Page 3 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper, Summer 2017

Connection
A Message from the General Secretary
PRESBYTERIAN
3
presbyterian.ca
SUMMER 2017
By the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary, Life and Mission Agency
The response to Presbyterian Con- nection was swift—it was over- whelmingly positive and excited. Readers were grateful to have a resource in their hands that caught them up on things happening in the denomination and that connected
them with people and places across the country.
The Presbyterian Church in Can- ada is broad. Congregations are geographically far apar t, they wor- ship in different ways and in nearly 20 languages, they practice ministry in disparate contexts and they have varying theological approaches. Nev- ertheless, there is a strong desire to reach beyond local interests and sec- tarian commitments to connect and learn what is happening within con- gregations and the cour ts, colleges and agencies of the church.
Repeatedly, people expressed their appreciation for the positive tone and good news of the stories in the newspaper. If we are honest with ourselves—and we must be—we have exhibited a denominational tendency in the last 30 years to fo- cus, almost to the exclusion of any other experience, on the strain that the institutional church and congre-
gations are under in this period of significant social change. There is no arguing that change and transfor- mation are difficult and that there is much to mourn either about what has been lost or newness that we have not yet claimed. But that is not the whole story. There are good stories, strong ministries and exciting things happening that need telling and hear- ing exciting things happening that need telling and hearing in order to be faithful witnesses to what God is doing in and through the church.
This is only the second edition of Presbyterian Connection. During the year, we will experiment with new features and continue to refine the focus of the newspaper. The ener- getic discussions about sexuality in the church have revealed an urgent need for articles that clarify some of the realities of our fellowship (polity, church structures, the locations and uses of power, past decisions and
how we make decisions together) as well as insightful and thoughtful discussions about discipleship (edu- cation about the purpose, use and reality of the Bible, and the rich and vibrant theological heritage that has been passed on to us and how the gifts of the Bible and faith tradition in- form how we live, worship, pray, treat each other, and what we decide to do with our time and resources). Room will also be made in the publication for analysis of some of the broad and complex issues the church is called to speak to in Canada and around the world. All of these features and more will make their way into the newspa- per in the future. Stay connected!
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Presbyterian Connection is a a newspaper published quarterly by the national office of The Presbyterian Church in Canada.
Barb Summers: Editor Thank you to all volunteer
contributing writers. ________________________
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The Presbyterian Church in Canada is a community of nearly 850 congregations in Canada. To find a congregation near you, visit presbyterian.ca/church-finder
Moderator of 143rd General Assembly:
the Rev. Peter Bush
General Secretary:
the Rev. Ian Ross-McDonald
Principal Clerk:
the Rev. Stephen Kendall
Chief Financial Officer:
Oliver Ng
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A dash of luck was clearly sprinkled on our church
Continued from page 2
Open House where you display what you intend to do. One special ingre- dient that works well is to solicit the congregation’s input—that way, they are part of the solution. We did this by hosting a small outside event after one sunny Sunday service. A three- piece country band played some great foot-stomping music. The foot- print of the addition was etched in the sand so people could “walk” around it and visualize the size. Colourful displays illustrated both the problem and the solution. And letting folks vote on some options per taining to design, colours, flooring, etc., fur ther cemented their commitment. The names of those who voted were en- tered in a draw for a complementary dinner, courtesy of Just Jake’s.
Don’t wait until your pastor raises all the funds required to complete the job. Have faith! Funds can be added to the mix anytime. Meanwhile, com- plete your detailed plans, contact a structural engineer (optional), make an application for a building permit and line up your contractors. Con- tractors are really impor tant. They must be hard-working, reliable, rea- sonably priced and the best at what they do. Select them very carefully and always ask for references and do your own due diligence.
You will now add your team mem- bers from your congregation. Per- haps a finance person, an interior decorator, a landscaper or a furniture exper t? This is your team, along with your pastor, whose fundraising should be nearly complete. In our case, prior to any announcements, we met with ten households and offered them the oppor tunity to be
among the initial suppor ters. When the budget was then presented to the congregation, anxiety over the initial cost gave way to relief when they re- alized a significant commitment was already in hand. The congregation voted unanimously in favour.
As project manager, you are solely responsible to ensure that the con- struction is of the desired quality. This will require that you visit the building site every couple of days to confirm that things are proceeding well and to answer those minor and unforesee- able questions that inevitably come up from time to time. You also have the responsibility to continually track ongoing expenditures. It would be in poor taste if the budget were exceed- ed. And finally, you need to watch the calendar. Your congregation will lose confidence and enthusiasm if the project is delayed significantly.
You can now star t building your annex, but ensure that all ingredients are added in exactly the right se- quence, otherwise your church may fall flat... literally.
So, how successful were we at St. Andrew’s? For tunately, we selected our contractors well and construc- tion was of the highest quality. The biggest challenge was the commu- nications network. But the end re- sult is that we now have an entirely new fully featured telephone system with a service contract, and much improved Internet service... all from one supplier.
A volunteer with a financial back- ground from our congregation moni- tored the outflow and inflow of funds in a separate account. She did a great job. Our accounting was very precise
and at the end of the day we were about 5% under budget. The extra funds were placed in an account for a long-awaited kitchen renovation.
The painters needed good weath- er to complete the sanding, scraping and painting of the external walls of the church and annex before the end of September, otherwise the declin- ing weather would have forced us to
postpone finishing until the follow- ing spring. The project was com- pleted just in the nick of time as the weather turned for the worse just days later.
A dash of luck was clearly sprin- kled on our church and we ended up with a quality product that came in on “thyme” and under budget. It was a true recipe for success!