choir continues to sing at the 9:15 and 11:00 am services at least once a month, and also for special services such as Lessons and Carols. Thank you to Jacquie Briscoe for stepping in last winter to direct the choir during Arthur’s absence. All choirs welcome new members and encourage anyone interested in joining to speak with one of the leaders, or come out to a rehearsal. The leadership of music at St. Brides is due to the dedication and leadership of Jacquie, Grace, Hazlon, Anne and Liz, and I thank you to you all for your enthusiasm and many hours of leadership.

Submitted by

Arthur McGlashan

Handbell Choir St. Bride’s Handbell Choir continued to play about once a month at the 9:15 AM and 11 AM services and settled on a regular practice time in the hopes of encouraging new members to join. We now have 9 members in the choir. Many thanks to Hazlon Schepmyer who decided to step down from the choir leader position. Her leadership and teaching skills have been greatly appreciated. We are extremely pleased that she is continuing as a member of the choir, given her skills with the bass bells and her counting ability. We’d also like to thank the other members of the choir, Scott Robinson, Bronwyn Kuehl, Cate Wallace, Nancy Wallace, Josie Warnica and Caileen Dolan for their participation and enthusiasm. Special thanks also goes to Will Warnica who stepped in at the last minute on Christmas Eve to cover for an injured ringer.

Submitted by

Anne Warnica and Sean Robinson

Selahbration Members of Selahbration (a women’s triple trio) enjoy singing challenging anthems and songs in three part harmony, mostly a cappella. Our focus is to share the good news of God's love and salvation through song. We are privileged to sing once per month at the 9:15AM and 11AM services and jointly with the St Bride's choir on special occasions, such as Easter and Lessons and Carols. We were very pleased to have Carolyn Warnica join us in the Alto section and Liz Isajiw as a Second Soprano. Since these women are also gifted pianists, this brings to three the number of accompanists we have in our a cappella group! Thanks to everyone for their hard work. A special thank you goes to Lorna Kay for accompanying us, to Grace Terrett for writing lyrics on demand, and to Arthur McGlashan for his time, expertise and coaching. As always, Selahbration welcomes opportunities to sing at church services and special events at St Bride’s and in the community. For more information about Selahbration, please contact Jacquie Briscoe.

With thanks to God, submitted by

Jacquie Briscoe

Praise Teams St Bride’s Praise Teams lead contemporary Praise and Worship once or twice monthly at the 9:15AM service and at other special services like Back to Church Sunday and Confirmation, using both familiar and new Christian hymns and songs. Several of our youth musicians are also involved in other roles during Sunday worship as servers, as members of the adult choir, as members of the handbell choir and as part of the Audio-Visual team. Thanks to Dave Poole, Don Cudmore and all the AV team members who labour faithfully, persistently and often thanklessly behind the scenes to ensure we can all make a ‘joyful noise unto the Lord’! Many thanks to Brooke Boehlke, Jacquie Briscoe, Stewart Bryan, Caleb Davis, Elena Davis, Liz Isajiw, Paul Lindo, Arthur McGlashan, Sarah Peake, Linda Sinclair, Carolyn Warnica, Scott Robinson, Sean Robinson, Kate Smith, Grace Terrett, Amy Wallace, Cate Wallace and Nancy Wallace who anchor the Praise Teams. If you would like to be a part of a Praise Team or assist with AV on Sundays please speak to Canon Stephen or a warden. The teams rehearse several times a month depending on the service schedule. Reading music and familiarity with contemporary worship music is helpful.

Submitted by Liz

Isajiw and Grace Terrett

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Annual Reports for Committees and Ministry Groups 

ACW

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Caribbean Night

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Chancel

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Children’s Ministry

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Communications

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Library

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OverPlus

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Pastoral Care Visitation Team

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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We meet the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30PM - All women are welcome!

The stated purpose of ACW is “to provide an opportunity at St. Bride’s for all women to be united in a fellowship of worship, learning and service with a view to deepen and strengthen their devotional life.”

Meetings vary in format and content and we look for ways to grow deeper in our faith, together.

Karen Colenbrander started our year off by sharing with us, a useful exercise to teach us how to be ready to share our faith with others when that moment arrives. Breaking off into groups of two or three, we given a sheet of questions that would prompt us to be able to open up to others regarding our own personal faith journey. We practiced briefly ‘inside’ with someone we knew, someone of like faith and it gave us some ideas of how to start that dialogue ‘outside’. Wonderful learning to witness exercise; thank you Karen.

In April we were treated to a sharing of the faith journey of our own Christa Smith Kingston, who ministers to university students through Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship Canada, along with her husband David. Christa was inspiring with her honest reflections of the challenges and rewards of spreading the Gospel to young people, in current times. May God continue to bless Christa and David in their vital and dynamic ministry.

In June we invited our own Bridget Poole, a recent Fine Arts graduate to share how her faith has influenced her art. She is very talented and the artwork, especially the pieces she created after a mission trip to Bangladesh, were truly inspiring. Bridget shines God’s light in so many ways and recently implemented a family program here at St. Brides that explored scripture through the medium of art. We were privileged to share her walk and we ask that God continue to bless her ministry and keep her excited about her stellar, creative talent.

ACW has long contributed to St. Brides, through devoted service. Once again Marg Sprague and her team headed up the annual Pancake Supper and Plant Sale. Both of these undertakings are greatly appreciated by the Parish as communal events and the net proceeds received from them are given directly back to the church. Additionally, ACW has committed to providing dinner to the Men’s Group at the Compass, approximately once every three months. The menu is planned and different members volunteer to shop for and prepare home cooked items which are collected and served to approximately 20 -25 men. Two or three members help serve and mingle with the group and the group’s leaders provide program following the meal. This is well received and the members look forward to trying out new recipes! At Christmas ACW members provided a box of homemade cookies for each of the Men’s Group friends accompanied by a personal Christmas card.

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Finally, we wrapped up the year with our annual Christmas celebration. Our own ‘Selahbration’ sang several beautiful pieces and then graciously led a group carol sing. Plenty of food and drink were available as were funny antlered photo opportunities. A great time of fun and fellowship.

Dear Sisters, I invite you to come out to this year’s ACW gatherings, generally held on the third Tuesday of the month. The meeting dates are announced in the church bulletin, by direct emails and by announcements at the beginning of the closest service to the meeting date. Come and join us – bring a friend and be part of a ministry that strives to unite the women of St. Brides with a view to strengthen us all in our devotions to our most precious and loving God. Blessings,

Donna McLean, ACW President

A.C.W. Financial Report Opening balance – January 1, 2015

$814.19

Revenue Pancake Supper (net)

245.00

Plant sale

260.00 505.00

Expenses Donation to open door

140.59

Donation to kitchen fund

245.00

Toronto Diocese ACW

50.50 436.09

Closing balance – December 31, 2015

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

$883.10

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson Caribbean Night

We had another successful Caribbean Night. We enjoyed great food, great entertainment, wonderful fellowship. I want to thank all my Caribbean Night partners, and all of you who support our effort from year to year. As most of you know, we use some of our left over funds to help out some church approved efforts.

Please see our attached financial report.

To God be the glory! Great things he has done and will continue to do.

Respectfully submitted,

Des Williams, Chair of Caribbean Night

Caribbean Night Account Income to December 31, 2014

10,895.71

Expenses to December 2014

-9,841.62

Brought Forward to 2015

1,054.09

Ticket sales less expenses 2015

1,466.13

Donations to: Roatan

200.00

IVCF- Matt Lindo

400.00

IVCF- David Kingston

300.00

Capital - Kitchen Project

100.00

Evangelism - Pan Amazing Event

100.00

Capital Needs Fund

100.00

Total

1,200.00

Balance in Fund at December 31,2015

1,320.22

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Chancel Guild

The Chancel Guild exists to serve our clergy and church and undertakes a wide range of duties in preparation for services in the church and chapel.

These duties include maintaining and preparing linens, brass and silver ware, communion vessels and their contents, changing the Chancel and Chapel paraments according to seasons and special services, vacuuming and dusting the Chancel and Chapel areas, and looking after the Sacristy, to name a few. Members set up for and clean up after all communion services. There are currently 11 members working in four groups. Chancel duty is once every four weeks per team.

The Chancel is the area in the main church where the clergy, lay readers and servers sit, and where the Holy Table is located. The Sacristy is the small locked room where the altar goods, wine, wafers, silver and brass are kept and where the Chancel Guild stores many of the items it uses every Sunday. It also contains a sink for washing the communion vessels and a special sink for the disposal of unconsumed sanctified communion wine.

We, the Chancel Guild, hope we did our jobs well in 2015. We try to be discreet, strive for the best and hope that our efforts pay off. We are grateful to all who donated and supported our ministry and would welcome anyone to visit us any Sunday as we work. We would also welcome new members - training is provided!

Once again - thank you for your trust and confidence in our group.

Respectfully submitted,

Valma Hay, Director of St Bride’s Chancel Guild

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

Children’s and Families’ Ministry - Good News Club Report We are fortunate at St. Bride’s to have a great collection of kids at our church. The Good News Club (GNC) is our Sunday School for kids in preschool to Grade 8. We typically have 20 to 25 children on a Sunday, and during the year that fluctuates of course. Don Cudmore and Mary Davis continue to co-lead the Good News Club at this time.

After the Children’s Talk is done – and after the children follow the Good News Club banner out of the sanctuary, the kids in Grades 6-8 head to the library and the Preschool to Grade 5 kids head to the Rainbow Room.

Just like last year, the Grade 6-8 class continues to be one of our largest and this class is a great place for discussions. Don Bean and Bonnie Kuehl continue to teach this group and Bridget Poole will be coming on board this winter to teach as well.

The Preschool to Grade 5 kids head downstairs for a short Sunday School opening. We usually have special prizes for first time visitors and for kids who had birthdays in the past week. We sing a couple of songs, and we might have a quick discussion on a timely topic. Then, after a short prayer, the students go to their classes.

The youngest students do a play-based program. In some sessions we use the handcrafted Godly Play resources and tell short stories from the Bible. We usually have some children’s hymns playing in the background, and during playtime the kids enjoy drawing, colouring, playdough, other toys.

The kids from Senior Kindergarten up to Grade 5 have structured lessons using age-appropriate materials from the David C. Cook program. These always include specific bible stories, fun activities, and an opportunity to connect the bible message to their daily lives.

Our regular teachers in this program this past year continue to be: Pat Christopher, Stuart and Iris Kingston Mary Davis, Susie Ellis, Lisa Hamilton, Harley May, Shelley Maguire and Don Cudmore, Sarah Peake, Linda Barnsdale and Hazlon Schepmeyer. We have also been very happy to welcome Bridget Poole and Heather Van Bentham to our teaching team. Claudine Daley has moved on and we thank her for her years of teaching.

Many of our Good News Club kids participated in the Christmas pageant this year and we were so happy to have Bridget Poole as Director.

We also wanted to thank the Fellowship Committee for organizing the food this year for the Sunday School picnic and we really appreciated Bridget looking after the kids' program throughout the summer months. It was also great having Kate Smith lead our one room schoolhouses throughout the year. This was needed on Sundays where we combined classes.

Everyone can help the GNC in some way. We appreciate those who pray for the Good News Club, its children, and its teachers. We are delighted to see returning kids each year as well as meeting new children to our church. If you are interested in helping out in any way, please let us know.

Don Cudmore and Mary Davis Don Cudmore and Mary Davis, Co-Chairs, St. Bride’s Good News Club Editor’s Note: A huge “Thank You” to Don and Mary - they not only teach but also are the “behind the scenes” people who make sure the Good News Club happens every week!

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Annual Vestry Report

Communications The Communication Committee is available to advise and help all functions of the church, when they have a communication challenge.

Sincerely,

Ron Davis Communications Chair

Library We continue to keep your library open, and in order. To keep the library current ,and active, we would appreciate suggestions and recommendations from various ministries of book titles for us to purchase.

When books are weeded and discarded they are placed on a table at the back door for the congregation to peruse and take away.

We realize that today many types of media are available for reading , however we have excellent, free, hard copy titles available for your enjoyment.

Virginia is a trained theological librarian, and an excellent source of information. We are willing to help youth leaders and teachers find books for study.

We are in the library most Wed. afternoons to assist if necessary. Please feel free to drop in anytime the room is not in use for meetings, study sessions or classes.

If you have enjoyed a book and would like to share, please submit a brief review for the bulletin, or Kirkbride Tidings.

Please help us keep your library 'alive', by searching shelves, borrowing and reading.

Come in, browse, borrow and enjoy.

Respectfully submitted by Karla

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Findlay and Virginia Leach

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Church of St Bride, Clarkson

OverPlus The meetings of OverPlus are inspirational. Friendships, cheerful recollections and affection pervade our time together. As the great Victorian novelist, Charles Dickens, once remarked, Christians are advocates of friendships. Those who attend OverPlus meetings and activities on a regular basis are fortunate in that they develop a strong feeling of fellowship. We welcome, as members, senior and near-senior women and men, and we welcome guests and visitors. Except for a July/August break, traditionally our meetings are on each month's first Thursday at 1pm and third Thursday at 2pm. Changes are shown in the St. Bride's Sunday Bulletin where there is also mention of the subject matter of upcoming meetings and gatherings.

The OverPlus Executive meets several times a year at St Bride’s to plan for the activities we enjoy. Since the establishment of OverPlus in 1988 there have been many activities that are memorable. We have enjoyed devotionals, recorded orchestra and choir performances. Over the years Valerie Rowles has brought some of her music collection to OverPlus meetings. Occasionally there is also a "Games and Fellowship" meeting where we play Bingo and favourite board games. Margaret Sprague, a voracious reader, has led a number of our meetings, with great topics including reviews of particularly interesting books, stories or article. We appreciate the travelogues and vacation photos of our members - on May 07 Larry Tasker gave an interesting talk about the time that he and Mary spent in Ireland. Other parishioners and have been kept informed about the Roatan, Honduras, mission church by people who are involved in this mission. At times people have spoken to us on a theme that is descriptive of their Journey in Life.

On May 21, 2015, the Rev. Tom Smith was a guest speaker at an OverPlus meeting. We felt fortunate in that we got to know him and to admire him at a time that was early in his career at St. Bride's. At this point he was a Curate, but on Sunday June 07 2015 at 4pm he was ordained to the Priesthood. His father and a group of Tom's friends, Tom's wife and children and St. Bride's parishioners were at the ceremony. We were all pleased to see his transition, or rather graduation, from Curate to Priest. We were delighted to welcome back Tom as our speaker on several occasions - on May 21 when he shared with us many interesting vignettes of his life before he came to St. Bride's and again on November 5th.

Grace Terrett, the St. Bride's Administrator, has led us in some of our devotions. A particularly effective one was entitled "The Nail". On Thursday March 19 Gladys Hannan led us in celebration on a St. Patrick's Day theme. Treats were provided which were particularly attractive and tasty for this special event. On April 16 the OverPlus members enjoyed lunch at the Mandarin Restaurant. Regarding speakers at meetings, On .

On June 04 OverPlus members car-pooled to Jack Darling Park in Port Credit. It was a warm sunny day and we enjoyed picnic snacks and cold drinks. On June 18 at 12:30 p.m. OverPlus had a garden party on the Church lawn, with food catered by Heather Murray. On September 17 OverPlus had a barbecue on the Church lawn. Ica cooked the corn. David Poole and Larry Tasker looked after barbecuing the hot dogs. On October 22 OverPlus members car-pooled to St. Peter's Anglican Church - Erindale for an interesting guided tour of this historic church and its cemetery. On November 19 there was a presentation by Cynthia Stringer in which she indicated what things had given her support and optimism in her life of faith. On December 03 David Poole set up the Christmas tree in the Fellowship Room and the members of OverPlus decorated the tree.

We are grateful to all those who have participated in OverPlus meetings and events.

Respectfully submitted by

Annette Smith Building up the Body of Christ - Reaching out with the Love of Christ

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Annual Vestry Report

Pastoral Care Visitation Team 2015 Our Pastoral Care Committee regularly take time to visit St. Bride parishioners who for various reasons are unable to attend Sunday church services. Individually or in groups of 2 we bring “church” to them in their homes or residences. Although our visits vary greatly, the constant is always spiritual comfort with scripture readings and prayers, often from a previous service.

We hold only a few meetings each year to update our visitor lists and to co- ordinate with the Flower Ministry and clergy to be sure that each person on our visitor’s list will receive flowers during the Christmas and Easter seasons.

Our committee also reaches out to the community to provide one evening at the church with a host speaker on a topic of interest to older adults. This past fall we hosted author and nutritionist Janet Jacks who inspired us to eat healthy to stay healthy.

If you are aware of a St Bride parishioner or family member who would like a Pastoral Care visit, please talk to Canon Peake. If you think you might be interested in joining this ministry, please talk with our clergy.

There is a brief training process and every volunteer must have a Criminal Record Check.

Committee Chair: Members:

Elizabeth St.Onge Pat Christopher Ica Payton Lou Schulte Doreen Tunney

Elizabeth St. Onge

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose

Church of St Bride, Clarkson

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Resolutions for 57th Vestry - February 7th, 2016

Signing Officers for 2016 Seconded by: That any two of the following three people be authorized to sign cheques on behalf of the Church of St Bride, Clarkson:

  

Rector’s Warden People’s Warden Treasurer

and that in addition either of the Deputy Wardens can sign cheques up to a maximum of $500 with any one of the aforementioned.

Auditors for 2016 Moved by: Seconded by: That the firm of Norton McMullen be retained as Auditors for the 2015 Financial Year.

Outreach Projects for 2016 Moved by: Seconded by: That the following are approved as the outreach projects to be supported by the Church of St Bride in the year 2016:

Camp Koinonia

Hands Across The Nation - (Carol Finlay)

Caring and Sharing

Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (D. Kingston and M. Lindo)

Church Community Volunteers (CCV)

Open Door, Square One

The Compass (Lakeshore Community Outreach Inc.)

Nelson and Kara Mejia (Roatan, Honduras)

Diocese of the Arctic

Threshold Ministries (formerly Church Army)

Diocese of the Yukon-(Bishop Robertson)

The Wenleigh

FaithWorks The Anglican Appeal

World Vision

The Bridge Prison Ministry

Wycliffe College

The Dam Downsview Youth Covenant

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Notes

A Christ-centred Community with a Purpose