Page 10 - Presbyterian Connection

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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2024
presbyterian.ca
Loan Repayment Successes
retire the bank loan in 2023 was fed by this passage from Mark [6: 50–51]: “Don’t be afraid. Then he got into the boat with them.”
Varsity Acres
Presbyterian Church
The Rev. Greg Smith: “The con- gregation’s leadership have kept this goal in focus since the day the loan was taken out. The loan was substantially paid off from rental income. It’s a real celebra- tion for all of us at VAPC and es- pecially for those who have seen this through to its retirement.”
Knox Presbyterian Church
Connie Wardle: “Knox Oakville is blessed to have some funds in- vested, thanks to the hard work and generosity of current and past Knox members. We had about 30% of our loan left to repay as we headed into 2024, and given the current interest rates, our finance team recommended we use some of our invested funds to pay off the remaining balance. We’re so blessed to have a group of prayer- ful, wise and experienced minds keeping an eye on our church’s finances. It can be tricky to strike a balance between stewarding financial resources for the future and recognizing oppor tunities to use them well today. Having a team you can trust to make good decisions and bring well-consid- ered recommendations to Session is an asset beyond price.”
The PCBC continues to be present to offer loans and guid- ance as congregations seek to be good stewards of their building space.
the community took what they wanted, for free! First Presbyte- rian Church is looking forward to again holding a Big Give event on June 7, 2025.
Thank you to our volunteers who so faithfully help make the Big Give such a wonderful out- reach in Brockville.
By Betty Kupeian, Presbyterian Church Building Corporation
2023 marked a remarkable year for loan repayments within the Presbyterian Church Building Corporation (PCBC) loan pro- gram. Despite the economic chal- lenges of high inflation and high interest rates (and perhaps espe- cially because of the challenges), congregations stayed on sched- ule with the loan repayments. Furthermore, since the beginning of 2023 to March 2024, five con- gregations retired their loans well ahead of their maturity dates:
Gale Presbyterian Church in Elmira, Ont., in January 2023 Church of Saint David in Hali- fax, N.S., in August of 2023 Arabic Presbyterian Church of Montreal in Que., in December 2023
Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church in Calgary, Alta., in February 2024
Knox Presbyterian Church in Oakville, Ont., in February 2024 It is uplifting to see how con-
gregations have been enabled to pay down debt during these dif- ficult economic times. I reached
out to the leadership of each of the five congregations looking for words of wisdom arising from their achievements. A common theme: Faith is the first step— faith in the God who has called them. Good leadership is instru- mental. Good leadership that keeps the focus on the end goal. The following is a summary of the comments, which I trust will pro- vide hope and inspiration to other congregations.
The Presbyterian
Church of Saint David
The Rev. Iona Maclean: “The Presbyterian Church of Saint David is grateful to God for the support we received from the Presbyterian Church Building Corporation in necessary loans and for the great joy in being able to pay off those loans in 2023. The sale of church property to the developer who had been leasing it has opened the doors to full- time ministry again and growth in mission for our congregation in downtown Halifax.”
Davida MacKay: “I am grateful every day for the PCBC loans, and the opportunity given to us to re-
The congregation at Knox Presbyterian Church in Oakville, Ont., celebrated completing a loan repayment with PCBC.
Connection
tire the loans!”
Arabic Presbyterian Church of Montreal
Renee Guirguis: “I only can think of the Bible verse in Matthew 25:29, ‘To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have abundance. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away.’”
Ghada Atallah: “Successfully repaid our debt through strategic financial management, prioritizing high-interest debts, and adhering
to a disciplined repayment plan. Despite challenges, the church remained committed to its finan- cial goals, ensuring steady pro- gress towards debt freedom.”
Gale Presbyterian Church
Kim Denstedt: “Gale launched its Voyage of Faith in 2004 and it was faith that gave them con- fidence in 2006 to purchase land. The Voyage became one of Dis- covery as they discerned the kind of new facility needed to support their goals and dreams. The pro- cess to build and then to finally
The Big Give
in Brockville
By the Rev. Marianne Emig Carr, First Presbyterian Church in Brockville, Ont.
First Presbyterian Church in Brock- ville, Ont., again par ticipated in the Big Give on June 1, 2024, together with other Christian churches in the area. The Big Give is an annual
event held on the first Saturday in June and is billed as an opportu- nity for “churches across Canada of all denominations to show their neighbours the unconditional love of God by giving, for free, asking nothing in return.”
The Big Give began in the Ot- tawa area in 2015 and has since
become a national event, engag- ing churches of all backgrounds and denominations in extrava- gant giving. First Presbyterian has par ticipated in the Big Give every year since 2016, even during Covid, where the church blessed the local Food Bank with gift bags.
A total of seven Brockville- area churches participated in this year’s Big Give for the largest event since 2019.
As in previous years, the church hosted a rummage “sale” in the church hall and gave out snack bags of homemade cook- ies. Over a hundred members of