New Members

Interested in joining the church? Please contact the church office or speak to Karen.  Our next Welcoming Sunday is on November 13th.

Newcomers Lunch:  Sunday November 13th following our service we will be having our annual Newcomers luncheon to welcome all the new people to St. Paul’s. Everyone is Welcome!!!!  More information to come next week.

The Circle will be selling their famous homemade pies  Sunday October 30th after the church service.  The cost will be $10 per pie on a first come first served basis; we are not limiting how many you can buy, but please be thoughtful of others! 

Talent Survey: On October 23, our greeters handed out our new 2011 Talent Survey.  Thank you to everyone who has filled out and returned their survey to the church, if you have not we would appreciate your assistance in filling then out and returning to the church as soon as possible.  Thank You!

 

 

 

WHITE GIFT SUNDAY PREPARATIONS

In the next several weeks the Sunday school children will be busy preparing for the White Gift Sunday service.  If you know of any children who may want to join in the fun, please invite them to come out and be a part of the preparations.  The children will be preparing a special drama to share with the congregation so it is important that they attend as we lead up to this exciting Sunday.  

The Best Christmas Present Ever

A play by Bev Truax for White Gift Service Dec 3, 2011

 

 

 

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Official Board Meeting Overview – September 21, 2011

St. Paul's Official Board met in the Parlour at 7:00 PM. Quorum was achieved with 18 lay members and Rev. Karen Ptolemy-Stam attending. Louise Leck called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM, and Karen opened the meeting with prayer. The board then proceeded to make the following decisions after much thoughtful discussion:

• to send thank you notes to each of the host families in appreciation for their volunteering to host small groups to meet Karen during August and September
• to approve Canadian Foodgrains Bank fund raising on three Sundays: October 16, 23 and 30; and to match funds given by the congregation from the Special Projects Account. Note: The funds thus raised at St. Paul's will be multiplied four times by the Federal Government
• to give the Christmas Eve offering to St. Paul's Benevolent Fund to be used for food vouchers for local needy families
• to give a $255 cheque from Boston Pizza to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank
• to ask Judy to develop criteria for allocating funds donated for children`s attendance at Simpresca and draft a motion for the board's consideration at its next meeting
• to have the Property Committee review improving accessibility to all levels of the church building, including investigating the possibility of installing an elevator, evaluating under use of the stair lift, and providing better washroom access. To come back to the board with actual costs and issues related to improving accessibility
• to have the Communications Committee survey the congregation about accessibility issues and disabilities in order to assist the Property Committee in its planning
• to train someone from each group and committee which uses the church in the proper use of the stair lift so that it can be more easily and quickly accessible to persons who might benefit from it
• to train Karen in use of the defibrillator located outside her office and to post a list beside the defibrillator of all those who have been trained to use it
• to suspend all rental charges to the Midland Nursery School for use of our space until such time as their financial statements show an ability to pay; and to forgive all rental arrears
• that a committee consisting of Karen Ptolemy-Stam, Cathy Metzgar, Terry MacPherson, Ken Woods and Zena Pendlebury (and additional members if needed, appointed by the chair) should prepare a bid for St. Paul's to host Toronto Conference's Annual General Meetings in 2013, 2014 and 2015. (Toronto Conference provides a fee for doing so that will cover all the costs; we will also be allowed to keep any modest surplus that results from careful project management)

The Board received correspondence from Pah Roe Shee, thanking St. Paul's for sponsoring her attendance at Camp Simpresca this summer.

 

The Board received up-dates from several project groups. Recommendations will come before upcoming board meetings related to modernizing the AV System, up-dating our by-laws, implementing Criminal Record Checks for staff and volunteers working with children and vulnerable people, implementing Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities legislation, and Bill 168 (Violence and Harassment in the Workplace) legislation.

 

Board members had an opportunity to ask questions about the written reports submitted before the meeting by the majority of the Standing Committees and Church groups. In addition, the Trustees reported that St. Paul's has received the final instalment from the Hartog estate as well as the insurance settlement resulting from the lightning strike. The Property Committee also reviewed several property issues that they are actively addressing.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM after Karen led the group in singing a closing prayer.

 

The next meeting is scheduled for November 22, 2011 at 7:00 PM in the Parlour. Meetings are open to interested congregation members. Copies of the board package and the complete minutes are available upon request.  

* The Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB):  Due to the 4:1 matching from the federal government and the 1: 1 matching from the St. Paul’s Special Project Fund, every dollar you donate to the CFGB will grow to $10 worth of food for the hunger. CFGB envelopes are on the back window for donations. Please write your cheques payable to St. Paul’s United Church and place in these special envelopes. Thank you very much for your support in helping to reduce hunger in the world. We will be accepting donations until the end of October. 

* Volunteer Opportunities: Our Sunday school is looking for volunteers to help in the nursery area on Sunday mornings. If you are interested in helping with the young children of our church, please contact our Sunday school teachers. 

*Go Green - Go PAR - Please consider using the PAR program.  Have your givings come out of your bank account automatically each month, no more envelopes, no more having to write a cheque or have cash each week, join the 72 families and individuals in our church who use PAR each month.  If you would prefer envelopes and need a set, please call the church office for more information on both the PAR program and envelopes. 

*International Festival of Authors - November 2 and 3rd. 7pm at the Midland Public Library.  Tickets are $10 and available at the library. See poster for more information. 

Fellowship Club will meet on Tuesday, November 1^st at 7pm in the gym. A guest will speak on the topic of Fair Trade. Hannah Black will be the guest soloist. All are welcome!  

 * Midland Co-Op Nursery school - The Nursery School is struggling financially and has been for over 3 years due to the decline in attendance.  St. Paul’s board has unanimously voted to support the nursery by suspending rental fees and forgiving outstanding rent, until such time as the nursery school shows the ability to resume payment.