Congregational Meeting

As a result of Gord's letter (see previous post) we need to form a Joint Needs Assessment Committee.  This is the first step in working towards who the next minister will be.  We need 5-7 people from the congregation and Presbytery will appoint 2 representatives.

Here is a handbook describing what the committee is and what they do.

The meeting to appoint these people will take place April 11 following the worship service

News

This letter was shared in worship this morning:


To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven
(Ecclesiastes 3:1)


To: Marlene Davidson, Board Chair, Riverview United Church
Janet Buckley, Secretary, Cambrian Presbytery
CC: Leigh Mills, Chair of M&P, Riverview United Church
Rev. Barb Miller, Chair of Cambrian Presbytery
Rev. Cheryl Kinney Matheson, Chair of MPE, Cambrian Presbytery


In the church we are called to follow the leading of the Spirit. We are called to trust in the Spirit and to live in God's time. In that living into God's time and the leading of the Spirit we remember the wisdom shared in the above line from Ecclesiastes. We also remember that the God who we follow is the one who proclaims through the prophet Isaiah “Behold, I am doing a new thing”.

Over the last year I have done some intentional listening to the voice of the Spirit. And out of that I have realized that the Spirit is calling me to a new place. And so I am writing to request a change in Pastoral Relations, effective July 1, 2010, to enable me to respond to a call to ministry with St. Paul's United Church in Grande Prairie Alberta.

At last month's Presbytery meeting Barb Miller included in her remarks this quote from the movie Hope Floats: Beginnings are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will. That describes the feelings I have as I write these words. I look at the middle, the 9 years of living and working and “churching” together with all of you. As a family we have been truly blessed to live and work within the faith community of Riverview United Church, the wider community of Atikokan, and the wider faith community of Cambrian Presbytery. It is with sadness that we look to leaving. But with endings come new beginnings and the promise of growth and new experiences and so mixed in with the fear and sorrow is anticipation. And as always, we, who are people of hope and faith, wait for the hope to float up.

As we move into this time of endings and new beginnings may we do so secure in the knowledge that this part of our journey is taken in the presence of God. May God be with us as we all plan for the future. May God work with us as the new thing comes to fruition.

Peace and Love,

Rev Gord Waldie.

Upcoming Events

What is happening in the life of Riverview?  This post will tell you (and will be updated regularly)

• June 27 -- Final Worship Service with Gord.
• July 1 -- ECW Worship at 10:45
• August 5 -- ECW Worship at 10:45
• September 23-26 --Cambrian Presbytery Fall Meeting in Marathon

Board Meeting Highlights

The monthly meeting of the Church Board happened yesterday. Expand the post to see highlights from the meeting:

• on September 27 (while Gord and Elvin are at Presbytery) Riverview is pleased to welcome Rev. Lorn Calvert, Principal of St. Andrew's College who is coming to preach.
• Brian Jackson has completed the Lay Worship LEader training program and the Board was happy to recommend to Cambrian Presbytery that Brian be licensed as a Lay WOrship LEader
• Church School began last Sunday.  This yer the theme for Church School is Singing with the Psalms
• a Bible Study on the book of Mark will be held this fall.  A study called What does the United Church Believe? will be held starting in January
• ADADS cleaned the carpet this summer and has just finished stripping and waxing the floors
• Gord will be attending a Technology in Worship workshop in Fort FRances on October 17, talk to him if you would be interested in attending
• Gord will be going to Rainy River to give a funeral leadership workshop and taking a Sunday service November 7-8
• Our next communion service will be on October 4
• The Board is still short 2 memebers and at least 2 people have decided that they will not be putting their names forward to continue on the Board when their term comes due in January.  We urge everyone to consider if they are called to this ministry in the church.
• AS of the end of August we are running a deficit for 2009 of approximately $8 600.  This eliminates our equity/cash cushion.  A letter about the church finances will be sent to the whole congregation in early October. 
• The next Board meeting is scheduled for October 15 at 6:30
  

Board Meeting Highlights

The Church Board met yesterday at noon. If you expand the post you'll find some highlights from the meeting:

• Sunnycove Camp this year will be July 20-24. Forms are now available from Gord.
• Instead of having a BBQ on Father's Day this year it will be held on Tuesday June 16th from 5-7. Tickets will not be presold, instead it will be pat at the door. Family for $10 and singles for $5
• Although we are running a deficit we continue to be doing better than last year at this time.
• Gord will be on holidays from July 29-August 26 this summer
• We are looking into getting some handicapped parking signs for the lower parking lot along with a sign directing folks to the handicapped washroom
• Riverview has applied for a grant to cover half the cost of needed renovations to the bathroom in the manse, Presbytery has endorsed the request and forwarded it on. The Board has made a decision about who will be contracted to do the work and the work will be done while the Waldie family is on holidays.
• There will be a cleaning bee for the interior of the church on June 17th at 9:30
• Public WOrks has been reminded of the clean up they have yet to do beside the upper lot and the broken catch basin cover on the hillside. If needed, they will be reminded again until these items have been attended to.
  
• On June 28th we will have worship at the Teaching Place at French Lake. To allow for travel time worship will begin at 11:00 that week. All are encouraged to remain for a picnic lunch following the service. Quetico Park will not charge for those attending the worship service but anyone remaining for a picnic (and hopefully it will be warm enough for a swim!) is asked to buy a day pass.
• The UCW will have their summer potluck and gift exchange at 6:00 on June 1st.

The next regular Board meeting will be in September at a date yet to be determined.

Board MEeting Highlights

The Church Board met last Thursday. Here are some highlights from that meeting:

• the stained glass windows are nearing completion. One is done and the other will be within a week. Help is needed to mount the lightboxes and windows on the chancel wall.
• we are still looking for 2 Board members
• remember the Scott Woods Fiddle Concert on May 8th. Tickets are still available.
• on Mother's Day, May 10, there will be a pancake brunch after church
• plans are being made to do the June BBQ in a different way. More news will come after the May Board meeting
  
• to clear up confusion on the financial statements the Envelope and Non-Envelope lines will be changed to one line called "Givings"
• as of the end of March we are in a deficit position but we are approximately $3000 better than we were last year at this time.
• a proposal to request a grant to help pay for needed renovation work in the Manse bathroom is being put together
• there will be a clean-up of the church grounds on May 19th at 1:00
• we are planning a worship service and picnic out at Quetico Park for June 28

Advance Notice for Annual Meeting

The Annual Congregational meeting this year will be on February 1.

One of the items of business will be a proposed congregational structure document. There are copies of this available at the church for review beforehand. If you can't find one please talk to Gord.

Upcoming Events

THis post will stay on top until the end of the year. Expand it to see the events:

• September 18 -- Church Board Meets at 6:30
• September 25-28 -- Cambrian Presbytery Fall Meeting at First United Church in Dryden. Gord will chair the meeting.
• September 28 -- As Presbytery Chair, Gord will attend Rev. Scott Gale's covenanting service with the Broadway-Pinegrove Pastoral Charge in Thunder Bay (Service to be held at Pinegrove United Church).
• October 5 -- Worldwide Communion Sunday, Communion will be celebrated.
• October 5 -- As Presbytery Chair, Gord will attend Rev. Barb Miller's covenanting service at Knox United Church in Fort Frances.
• October 6 -- UCW Meets
• October 15-16 -- Gord will represent Cambrian Presbytery at the Conference Executive meeting in Winnipeg
• October 19 -- in worship this Sunday we will mark the 55th Anniversary of Riverview United Church. We will continue our celebration with a pot-luck lunch after church.
  
• October 23 -- Worship at Extended Care Wing at 10:45
• November 1 -- Indoor Yard Sale at Riverview. For information on renting a table call the church office.
  
• November 3 -- UCW Meets
• November 15 -- UCW Bazaar
• November 27 -- Worship at Extended Care Wing at 10:45
• November 30 -- First Sunday of Advent, Communion will be celebrated, Tree-trimming party to follow service.
• December 1 -- UCW Meets
  
• December 14 -- Blue Christmas Service
• December 14 -- White Gift Sunday and Christmas Pageant
• December 24 -- Christmas Eve Service at 7:00 pm
  

Board MEeting Notes

The church board met last night. In the expanded post are some notes from that meeting:

• THanks to generous donations from the UCW and the Cookbook Committee we have raised all we need for the eave troughs! Hopefully they will be installed this fall.
• We plan to have the chancel railing installed this fall as well.
• Another high priority for property is to get the grading around the manse fixed.
  
• As of the end of July we have a deficit of about $10 700. This is a little bit better than last year at the same time. We will be forming a Stewardship Committee to talk about financial planning and options. It is hoped that this committee will report to the Annual Meeting in 2009.
  
• The church kitchen plumbing will be fixed soon. Hopefully next week.
• The UCW has had to postpone or cancel the Fall Supper due to the drainage problems in the kitchen. But pies will happen in mid to late October.
• On October 25 there will be an Education Day held at Knox United Chuch in Fort Frances. Contact Gord for more information.
• Gord will be chairing the meeting of Cambrian Presbytery next week. He will also be participating in Covenanting services at Pinegrove-Broadway in Thunder Bay and Knox in Fort Frances over the next couple of weeks.
• Sunday October 19 marks the 55th Anniversary of Riverview's organization. A pot-luck lunch will be held after worship that day.

The next Board Meeting will be October 30th at 6:30.

Looking Ahead to May 25, 2008 -- 2nd Sunday After Pentecost

This week marks the Annual Meeting of the Conference of Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario. Thanks to Noreen for providing worship leadership.

This week we are using a worship service prepared by the United Church Observer.

The Scripture passages are:

• From the Jewish Scriptures: Joshua 8:32-35
• Psalm 33 (VU p.760)
• From the Letters of the Early Church: 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
• From the Gospel: Mark 4:13-20

The Hymns this week are:

• 382 Breathe on Me Breath of God
• 356 Seek Ye First
• 343 I Love to Tell the Story
• 675 Will Your Anchor Hold

Just a quick reminder about the eavetrough Buy a Foot campaign. For $10/foot you can help us put eavetrough on the church and help prevent water flooding the handicapped washroom.

Board Meeting News

The monthly Board meeting was earlier this evening. Expand the post for some notes about what was discussed.

1. The Honouring our Neighbour's Faith Study group has wrapped up for this year. It may restart in the fall.
2. Tickets for the Fiddle concert on May 10 are selling well. Some help will be needed to help set up the day beforehand
3. On Sunday May 11 we will have a Mother's Day brunch following the service. As that Sunday is Pentecost Sunday we will also have communion that morning.
4. On Father's Day, June 15, we will have our annual BBQ.
5. As of April 24 the deficit for the year is $9 671, however this does not include revenue from the Talent Auction earlier this month.
6. Good News! the monthly gas bill for the church has been lowered substantially.
7. We have received a quote to put eavestroughing on the church building. To pay for this project we will be launching a "Buy a Foot" campaign. The cost is $10/foot.
8. We are having 2 spring cleaning bees. The outside one will be at 6pm on May 15 and the inside one will be at 9am on June 7.
9. We heard a report from the UCW Rally which took place last weekend.
10. We are planning to have a worship service and picnic out at French Lake again this year, likely on June 22.
11. The Board is in the process of reviewing various congregational policies, two more were reviewed tonight with others to follow next month.

The next Board meeting will be at 6:30 on May 29.

PResbytery Oversight Visit

Next Sunday we will have our triennial (every 3 years) visit from Presbytery representatives. This is part of how Presbytery keeps aware of what is happening in the various churches.

The visitors will be meeting with congregation members following the worship service. All are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Board Meeting Notes

Last night we had a Board Meeting. Expand the post to see what happened.

• We discussed finding volunteers to attend a visioning meeting in Fort Frances later this month
• We planned for the Congregational Supper on October 28th. An invitation letter will be mailed out next week.
• We completed the Pre-Visit Questionaire for our upcomming Oversight visit by representatives of Presbytery.
• We decided that since November 11 is a Sunday this year we will have our weekly worship at 7:00pm to allow everyone to attend the Legion service at 10:30.
• We decided that Riverview will sponsor the Harding concert in November to increase the earnings for the artists.
• We discussed some upcoming events (see post at top of the blog)

The next Board Meeting will be on October 25.

Board Notes

THere was a BOard meeting last night. HEre is some of what was discussed:

• The proposed Congregational Meeting for September 16. It was decided that we would postpone this and have a supper meeting at the end of October. The focus of this would be on visioning and the future. Details will follow.
• Our Natural Gas contract comes due this fall. We decided that we will float on the market price at this time.
• There is a Lay Worship leader program coming up and we discussed people from Atikokan who might be interested in attending.
• Various Property issues were discussed. A new water heater will hopefully be installed soon and the downstairs washroom will have some work done on it.
• At present the church is approximately $10 000 behind for the year.
• We did some discussing of the upcoming Presbytery Oversight visit
• Some possibilities for enhancing music in the church building were discussed.
• A brief discussion of the Bruce HArding concert was held.

The next Board meeting will be a special meeting on September 16 following worship to plan for the supper meeting on October 28. The next regular meeting will be on October 4.

News From the Board

The Board held its Inaugural meting last night. The primary task for this meeting was to divide up the various roles on the Board. In that light here is how they turned out:

• Board Chair -- Marlene
• Board Secretary -- Sandy
• Christian Education Liaison -- Bev
• Congregational Life Liaison -- Gord
• Finance -- Jan
• M & P -- Leigh
• Property -- Joan
• Worship -- Bev

With Elvin continuing as Presbytery Rep and Anne representing the UCW.

In other business, we agreed to invite someone from the Gideon's to come and make a presentation to the congregation. We also discussed the Living the Welcome event coming up in Thunder Bay April 27-28. We are looking for a group from Riverview to attend this event, Riverview would pay your registration. We also decided that Board meetings would regularly be on the 4th Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm. This makes the next meeting on March 22.

A Board Induction/Covenanting will be held during Sunday worship on March 25.

Riverview Goes Wireless!

AS of this afternoon Riverview is now a WiFi zone!!!

A router has been installed in the office and you can get signal (of varying strengths) throughout the building.

Annual Reports, Annual Meeting

All are reminded that Annual Reports are due to the Office by January 14. This is to give enough time to have the reports printed and collated by Sunday January 28.

The Annual Meeting of the Congregation will follow regular morning worship on Sunday February 4. All who are a part of the life of Riverview are encouraged to attend this time of celebration and looking forward.

Board Meeting Highlights

News from the Board meeting of December 6, 2006:

• we discussed the Emerging Spirit campaign being produced by the national church
• we talked about potential Board members -- we are looking for 2 people to fill 3-year terms, 1 for a 2-year term and 1 for a 1-year term
• we reviewed the financial statements
• we circulated a Structure Document for review. THis may be brought to the Annual Meeting for congregational approval (or for information with a later special meeting for approval).
• we talked about a couple of issues for the new Board to deal with after the Annual Meeting on (which will be on February 4, 2007).

The next Board Meeting will be on January 16, 2007. It's primary focus will be preparing for the Annual Meeting.

Highlights from Wednesday's Board Meeting

At the Board Meeting on October 25 we:

• made a list of Riverview's Strengths and Opportunities
• decided that we will put the No Motorized Recreational Vehicles Allowed signs at the entrances to the upper and lower parking lots.
• decided to order 10 copies of More Voices along with the music CD. That way we can test them out and order more at a later time if we want to do so.
• decided to continue having My Three Sons clear the snow from the parking lots this winter
• reviewed the financial reports as of the end of September, and found that while we are in a deficit position we are in less of a deficit than in the past three years at this point.
• decided on a date for a church cleaning bee, time to get ready for the Christmas season
• discussed that the first Sunday of Advent, December 3, will be a communion service and that we will have a tree-trimming party following worship that day.
• set December 17 as White Gift and Pageant Sunday
• agreed that we will have both morning and evening services on Sunday December 24
• confirmed that we will have 4 vacancies on the Board to fill at the Annual Meeting (February 4, 2007). In order to create a rotation, and avoid having four vacancies in three years time, we are looking for 2 people to fill 3-year terms, 1 person for a 2-year term and 1 person for a 1-year term. That way we have a third of the Board up for renewal each year.

The next Board meeting will be on Wednesday November 29 at 7:00. Members are invited to bring snacks.

What are our Strengths?

At next Wednesday's Board Meeting we will take the second step in our Visioning work.

This will be a discussion about our Strengths and Opportunities (you could also call these our Gifts). What are they? The Board would love to hear from you.