We begin this gathering by acknowledging the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement. Today this gathering place is home to many First Nations, Metis and Inuit people and acknowledging reminds us that our great standard of living is directly related to the resources and friendship of Indigenous peoples.

Present: Bev Cutler (CD), Heather Denoncourt (M&P), Del Fraipont (Property), Shelley Gault (M&O), Hugh Graham (Chairperson), Sharon Olesevich (Recording Secretary), Christina Paradela (Minister), Dave Reed (Men’s Group, Search Team, Treasurer, Finance), Wendy Reed (Fundraising, WOW), Carol Sernasie (Incoming Chair), Doug Willford (Regional Council Rep.), Kathy Young (Memorial)

Regrets:  Jane Koruna (Transition Team), Tom Wilkinson (W&M)

Welcome/Opening:

The meeting was called to order at 7:05 p.m.   Heather read the land acknowledgement. Christina opened with a prayer.

Approval of Agenda:

Moved by:  Wendy Reed                                            Seconded by: Del Fraipont

Carried:  √

Approval of Minutes of November 22, 2022 meeting:

Moved by:  Doug Willford                                          Seconded by: Bev Cutler

Carried: √

Approval of Minutes of December 20, 2022 meeting(online):

Moved by:  Dave Reed                                                Seconded by: Heather Denoncourt

Carried: √

Correspondence:

• Search Team, website: Hugh presented an email from Marilyn Daniels on behalf of the Search Team. While researching potential candidates, the Search Team visited various websites of other churches, which websites seemed more current than Wesley’s. We discussed this a few months ago, and we need to make sure that our website is updated regularly. Committees need to provide information to Shawn for updating the website. It was suggested that information for the website be provided three days before the end of the month for updating purposes. It was pointed out that the calendar needs to be filled in with church activities and perhaps rental activities. Information needs to be web ready when sent to Shawn. Sharon suggested that some of this information be added to the sign as well.

Transition Team Report(December):

• We worked on our required evaluation forms for the Regional Council. It was extensive work that needed to be submitted, so the team met for a second time the following day to complete the work and have met yet a third time the following week to reach a consensus before submit to the Regional Council.
• We also set the date for the final process that will complete the final goal of the team; Thursday, February 23 at 5-8 pm.

Submitted by Jane Koruna

Transition Team Report(January):

• Christina shared that the reports completed and provided to the Region were very well received.
• She checked on the availability of Council members for the Thursday, February 23/23 event.

Search Team Report:

• Dave shared that the team made a short list of ministers to see who would be interested in coming to Wesley. They have also been receiving resumes from those interested, mostly ministers from abroad. They are really at the beginning of their search and will take their time to find a minister who is the right fit for Wesley.

Committee Reports(December):

Board of Trustees:

• No report.

Christian Development:

• Nothing to report.

Submitted by Bev Cutler

Fundraising:

• It is with much joy that I can report that we made over $4,000 for Wesley at our recent Food Faire and Bazaar.  Thanks goes out to all who donated, worked at or attended this event. Thank you one and all.

Respectfully submitted by Wendy Reed

Membership & Outreach:

• Our December meeting was conducted successfully via email. It has been both an involved and rewarding month for our committee! We decided to give to a different donee for our Christmas Drive, expanded our Christmas card outreach and focused on membership.
• Urgent Needs Christmas Drive for Women’s Place: The response was heartwarming, to say the least!! The donations were delivered to Women’s Place Monday, December 19, thanks to Auriol. Tegan, our contact there, was thrilled!! She wondered if this was going to be a yearly endeavour!!!
• Mitten Tree: Auriol also delivered the winter wear and donated items from our Knitting Club to Women’s Place and various charities in need.
• Christmas Cards: This year our card list lengthened considerably. We chose to remember many of our Community of Faith, for many varying reasons.
• Coffee hour December “Fun Days”: The purpose was to bring our Community of Faith together in fellowship and fun. This was an encouraging start to our emphasis on membership.
• January meeting: TBA

Submitted by Shelley Gault

Memorial:

• Nothing to report.

Submitted by Kathy Young

Men’s Group:

• No report.

Ministry & Personnel:

• Nothing to report.

Heather Denoncourt, Acting Chair

Property:

• No report.

Treasurer’s Report/Finance:

• At the end of November, the Local Ministry Fund had a deficit of $88,511 compared

to a deficit of $65,552 at the same time last year. Compared to last year; PAR and

envelope donations are down, fundraising and hall rental incomes are up, but the biggest difference was, in 2021 we had received over $32,000 in Government wage

subsidies.

• Some good news! At the end of November, the Endowment Fund had a “book value”

gain of $35,321. Expected income from the Endowment Fund will assist with, but

probably not eliminate the Local Ministry Fund deficit by year-end.

• In November, $10,000 was transferred from the Horizon Fund Tangerine Savings

Account to Wesley’s CIBC Chequing Account to maintain a positive bank balance.

• Continued support of Wesley’s Fundraisers and Local Ministry Fund is greatly

appreciated. Thank You!

Submitted by Dave Reed, Treasurer

Worship & Music:

• Our last W&M meeting for 2022 was held on Dec. 1/22 in the church library. The following items were discussed:
• There have been complaints about the microphone on the podium near the choir loft cutting out both in church and on the live stream. It was suggested that Thorold Music be contacted to check it out.
• George continues to work with the choir and new members are always welcome. He will be inviting guest musicians to enhance the music experience at Wesley.  It was even suggested that a note be placed on our outdoor sign inviting people from the community who enjoy singing to join our choir.
• Shawn is working on the schedule for greeters and readers. We have cut the number from four to three people. There will be two greeters and one reader. We are doing away with the ushers as most people know where they sit and are not ushered to their seats. There will be one greeter at the main entrance and in the Narthex. One of the greeters will be responsible for bringing up the offertory plate.
• We are expanding the delivery of “What’s Up At Wesley” to Venita Robbins and Lois Wills. If someone could deliver to Venita, it would be appreciated.
• This will be my last meeting as Chair of the W&M Committee as Tom Wilkinson takes on this responsibility in January. I will return to Church Council in the New Year when I have been officially approved as Wesley’s rep to the Horseshoe Falls Regional Council.

Respectfully submitted by Doug Willford, Interim Chair

WOW:

• Thanks to all 21 ladies who attended our 2022 Wesley’s Ladies Potluck and Communion Service. The meals were absolutely delicious. Many thanks to all who helped in any way with the luncheon and the Christmas Communion Service.  Special thanks to Sybil for playing the piano and to Christina for giving us a truly emotional, caring service for all.

Respectfully submitted by Wendy Reed

Motion:  That Council approves the December committee reports as a docket.

Moved by:  Dave Reed                                               Seconded by:  Doug Willford

Carried: √

Committee Reports(January):

Board of Trustees:

• No report.

Christian Development:

• Nothing to report.

Submitted by Bev Cutler

Finance:

• The Finance Committee met on January 13, 2023.
• Hugh and Christina indicated that they had not found a replacement Treasurer. First of all, the Treasurer must be a member of Wesley. They are looking at four potential scenarios: A new Treasurer.

2. A Treasurer and Bookkeeper combination.
3. Co-Treasurers.
4. Co-Treasurers plus a Bookkeeper.

Note: Dave will stay on as Treasurer for another year with Sharon as backup. During the year, this gives time to explore the above scenarios.

• The following corrections were made to the 2022 Year-End Financial Statements that were previously emailed: The Date of Approval was changed to January 24, 2023. The amount of money sent directly to the Hope Centre was changed from $200 to $300. The budgeted numbers for Loose and Rentals were reversed and corrected to $500 and $16,000, respectively. The removal of the old sign was added to Note 6, which correspondingly reduced our Total Assets (Page 2) by its original cost ($669). Note: The old sign was purchased for $275 and was included in Special Contributions income to the Local Fund.
• Dave and Wendy will be going to the Myrtle Beach area for February, March and April, but will be home for a couple of days in early March, when Wendy plans to enter donations via Power Church with Leanne, to see if Leanne will act as backup Envelope Steward.

Sharon will be paying the bills while we are gone. However we will be in touch via email and, if necessary, by Zoom. Dave and Sharon will be meeting with Anke at the CIBC to follow-up on our credit card request and also getting Sharon full access to our CIBC account regarding adding new E-transfer payment options.

• David Whitehead will stay on as a Trustee, but he no longer wants to be involved with the annual “Financial Review”. Elinor Doyle has agreed to participate again this year, sometime in the month of May. Dave will be searching to see if another person can take David Whitehead’s place.
• Special thanks to Del for contracting a new snow plowing company. November, December, and January costs to date were $4,559 less than the same period last winter season.
• Motion will be presented to Council to approve the “Financial Statements for the Year Ended December 31, 2022” dated January 24, 2023.

Submitted by Dave Reed

Motion: to approve the “Financial Statements for the Year Ended December 31, 2022”

Dated January 24, 2023.

Moved by:  Dave Reed                                                Seconded by: Del Fraipont

Carried:  √

Fundraising:

• We are hoping to have a meeting this week to go over a few planned events for 2023.
• All our members plan to remain on this Committee with the exception of Mary Cools, who is taking a leave. We wish to thank her for her dedication and support to the Fundraising Committee. She will be missed. Many thanks goes to all the members who are willing to continue their time and efforts to this group.
• This is my last report to Church Council for Fundraising. I wish to thank all who helped with or participated in any way with Wesley’s Fundraising events over the past few years.

Respectfully submitted by Wendy Reed

• Fundraising met today. Wendy thanked everyone for the work they had done.
• They have planned a Soup Sunday on February 19/23, in place of coffee hour. Homemade buns will also be provided, all for $5.
• Doug mentioned that his idea of planning a Trivia Night would not materialize as he is planning a vacation around the same time.

Membership & Outreach:

• Women’s Place “Urgent Needs Drive“: The response to this drive was wonderful!! All four requested items were generously donated by Wesley’s Community of Faith. The Mitten Tree was laden with purchased and homemade new winter wear. One of the committee members, Auriol, and her husband, Peter, kindly delivered the items to Tegan, our contact at Women’s Place. She was so impressed she asked if we planned on making this an annual event!! Auriol ensured any remaining contributions were delivered to other areas in need.

Following the drive, two letters, composed by “Women’s Place” staff, represented two true stories of young children fleeing their home, with their mom, from their abusive father. They had nothing with them. Artwork and the printed words “Thank you”, in crayon, are added to the letters. The “Thank you’s” are for Wesley. (The children’s     names have been changed.) The letters will be read during a service in February, then posted on the hall bulletin board for pictures to be appreciated.

• Can you bring a can campaign – for the month of January: The Community of Faith has been invited to donate a can of meat for the Hope Centre sandwiches for their bagged lunches. This will help defray the cost of this project considerably! We thought a can or two per person a reasonable request and a HUGE help!!  Sandwiches will be made in February.

Submitted by Shelley Gault

Memorial:

• Nothing to report.

Submitted by Kathy Young

Men’s Group:

• We hope the men on Church Council can join us for Men’s Breakfast next Sunday at 8:15 a.m.

Submitted by Dave Reed

Ministry & Personnel:

• As in the past, all staff members were given $10 Tim Horton gift cards at Christmas on behalf of Wesley United.
• The M&P Committee has met with the staff and all job descriptions are in place for 2023.

Submitted by Heather Denoncourt, Acting Chair

Nominations:

• Secretary of Council: Hugh shared that the Nominations Committee hasn’t had any luck finding someone to take on the role of Council Secretary. They have been looking at having a rotating Secretary of Council, from within the Council. The Committee Chairs would take turns.
• In so doing, monthly committee reports could live on Google docs, which then could easily be shared with everyone. The template for Council minutes could be put on Google docs and accessed by whoever is serving as Secretary that month.
• The other part of that, presumably, with committees doing their work and Council doing their work, the work of the Secretary will decrease.
• Training would be provided so that everyone will feel comfortable using Google docs.
• If not comfortable using the Google docs as the meeting is in progress, notes can be taken, then transcribed to Google docs at a later time.
• Carol explained how a City staff member transcribes discussions from committee meetings at a later time. This could be a possibility but would need further discussion if an alternative is not available.
• Christina pointed out that the minutes can be much less complex. Hugh explained that there would be a template on Google docs that can be filled in. Again, training will be provided.

Property:

• An Automated External Defibrillation( AED ) unit has been installed on the wall in the Main Hallway near the door. This unit is now available for use in the event a person on the church property experiences a cardiac arrest issue. The defibrillation unit can provide an external shock to try and get the heart beating again. In the event of a cardiac arrest issue, the priority actions should be….1. call 911;  2. do CPR;  3. utilize the AED unit.
• Facility rental program has seen an increase in outside groups or families holding events at the Church. In September we had the Welland Camera Club return for their twice monthly meeting; Horticultural Club return for their monthly meeting; the Ladies Cribbage League return for their weekly cribbage night, and we had one outside family rental in October, one outside family rental in November and four outside family rentals in December.  All these are helping to generate extra income for the church.

• Snow plowing/salting contract with the new service provider, Bernier Excavating, has been working out well. Also, Mother Nature has been very kind so far with reduced snow fall.

Submitted by Del Fraipont

Treasurer’s Report:

• At the end of December, the Local Ministry Fund had a deficit of $82,209.
• At the end of 2022, the Endowment Fund had earned $14,966. These earnings were redeemed as income to the Local Ministry Fund. An additional $40,000 were redeemed from Endowment Fund Principle and transferred to the Tangerine Local Fund Savings account.
• $1,260 was received from the Christmas Card Fundraiser. Thank you!
• After Year-end Adjustments: The Horizon Fund had $21,874; The Memorial Fund had $10,710; The Tangerine Local Ministry savings account had $40,816; and the Endowment Fund had $756,000.
• The total “book value” of all Church Funds has decreased by $111,226 from a year ago! Part of this was the cost of the new sign ($20,822) which was planned for.
• The cancellation of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Services and with the first Sunday in January being New Year’s Day, Wesley has not had the number of donations that normally would be helping start the New Year with a financial boost.
• 2023 will hopefully see new opportunities for growth of our Community of Faith’s time, talents and treasures!

Submitted by Dave Reed, Treasurer

• Dave explained that compared to 2019, envelopes and PAR income was about $30 000 less.
• We need to attract new members who will contribute in many ways to Wesley. Our website needs to be such that it informs others of all the things that Wesley does.
• Dave mentioned that perhaps the different accounts/funds could be consolidated to make things somewhat easier.

Worship & Music:

• The W&M Committee met on January 5, 2023.
• Doug shared a reflection from the book “Between Sundays”. It was titled “A time to throw away”, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! We have opened this portion of our meeting to anyone on the Committee who would like to share a reflection or a story with our group.
• Tom asked Christina to clarify the difference between making motions and voting on them and approval by consensus. If we approve by consensus, this could take longer but we all must be prepared to live with our decision. (Subsequently this would mean that no one is against the vote).  It was agreed that our committee would work with a consensus for approval.

 

• Minister’s Report: We had a lengthy discussion about what happened regarding our Christmas Eve and Christmas services. The unexpected need to cancel these services and subsequently missing a Christmas Celebration left many feeling “out of sorts”. We needed to devise a contingency plan should something like this happen again, requiring the need to cancel church services. It is up to the Chair of the Council and the Minister to make the decision. It was decided that in the event that in-service worship is canceled, a link for a Zoom service will be sent to all members of our congregation. This will allow for worship, including music and scripture reading similar to how we managed during our COVID lockdown. We will present this to Council and make announcements in church, on our website and in What’s Up at Wesley. Christina will push the lectionary back a week. Epiphany will be on Jan. 8, 2023.

Good Friday … George is working on giving us a decision regarding this service as soon as possible. We will be hosting Good Friday here at Wesley this year! (four churches).

Christina wanted to know if we had any suggestions about Lent. We agreed that we would like to celebrate Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday. There has not been a decision about a Lenten study book at this time.

Christina asked if we should still have Communion by Intinction and we agreed that this would be a good idea since we are still dealing with COVID.

• Music Director’s Report: The visiting Viola Soloist was amazing – He was originally booked for Christmas but was available to join us on New Year’s Day! George will try to get students from Brock as well to be guest musicians at our church using the budget that has been assigned. February 4th – open invitation to members of Wesley to attend the recital that George will be holding at Wesley on this date. We will put out a notice to the Congregation.
• Multi-media Report: A representative from the Best Buy Geek Squad came and evaluated our sound system. He said that our speakers, microphones and soundboard are high quality. Our lectern microphone is the type that only picks up sound within 30cm. (an arm’s length). Al and his brother were able to access a loose wire under the flooring and corrected the problems we have been having with that microphone. The choir microphones need a larger volume of voices in order to function optimally. The annoying feedback that we have is when the microphone volume (or computer volume) is turned up higher than the speakers. The gentleman also emphasized that the echo (empty room sound) needed acoustic dampening in the church and has nothing to do with the sound equipment that we have.
• Unfinished business:

Greeters, ushers and readers schedule – We no longer use the term ushers, just greeters and readers.  We owe Shawn a huge Thank You for all that he has done putting together our new schedule. He will forward this schedule to all who are involved. He notifies and reminds the readers as well as prepares a print out for them which is placed at the front of the church. Our Committee needs to remind the greeters that they are responsible for bringing the offering plate to the front. Leanne said that she would do that.

Puppet Ministry – Tom will speak to Glen regarding the future of the puppet ministry.

Development of Wesley Promotional Brochure – We would like to create an information brochure to be placed at the entrance of our church. There are so many groups and activities going on in our building and we are missing opportunities to reach out and tell people “who we are and what we do” here at Wesley! We would like to include our mission statement as well as invite others to know and experience the faith and fellowship within the walls of our Church Home. Doug has met with Shawn to create a draft which they will present to our committee, which will eventually make its way to Council for their information.

Delivery of What’s Up At Wesley – We made certain that our shut-ins will have access to this print-out by clarifying who is delivering them.

Round table:

Christina acknowledged her appreciation for our committee. Tom will represent our committee at council. He thanked the Multi-media Committee for looking into our sound system so quickly. Doug will be the rep for Regional Council and said that he will look after the Annual Report. Leanne will be away from January 17 to February 15. Ann will be Secretary in her absence.  Joan suggested we celebrate Christmas in the summer. We will revisit this in a few months. Ann wanted to clarify that committee minutes don’t need to be signed by Chairperson and Secretary.

• Next meetings: February 2, March 2, April 6, May 4, June 1, …. 10:00 a.m. in the Library

Submitted by Tom Wilkinson, Chair

Motion:  that in the event of a cancellation of an in-person Sunday service, a Zoom meeting will be convened by the Minister.

Moved by: Doug Willford                                           Seconded by: Shelley Gault

Carried:  √

WOW:

• We had 12 ladies in attendance at our last meeting in January.
• Our devotional was given by Carol Sernasie, and it was very appropriate and meaningful to all of us.
• Wendy mentioned that 21 ladies attended our delicious Christmas Potluck and how much we enjoyed the Christmas Communion Service led by Christina. We wish to thank Christina for such a meaningful service and also thank Sybil for kindly playing the piano once again for us.
• A discussion regarding Coffee Hour took place. Wendy will put a message asking for occasional help being needed in our next “What’s Up At Wesley”.
• In Wendy’s absence, Kathy Young will look after our Feb. meeting. Gloria Mannell will look after March and Betty Lane will run the April meeting. Thank you so much ladies.
• We had “Around the Table” comments by everyone that truly touched all of us.
• Refreshments followed… all were thanked for coming.
• All ladies are more than welcome to join us. Please come.

Respectfully submitted by Wendy Reed

Motion:  That Council approves the January committee reports as a docket.

Moved by:  Shelley Gault                                           Seconded by: Heather Denoncourt

Carried: √ 

Business Arising from Previous Minutes:

• Advocacy/Social Justice: At a Council meeting in January, 2022, there was a suggestion by Christina that we approach the City of Welland to ascertain what initiatives they are undertaking to deal with poverty reduction. Hugh reviewed what had transpired from January, 2022 until now. Hugh sees the beginning of the process as sharing with the City what Wesley and other area churches are already doing, and asking what the City is doing. Christina explained that we need to ask the questions about where are the gaps/cracks that people are falling into. Del shared that addressing this is not an easy question because the problem has been around for so long. Where do we begin? Carol suggested that there needs to be a philosophy change wherein developers fees are pooled together to build affordable housing. Hugh asked how we are going to begin a dialogue with the City of Welland. Christina said we should ask the city what they are going to do to reduce the need in a year’s time. Del said we should provide them with a list of what area churches are doing and ask what the City is planning that we can be involved with. Moreover, what is the City doing that helps to reduce the need for the charitable work that is being done. Hugh asked for a comprehensive list of what is already being done at Wesley and other area churches. Wesley committee chairs can send a list of outreach activities to Hugh, including dollar amounts and volunteer hours. Christina offered to compose a letter to go out to the area churches.

New Business:

• Supply Minister: Hugh explained the need for a supply minister due to logistics around Christina’s leaving and the new minister’s coming. The supply minister would be here for an unknown amount of time, at this point. Hugh approached Rev. Dr. Gordon Crossfield, who is a member of the Transition Team and Search Team, informally through email and explained our need to him. Hugh advised him that Council would discuss this and get back to him. He is booked for March, so we will need to speak to him soon. Hugh asked how we go about it. Christina advised that we have to go through ChurchHub where a vacancy will be created to which Gordon will apply. Heather asked if the timing of this could be explained to the congregation. All in all, with the need of a new minister to give 90 days notice, he/she may not be in place until September. A member of the Search Team will be tasked with this announcement. Council needs to enter the need for a supply minister on ChurchHub at this time. Gordon is our VAM(Volunteer Associate Minister). Through us, he will have his licence to marry. Christina’s end date is April 16, although she will be off the last week. We will need someone starting April 17. Christina asked for an indication from Council as to what sort of work arrangement we would like to have with the Supply Minister. Attending Council meetings would be necessary to form quorum. Hugh will follow up with Gordon. Sharon offered to look after the work on ChurchHub.

Motion: that Wesley United Church engage a Supply Minister to commence on April 17/23 to continue until a date to be determined. Responsibilities to be mutually decided upon.

Moved by: Kathy Young                                                   Seconded by: Doug Willford

Carried: √

Minister’s Report:

• Christina, on behalf of the Transition Team, shared the poster of the Mission Statement that will be plaqued.
• She also mentioned that she has observed the committee chairs doing the lion’s share of the committees’ work. She used Hugh as an example of how a chair should facilitate discussion and decision making. She feels that the chairs should be facilitating in this way on committees, empowering the members to do the work.
• The books for the Lenten study have arrived. Direct people needing a book to Christina. The study can be done either in person or via Zoom. That decision will be made by consensus of the group members.

Around the Table:

• Doug thanked Del for putting up the portable defibrillator in the main hall. He asked if there was a possibility of having training on the defibrillator and in CPR. Hugh asked if one of the committees would like to plan CPR training and let others know. Training on the defibrillator is not needed.
• Kathy had a call from the hairdresser at Wesley-Robins regarding an album that she is creating of past and present residents. She was asking for permission to use photos of WUC members. Council decided that we don’t have the authority to give permission to use someone else’s photographs.
• Dave shared that he is starting to input the financial statistics on ChurchHub.
• Sharon shared that the Legacy Agreement for WRRV is now fully signed. The Legacy Process is complete.

Chairperson’s Remarks: Hugh opened a discussion concerning the scheduling of the Annual General Meeting. He originally thought that we could forego a February Council meeting, but after tonight’s meeting, he feels that we need to have a Council meeting on the 21^st of February. The Annual General Meeting will be March 5/23.

Closing Prayer: Bev

Adjournment:

Moved by:  Del Fraipont                                             Seconded by: Heather Denoncourt

Carried:  √

Next meetings: Council:  Tuesday, February 21, 2023 or by call of Chair.

Annual General Meeting-March 5, 2023

 

Date:               ______________________________

 

Chairperson:   ______________________________  Hugh Graham

 

Secretary:       ______________________________ Sharon Olesevich