Welcome to the second issue of Incarnation Acts! – a collection of “blog postings” mostly around the theme of worship, following up on the special focus of the June 12th meeting of Parish Council.
There are also a couple of postings about other topics updating parishioners about my new diocesan appointment, the Paving the Road Ahead campaign and a calendar of upcoming events, including the upcoming “Which Future?” Visioning Workshop on October 15 to which all are invited.
We hope that you find that diving into these postings is informative and fulfilling and that they begin a dialogue in our parish about matters of faith. We look forward to your reflections and comments.
Thursday, September 01, 2011
On the Road Ahead
| Event | Date & Time | Details |
| Baptism | Sun. September 4, | Welcome Brandon Drake Burrows! |
| Paving project begins | Tues. September 13 | Parking lot will be closed and building access restricted to the front door for approximately 10 days |
| EcoJustice meets | Tues. September 6, | At the church Conversation with North Oakville Outreach about reaching out to our neighbourhood |
| “Travelling the Road Together” dessert pot-luck gatherings | Fridays and Sundays from September 9 through October 2; Youth gathering on September 18 @ | Personal invitations to times of community building-socializing, sharing our history, exploring how Incarnation “matters” to us and others |
| Worship Planning | Sat. Sept. 10, | At the church |
| “Welcome Back” BBQ | Sat. September 10, | All welcome at this celebration; Sign-up sheet in the narthex |
| “Welcome Back”/“Stir Up” Sunday | Sun. September 11, | Our programme year starts up Commissioning of |
| Parish Council meets | Sun. September 11, | At the church; Advising and coordinating our ministries |
| “Why Church?” – Models of Church series | Sundays, September 18 through October 16 | Special worship and preaching focus on the church as: herald, servant, sacrament, mystical communion and institution |
| Children’s Cooking/Art Programme | Thursday, September 22 through November 10, 4- | At the church; Jointly sponsored by ArtHouse, Kids Cook at School & Incarnation |
| Stewardship Committee meets | Sun. September 25, 12 | At the church |
| Corporation meets | Mon. September 26, | At the home of the Macdougalls |
| “Fine-tuning the Vision” | Sat. October 1, | Diocesan event with parish “vision champions” @ |
| Bishop’s Company Reception and Dinner | Mon. October 3, [Register before September 16] | For members and guests at the |
| Thanksgiving | Sun. October 9 | Celebrating both harvest and national thanksgiving |
| “Which Future?” Parish Visioning Day | Sat. October 15 – | All are urged to take part in this day to explore the purpose of the church and some options for sustaining and growing our ministries here in |
| Pre-Synod meeting | Tue. October 18, | Lay Delegates to Synod gather at Christ’s Church Cathedral, Hamilton |
| Preaching Exchange | Sun. October 23, | The Rev’d Cheryl Fricker, Rector of St. Aidan’s, guest preaches/presides at Incarnation; our Priest-in-charge preaches/presides at St. Aidan’s; environmental focus in the worship |
| Hallowe’en | Sun. October 30, | All-ages service at |
| Vision Advocate & Coordinator for Excellence in Ministry | Tue. November 1 | Canon Terry starts his new position as Vision Advocate and changes his placement as Priest-in-charge to 50% |
| Parochial Committee meets with Bishop | Tue. November 1, | At the Bishop’s office; 12 month Ministry Covenant review |
| Parish Dinner | Fri. November 4, eve | Our annual festive stewardship dinner. Reserve the evening now! |
| All Saints’ Day (observed) | Sun. November 6, | Special worship focus |
| Parish Council meets | Sun. November 6, | At the church; Advising and coordinating our ministries |
| Christmas Market | Sat. November 12 | Preparations for the return of this annual landmark event are underway. |
| Stewardship Sunday | Sun. November 13 | Special stewardship speaker; launch of 2012 programme: “Full House” |
| Synod of | Fri. November 18 – Sat. November 19 | In Hamilton; Annual meeting of clergy and lay representatives of parishes across our diocese to find a “common road” [syn-odos] for the Anglican church in this area. |
| “Back to Church Sunday”/First Sunday of Advent | Sun. November 27 | A day to grow as an “inviting” church |
| 25th Anniversary | 2012 | Our year of celebration begins perhaps with a New Years Day Levee and Bishop Bird will make a parish visit on January 8, the precise anniversary of the first service of “The Anglican Church in Glen Abbey.” |
Stewardship Committee Report
We have had an extremely successful Paving the Road Ahead campaign to date. We have over $31,000 cash-in-hand and a few thousand more in pledges (as of the end of August). As a result, we have been able to finalize the plans for paving our parking lot, with the project itself beginning September 13th. We have been equally delighted with the support that our monthly visual presentations have received. Adults and children alike have demonstrated various creative ways to park a toy car, and both seasoned and neophyte parishioners have shared what Incarnation means to them in accompanying testimonials.
While the first phase of the Paving the Road Ahead campaign addressed Incarnation’s present needs, the second phase asks us to think about our past. We have targeted the final $20,000 of the $50,000 campaign on paying down our long-term debt. Just as we filled a very plain looking parking lot with colourful cars, we are hopeful that the blank white (model) church will turn into a colourful miniature version of Incarnation.
Time and Talent
In June, Incarnation held its annual Volunteer Appreciation Sunday where parishioners were acknowledged for the hundreds upon hundreds of hours of time given to making this church function.
In the past, parishioners have been asked to consider their commitment to stewardship in terms of time, talent and treasure, with a single toolkit, distributed towards the end of the calendar year. While the timing of this toolkit is appropriate for determining financial commitment for the following calendar year, it is felt that the one’s determination of one’s time and talent for the following church year ie. September to June, is better carried out in the spring. As a result, beginning in 2012, the Time and Talent tool kit will be distributed in April/May.
Treasure
The Stewardship committee is in the early planning stages of the fall stewardship campaign. The annual dinner is tentatively scheduled for Friday, November 4th with our commitment to St. Matthew’s House being the focus of the evening. As we have done in the past, we hope to provide the parish with an event that both entertains and provides an opportunity for reflection.
Liturgy – Λαος υργος – the work of the whole people of God
One of the first things that students of the subject learn is that worship is the work of the whole people of God. [The Greek roots for “liturgy” are: λαος υργος – laos urgos, whose meanings include “people” and “work” (from which we get words like “laity” and “ergonomics”).] This emphasis on the participation, contributions and gifts of the entire faith community makes it clear that, when we worship, we are not spectators of something being done by priests and choirs. We are all jointly participants, even con-celebrants. This understanding has led us to share leadership broadly through the community, creating a vast range of worship leadership roles, including: readers, intercessors, chalice bearers, greeters, coffee hosts, gift-bearers, servers, worship space decorators, altar-preparers, cantors, choristers, musicians, music directors, preachers, presiders, and WOD – Warden on Duty.
It is clear from this job list that we have been harnessing the energy and gifts of quite a few people for this activity of worship, this “work of the people”. Why do we go to all this trouble? Why do we worship?
It is clear from this job list that we have been harnessing the energy and gifts of quite a few people for this activity of worship, this “work of the people”. Why do we go to all this trouble? Why do we worship?
Life-changing worship – an excerpt from our Ministry Covenant
- encourage the development, use and evaluation of innovative liturgies and resources; and,
- provide mechanisms for requesting and obtaining episcopal approval for new liturgical texts.
"Principled Worship"
Recently, a visitor here asked if the pews had been removed for some construction project. Well, no, it had to be explained, worship at Incarnation is different on purpose. Yet, it also needs to be said that worship is planned and conducted according to a comprehensive set of principles. What are these principles? Our worship aims to be:
- the work of the whole community [“liturgy” λαος υργος – work of the people] inclusion of the community in planning and acts of worship is an important value (worship is not a “spectator sport”; leadership in worship is not strictly the role of the priest)
- comprehensive – we want to draw on and respond to the diversity of our community – interests, talents, learning styles, etc.
- welcoming of diversity – we strive to create a warm, informal atmosphere, where people of varied religious backgrounds, lifestyles and ages, and at different stages of their spiritual journeys, can all be comfortable
- recognizing efforts, talents and contributions of children and youth – from time to time the product of the efforts or personal talents of the Church School children or parish youth are integrated in a meaningful way into the church decor, service or after-service community gathering
- informal and careful – we are informal in tone, but not casual or careless in approach
- creative – we deliberately experiment with spiritual expression through our worship – we are committed to looking for new ways to express God’s presence in our worship life; we accept that not all experiments will be successful, but that these are important ways to learn and grow
- responsive and challenging – we work to make our worship consistent with the context of our community (responding to community needs and issues), while challenging us individually and collectively to grow in our relationship with God
- missional – we aim for worship that transforms and reinvigorates us for mission
- traditional and adaptable – we follow the general form of the Anglican order of service, but customize the approach to our current context and community needs – when we vary from the form, it is in a thoughtful, deliberate fashion to support a particular theme or worship objective
- pioneering – we are informed by our traditions (liturgically, musically, spatially ), but not bound by them – “We are exploring the boundaries of faith and worship, while respecting the Christian story of God’s love and the traditions of the Anglican church.”
- musically comprehensive – we deliberately work to include many types of music, integrating music as an important element of the day’s theme or focus
- honouring and welcoming the gifts of many – our music program strives to include in as many ways as possible – through use of the musical talents within the community and through involving the broader community in most of the music
- linguistically and symbolically inclusive – inclusive language is important (in both music and liturgy), as is use of varied imagery of God that is consistent with the way we engage in the world (e.g. avoid use of militarized imagery of God)
- spontaneous and reflective – we enjoy the noise and spontaneity of children and adults, but respect the need for times of order, quiet and reflection
- incarnational, affirming that God is present in and through the world – we draw on both what may traditionally be considered both “the sacred” and “the secular” – to reinforce that the connectedness of our faith to the wider world and our place in it
- creative and adaptable – we use the space creatively, organizing and using the physical space in a way that supports our specific worship themes or objectives
- worship should involve differently senses as richly as possible, reflecting that people think, learn and experience in different ways and our worship should engage those different modes, and,
- delighting in beauty and engaging all the senses – the decoration of the space/use of imagery is an important element of ensuring worship engages the different senses.
- the work of the whole community [“liturgy” λαος υργος – work of the people] inclusion of the community in planning and acts of worship is an important value (worship is not a “spectator sport”; leadership in worship is not strictly the role of the priest)
- comprehensive – we want to draw on and respond to the diversity of our community – interests, talents, learning styles, etc.
- welcoming of diversity – we strive to create a warm, informal atmosphere, where people of varied religious backgrounds, lifestyles and ages, and at different stages of their spiritual journeys, can all be comfortable
- recognizing efforts, talents and contributions of children and youth – from time to time the product of the efforts or personal talents of the Church School children or parish youth are integrated in a meaningful way into the church decor, service or after-service community gathering
- informal and careful – we are informal in tone, but not casual or careless in approach
- creative – we deliberately experiment with spiritual expression through our worship – we are committed to looking for new ways to express God’s presence in our worship life; we accept that not all experiments will be successful, but that these are important ways to learn and grow
- responsive and challenging – we work to make our worship consistent with the context of our community (responding to community needs and issues), while challenging us individually and collectively to grow in our relationship with God
- missional – we aim for worship that transforms and reinvigorates us for mission
- traditional and adaptable – we follow the general form of the Anglican order of service, but customize the approach to our current context and community needs – when we vary from the form, it is in a thoughtful, deliberate fashion to support a particular theme or worship objective
- pioneering – we are informed by our traditions (liturgically, musically, spatially ), but not bound by them – “We are exploring the boundaries of faith and worship, while respecting the Christian story of God’s love and the traditions of the Anglican church.”
- musically comprehensive – we deliberately work to include many types of music, integrating music as an important element of the day’s theme or focus
- honouring and welcoming the gifts of many – our music program strives to include in as many ways as possible – through use of the musical talents within the community and through involving the broader community in most of the music
- linguistically and symbolically inclusive – inclusive language is important (in both music and liturgy), as is use of varied imagery of God that is consistent with the way we engage in the world (e.g. avoid use of militarized imagery of God)
- spontaneous and reflective – we enjoy the noise and spontaneity of children and adults, but respect the need for times of order, quiet and reflection
- incarnational, affirming that God is present in and through the world – we draw on both what may traditionally be considered both “the sacred” and “the secular” – to reinforce that the connectedness of our faith to the wider world and our place in it
- creative and adaptable – we use the space creatively, organizing and using the physical space in a way that supports our specific worship themes or objectives
- worship should involve differently senses as richly as possible, reflecting that people think, learn and experience in different ways and our worship should engage those different modes, and,
- delighting in beauty and engaging all the senses – the decoration of the space/use of imagery is an important element of ensuring worship engages the different senses.
Worship Committee(s) at Incarnation
As a parish priest I have often faced the challenge of creating a worship advisory committee in many of the churches in which I have served. Not so long ago, worship was thought to be the exclusive domain of the clergy. So, even today, it is often the case that effort must be made to incorporate lay leaders in the planning and leadership of worship. I recall as a teen-ager a heated debate in my home parish between the Rector and members of Parish Council. Some parishioners were upset that there were so many other parishioners exercising worship leadership roles: Readers, Chalice Bearers, Servers, Lay Readers (a special trained and licensed role for lay officiants/preachers/intercessors), etc.. It was, for those expressing their concerns, a matter of quality control. Some lay leaders, it seems, were not as “good” at fulfilling their roles as the clergy. I found it ironic that it was the cleric who was advocating for the inclusion of lay leadership in the worship. Happily, some things have changed since then.
Here at Incarnation I did not find that problem at all. Instead, I found three functioning worship planning and coordination groups: Altar Preparation and Décor Group (APAD); Music Selection Group and the Worship Planning Committee! The challenge is: to support and coordinate the work of these groups and the very experienced, creative and talented people who constitute them; to clarify the terms of reference for each and the relationships between each group; and, to clarify how the responsibilities exercised by the Music Director and Priest-in-charge dovetail with them. It is a wonderful “problem” to have. I want to say that I (and our worship life) benefit immeasurably by my partnership with Michele Stevens (APAD Convenor), Susan Curran (Music Selection Convenor), Janet Hope (Worship Committee Convenor), Charlene Pauls (Music Director), Angela Barraclough (Administrative Assistant) and all of the incredible team members with whom those leaders and staff-persons minister.
The bishop of a diocese exercises ultimate authority over worship in parish churches and each bishop delegates and shares that authority (within certain limits) with the parish priest. In Niagara, we have been much blessed that our bishops have, over the years, given parishes considerable leeway, encouragement and support to experiment and craft “life-changing worship” experiences.
As we continue to gather in a worship community, please remember that liturgy is the work of the whole people of God. We are all invited to take part in the planning, preparation, conduct, leadership and review of our worship services. Know that you are urged to make your contributions through our various worship leadership roles, including our three worship committees!
- Terry DeForest
Here at Incarnation I did not find that problem at all. Instead, I found three functioning worship planning and coordination groups: Altar Preparation and Décor Group (APAD); Music Selection Group and the Worship Planning Committee! The challenge is: to support and coordinate the work of these groups and the very experienced, creative and talented people who constitute them; to clarify the terms of reference for each and the relationships between each group; and, to clarify how the responsibilities exercised by the Music Director and Priest-in-charge dovetail with them. It is a wonderful “problem” to have. I want to say that I (and our worship life) benefit immeasurably by my partnership with Michele Stevens (APAD Convenor), Susan Curran (Music Selection Convenor), Janet Hope (Worship Committee Convenor), Charlene Pauls (Music Director), Angela Barraclough (Administrative Assistant) and all of the incredible team members with whom those leaders and staff-persons minister.
The bishop of a diocese exercises ultimate authority over worship in parish churches and each bishop delegates and shares that authority (within certain limits) with the parish priest. In Niagara, we have been much blessed that our bishops have, over the years, given parishes considerable leeway, encouragement and support to experiment and craft “life-changing worship” experiences.
As we continue to gather in a worship community, please remember that liturgy is the work of the whole people of God. We are all invited to take part in the planning, preparation, conduct, leadership and review of our worship services. Know that you are urged to make your contributions through our various worship leadership roles, including our three worship committees!
- Terry DeForest
Incarnation Music Report
Specific to the Upcoming All-ages Service:
To help reflect the intention of an all-ages worship time, I would like to incorporate young musicians into the service, particularly the young instrumentalists, hopefully for hymn accompaniment and/or music for communion.
Also, an idea that has been suggested is to have one “station” as a music-centred activity. This could be something like learning a song that would then be taught to the congregation later in the service. I could also meet with a group of children and work with them on a song to teach the rest of the congregation. Brainstorming ideas welcome here!
A Musical Overview:
At Incarnation we continue to strive to incorporate a wide variety of musical genres into our services. Right now we don’t have a readily available guitarist to lead in guitar-based singing, although Josh Thatcher is willing to play when he’s available, and Phil Jones has come in for the Easter Vigil.
A Musical Overview:
At Incarnation we continue to strive to incorporate a wide variety of musical genres into our services. Right now we don’t have a readily available guitarist to lead in guitar-based singing, although Josh Thatcher is willing to play when he’s available, and Phil Jones has come in for the Easter Vigil.
A conscious effort to use a range of musical genres, including music from other cultural traditions and in other languages. Variety in musical styles has also been part of the music committee’s intention.
As music director I hope to foster a musically inclusive environment in our congregation. Some ideas of how to foster this on different “fronts” are as follows:
- For the congregation, I believe that including the music for the hymns will help to develop a greater participation of our own congregation to join in the singing and will allow visitors who read music to more readily participate.
- I would also like to see more hymn books available. At the moment the choir each has a hymnal and there is one extra available in the music room, but that is all. If we bought more hymnals we could have a stack available where the bulletins are given, for anyone wanting to look at the music. Before buying more Voices United hymnals, it is worth a committee assessment as to whether we would like to continue using Voices United as the primary hymnal or rather add/switch to the Anglican Common Praise. A small committee will look at both hymnals, hopefully sometime in fall.
- We always would like to have more people join the choir – it’s a small faithful group. I would like the congregation to feel that there is no barrier to join, even on a short-term basis. I think the extra participation at Easter started to develop an environment of more choral participation among the congregation - several joined just for the preparation of that one service, which seemed to work well. The idea of short-term participation is ideal for services such as Christmas and Easter.
There has been some activity towards getting an acoustic piano into our space, either lent or bought. This would be a wonderful addition to our worship music and space and would open further opportunities for Incarnation to host various musical events and thereby become more of a musical presence in our community at large.
Finally, on a very brief, final note, an ethos I would like to continue to develop at Incarnation is a sense of musical participation from within the entire community. I do not believe that worship music should be a spectator event, but rather that the entire community should feel a sense of involvement. Along with fostering more communal involvement, it is also important that we aim for the highest quality of music for our worship time.
- Charlene Pauls, Music Director
- Charlene Pauls, Music Director
Planning for the Year Ahead
On a hot summer’s day, the Incarnation Worship Group gathered in the shade to share a meal and dream about the possibilities for our worship life together over the coming year.
As a result, we’ve laid out a general plan for the upcoming year, identifying special seasons and services that we will plan in more detail as the year progresses. We’ve identified a youth-planned and led service (Earth Day), as well as three more all-ages services (Halloween, Transfiguration/Mardi Gras, and Fathers’ Day). In keeping with the Greening Niagara program, we’ve ensured that we will have some specific services throughout the year that will have an environmental focus. And we’ve identified tentative timing for Stewardship Sunday and Volunteer Appreciation Sunday. The planners among us are ecstatic!
Noting that 2012 represents the 25th anniversary of the first service of “The Anglican Church in Glen Abbey”, we are thrilled to have Bishop Michael already booked to join us for Epiphany on January 8th, 2012, and we look forward to opportunities to welcome back our former rectors as guest preachers throughout the anniversary year.
In a community such as Incarnation, where we have a “tradition” of being “non-traditional”, there is a lot of energy and effort needed to develop new liturgical materials and organize innovative services. So understandably, one of our focuses was how to maintain the vibrancy, momentum and innovation of our worship life without burning ourselves out! As a result, we agreed to building on our recent practice of seasonal liturgies, giving ourselves permission to occasionally “recycle” services from past years, and identifying opportunities to draw others into the planning or execution of specific services. In that regard, we are particularly interested in recruiting volunteers for the following opportunities:
Over the next five Sundays, we will reflect on who we are as a community and why we are called to be church, preparing us for our visioning work on Saturday October 15th. We are looking forward to this engaging start to the fall season, as we kick of the 2011-12 year together.
As a result, we’ve laid out a general plan for the upcoming year, identifying special seasons and services that we will plan in more detail as the year progresses. We’ve identified a youth-planned and led service (Earth Day), as well as three more all-ages services (Halloween, Transfiguration/Mardi Gras, and Fathers’ Day). In keeping with the Greening Niagara program, we’ve ensured that we will have some specific services throughout the year that will have an environmental focus. And we’ve identified tentative timing for Stewardship Sunday and Volunteer Appreciation Sunday. The planners among us are ecstatic!
Noting that 2012 represents the 25th anniversary of the first service of “The Anglican Church in Glen Abbey”, we are thrilled to have Bishop Michael already booked to join us for Epiphany on January 8th, 2012, and we look forward to opportunities to welcome back our former rectors as guest preachers throughout the anniversary year.
In a community such as Incarnation, where we have a “tradition” of being “non-traditional”, there is a lot of energy and effort needed to develop new liturgical materials and organize innovative services. So understandably, one of our focuses was how to maintain the vibrancy, momentum and innovation of our worship life without burning ourselves out! As a result, we agreed to building on our recent practice of seasonal liturgies, giving ourselves permission to occasionally “recycle” services from past years, and identifying opportunities to draw others into the planning or execution of specific services. In that regard, we are particularly interested in recruiting volunteers for the following opportunities:
- Individuals who would be willing to join a planning team for one of our “all ages” services
- Individuals with computer, graphics, audio-visual and/or general techie skills who could assist with multi-media elements for occasional services
Over the next five Sundays, we will reflect on who we are as a community and why we are called to be church, preparing us for our visioning work on Saturday October 15th. We are looking forward to this engaging start to the fall season, as we kick of the 2011-12 year together.
June Parish Council – Focusing on Our Worship
At the June Parish Council meeting, members reflected on our worship experiences of the past year – including all aspects of décor, music and liturgy – and provided feedback and suggestions for the year ahead.
Highlights from the 2010-11 year for Parish Council members included:
Highlights from the 2010-11 year for Parish Council members included:
- Blessing of backpacks, briefcases and blackberries at our September Welcome Back service
- The personal stories shared at All Saints
- The building of our yearnings through Advent, as we saw more and more light enter our space
- Marks of Mission “bookmarks” – a great “take away”
- Experiential opportunities like “Walking the Labyrinth” in Lent
- Special services like our Covenant service or the Easter Vigil
- The outstanding Easter music
We also acknowledged that what might be a highlight for one, might have been a `low light` for another. (For some, small group discussion in church is just too much like work!) In a community as diverse as ours, we certainly have a wide range of perspectives and preferences.
Looking ahead, Parish Council members expressed interest in:
Looking ahead, Parish Council members expressed interest in:
- More information about the themes we are exploring and/or greater capacity to link the historical traditions and practices to our modern experience and expression
- Continuing to find ways to bring personal stories into our worship
- Even more diversity of musical instruments, genres and styles
- Looking for opportunities (and talented souls!!) to incorporate more diversity of audio-visual elements into services
The spirited and spirit-filled discussion lay a great foundation for the Worship Group’s summer planning session for the upcoming 2011-12 year.
Sunday School Report
Incarnation’s Sunday school program will start up again on September 11. We are currently running two classes, one for kids in grades JK to grade 2, and another for grades 3 to 6. We are using the new Akaloo online curriculum which we are all very excited about. It provides a wonderful variety of topics and activities so preparing to teach is much easier. We will be trying out the occasional combined classes for certain days and seasons, which along with our all ages services will provide a great variety of opportunities for people to interact with our great kids!
We are in desperate need of Sunday school teachers so please contact me at butlerbr@cogeco.ca if you are interested in helping out. Also, I am querying the congregation to see how much interest there is in having a monthly or biweekly evening class for the teens. Please let me know if you have teens interested in this type of class and if you would like to work with them on this.
I am looking forward to seeing all of you in September!
- Brenda Butler, Sunday School Coordinator
We are in desperate need of Sunday school teachers so please contact me at butlerbr@cogeco.ca if you are interested in helping out. Also, I am querying the congregation to see how much interest there is in having a monthly or biweekly evening class for the teens. Please let me know if you have teens interested in this type of class and if you would like to work with them on this.
I am looking forward to seeing all of you in September!
- Brenda Butler, Sunday School Coordinator
A Letter from Michael Bird, Bishop of Niagara
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CHURCH OF THE INCARNATION
TO BE READ AT ALL SERVICES ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011
I am pleased to announce that, while continuing as Priest-in-charge of the Church of the Incarnation, the Reverend Canon Terry DeForest has accepted the offer of the half-time diocesan position, Vision Advocate and Coordinator for Excellence in Ministry, starting November 1, 2011.
This is a new position within the life of the diocese and I am very excited to have someone as capable and as dedicated as Terry to assist me in engaging with parishes in order to ensure that the vision and strategic plan for the diocese becomes a life-giving reality for all of us.
Although this is a half-time position, we have sought to minimize the impact of these developments on the parish and the good work you have been doing together. There are, however, some consequences for the parish. Terry’s position as Priest-in-charge will need to be adjusted from 60% of a full-time equivalent to 50% effective November 1, 2011
The Vision Advocate position will require some Sunday duties. It is expected that this would not be more than one Sunday per month. We will make plans for securing compatible and consistent clergy supply and/or other worship leadership for those Sundays when Terry must be absent from the Incarnation
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Terry for accepting this important role in the life of the diocese. I also wish to thank you, the members of the Church of the Incarnation, for your dedication, hard work and faithfulness over these last few years. I thank God for your Christian witness as part of our diocesan family and I look forward as we continue to share our ministry together in Christ’s service.
Faithfully,
Michael Bird
Bishop of Niagara
TO BE READ AT ALL SERVICES ON SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 2011
I am pleased to announce that, while continuing as Priest-in-charge of the Church of the Incarnation, the Reverend Canon Terry DeForest has accepted the offer of the half-time diocesan position, Vision Advocate and Coordinator for Excellence in Ministry, starting November 1, 2011.
This is a new position within the life of the diocese and I am very excited to have someone as capable and as dedicated as Terry to assist me in engaging with parishes in order to ensure that the vision and strategic plan for the diocese becomes a life-giving reality for all of us.
Although this is a half-time position, we have sought to minimize the impact of these developments on the parish and the good work you have been doing together. There are, however, some consequences for the parish. Terry’s position as Priest-in-charge will need to be adjusted from 60% of a full-time equivalent to 50% effective November 1, 2011
The Vision Advocate position will require some Sunday duties. It is expected that this would not be more than one Sunday per month. We will make plans for securing compatible and consistent clergy supply and/or other worship leadership for those Sundays when Terry must be absent from the Incarnation
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Terry for accepting this important role in the life of the diocese. I also wish to thank you, the members of the Church of the Incarnation, for your dedication, hard work and faithfulness over these last few years. I thank God for your Christian witness as part of our diocesan family and I look forward as we continue to share our ministry together in Christ’s service.
Faithfully,
Michael Bird
Bishop of Niagara
Terry DeForest PIC and VACEM
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