QUEENSWOOD UNITED CHURCH

 

2019

 

ANNUAL

 

REPORT

360 Kennedy Lane East, Orleans, ON K1E 3P3

Email: queenswood.uc@rogers.com Tel: 613-837-6784

www.queenswoodunited.org

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TABLE of CONTENTS

Mission Statement
Community Statement
Minister’s Message
Chair of Council
Administration
Catering
Celebration of Light and Life
Choir
Community Garden
Congregational Life
Craft Group
Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council
Finance / Stewardship Committee
Marketing and Communications
Memorial Fund
Men’s Club
Milestones (Statistical Report)
Ministry and Personnel Committee
Outreach Committee
Pastoral Care Team
Property Report
Property Development
Volunteers
Worship Committee

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MISSION STATEMENT

At Queenswood United Church we serve God by taking care of God’s creation. We help those in need, we nurture the young, and we support our immediate community and the world community. We are conscientious stewards of God’s planet. Our service is centered in a commitment to living Christ’s love for all. It is nourished within an informal but meaningful worship life and a relationship with each other that is open, inquiring and accepting.

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COMMUNITY STATEMENT

We are a member congregation of the United Church of Canada. We are grounded in Christian tradition and are open to the truths of other faiths.

We are a small, energetic and friendly community of faith who find joy, support and strength in worshipping and working together. Our church family is precious to us.

We strive to be faithful servants of God in our time and place.

We welcome all who quest sincerely to join us in our faith journey.

Who we are   We are an engaged community of faith, finding Christian Fellowship in our activities together. We are welcoming. We are open, accepting, respectful and sincere. We are seekers, striving to understand God’s Will for us. We are nurturers of God’s creation. We are a loving community in Christ.

What we believe   We believe that we are not alone, that we live in God’s world. We believe that God bears unconditional love, mercy and compassion for all in all of creation. We believe that we are called by God to act in love. We believe that we are the hands and feet of God to serve others. We believe that the challenge of growing our faith is a life-long journey, and that we are greatly enriched by sharing that journey within community. We believe that, with God’s help, we can make a difference.

How we practice   We take care of each other, in prayer and in practice. At worship we pray, sing, laugh, celebrate and reflect on the Word of God. We have a strong ministry of music. We provide a safe place to practice and explore. We focus on living Christ’s teachings through our actions. We continue our strong tradition of outreach to the greater community. We accept that we are blessed to be able to share our gifts with one another and with all creation. We celebrate the gift of God’s grace.

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MINISTER’S MESSAGE

The Villa

We continue to provide a monthly worship service for our neighbours at the Queenswood Villa. As we have been doing so for several years, solid relationships have been formed. This partnership is welcomed and appreciated by all involved. I would like to thank Elayne Bonnell and Lynne Stacey for being part of our “Away” Worship Team.

The Montfort Renaissance Les Terraces

Greater Orleans Pastoral Care met in September. We had Thanksgiving Dinner for the clients of the Montfort Renaissance Residence on October 10, 2019. Queenswood donated two cooked turkeys, pies and cranberries, and several volunteers attended the event. Muriel Thompson’s group that crochets blankets donated bags full of them to the Residence. For people in recovery, and having few personal effects, the joy of receiving the gift of a blanket for their bed is wonderful.

The Region

The United Church of Canada saw major changes in its structures being passed. The biggest change is going from Presbyteries to Regions. The final meeting of the Ottawa Presbytery was held on December 11, 2018 at Rideau Park United Church. I was honoured to be asked to participate in the closing worship service. On January 31, I spent the day in Alexandria, Ontario. This was a retreat with our United Church of Canada Moderator, Right Reverend Dr. Richard Bott. There were clergy there from Montreal and Perth, and in between. It was good to have colleagues from three previous Presbyteries, and now one region.

Marilyn Joseph and I attended the Region’s first Annual Meeting in Smiths Falls, Ontario on June 7-9, 2019. I was asked to be one of the Chaplains at the Regional Annual Meeting. Also, for the first time clergy were asked to robe for the Celebrations of Ministry Church Service and Ordination at Trinity United Church on June 9, 2019.

The Region had a meeting in Prescott on October 5, 2019. It was good to have an opportunity to network with colleagues we have not seen for many months.

Queenswood United Church

A January highlight was our service of Epiphany, Gifts of the Magi. Once again, we had the opportunity to choose our “Star Words” to guide and challenge us throughout the upcoming year.

In February we celebrated Black History Month.

March 10, 2019 was Communion and Annual General Meeting. I had written a Communion Service that centered on our United Church of Canada Creed, and how we are all members of the church. It went very well, as did the AGM. Many thanks to all who presented at the meeting.

At the Worship Committee Meeting on April 3, 2019, as approved by Council, we discussed and passed a motion giving responsibilities for approving baptisms to the Worship Committee.

On April 7, 2019, we had a congregational meeting concerning the plans to re-zone and develop some of our property at Queenswood United Church. The QUC congregation, with the support of Council, approved a motion to enter a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Edge to assist us with pre-development negotiations.  It also approved a second motion to enter a Loan Agreement to create a $50,000 line of credit to pay for professional services required by Edge and QUC during the pre- development process. Copies of those two agreements, were signed by our Trustees. This information has been forwarded to Reverend Rosemary Lambie, Executive Minister, Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region, United Church of Canada in order to seek the Region’s approval to move ahead with our plans to re-zone and develop some of our land. Thanks to the people on the Property Development Committee for their many hours of work.

On Friday, April 5, 2019 Heather Lait and I attended a seminar at Orleans United Church about Green Church Initiatives with Katherine Forster. This was quite informative, and it was good to fill out the checklist and confirm that QUC is environmentally responsible. We have since received our certificates for all three levels of Green Initiative, as well as native plants, and shrubs to plant.

The Outreach Committee led a Lenten Project of collecting money to help re-forest the areas that were devastated by the 2018 tornadoes. Their well researched presentations each week educated and inspired the congregation. In total an incredible $820 was raised. The money was donated to Trees Canada. Congratulations to the Committee and congregation for being faithful stewards of God’s beautiful creation.

April 7, 2019 was our Congregational Meeting. Sermon reminded us that we are all members of the body of Christ, working together to serve God and be disciples of Christ. Hymns reflected our commitment to our shared future and vision of living God’s dream for our church.

April 14, 2019 Palm/Passion Sunday: A Drama, “Palm Powered Protest” was incorporated into the whole service. Good Friday Worship Service focused on The Way of The Cross. The service was based on the Stations of The Cross, a devotion that was developed in the Middle Ages by the Franciscans as a way of allowing people who could not travel to the Holy Land to walk where Christ walked on the day of his passion.  This was exceptionally well received and commented upon.

Easter Sunrise Service: sixteen people gathered on the hill for our Son Rise service.

Easter Sunday focuses on the resurrection and appearance of Jesus to the women at the empty tomb. It was a wonderful service, with some visitors, and exceptional music from our choir and Michelle Godin and Katie Gratton’s duet.

May 12, 2019 Celebration Sunday is one of our favourite worship services at Queenswood United Church. It celebrates the gifts of our pianist, Lynne Stacy, music director, Michelle Godin, and our superlative choir.

Summer felt busy to me, it was wonderful having the sound of children’s voices when Pedalheads were sharing our space. The biggest highlight is catering at The Navan Fair. Everyone pitches in and works as a team to host and feed the many attendees.

I completed my Racial Justice Training from the National Office of The United Church of Canada, on September 10 and 12, 2019. I did a Boundaries Refresher Course on October 10, 2019.

I attended Queen’s University Annual Theological Conference from October 21-23, 2019. The theme was “Moving To Resilience and Renewal”. Presenters were Rev. Dr. Susan MacAlpine-Gillis from The Atlantic School Of Theology, Rev. Dr. Anthony Bailey from Parkdale Church in Ottawa, speaking on “White Privilege and Racism”. Jane Dawson led “The Impact of Change on Church Leadership: Spiritual Practices for Leading from Within”, and Michelle Robichaud “Change and Transition: Leading Change That Lasts”.

October 13 Thanksgiving Sunday we sat at tables for this service. Acrostic Thanksgiving prayer grids were on the table. October 6, 2019 World Communion Sunday. October 20, 2019, we celebrated our Anniversary Service, with Barb Johns, and the worship committee taking lead with this worship. Elayne Bonnell led an interesting Learning Together by pointing out various items in the church that have been donated, and their history. Thanks to Bev Morwick for the many newspaper articles and pictures tracing the development of our church. Barb Johns preached a wonderful message of hope for our church family, and some of our achievements. Barb is taking the Licensed Lay Worship Leaders course online. October 27, 2019, Jane Dawson and the Property Development Committee lead the congregation in a discussion regarding our future.

November 10, 2019 was our annual Remembrance Day Service. November 24, 2019, we focused on the Memorial and Healing Service.

December was a busy month, celebrating Advent with Communion, The Mission Tree, collecting hats, mittens, socks, etc. for The Mission and Centre 501, a service of Lessons and Carols, our Christmas Pageant, and Candlelight Communion Christmas Eve. Changing Christmas Eve from 11:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. was well received.

Pastoral care remains an import role for me. We have had several ongoing health concerns for some members, so cards, visits, phone chats, contact via social media and prayers are part of my regular responsibilities.

2019 was a year of change and growth for Queenswood United Church. We had a couple of valued members leave and we welcomed new families to worship with us.
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to each and every one who offers their time, talents, and gifts to volunteer on behalf of Queenswood United Church. People work hard, and it is reflected in the many ways we live our Dream and God’s vision for us as faithful followers of God.

Respectfully submitted,

Reverend Nancy Best ECE, M/DIV.
The Minister of Queenswood United Church

 

“The church is wherever God’s people are praising, singing God’s goodness for joy on this day. The church is wherever disciples of Jesus remember his story and walk in his way.

The church is wherever God’s people are helping, caring for neighbours in sickness and need. The church is wherever God’s people are sharing the words of the Bible in gift and in deed.”

Carol Rose Ikeler

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CHAIR OF COUNCIL

This has been a challenging year for the church; certainly, it has seemed that way to me. We have faced controversy and challenges, and we have lost members of our church family. And Council has had to operate with several of its key positions unfilled, including Chair of Worship, Chair of Administration, Chair of Ministry and Personnel and Chair of Marketing and Communications.

But though this has been a difficult year I have been frequently struck by the generosity and love that members of the church family have brought to our gatherings, our work and our worship.

Similarly, when dealing with difficult issues, we have treated each other with love and respect.  I’m very proud of you for that.

One historic event this year was the stand-up of the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional (EOOR) Council and its inaugural meeting. Reverend Nancy Best and Marilyn Joseph have represented us there and kept us aware of how the changes will affect us.

Also notable was the work of the Property Development Committee. It has significantly advanced the work to develop our land and has begun a partnership with the United Property Resource Corporation. The committee has also led three congregational conversations that have furthered the understanding we need about how, in light of our challenges, we can continue to be a church.

The number and variety of activities the church ran this past year was staggering. I reviewed all the CNN’s for the past year thinking to refresh my memory about a few activities I could highlight, but I was quickly overwhelmed by the number and complexity of events.

Many events had identifiable leaders, like Holly Bertrand for the Spring Market, Bev Morwick, Lynda Rodney and Marilyn Joseph for the Snowflake Bazaar, Elayne Bonnell for the Navan Fair, Lynda and Bob Rodney for games nights and the wine and cheese, and others. And of course these leaders had their supporters.

And there were so many other activities like the collections for the food bank and Centre 507, the pancake and bean supper, the Lenten Project for trees, the catering events and pie sales, trips to the playhouse in Gananoque, the community gardens, dinner at the Montfort Residence, Hot Chocolate month, the Mission tree and on and on.

I’d also like to highlight the work of the Pastoral Care group who, I can say from personal experience, have provided loving and essential support to members of our congregation.

There is a description of worship and mission I like that says:

“I have come (not very originally) to envisage the two poles of Christian living in terms of worship and mission. The two flow into each other: worship without mission becomes self-indulgence (and might even imply worship of a god other than the one revealed in Jesus); mission without worship degenerates into various kinds of do-goodery, following agendas that may be deeply felt but are by no means necessarily connected with Jesus.”  The author was N.T. Wright.

We can be proud that we have grown our faith in worship and lived our faith in such a variety of generous activities that share our fellowship with each other and with the wider community. We are indeed small but mighty.

Lastly I’d like to thank Reverend Nancy Best and the other members of Council who have worked so hard this past year to ensure the work of the church was well done.

Respectfully submitted,

Stan Blythe
Chair of Council

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ADMINISTRATION

Queenswood United Church did not have a Chair of Administration, nor any committee members per se during 2019; however, volunteers ensured that responsibilities such as purchasing office supplies, managing insurance, rentals and contracts, completing the annual statistical report, approving expenses and budgeting were properly completed.

We thank those volunteers for their good and faithful service.

Respectfully submitted,

Stan Blythe
Chair of Council

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CATERING

The catering group participated in 12 events from January to June 2019. There have been no other requests or “hospitality events”.

Early in June, we received information that the City of Ottawa had changed the requirements for food service at public events. We needed to have someone on site at all times who was certified in food handling. We were fortunate that the local Department of Health made room for five of us to take the course in Orleans before the Navan Fair. The following are now qualified and received certification in Food Handling:  Marilyn and Albert Joseph, Lynda Rodney, Heather Lait and Elayne Bonnell.

We were well prepared for the Navan Fair and are grateful for all the support we received from the Navan Fair Board and the Curling Club. We have been most fortunate to have this opportunity to serve the community and raise funds in such a welcoming comfortable facility. There was unfortunately a problem with our volunteers. We had received an excellent response from our school appeal, but of the 15 students that had expressed interest, only two were available when the time came. That left us short at times and overloaded on closing day. It was a lesson learned.

The Navan Fair will be celebrating 75 years in 2020 (August 6 to 9). We hope to have a successful cafe, with our usual fun and fellowship serving our community. This will probably be our last year to cater at this event.

Navan Fair 2019
Revenue:                   $7,540.00
Expenses:                  $1,587.70
Volunteers:               40
Number Served:       575 (Cafe and Reception)

Respectfully submitted,

Elayne Bonnell
For the Catering Group

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CELEBRATION OF LIGHT AND LIFE

These lights continue to illumine our sanctuary – growing in brightness with each donation. In this way, our church community celebrates the significant events in our lives: births, deaths, recovery, birthdays, anniversaries, good deeds, etc.

These donations are published for three consecutive weeks in the CNN. Each donation is again honored during our Epiphany service as each event is read.

There were 40 lights so honoured for 2019. We will now include the Memorial Fund and the Bulletin sponsors in this lighting of lights. There were 10 bulletin sponsors in 2019.

We hope that you will continue to share significant events with the QUC family.

Respectfully Submitted
Elayne Bonnell

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CHOIR

The Queenswood United Church Choir consists of 10 people and have an anthem each and every Sunday, much to the delight of the congregants! We participated in the Orleans Choirfest before Christmas and brought over $1200 to each of the Food Banks in Gloucester and Cumberland. We will be having our own Choir festival in early May. Our thanks to Michelle Godin for directing us this past year and to Lynne Stacey for handling the keyboard.

Respectfully Submitted
Lynee Stacey

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COMMUNITY GARDEN

The six garden plots had a very good yield this past summer. Our big producers were potatoes, tomatoes, beets and beans. I was able to keep the food bank supplied with fresh vegetables on a weekly basis. I am hoping that the asparagus will produce a very good crop this summer as I planted it three years ago. The food bank was very happy to receive the vegetables as they do not have a large source of any fresh items.

Respectfully submitted,
Lynda and Bob Rodney

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CONGREGATION LIFE

Three events were organized in 2019, with Bob’s help. In the fall, a card night and a bingo night were held. These events were poorly attended. The people that did attend had a very good time from the comments that I received. Then Bob and I hosted a wine & cheese at our home. We had 19 in attendance and lots of fun. Bob started the evening with a beer tasting event. We then had games that everyone participated in. The food was great and we sampled many different wines.

Respectfully Submitted
Lynda Rodney

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CRAFT GROUP

The Craft Group meets on Monday mornings from 9 to 11:30 to make items for the annual Snowflake Bazaar. We love to craft – but are constantly looking for new ideas and welcome any suggestions or samples.

The Bazaar isn’t just the Craft Group. Many people help to make this fundraising event a success. Thanks to those who made special crafts for the Bazaar tables; to Queenswood’s creative cooks whose delicious contributions loaded the Bake Table; and to everyone who came to shop and have lunch.

Without you, the Bazaar would not have been a success.

There are some special thank you’s as this is truly a congregational event. A heartfelt thank you goes to a very special group of Queenswood Elves. Due to a scheduling conflict, we were unable to set up the Bazaar tables on Friday afternoon, and a group of folk came in at 10:30 pm to move our tables from the office to the sanctuary ready for Saturday morning. They did a great job and the tables were ready for opening at 8:30 on Saturday! Grateful thanks to Carol Pugsley, Julia Picotte, Rose Marie MacLennan, Stan Blythe, and Arlene Widdows. God bless you all for helping.

Others who helped – Pastoral Care with coffee and muffins in the early morning; Lynda Rodney and her crew who made and served a delicious lunch; Marilyn and Albert Joseph and their helpers who set up and served at the Bake Table; the Men’s Club who not only supervised the Book Table but also set up the Bake Sale Tables and helped with clean-up after the Bazaar, ready for Sunday’s service; and Denise Benoit for making sure the Bazaar announcements were in the CNN. THANK YOU to each and every one of you for helping to make sure that the Bazaar was a success. A special thank you to Rev.

Nancy for volunteering to be our welcoming greeter, and to Suzanne Watt who quietly helped in so many ways.

The Craft Group must make some difficult decisions in the coming year. We are now a group of only four and must decide if we can carry on. If we do, we will need the help of crafters who work at home. These decisions will be made in early 2020. If you are willing to contribute hand-made items, please talk to any member of the group – Helen Keeney, Bev Morwick, Vi Newby, and Jackie Tuttle, or come on a Monday morning and join in on the fun!

Respectfully crafted,
The Craft Group

Financial Report – Snowflake Bazaar – November, 2019

Bake Table	$2,082.50
Lunch Room	643.20
Craft Table	1,724.40
Sub-Total:	$4,450.10
Extra Sales (including peanut butter balls)	361.00
Total Bazaar:	$4,811.10
Men’s Club	401.40
Grand Total (Bazaar & Men’s Club):	$5,212.50

 

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EASTERN ONTARIO OUTAOUAIS REGIONAL COUNCIL

The Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council (EOORC) came into effect on January 1, 2019, as part of the overall restructuring of the United Church of Canada from four “courts” to three. Presbyteries and Conferences of the United Church no longer exist, and have been replaced with Regions.

EOORC supports more than 200 communities of faith and covers an area stretching east to Hawkesbury, south along the St Lawrence River to Gananoque, west to Denbigh, north to Nânâdônok in the province of Québec, and back south to Ottawa. It serves a sizeable francophone population and includes the Chinese United Church in Ottawa. EOORC’s mission is to offer compassion and love to those in need, to welcome newcomers into our community, and to help people grow in their relationship with God.

There was considerable trepidation among both lay and ministerial members of former presbyteries that the sheer geographic size of EOORC would negatively affect communications and delivery of services, and that individuals would feel alienated from the Region and from one another. The familiarity of old ways and structures is indeed greatly missed by many, but there are also new accomplishments and new relationships to celebrate, and in many cases, those pastoral charges attached to former presbyteries are now able to benefit from being part of a larger region. An open letter in early 2019 from the Moderator and General Secretary of the United Church of Canada to ministry personnel and church leaders, reminded us that, in spite of the disruption felt by many as a result of recent massive changes to the United Church, our purpose as communities in Christ remains the same.

The Region has been fully staffed since January 1, with most staff hard at work since fall 2018. QUC has called on EOORC staff expertise already, as Jane Dawson, Minister Supporting Communities of Faith, Clusters and Networks, has met extensively with the Property Development Group. This fall she led three congregational conversations, helping us to discern how we can “be church” in the future in conjunction with the development of our property, into a community with QUC as its spiritual centre.

Active Regional Leadership teams are in place for: Church Extension, Communications, Finance, Licensed Lay Worship Leaders, Nominations, Pastoral Relations, Property, Scrivens-Baillie Fund, Vision and Transformation, Youth & Young Adults (YAYA), and Social Justice Network of Ontario Regional Councils. New teams will be added as individuals and groups determine needs, and work together to set them up.

EOORC’s financial situation is positive, mostly because of legacy investment funds carried over from the former Ottawa Presbytery. Under the new UCC financial structure, all Mission & Service donations are collected by the National Office and distributed equitably to the regions. With its legacy investments, EOORC is in a very favourable position, and there is room for creative mission and ministry work in the Region’s budget. QUC should be able to take advantage of these funds if we work hard to determine how we want to do mission (provide community) for those living on our property in the years to come.

Communications

Beginning in January, a weekly newsletter (now twice-monthly) is being emailed to lay and ministerial regional members and church offices. It was a lifeline in the early days of 2019 when everything was new! All, including congregation members, can receive the UCC EOORC News and all are also invited to submit articles of interest to the newsletter. Barb Johns, Co-Chair of Worship at QUC did just that, as her article highlighting QUC’s efforts to be stewards of God’s creation appeared in the March 20, 2019 issue. All issues of UCC EOORC News are now posted on the website.

EOORC’s website launched in May. We are fortunate to be part of a very active region, and I encourage you to explore the website at https://eoorc.ca/. There you will find posted all the EOORC information you could possibly need, from staff biographies and contact information, to meeting minutes, to regional policies in the EOORC Governance Handbook Oct 5, 2019. There is as well a photo gallery of the Region’s churches (QUC included!), and an ever-changing list of church activities and events from around the region. This advertising vehicle gives church activities exposure in church communities across the City of Ottawa, Eastern Ontario, and Western Québec. Pastoral charges are invited to submit upcoming events for inclusion – QUC has advertised such activities as the Snowflake Bazaar, and Advent and Christmas Services. Event information can be submitted through the QUC office, for forwarding to EOORC by our Marketing and Communications Committee.

Social media is not forgotten, as the Region has both a Facebook https://bit.ly/2FUyz7w and Twitter https://twitter.com/EoorcU presence.

Meetings

EOORC sponsored three regional meetings during 2019. The first, a “Meet and Greet”, took place at the new EOORC offices at Zion Memorial United Church in Carleton Place on Saturday, March 2. The Inaugural Annual General Meeting was held over three days in June at the Smiths Falls arena, and lastly, we met on October 5 at St Paul’s United Church in Prescott, Ontario. Going forward, regional meetings will include a two-day Annual General Meeting held in late spring, plus a one-day winter and a one-day fall meeting annually. Because of distances and winter driving hazards, the option of remote attendance will be offered for some, if not all, regional meetings.

These meetings provided an excellent opportunity to network with lay persons and clergy from various congregations around the region. It was reassuring to see that so many people are working diligently to make sure that the Region serves its communities of faith at a high level. It was also fun to meet the many ministry personnel and lay volunteers who are from such a widespread area, and to hear their stories and experience their enthusiasm and energy for their chosen work.

As at presbytery meetings, once again I see the difficult positions that many communities of faith are in as they try to survive the realities of shrinking attendance and budgets, coupled with growing expenses. Many congregations can see no way forward and are floundering, which is heartbreaking to witness.

Although our position at QUC is challenging, we are really very fortunate that our building is not holding us hostage, and that we have a great asset in our property. We are also fortunate in that we began several years ago to prepare for the future with our visioning process and ongoing property development work. As QUC works toward our vision to serve those in need through providing affordable housing and building community on our property, we can perhaps look to familiar ways in which we can best serve God while helping to build community. At Queenswood we have built a wonderful, loving, joyful community of faith through years of worshipping and singing together, acting in kindness towards each other (and towards the greater community), and working and having fun together. We know how to do these things very well, and there may be a way to continue to do these things as QUC has the potential to become the spiritual centre for this new community.

Respectfully submitted, Marilyn Joseph
Lay Representative,
Eastern Ontario Outaouais Regional Council

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FINANCE / STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE

The purpose of the Finance/Stewardship Committee is “… to manage the financial affairs of the church in the best interests of the congregation and in keeping with the over-all objectives of the church”. Its primary role is one of oversight, to make sure the framework is in place for church finances to take place in accordance with good governance practices and in compliance with relevant legislation.

Current membership consists of a Chair (Marilyn Joseph), Church Treasurer (Julia Picotte) and Stewardship lead (Rose Marie MacLennan).

Among the Committee’s responsibilities are: implementing an annual independent review of the church’s finances; ensuring that funds received are disbursed as set out in the approved annual budget; and, dealing with various financial situations as they arise during the course of a busy congregation’s many activities.

Annual Assessment:

Annual assessments are considered a core cost of operating a pastoral charge, and are the second fiscal priority of a congregation after paying staff and related costs. Assessments used to be paid to the local presbytery, to be used as the presbytery decided. Under the new financial structure of the United Church of Canada, effective January 1, 2019, annual assessments are levied by and paid to the National Office, and are used to fund both regional and denominational governance work. Assessments for every pastoral charge in the country are calculated using the same, simple formula – 4.5% of the pastoral charge’s annual income (some income categories are exempt from being assessed). Thus every pastoral charge shares in a proportional and transparent way in the costs of the broader church. QUC challenged its 2019 assessment amount, as the 2017 net revenue for assessment purposes erroneously included the amounts collected to finally pay off the chapel debt. We were very pleased to have an immediate response from National Office (15 minutes!), reducing the 2019 assessment accordingly. As our income declines, our annual assessment amount will also decline, thus lessening our contribution to the work of the United Church of Canada.

Budget & Financial Health:

Following end-of-year submissions from committee Chairs and other church volunteers, we met in early January 2019 to formulate a draft budget for Council’s input. Council recommended, and the congregation approved, another deficit budget. In 2018, through rigorous cost-cutting during the year, we were able to end 2018 in a very small surplus situation, but 2019 was a different story. In 2019, in spite of being very careful with expenditures, we spent almost $7K more than we received for the operating fund. Givings remained fairly comparable to 2018, but fundraising income was down significantly.

As part of our congregational conversations in October and November, EDGE consultant Bob Richards presented a projection of QUC’s financial picture from 2019 – 2029. Based on trends from 2010 on, and taking inflation into account, he estimated that the budget deficit for 2029 will be in the neighbourhood of $65K to $79K, and our cumulative deficit will be $273K to $433K.  Staff costs are projected to be $90K in 2029. It is obvious that the status quo is not sustainable, and that is why we have embarked on a property development process, along with explorations about how we want to “be church” in the future. Development of our property will help to give us a steady income, but we will still need to make fundamental changes if we want to contribute to God’s world and continue to meet

as a community of faith.

Committees without Chairs – Designated Financial Authority:

QUC began 2019 without chairpersons for Administration, Marketing and Communications, and Worship. The Chair of Ministry & Personnel resigned in May, thus adding another “chairless” committee to the list. Among the many responsibilities of a committee chair are the critical tasks of budget preparation, and expenditure monitoring and approval. Finance Committee recommended to Council that Barb Johns (Worship) and Marta Nuijten (M&P) be granted financial authority for their respective committees, and each has prepared their committee’s 2020 budget. For both the Administration, and the Marketing and Communications committee, authority for monitoring expenseswas taken on by the Chair of Finance, and the Finance/Stewardship Committee assumed responsibility for drafting the 2020 budgets.

Financial Management Procedures Manual:

A principal recommendation of our Independent Review of Financial Statements that we are tackling this year is to produce a financial procedures manual. The Office Administrator has been steadily gathering together the documentation that already exists, and has been drawing up additional documents requested by the reviewer and by the Finance Committee. This is a challenging long-term project, but will certainly be an excellent resource for the future.

Memorial Fund Bank Account:

Two signatories for the Memorial Fund Account went to the Bank of Montreal to set up online access to the account, so that the Office Administrator and Treasurer will be able to monitor the account and print records of transactions and balances as required. This is already being done for the Operating Account.

Property Development Fund/LOC:

This fund was split from the operating fund early in 2019, and now appears as a separate fund in PowerChurch. QUC has negotiated a Line of Credit with the United Church foundation to cover Property Development/Ministry Development expenses, which are now tracked in their own fund. The Treasurer, Chair of Property Development, and Office Administrator collaborated to develop a process to help centralize and monitor property development finances.

Stewardship

It has long been the intent of the Finance Committee to provide regular snapshots of QUC’s financial situation to the congregation via CNN. This has been done sporadically over the years, mostly due to lack of time on the part of committee members. The most recent snapshot, covering to end of the summer, appeared in the September 17 CNN. Finance is determined to make every effort to provide snapshots for the congregation on a more regular basis going forward.

Treasurer

I would like to once again acknowledge the hard work done, and many hours put in, by QUC’s volunteer Treasurer, Julia Picotte. Her work for us is one of the foundations which allows our congregation to function. In addition to producing monthly statements so that Council can keep track of our financial situation, she performs a long list of other regular tasks: reconciling the monthly bank statement, overseeing the recording of financial transactions into the PowerChurch software, advising staff and volunteers on financial management practices, keeping up with the latest CRA requirements for charitable institutions, and crafting specialized reports when asked by congregation members. Every year she helps prepare the Annual Statistical Report for the National Office of The United Church of Canada, coordinates and draws up our Annual Budget, and prepares the Annual Charity Tax Return on our behalf. In 2019, she again supplied financial information to our EDGE consultant for his preparation of a 10-year forecast for QUC. Her specialized knowledge is invaluable to us, and her patience and professionalism in the face of multitudinous demands is much appreciated!

Respectfully submitted,
Marilyn Joseph
Chair, Finance/Stewardship Committee

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MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing & Communications Committee is one of four committees of council for which there was no volunteer Chairperson in 2019. The committee has therefore functioned with three members, financial oversight by the Chair of the Finance/Stewardship Committee, and decision-making input from Council members and congregation members as needed.

The three committee members are: Ron Newby (QUC Webmaster), Marta Nuijten (QUC Website Information Coordinator), and Terry Thompson (QUC Facebook Information Coordinator).

This year Council adopted guidelines for our social media sites, whose purpose is “to make information about the church and its activities available to friends of the church and to the public, to form new connections, and to inspire all who are interested”. The site managers are responsible for checking the accuracy of information to be posted, ensuring that information posted is consistent with QUC’s values, and coordinating with each other to keep our media sites consistent and up-to-date.

Please check out our website http://queenswoodunited.org/ , and Facebook page www.fac ebook.com/pg/QueenswoodUnitedChur ch/posts/ to find such nuggets as Lynne Stacey’s City Builder Award, QUC’s Mission and Community Statements (website), and pictures, videos and comments concerning special events (Facebook). If you have church-related suggestions, articles, or activities you would like to add to the website or our Facebook page, please send them along to Marta or Terry. We expect there to be increased interest in our web presence as our property development process moves forward.

The Marketing budget is very tiny, so the principle decisions made this year concerned whether to continue to advertise our special services, such as Easter and Christmas, in the Orléans Star. We regretfully decided that, given financial realities, we could not continue to do so, and we reasoned that our increased web presence would compensate. As well, we were unable, for financial reasons, to participate in the Star’s project map of Orléans, which proposed to highlight local businesses and other organizations on a tourist-type map of the community. A new marketing vehicle at our disposal is the Eastern Ontario Outaouais Region website, with its region-wide coverage of church events and its church Photo Gallery.

If you have an interest in volunteering in the marketing and communication of QUC’s congregational life, please feel free to approach the Chair of Council to enquire.  Suggestions and comments are always welcome.

Respectfully submitted, Marilyn Joseph
Chair, Finance/Stewardship Committee

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MEMORIAL FUND

The Memorial Fund Committee, comprised of Rev. Nancy Best, Lynne Stacey, Marilyn Joseph and Elayne Bonnell, meets yearly or when a request is made for funding.

There was a donation in 2019 with the request that the monies be used for the ministry of music. This generous donation was used for new music purchase and piano supply.

The annual piano tuning was covered by donation.

The balance of the Memorial Fund as of December 31, 2019 is $6,530.20.

Respectfully Submitted,
Rev. Nancy, Elayne, Lynne and Marilyn

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MEN’S CLUB

During 2019 the Men’s Club was relatively quiet and little has changed. We continued our mandate to financially support the church by providing funds to help offset unbudgeted expenses and assist the Chair of Property with maintenance and minor repairs, as required. We support the various charities identified by the Outreach Committee, such as the Mission Tree, and provide emergency funds to needy families. All of these activities are carried out through fellowship and fun.

Money to finance these projects is collected through fundraising. We sell books, jigsaw puzzles, and DVD’s at both the Spring Market in May and the Snowflake Bazaar in November. On behalf of the church, with the revenues going directly back to the church, the Men’s Club sells MacMillan’s products in April and December. In 2019 we realized a profit of $417.45 from these sales. We had no gourmet meals to cater to this past year.

Our membership remained unchanged with seven men. As usual, we are happy to welcome any man, who is a member of the congregation or who is connected with it, to join us. The Men’s Club meets monthly, from September to June, in members’ homes and includes a business session followed by fellowship. We enjoyed a tour, with lunch, of the Beau Brewery in Maxville in June. The Men’s Club also sponsors the ever-popular monthly Saturday morning breakfast at Gabriel’s Restaurant, averaging 6-10 participants. We are also on hand to flip pancakes at the Shrove Tuesday supper.

The Queenswood Villa approached the Men’s Club to build a raised bed flower boxes for their garden last spring. Unfortunately the Villa didn’t follow through with their request.

I wish to recognize the members of the Men’s Club, Stan Blythe, Richard Giles, Archie and Ron Newby, Pete Visser, and Steve Williams, and thank them for their support throughout the year and for their willingness to come forward when needed. Our group is small but very dedicated to continuing the Club’s tradition.

Respectfully submitted,
Don Morwick

Men’s Club Financial Statement

Opening Balance – January 1, 2019   Income		$ 926.35
Mushroom Compost Sales	$     60.00
Spring Fling BBQ	$   167.00
Book Sales	$   675.00
Total Income		$  902.00
Expenses Spring Fling BBQ	$107.65
Floor Cleaning	$350.00
Mission Tree	$100.00
Bank Fees	$    3.50
Total Expenses		$  561.15

Closing Balance – December 31, 2019:$1,267.20 

Prepared by Ron Newby, Treasurer, QUC Men’s Club

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MILESTONES (Statistical Report)

Baptisms

March 24, 2019 of Harrison Hector Schott, son of Cori and Ken Schott. Godparents are his grandfathers Richard Schott and Gerald Bell, and Elayne Bonnell is Harry’s sponsor. The baptism was a joyous occasion with friends and family in attendance.

New Members

July 2019, Vivian Parker Kirk by profession of faith from her nursing home in Ottawa.

Confirmation

We had the privilege to confirm Andrew Jordan (AJ) Chin on September 22, 2019. Elayne Bonnell was AJ’s Mentor. The course was conducted using videos about Confirmation from Maritime Conference of The United Church of Canada.

Weddings

August 24, 2019 of Michael Lait and Christina Hovey at Queenswood United Church.

September 7, 2019 of Arafat Rubaiyat and Lauren Kirkham at The Orange Art Gallery, 290 City Centre, Ottawa, Ontario.

September 21, 2019 of Bruce Robinson and Mary Shepherd at 130 Spinnaker Way, Woodlawn, Ontario.

Funerals

 September 15, 2019 for Fern Graham, mother-in -law of Dawn Stacey

November 3, 2019, a Celebration of Life for Normand Diotte, after the regular worship service. It was a lovely time of prayer, sharing remembrances, music and reflecting on the promise of resurrection.

December 13, 2019 for Lucia Fontana, a resident at The Queenswood Villa.

Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Nancy Best Minister

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MINISTRY AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

The Ministry and Personnel (M&P) Committee was fairly active this past year.

M&P and the Congregation continue to work with Rev. Nancy in adjusting to 3/4-time ministry, which at times has been challenging for all. Our office administrator, Denise Benoit, has been busy using her professional expertise in her position and continues to find ways to get an amazing amount of work done during her work week.

After serious consideration of continuing as Chair of M&P, Pat felt that it was time for her to step down and pursue other interests. Thank you, Pat, for your diligence and hard work.

With Pat’s departure, our committee has been left without a Chair. Council has temporarily stepped in to assist Ray Bonnell and Marta Nuijten carry on with their responsibilities. Both Ray and Marta look forward to assisting the new Chair of M&P in the coming year and would welcome anyone who would be interested in joining us. The only requirement for membership is that you are not part of an existing Council Committee.

Respectfully Submitted
Ray Bonnell and Marta Nyitten
Members, Ministry and Personnel

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OUTREACH COMMITTEE