Incumbent’s Report, September 22, 2024
With Eloïse Lekx at the Christ Church Beaurepaire centenary service
September is always an active month, but this one has been particularly busy, for both happy and sad reasons.
We’ve begun our new 2024-25 schedule and kicked off our new “Bible Learning Time” twice a month at 8:45 AM (on the second and fourth Sundays). Our third Sunday worship services is an all-ages/kid-friendly Eucharist. Messy Church continues to chug along with a large and enthusiastic group; on September 8 we also held the annual Blessing of the Backpacks and Welcome Back BBQ (indoors due to unseasonably chilly weather!), and on September 15 we enrolled two more young people for baptism at All Saints’. Next up, we’re looking forward to an International Dinner September 28, at which we’ll also dedicate the newly renovated kitchen, and a festive Eucharist for the feast of St. Michael and All Angels on September 29!
The Finance Committee is continuing to streamline and improve our financial practices, and Dave Young is doing great things as our volunteer building manager.
Laura Lunt had a knee replacement surgery on September 5 and is recovering well. Thanks to everyone who has been pitching in to cover the essential work that she does!
The All Saints’ community suffered two unfortunate blows in quick succession in the first half of the month. The first was the revelation that Susan Silver, whom we had been trying to help and support for many months, was not someone who could safely continue to participate in our parish life, despite everyone’s best efforts to maintain appropriate boundaries. The second was the sudden loss of Bert Larocque, who had been a beloved member of our congregation (and St. Paul’s, Lachine, before that) for many years. Bert’s funeral was held on September 19.
We continue to engage in preliminary conversations about a potential capital campaign. We have a long list of projects we’d like to get done, of varying degrees of urgency and feasibility. The Corporation is working on prioritizing these, starting to collect information about potential costs, and figuring out how to structure the campaign, and we hope to open up that conversation to the whole parish very soon.
On September 15, I attended the hundredth anniversary celebration at Christ Church, Beaurepaire, and from September 16-18 I gathered with the clergy of the Diocese at Jouvence, in Orford, for the annual Clergy Conference, led this year by Peter Elliott, retired Dean of the Cathedral in Vancouver.
I look forward to seeing everyone as the program year begins – and as always, of course, reach out to me directly if you want to talk.
In God’s peace,
Grace+
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