The Anglican Parish of North Gower - GIFT

The Anglican Parish of North Gower
2372 Church St., North Gower, ON K0A 2T0
613-489-0998
[email protected]
www.holytrinitynorthgower.ca
A Financial Stewardship Initiative of
The Anglican Parish
of North Gower
and the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa
Dear Friends,
A recent ‘Zits’ cartoon (by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman)
begins with the mother licking an envelope and saying
to her teenage son: ‘Jeremy, go get me a postage stamp
from the kitchen’. There are four centre panels with
drawings of Jeremy searching in drawers, cupboards,
under the sink. The last panel has Jeremy returning to
his mother to say, ‘What’s a postage stamp?’. I enjoy
this cartoon often. With teenage boys at home we find
that ‘Zits’ often portrays our life. This time, I think the
humour could speak to our life as church as well.
In this dawning age of electronic communication, ‘snail
mail’ is rapidly being bypassed. In many ways, our way
of being Church may also sometimes seem out of date,
old-fashioned, an anachronism. As people in our culture
find more ways to relate without actually meeting - as
people learn to throw away rather than repair - as people watch music videos
rather than come together to sing – we in the Church continue to live a life
centred on communal worship. We worship in an old building that was built to be
beautiful rather than utilitarian – a stone building now in need of repair.
We support our worship, our life as a parish, and our building on donations. We
rely exclusively on the generosity of our members – and on their time and skill to maintain our ministry. How old-fashioned is that?
And we believe that in our life and work we are in relationship with the living
God, empowered by the Spirit of God and following Jesus the Christ. We believe.
This is also becoming something of an anachronism. We use our old building to
support a community that is exploring new ways to reach out in service as the
Body of Christ.
The booklet you are holding is about GIFT: Growing in Faith Together. Please
read it carefully and consider how you
can, with me, increase your support
for this crazy, antique risk of faith
that we call Church.
Yours in Christ
The Reverend Jan Staniforth
October 2012
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The History of the Stone Church
The first Anglican Church in our location was a frame
building, built in 1856. By the 1870s, the small church
was overfilled and plans were made for the bigger stone
church. Rev. Anthony Joseph O’Loughlin was the driving
force behind the project, and he dedicated himself to
fund-raising as well as personally attending to details in
wood-carving and window design.
A great deal of the manual labour for construction was
done by church members. The dressed stone for the
church was quarried in Goulbourn Township, and brought to North Gower by members
of the congregation. The rough stone, used for the foundation and walls, was brought
from local farms, in Marlborough and North Gower townships.
The cornerstone of the church was laid on June 25, 1879. It is on the east corner,
under the Rector’s office. Copies of current newspapers were placed in the niche of
the stone as a kind of time capsule. The church was consecrated in 1880. In 1884,
the church bell was installed. It is inscribed with this short poem by Rev. O’Loughlin.
Lord Jesus, shield, and keep with grace
Thy Blood Redeemed; within this place,
Daily add to them large increase,
With fullness bless, and ever in Peace
Today
The Parish of North Gower, with members from Holy Trinity and the former congregation
of St. John’s are committed to maintaining a vibrant Anglican church within
our community. The GIFT campaign, in partnership
with the Diocese, will help us keep a full suite of parish
ministry projects underway. Our people are committed so
all is perhaps well, except, we find, for parts of the stone
church itself. As everyone living near North Gower already
knows, several engineering studies have shown that work
will be required over the coming years to be sure that our
building remains safe and
solid. GIFT will let us tackle
the most urgent building
needs for the next five year
period, while providing additional support to several
new ministry projects and helping us pay down the
debt we took on for emergency repairs to the bell tower
in 2011.
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Growing in Faith Together
Who we are: a welcoming Christian family deeply rooted in our tradition
and community.
What we feel called to do: with prayer and fun,
honour our Anglican tradition, grow our church
family and be involved in our community and
the world.
We emphasise 5 main themes for Holy Trinity Church,
and the GIFT campaign will help us continue to
develop in all of these:
Worship. We are excited about providing a range of Christian worship experiences,
for those who appreciate the beauty of a musical service, and for those who prefer
quieter moments in worship. We love to encourage participation, especially to
increase learning about the meaning behind scripture and the historical context
of the Christian church.
Outreach. We want everyone to feel welcome
within our church, whether they are members
of the Parish or not. While continuing to actively
support several community initiatives, we are
looking for new ways to make parish resources
more available to people from the general area.
Recent examples include opening our doors to art
and music shows, and hosting public astronomy
viewing.
Spiritual Formation. We host many opportunities for spiritual development
through courses, shared reading, and other venues that explore Christian faith,
biblical texts, the history of the church and other religions, and other themes
in a spiritual Christian life. Mid-week meetings have been especially popular,
covering themes ranging from Bible study to watching and analysing first-rate
movies.
Hospitality and Pastoral Care. We have a long-term commitment to visiting
and ministering with people, such as some seniors, who cannot make it to regular
church services. We also want to work on broadening our
invitation to families with younger members, making them
welcome always and at special events such as the “messy
church”.
Parish Life. We feel that our parish members are like a family
in the church, and we enjoy and are sustained by fellowship
with one another. This ranges from indirect approaches
such as sharing information and ideas through our parish
newsletter to much more social events such as parish potluck get-togethers and home dinners in our Foyer Groups.
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Growing in Faith Together
We aim to provide welcoming, prayerful Christian ministry in our parish, and that
springs from the willing participation of our members. Money is not the primary
issue. Nevertheless, we have significant fiscal needs, both to cover our operating
expenses and to maintain the structural stability of our beloved stone building.
The Parish showed its commitment to this work on the building when it funded
repairs to the bell tower in 2011. At a special vestry meeting in May 2012, parish
members again agreed with the principle of making necessary repairs to the
church, and requested that further work be done to investigate requirements and
costs. While no one can plan for all contingencies, Parish Council has carefully
considered the options to develop a five year goal which will tackle our foremost
infrastructure problems, help pay down the parish debt, and still leave support
for some new ministry projects.
The largest commitment the Parish will make with funding through GIFT is for
urgent repairs to maintain the safety and structural integrity of the church
building. $90,000 will allow work to begin on keeping water away from foundation
components, pointing stonework at greatest risk of degradation, and enhancing
building safety. A further $40,000 will allow the Parish to continue payment of
the debt it took on for emergency repairs to the Bell Tower in 2011.
We have always known that outreach and other ministry projects succeed mostly
because of the commitment of active parish members. Nevertheless, sometimes
money is needed for materials, supplies, or help from specialists that we bring
from outside. We plan to dedicate $10,000 to special projects for new ministry
such as the chancel access ramp.
The Parish is also committed to the broad range of diocesan projects that
are described in the supplementary brochure, and will dedicate $20,000 of its
GIFT revenues towards those.
It is vital that parishioners maintain their support of our ministry through the
collection plate. We value and appreciate any amount you can pledge as GIFT
above what you already offer to ministry for God in this place.
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GIFT Campaign Summary
The report given to us in 2012 from the diocesan Parish Growth and Renewal Committee
began: “This is a healthy, vital parish ...” The Committee gave 3 recommendations:
• Maintain the vitality of our community.
• Find a viable way to refurbish our building.
• Continue to explore and discern ways to serve our local community.
We hope to follow these recommendations with our goals for GIFT.
Community – Tradition - Involvement
Our Five Year Goals
Amounts
Capital Cost Estimates
Building repairs for safety and urgent issues
Continued payment of outstanding loan for bell tower
$130,000
$90,000
40,000
New Ministry Cost Estimates
Chancel Access Ramp
New outreach initiatives
$10,000
$5,000
$5,000
Holy Trinity contribution to
GIFT Diocesan ministries
$20,000
Gift Campaign Fund Total
$160,000
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TOGETHER Anything is possible
Each of us is called to respond faithfully to the needs of our church and of our
community. Your participation in the campaign, by making a sacrificial, meaningful
and proportionate gift, over a five year pledge period is gratefully appreciated.
“Do not neglect to do good and
to share what you have, for such
sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
Hebrews 13:16
Prayerfully
consider your
GIFT
five year pledge.
Complete
your faithful
commitment
in the enclosed
pledge card.
Encourage
others to
share in the
GIFT
campaign
challenge.
Wondering what to give?
We understand the financial demands facing us today. The following proportionate
gift guideline may help you to make your pledge decision.
For more information please email [email protected]
or call 613-489-0998
Thank you for your generosity!
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Why we are participating in the GIFT campaign
• The GIFT campaign was endorsed at Synod in October 2010
• Over the last few years we have received many benefits from collaboration
with the diocese including:
✝ An opportunity for learning and growth through diocesan and deanery
activities and workshops
✝ Our Parish has received $57,750 in diocesan support since 2009
✝ We are gradually paying less for clergy as the new diocesan Equalized Cost of
Priestly Services (ECOPS) works in our favour.
✝ The Diocese helped us with emergency repairs by providing loans for most of
the construction work
• The Diocese has been extremely flexible in helping our parish get maximum benefit
out of the GIFT campaign. Instead of the usual 50/50 split it has been decided that
we will give only $20,000 out of the funds we raise towards the ministry of the
Diocese.
• If we raise more money than our Campaign Goal of $160,000, we will receive
100% of those funds
• The GIFT campaign will help ensure that there will be a healthy Anglican church in
our community for future generations.