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2008 ANNUAL REPORT

Table Of Contents
  MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER  
  MARRIAGES 2008  
  BAPTISMS  
  CONFIRMATION  
  ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING  
  CHURCH COUNCIL  
  SESSION  
  MINISTRY AND PERSONNEL  
  COMMUNICATION& MEMBERSHIP  
  REPORT OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE  
  PROPERTY  
  CHRISTIAN DEVELOPMENT  
  YOUTH GROUP  
  FIRST UNITED SCOUTING  
  MEN’S CHOIR AND SENIOR CHOIR  
  GUITAR GROUP  
  THE ACCORDION BAND  
  SOCIAL CLUB  
  FELLOWSHIP UNIT (U.C.W.)  
  GENESIS UNIT (U.C.W.)  
  GLENWOOD-APPLETON
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT
 
  GLENWOOD-APPLETON
SESSION REPORT
 
  GLENWOOD-APPLETON
UNITED CHURCH WOMEN
 
  FIRST UNITED CHURCH - BENTON
 
  FINANCE  
  IN MEMORIAM  


 

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MESSAGE FROM THE MINISTER


Greetings in the name of Christ!

Last month, the Church Council charged the committee that has been working on Conflict Resolution and Church Governance, to write a letter to the West District Executive highlighting the healing and reconciliation that has been occurring on our charge. What a wonderfully enlightening process it was to do so. It didn’t take long to find positive benchmarks of the healing process now taking place.

Right from the beginning of this process, it was recognized that conflict resolution must arise from within our congregations and not be imposed from the outside, and we feel that there is evidence that reconciliation is occurring and our charge is returning to health and strength again. We wanted to share that evidence, so you, the Gander Pastoral Charge Family of God, can also celebrate the way God is working within our church family.

Two Biblical references that jump to mind come from the Apostle Paul and King Solomon. Paul reminds us of our connection and commitment to each other in the letter to the Romans, chapter 12 saying “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer... Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another.” In Ecclesiastes 3, King Solomon proclaims that “there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” Writing a letter of our own, the Conflict Resolution and Governance Committee found evidence that this is a time to laugh, dance and celebrate as we remain the joyful, hopeful and faithful people of God!

We wish to draw attention to the following examples:

  • Our Charge has adopted a new governance structure that focuses on transparency and better communications, and a Code of Conduct based on the work of the Right Reverend Marion Pardy.
  • Congregational financial and spiritual support have been outstanding as shown by the following:

    · Fraser Road Church realized the largest financial surplus in its history.
    · $27,000.00 was donated by members of the congregation to cover the cost of a stain glass window in the church, new interior lighting for the chancel, and cushioned padding for the pews.
    · The Glenwood/Appleton congregation undertook major renovations in partnership with Human Resources Canada.
    · The Benton congregation successfully paid off the debts owing to the National Church and the District for the church renovations that took place when their restructuring was underway.
    · The December offerings increased over $3,000.00 from last year.

Other significant indicators of reconciliation are noteworthy:

  • The Glenwood/Appleton congregation has combined their Sunday school with the Anglican Church to enable the Sunday school of both churches to thrive.
  • The Sunday School program at Fraser Road has been re-structured and continues to grow
  • Since we have only one minister, lay leaders have come forward to offer their services and are doing an admirable job.
  • The Council, under the leadership of our Chairperson, Bonnie Adams, is back to a functional capacity and is working well in addressing the on-going issues of the charge.
  • The 50th Anniversary celebrations at Fraser Road were incredibly successful.
  • The United Church Women's Associations are functioning at their normal high level of support to the congregations.
  • Our church choirs have increased their membership.
  • Fraser Road has seen the development of a youth band and drama group.
  • There have been several "pastoral charge" functions related to worship services, governance and hosting an evening of music with the Moderator.
  • Our pledge to maintain givings to West District assessments remains highly supported as is our commitment to the Mission and Service fund. We continue to take pride in being the largest financial supporters of the District and the M & S fund. Our membership also continues to be well represented on District committees.

We feel that all of the above indicators show that we are part of a healthy and healing congregation. We will continue to have growing pains, but rather than wallow in negativity, we revel in the fact that we have been blessed indeed! May 2009 be another year of healing, reconciliation and improvements as we learn to live in harmony with one another.

With eager anticipation,

Rev. Stephanie McClellan


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MARRIAGES 2008

FRASER ROAD UNITED CHURCH

June 21
Perry Ward GREEN & Tammy Nicole STURGE
August 16
Jonathan Eric FLYNN & Nicole Mary Joan HOSKINS
August 23
Dean Tony HOPKINS & Elizabeth Marie DILLON
August 29
Joseph Craig BREEN & Jennifer Joyce GOODYEAR
August 30
Stephen George JOHNSON & Christina Dennikka Ann COLLINS
September 6 Rodney Maxwell KEAN & Sara Leanne DOOLEY
November 8
Mark Robert HARNETT & Sherry Rose JENKINS
December 27
Dwight Angus RUDOLPH & Sherrilee Petrina GILLINGHAM

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FIRST UNITED CHURCH
GLENWOOD-APPLETON

July 26
Cyril Norman FANCEY & Shara Lynn JOHNSON

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FIRST UNITED CHURCH
BENTON

Nil

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BAPTISMS

January 20
Joshua Enos John BRANTON
April 27
Jaxon Roy HARNETT
May 25
Julianna Noelle COHOLAN
May 25
Brayden Roland Mitchell EASTMAN
July 27
Alyssa Marie IVANY
July 27
Parker Thomas NICHOLS
July 27
Madisen Rebecca Jean MOSHENKO
July 27
Chloe Susanna DeWITT
July 27
Noah Chandler DeWITT (adult)
August 10
Mya Cavell HILLYARD
August 10
Kyle Joseph MACKEY
August 10
Cody Eugene MACKEY
September 28
Jillian Myra BUTTON
September 28
Lila Siripon CARROLL
November 7
Tyrone Robert KEATS (J.P.M.H.)
November 30
Peyton Sarah HEFFORD
December 21
Meghan Caroline ROBBINS


FIRST UNITED CHURCH
GLENWOOD-APPLETON

November 16

Alexis Joanne JANES


BENTON

Nil

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FRASER ROAD UNITED CHURCH

CONFIRMATION

David Tyler ANSTEY
Karen Rosalind BLAKE
Mackenzie Augustus Noel BLAKE
Thomas Lloyd BURT
Evan Tony Winston FOOTE
Joshua Gerald GUSHUE
Spencer Allan Russell KENT
Christopher Donald LANGDON
Allison Nicole LORENZEN
Daniel Patrick MARTIN
Zackary Shane Doyle PARSONS
Haley Diana WARREN
Sarah Jessica WEBB
Jana-Lynn Annette WINSOR


RECEIVED BY TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP
to Fraser Road United Church

Elizabeth Anne BURKE (Wicks) from Gambo UC
Marion MALLOWS (Jewer) from Botwood UC
Sonya Arlene MARTIN (Burke) from Gambo UC
Winnifred ROEBTHAN from St. Matthews's UC, Lewisporte
Nancy WRIGHT (Noble) from Zion UC, LaScie

TRANSFER OF MEMBERSHIP OUT
Fraser Road United Church

Kathleen L. MANUEL to 1st UC Mount Pearl
William SEAWARD to St. James UC, St. John's

MEMBERSHIP REMOVED BY DEATH

Clara SNOOK
Brian Gordon RAFUSE
Wilbert Maxwell THORNHILL
Hazel SEAWARD
Phyllis C. TIBBO


GLENWOOD/APPLETON

CONFIRMED

Paula Joy STEWART
Marlyn June WILLIAMS
Margaret Lorraine KNOTT (White)

REMOVED BY DEATH

Nil

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BENTON

CONFIRMED

Nil

REMOVED BY DEATH

Nil

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FRASER ROAD UNITED CHURCH
ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2008


The congregation of Fraser Road United Church met in the church hall following morning worship for a Pot Luck lunch, followed by the Annual meeting. The meeting started at 1:30 p.m.

Rev. Stephanie McClellan opened the meeting with a prayer, followed by an in memoriam for those members of our congregation who passed away in 2007. Rev. Stephanie read the names of those people while candles were lit in their honour by Dianne Anderson.

APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR AND SECRETARY
Nominations were called for these two positions.
John Elliott was nominated for chair. He accepted.
No further nominations.
Bonnie Adams was nominated for secretary. She accepted.
No further nominations.
54 members were in attendance.

APPROVAL OF AGENDA
It was moved by Don Curnew and seconded by Jerry Clouter that the agenda be accepted as circulated. Motion Carried

APPROVAL OF MINUTES
It was moved by Max Bussey and seconded by Dianne Anderson that the minutes of the congregational meeting held on February 11, 2007 be accepted as printed. Motion Carried

It was moved by Joe Cull and seconded by Don Sweetapple that the minutes of special meetings held on May 6, 2007 and November 13, 2007 be accepted as printed. Motion Carried

BUSINESS ARISING
Nominations: Cator Brown nominated Don Sweetapple as auditor .
He accepted. No other nominations.
Don Sweetapple in conjunction with Tony Foote(treasurer) will audit our books for 2007.

Financial support:
Claude Hender (chair of finance) said to meet the expenses of this church we need an average of $4000.00 per Sunday.
Snow clearing and fuel costs have gone through the roof this year.
At times when our expenses are the highest we have our lowest income coming in. We can help this situation by going on par. He made a plea to the members present to sign up for par so the church would have a steady income coming in each week.
He said last year we had a good year but we must aim to do better this year because the cost keeps going up. This year our givings increased by $1002.60.
Every single committee operated below budget this year and they need to be commended for doing this.
He said we also have to commend the UCW for the stewardship they show. This year they provided $9000.00 towards local church expenses and $2000.00 for M&S.
This year our church celebrates its 50th anniversary. One person has kindly donated $500.00 towards this.

Treasurers Report:
Tony Foote(Treasurer)
Tony told members we have a balanced budget this year due to the fact we are down to one minister. He said we need to consider whether this church can afford a second minister. In his opinion if we want a second minister we have to increase our givings.
He said our loan will be paid off in May, 2008. He suggested we need to hold off borrowing for awhile.
Questions:
One member asked if we don’t borrow, how do we plan on doing up the parking lot.
Answer given: Hopefully we can do some fundraising for this.
Another member asked if anything has been done about getting a second minister.
Answer given: Nothing has been done about getting a second minister but they are working on getting an assistant to help
Rev. Stephanie. They have several options to choose from and M&P are working on this.
Motion: It was moved by Max Bussey and seconded by Geof Wells that some part-time help be provided for Rev. Stephanie as soon as possible and report back to the congregation by Easter.
Motion Carried

M&S Fund
Our budget for M&S for a number of years now has been $21,500.
National Church sets an amount and ask if we could meet that amount. We can accept or reject it. At one point we were taking in more for M&S then was ear-marked so that is how we ended up with the amount of $21,500.
However this year we didn’t take in this amount. When this happens we have to make up the difference. It was put to the congregation Should we lower our budget for M&S. Many felt we should lower our budget but keep the commitment we made for 2007. Others felt it wasn’t good stewardship to reduce our budget.
Motion: It was moved by Cal Lane and seconded by Jean Brown that we reduce our M&S budget from $21,500 to $18,500.
Motion Carried

It was brought to the attention of members present that the $7500.00 we receive from M&S for our Chaplaincy program has been increased to $10,000.00 this year.
Motion: It was moved by Tony Foote and seconded by Don Curnew that we accept the budget as printed. Motion Carried
Claude Hender (Finance) explained briefly how he drew up the budget. He did it with 2 scenario’s in mind.
Scenario 1 was done based on I minister and accountable support.
Scenario 2 supposes we have 2 ordained ministers effective July 1, 2008.

Staff :
Claude Hender said in 2005 we agreed with HRDC to hire a caretaker for a 60 week period. If this trial period proved to be successful, which indeed it was, we were to raise the hourly rate by 50 cents a year for three years which would mean by January 1, 2008 the caretakers salary would be $11.00 per hour. This has not been done. He said we should start immediately with this 50 cent raise over 3 years plus the cost of living.
Our organist and secretary would get raises at a cost of living increase over the last two years.
Motion: It was moved by Rollie Forward and seconded by Ewart Tibbo that we increase our budget to give raises to our organist and secretary at a cost of living increase over the last two years and 50 cents per hour over three years plus the cost of living increase to our caretaker. Motion Carried:

CORRESPONDENCE: NIL

ANNUAL REPORTS:

The Docket, which contains all reports, was circulated to all families prior to this meeting. Committee members were present to respond to any questions on their reports.
No questions were put forward.

Rollie Forward let the members know that M&P is being Co-Chaired by him and Don Sweetapple.

NOMINATING REPORT FOR 2008
Council chairperson Cator Brown
Vice Chair Bonnie Adams
Secretary Ken Slaney
Treasurer Tony Foote
Session Chair Vacant
Ministry & Personnel Rollie Forward/Don Sweetapple
Christian Education Paula Waterman
Membership & communication Oswald Anstey
Finance Claude Hender
Stewardship Glenn Keefe
Outreach and Social Action Vacant
Property Cal Lane
Member-at-large Vacant
Member-at-large Eric Murray
Youth Representative Katie Slaney
Youth Representative Vacant
Benton Representative Genny Osmond
Glenwood/Appleton Rep. Ted Northcott
UCW Fellowship Unit Shirley Price
UCW Genesis Unit -----------------
UCW Glenwood/Appleton ------------------
West District Representatives Rev. Stephanie McClellan
Veneta Anstey,Geof Wells
Betty Hodder,Melissa Kinden
Benton Genny Osmond
Cemetery Representatives James Freake
Max Bussey


NOMINATIONS:
Chair of Session: Jean Brown was nominated but declined. Betty Hodder was nominated and accepted. No further nominations. Betty Hodder is now our new chair of session. Thank you Betty.
New session members: Three people came forward as new session members: Winnie Roebothan, Nancy Wright and Evelyn Forward. Many thanks to those people.
Motion: It was moved by Jean Brown and seconded by Neville Burt that those people be accepted as new session members.
Motion Carried

Outreach:
Chair of Outreach: Several nominations were made but all declined. Council will have to try and fill this position.
Member-at-large: Max Bussey was nominated-- He accepted.
No further nominations.
Youth Representative: No Nominations.
UCW(Genesis Unit) Rep. : Paula Waterman will bring it to the next meeting and try to get a representative.
Motion: It was moved by Ken Slaney and seconded by Cal Lane that we accept the Nominating Committee Report for 2008 with changes made. Motion Carried

NEW BUSINESS:
50th Anniversary Celebrations: 2008 is the 50th anniversary of Fraser Road United Church. The moderator of the United Church may be coming to Newfoundland in 2008 if so it would be nice if we could get him to come here for our anniversary celebrations.
Lorraine Elliott was asked to take on the position of chair for our anniversary celebration committee. She accepted this position. Many thanks Lorraine for taking this position. A number of people came forward to help out on this committee. Thanks to all.

Privacy Act: Max Bussey has been Privacy Officer since government legislation came in and he is willing to continue in this position.
Motion: It was moved by Neville Burt and seconded by Don Curnew that Max Bussey continue as Privacy Officer.
Motion Carried

Conflict Resolution Process: Some members wanted to know what was happening with the Conflict Resolution Process. It was explained that Council is in the process of working on this but there will be no meeting until March as our minister will be away for February.

Courtesies:
John Elliott offered thanks and congratulations to----- all Council members, all other committee members, all choirs and directors, Sunday School and their leaders, and all the other groups in our church such as Men’s Club, UCW, guitar group, accordion group, Book club and Social Club. If I’ve missed any I apologize . We have many good things happening in this church. Thank you again to all who take part.
Claude Hender expressed thanks to our wonderful staff for all they do. They go way beyond their call of duty. We are blessed to have you and we would like you to know you are very much appreciated. On behalf of the congregation, many thanks.
Thank you to Maude Goulding for continuing to do the Dockets. Thank you Maude.

ADJOURNMENT: With no further business, It was moved by Betty Hodder and seconded by Jean Brown that the meeting be adjourned. Motion Carried
Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.
Benediction; Rev. Stephanie McClellan


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PASTORAL CHARGE CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2008

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The Pastoral Charge met in the church hall following morning worship on Sunday, October 13, 2008.
Lunch was served.
Rev. Stephanie opened the meeting with a prayer. The meeting started at 12:30 p.m. and was chaired by John Elliott. 55 people were in attendance. John explained to the people that this was a one purpose meeting to move on the new Governance Structure and the recommendations that are being put forward by the committee involved in this. Copies explaining the new structure were distributed to all members prior to the meeting to give them time to look it over.
Claude Hender gave an explanation of the new structure and put this motion out:
MOTION: It was moved by Claude that this structure and recommendations be adopted by the Pastoral Charge. It was seconded by Eric Simms.
The members were then given a chance to ask questions.
Questions asked:
How does this structure differ from our present structure?
Answer: Gander will now have a Board of Management instead of a Church Council and the Church Board will represent the Pastoral Charge. There will also be a Joint Session which will meet four times a year.
Will there be training for Elders?
Answer: Yes.
How many Zones are there at Fraser Road now?
Answer: About 38-40.
Will one of the Chairs of the Board of Managements also be Chair of the Board?
Answer: They could be, the Chair of the Board would be elected by the members of the Board.

It was also brought forward that the congregation needs to know who the Chairs of all committees are and where to direct their questions or concerns. It was suggested something be done up and placed where the congregation can have access to it.
There were no more questions so the vote was put to the floor.
MOTION CARRIED
The meeting adjourned at 1:30 p.m.

 

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CHURCH COUNCIL



On behalf of your Church Council I extend best wishes to all for 2009. May God Bless you, one and all.

Your Church Council meets on the third Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m.
Many significant things have happened in 2008:

  • In 2008 we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Fraser Road United Church. It was a tremendous success, thanks to the work done by our Anniversary Committee.
  • A stained glass window was installed in our church, all new lights and our pews were padded. These projects were attained due to the tremendous support of our congregation. We cannot thank you enough for your support.
  • A committee was set up to look at our Governance Structure. The committee recommended that we go with a Church Board to represent the Pastoral Charge and each point on the Charge have a Board of Management. The Church Board would meet four times a year. They also recommended Joint Session meetings four times a year. It was felt that all points would be better represented with this structure. It was presented to all members on the Pastoral Charge and a Pastoral Charge Congregational meeting was held in October where a motion was made that we adopt this form of Governance. The motion carried and it has now gone to West District for their approval.
  • Our charge also supports various community events by providing free space---such as, the Food Bank with their Christmas Hampers, meeting space for Alcoholic Anonymous and a venue for the Kiwanis Music Festival.
  • We have many activities taking place during the week for all age groups, all free of charge. We have a Parents ’n Tots Program, Women’s Time Out, Sign Class for children and Adults and a youth group.
  • We also have a tremendous Scouting program.
  • Fraser Road Congregation was the beneficiary of an estate in 2008 and for this we are truly grateful.

I would like to thank all Council members for your dedication, work and support in 2008.
To all who give of your time and talents in anyway I thank you.
To all members of our Congregation, thank you for your tremendous showing of support in 2008.

To our brothers and sisters in Glenwood/Appleton and Benton it’s a pleasure working with you. May God’s Blessing be upon you all in 2009.
Let us continue to celebrate God’s presence in our lives as we worship and work together in the year ahead.

Bonnie Adams
Chair

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SESSION

 

Our Session meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm in the church hall except for summer months of July and August. We are looking for new members, the only requirements are full membership in the United Church with membership on historic roll at Fraser Road.

We have a total of 14 members, we had one youth resigned because of school commitments and we thank Jillian very much for her faithful service and contribution to the work and worship of Fraser Road. We added three new members: Nancy Wright, Evelyn Forward and Winnie Roebothan and we welcome them as we continue to serve the church.

We had several baptisms, marriages and transfers in and out. These are all recorded in the front pages of your docket by our very capable secretary.

Lay Visitation still continue at Lakeside Homes, Nightingale Manor and James Paton Hospital. We would like to thank these people for their continued support, we are always looking for people to help, if you can spare a couple of hours once a month we will greatly appreciate it. This would make less visits for everyone.

Communion is served on a regular basis on the first Sunday of each month and is available for home or institutions if necessary. Baptism on the last Sunday of each month or at other times if necessary – a ten day notice is required prior to baptism.

We greatly appreciate the services of Ministers and Lay People who have helped us this past year: Rev. Oake, Gander; Rev. Watkins, Botwood; Rev. Elliott, Lewisporte; Rev. Stuckless, Gambo; Glenn Keefe; Bonnie Adams; Roy Jenkins; Church Choirs; UCW Fellowship Unit; Mr. Carl Arnold, Hare Bay; Genesis UCW; Youth Group and Sunday School for their Christmas music and programs and to leaders of the Sing Along one Sunday evening per month. Thank you so much.

At this time we would like to thank all our Session members who helped out so much during this past year:

  • Diane Anderson for reader
  • Ken Slaney for ushers (we need someone for this for 2009 they do not have to be members of Session)
  • Margaret Hender & Chancel Committee
  • Gertie Matthews for coffee hours
  • Marilyn Boone for arranging acolytes
  • Graham King and helpers for the funeral ushers
  • For all Sessions who helped with communion at a moment’s notice

We were very fortunate to have Glenn Keefe complete his discernment process and have his conference interview. His candidacy is depending upon successful transferring courses and completing some academic courses which are necessary. However, we have been in contact with a university and are working on getting this in order.

A special thank you to the Choirs and Karen, our Director, and to all soloist and musicians who so greatly gave of their time to fill open spaces when choir was unavailable and extra people were needed. Also thank you to Rev. Stephanie for her work during the year especially since we only have one Minister on staff and not sure when this will change. Last but not least, thanks to the members of Session who have been so good to me this past year and were only a phone call away. Geof has been a tower of strength to me. God’s Blessings to you all.

Respectfully submitted,

Betty Hodder
Chair




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MINISTRY & PERSONNEL

As a continuation from the previous year, the M & P Committee as well as our churches and its congregations have been dealing with conflicts in our Pastoral Charge. It has been a long and extensive process but our committee has contributed to the reconciliation process which is overcoming these matters.

During the month of September the M & P Committee hosted a workshop whereby Reverend Faith March-MacCuish, Conference Personnel Minister of East and West Districts, provided an updated educational presentation on the responsibilities of Ministry and Personnel Committees. The workshop was open to the various congregations of our Pastoral Charge as well other committees. There was a small attendance but the positive outcome was very beneficial for those who attended.

I have been a member of the M & P Committee for about three years and in February agreed to Co-Chair this committee along with Roland Forward. In September Roland resigned as Co-Chair, but is still a committee member, and I assumed the position of Chair. I would like to thank Roland for his work as Chair for the past two years or so as well as all other members of our committee. This committee has the responsibility of addressing the concerns of all paid employees of our Charge whether they are presented by these employees or from a member of the congregations. Everyone is reminded that for a concern to be addressed it has to be received by our committee either in writing or by the person providing the concern attending one of our meetings. The M & P Committee meets at least four times per year but will meet more often if issues arise. We advertise all meetings in the weekly bulletins prior to the meeting but emergency meetings may not be advertised. Our goal is to continue to be a willing participant in everyone’s concerns by listening and assisting with guidance individually as well as through other committees.

We are very positive about the future of the Gander Pastoral Charge and will commit our services to its success.

Sincerely yours,

Don Sweetapple
Chair

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COMMUNICATION AND MEMBERSHIP

The Communication & Membership Committee has continued working on the Fraser Road United Church Newsletter in 2008. Our Committee is again requesting that you take advantage of this newsletter by letting us know of any items of interest that you would like see printed in the newsletter.

Five deliveries were made in 2008 which included two financial statements, the church envelopes and one newsletter.

The Committee sends a big thank you to our delivery people for the excellent job they did last year and hopes their support can be counted on again for the coming year.

Remember to check out our website for church announcements, events, photos and more. Our web address is: www.unitedchurchgander.ca

Respectfully submitted

Oswald Anstey
Chair

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REPORT OF THE 50th ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE

2008 - It was a year of celebration ! With a great deal of thanks and appreciation to the pioneers who laid the strong foundation upon which this congregation was built, the year was a busy one as we celebrated 50 years at this present site. The seeds planted years ago have continued to grow and flourish into the strong roots and beautiful facility this congregation has today.

The committee worked diligently throughout the year to recognize and give thanks for the achievements of the past 50 years and to celebrate them. The highlights were the banquet, with the Very Rev. Dr. Marion Pardy as our guest speaker, and the dedication of a beautiful stained glass window. Sincere thanks to all who supported our efforts.

Events held to celebrate included -

April 29
-‘Old Fashioned MUG-UP’ with entertainment
August 3
- Welcome Home Coffee Hour
October 3
- Lloyd White and “The Holdin’ Ground”
October 5
- Guest Preacher - The Rev. Russell Small
(The Small Family shared in the service)
October 22
- Served lunch to our Moderator, The Right Rev. David Guiliano and several clergy from the area
October 22
- With the Youth Group, hosted an evening of music and praise with the Moderator as our guest speaker. This was followed by a Chocolate Extravaganza in the Hall.
November 29
- Anniversary Banquet
November 30
- Special Worship Service and dedication of Stained Glass Window

 

Lorraine Elliott
Chair

 

 

PROPERTY

1. Many thanks to David Tremblett for his many years of service. He has decided not to participate this year. Welcome to two new members: Gerald Clouter and Barry Hicks. The remaining members have been with us forever and their faithfulness is appreciated. We would certainly welcome more new members. It would be nice to have some younger persons come aboard as they have the needed energy. How about it “Kids”? Membership is not limited to the masculine gender and it’s been my experience that the feminine gender likes to express an opinion. You are challenged ladies.

2. Recognizing, honoring and celebrating our heritage with our 50th Anniversary this past year started by the installation of the Stained Glass Window by Clyde’s committee and having a celebration dinner seemed to be the catalyst for a new found spirit in our church family. Congratulations to Clyde and Lorraine and their committees.

3. Another contribution to our celebrations was the presentation of a scaled model of the Church /Hall by Joe and Bea West. This model was constructed by Mr. Cyril Dunn of Gander. It is understood that Mr. Dunn has no formal training in this profession in which Architectural and Engineering firms engage professionals to enable them to make conceptual presentations to their clients. I understand he had no architectural drawings to aid him so there must have been many site visits, measurements and photos which made it very tedious indeed. He is to be congratulated on his very fine detail. Thanks and congratulations to Joe and Bea for their thoughtfulness and generosity.

4. The spirit of giving was continued as the congregation contributed to the installation of new light fixtures and the padding of the pews. The selection of the fixtures and padding fabric was conducted by the property committee and seems to “sit” well with the congregation. There have been many compliments. The fixtures were installed by the committee and it was a great day of fellowship. Many thanks to those who participated. It took me back to the era when most church projects were carried out by the men of the congregation, efforts which brought much satisfaction and pride of accomplishment and added to our heritage. Personally, I would like to see us return to this. The padding was installed by the Furniture Clinic of Botwood.

5. For the past few years we have experienced leaks in our roof. Ouch, that went down my neck! Now, what can be more irritating and annoying than a leak, especially in the winter, anytime it’s hard to determine where the source is. It seems that they were caused by ice build-up and damming, in turn caused by insufficient insulation, heat escaping and lack of ventilation. To the rescue were Ron and Hardy. It seems they worked their magic. Thanks. In addition heating cables were installed by Ron this Fall, so the problem has been given a double whammy. Again, thanks Ron.

6. It is with much joy and anticipation I have learned that the Finance Committee is planning to make a proposal to the congregation for the up-grading of our grounds and the extension and paving of our parking lot. Property has been advocating this for many years and it is gratifying to see some real effort into bringing this to the fore. Thank you Finance.

7. The Town will be upgrading and paving Fraser Road this coming fiscal year. We have approached them to make a few small changes affecting the grading at our entrance/exit and they have agreed. Also, the sidewalk will be extended from the school grounds. This will mean no perpendicular parking in front of the church. There may be room for a few parallel parking lots. Many of our congregation is parking on the street, while there is no law preventing that, it would be advisable to use our parking lot as much as possible as crossing the street presents the danger of an accident. Hopefully when the lot is finished there will be room for everyone and we would encourage you to use it. I think the extension of the sidewalk and the newly paved street will add greatly to the frontage appearance.

8. Lately we have been experiencing trouble with the furnace heating the Church. We are presently assessing a couple of scenarios in this respect for presentation to Council. STAND BY we may again need your support.

9. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that Geof continues to perform his duties with a high degree of commitment and competence. He has been an immeasurable help to this committee and to the congregation as a whole. Many thanks, Geof.

10. Be assured this committee is committed to serving you in the best possible manner. The last couple of months of 2008 has provided me, as well the committee, with a great deal of satisfaction and accomplishment. We have been encouraged by your support. Thank you. With the hope that this will continue in 2009, and if you so wish, I will be happy to serve as chair of this committee for another year.

Sincerely yours,

Caleb Lane
Chair


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CHRISTIAN DEVELOPMENT

Christian Development has continued with its mandate to provide Christian leadership and support to the various church groups that come under our umbrella, including the Sunday School, the Youth Group, Scouting, UCW, and the Sign Choirs. Most groups prepare individual reports, so the following are some additional observations.

Although no one has assumed the role of Superintendent, our Sunday School program has been running very well. A curriculum with prepared resources is in place, in conjunction with a sign-up system for teaching the separate age groups each Sunday. Several dedicated volunteers have been overseeing this to ensure that things run smoothly.
In June, we again hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Evening for all those who had helped in any capacity with our Sunday School and Youth Group. We also had a Sunday School closing barbecue for our church family. In July, a very successful Vacation Bible School with the theme “Passport to Adventure” was held, with the leadership of some members of our Youth Group. It was extremely satisfying to see our older youth, who had attended Sunday School as children, come forward to assist the younger children.

At the present time, plans have been made to form a Youth Worship Band and to have our youth participate in a Drama Team for Worship. We always appreciate their contributions to our church community.

Our youth made inspiring contributions during the Christmas season through the Sunday School concert and the Youth Group presentation “The Silhouette Nativity”. Both were well attended and very meaningful. They also participated in a float, commemorating our 50th Anniversary, entered in Gander’s Christmas parade of lights.

We have welcomed three new members to our committee this year. This is an active group with diverse responsibilities, and new people are always welcome. Many thanks to anyone who has volunteered for or supported any of our endeavors.

Respectfully Submitted,

Paula Waterman
Chair


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YOUTH GROUP

Youth Group meets every Wednesday night 7:30pm-9pm. This past year we have been kept very busy and have accomplished so many good things! We would like to thank all our special guests for providing us with beautiful crafts, skits, presentations and great food!
We have approximately 12 youth and began the year with 4 leaders. We said goodbye to Glenn Keefe in June as he was transferred to Nova Scotia and also to Betty Hollett who had so many commitments that she felt she must say “so long for now” after five years of committed leadership. We really miss both of these very dedicated leaders so much and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their leadership, friendship and many fun times. We’ve already had guest appearances by Betty and we love that!

We always love to have newcomers so if you’re grade 7 and up, please consider our group!

Some of our past year activities include:

JANUARY
: Visited weather office
Games Night
Hard Sauce Snowmen with Nancy Wright
FEBRUARY:
Fundraiser for M&S Singing Telegrams
Pancake Supper provided by Betty Hollett & Sheila Winsor
MARCH:
Skits provided by Betty Hodder & Marie Winters
We hosted a Sweet 16 birthday party for Betty Hodder (Leap
Year child)
APRIL:
We attended St. Josephs Stations of the Cross Silhouette (We
hosted their congregation & ours afterwards with a Chocolate Fountain)
Participated in “Skate for Janeway”
Brought a cake & card to Glenwood Irving Station to say good-
bye & thanked them for their fine service
MAY:
We attended Youth Forum at Burry Heights
Games Night
Had a wonderful slideshow and presentation on Antarctica by
Todd Hodder & Danielle Sogna
Presentation & video on ”Imagine a World with no Hunger” presented by Daniel form Kenya
Presented “Holy Spirit” skit to our congregation
JUNE:
Said good-bye to Glenn Keefe and had a birthday party for him
Participated in Relay for Life and raised over $1,000.00
OCTOBER:
Attended YC 2008 in Gander and hosted 14 kids and 8 leaders
from Victoria, Carbonear
NOVEMBER:
Participated in 50th Anniversary of our church banquet
Had a photo scavenger hunt

Attended the town bonfire

Craft night with guests Betty Hodder & Jean Brown
DECEMBER:
Presented a Christmas Silhouette of the Nativity Scene

Christmas dinner at Jungle Jims

 

As you can plainly see, we balance play and service as we gratefully take our place in this family of God.

Submitted by:

Marilyn Boone

 

 

FIRST UNITED SCOUTING

In looking back at my last several reports it seems like every year I’m talking about how numbers are up in our group. 2008 was no different. In 07-08 we had 2 Beaver colonies, 1 Cub Pack and 1 Scout troop involving 89 youth and 26 adult volunteers. For 08-09 we still have 2 Beaver Colonies but this year we had to expand to 2 Cub Packs. We have our Scout Troop and this year saw the rejuvenation of a Venturer Company. This year we have 97 youth and 26 adults involved in our program.

As in past years we participated in a couple of important environmental projects, Trees for Canada in May and the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup in September. Also in the Fall we had our annual apple day and popcorn fundraisers and attended the Remembrance Day service. Our group also attended the Blue Mass which was organized by Knights of Columbus to honor volunteers in the community.

The 2 Beaver colonies have been kept busy. During the Winter and Spring they were involved in a number of activities and both had Spring camps at Camp Hancock. In the Fall they were back with 2 groups again and close to 40 kids. They had a sleepover at the hall among other exciting activities. They have introduced the singing of O’ Canada and the reciting of the Lords prayer into their weekly routine and this has been a positive addition to the spiritual element of their program.

For the Cub pack it has been a busy year as well. In January Reverend Stephanie attended 3 meetings and helped the boys complete the requirements for their Religion in Life awards. The Cubs thoroughly enjoyed the meetings where Rev. Steph covered the issue of spirituality in a fun yet thought-provoking manner. Also during the Winter they worked on their Kub Kars and had a Winter Camp where they tried their hand at building shelters and cooking their own meal over an open fire. In the Spring they finished off their Red Stars and participated in a number of activities outside. The year ended with a great summer camp at Camp Nor’ Wes. In September we had 40 kids show up for registration so we had to form 2 packs. Initially one group had to meet at the Arts and Culture Centre due to limited time slots at the church hall but eventually we were able to meet with Council and arrange a time to meet at the hall. Due to the success of our group we were approached by the Provincial council and asked to do a trial test on a new badge which we did. Both Packs had Fall camps and by Christmas had finished off their Tawny stars.

Our Scouting group continued with many outdoor activities during the past year. Our Winter camp was held on the weekend of the big ice storm last winter if you can recall it. A memorable experience to say the least. We also had Rev. Steph come in and do the Religion in Life program with the Scouts. Over the course of the Winter and Spring the boys worked on a number of badges and by the end of the year several of them had earned their Voyageur Scout Award which was quite an accomplishment. We also had a Spring camp at Little Harbour and a number of hikes and other outdoor events including an orienteering course. For our Summer camp we canoed across Terra Nova Lake to the mouth of George’s Brook where we had a fantastic time on a huge stretch of beach. In the Fall we once again had a camp and the boys built their own lean-to’s and slept under the stars. Just before Christmas we had a wake-a-thon. Not as a fundraiser but rather just for fun which we certainly had.

As I mentioned earlier a Venturer Company was formed in September. They attended a couple of camps in the Fall including one at Camp Nor’Wes which was organized by the St John’s Rovers.

To keep an organization as big as ours has become running requires a lot of support from volunteers. With this in mind I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the volunteers who make this wonderful Scouting program possible. Every year we continue to attract more and more youth to our organization and this is no doubt a reflection of the excellent work of the many volunteers we have dedicated to providing personal and spiritual development within the Fraser Road United Scouting program. The benefits to the youth we have involved in Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Venturers are significant and the contributions made by Fraser Road United Church and its congregation are fantastic. I have no doubt that this September will see our group grow to over 100 youth. WOW!

In Scouting,

Blair Sparkes
Chair Group Committee


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MEN’S CHOIR AND SENIOR CHOIR

The Senior and Men’s Choirs had another active year at Fraser Road United Church. For the most part, the choirs participated in regular Sunday morning worship on a rotating three week schedule. During the more special times of the church year such as Christmas and Easter, the handbell choir joined our choirs to present our musical gifts together. In June, as has been the case for many years, the choirs also take part in a Memorial service.

The fall of 2008 was a particularly busy time for our choirs! This year marks the 50th anniversary of our church and of the town of Gander, with our choirs participating in the 50th anniversary celebrations in our church and in our community. Our church received a visit from our Moderator and took part in a musical presentation in celebration of his visit. The CBC sponsored Christmas fundraiser of “The Christmas Carol” took part in Fraser Road United Church this year and the Senior Choir supplied much of the musical support. We also sang in the Gander Ministerial Service.

We were recently blessed with new members, but more are always welcome! You don’t have to be able to read music, or be a great musician, you just need to enjoy music and be ready to have fun singing in a choir! Participating in a musical ensemble where many people sing as one is an invigorating and extraordinary experience. And you also can feel great knowing you are volunteering your time and energy for our church family. Please contact our church office for more information if you are interested.

Big “Thank-You s” to the congregation of Fraser Road United Church for your support and assistance, and to each and every choir member for your dedication and commitment!

Karen Nevin


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GUITAR GROUP NEWS

The Fraser Road United Church Guitar Group continues to meet in the choir room every Thursday at 6:45 to 7:45 pm. Following our meeting the accordion group begins their practice, and a number of guitar group members pick up their accordions and carry on. The choir room is really sounding great on Thursday nights and it’s nice to see that all members of both Groups are continuing to show interest in the music side of our church life.

The guitar group has 15 active members at present. Twenty members is realistically the maximum that the group can handle and I would tend to discourage any additional new members beyond twenty. We have lost a couple of members due to other personal commitments this winter. From my experience, this is normal for any group. Being a member requires some dedication to, not only public performances, but to weekly practices as well.

We have played at all senior’s homes in Gander, gone to Glenwood/Appleton to supply music for their service, have actually planned and conducted a service both at Fraser Road and Glenwood/Appleton, and have performed at the old fashioned hymn sings in our church. We may visit other congregations in our region to supply music for their service sometime in the future. Also, since we have recently purchased a new sound system, we will be doing a mid winter music concert in the church hall on the 27th of February to help pay for our system. Stay posted for the announcement on this up and coming exciting musical event which promises to be a great evening of music, skits, and fun.

Thank you all for your support in 2008 and we hope and pray for enriched church life in 2009. In appreciation for your support, we will entertain you and support our church services in every way we can, given our busy schedules.

May God richly Bless you All,

Yours in continued Music and Song

Ken Slaney
Leader


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THE ACCORDION BAND

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Last year was an interesting year for the Accordion Band, which was formed on April 2, 2007.

The Band joined with the Guitar Group to perform in the “Great Big U.C. Concert” in February; the Band played for the Moderator during his visit and put on performances at Lakeside Homes, the Golden Legion Manor and Nightingale Manor.

The Band has continued to learn new selections, both sacred and secular, and have expanded its repertoire to more than 50 pieces.

Last year we reported on a second group of beginners which were preparing to integrate with the Band. That has been done and we now have one group only.

The members of the Band are Bonnie Adams, Mackenzie Blake, Sylvia Burry, Bram Freake, Melissa Kinden, Vicki Lear, Gerard Noseworthy, Joan Pike, Carol Sturge, Edna Thorne, Ewart Tibbo and Ross Williams.

Gerard has agreed to take the leadership of the Band when I am unavailable.

Anyone interested in joining the Band are invited to contact Gerard Noseworthy at 256-8650 or Frank Tibbo at 256-8388.

We normally meet on Thursday evening in the Choir Room.

Frank Tibbo

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SOCIAL CLUB

The members of the Social Club were very saddened in January past with the sudden passing of a very Dear Member Viola Ross. Viola was a friend to all and will be deeply missed.

The Social Club is still very active and meets on the last Saturday of each month at 8 P.M. except July, August and September.

The Social Club was formed approximately 25 years ago to raise funds for the purchase of the Grand Piano which is still in use in the sanctuary. Since that time the members of the Social Club with the support of the public have contributed to the financial picture of Fraser Road United Church on a yearly basis.

The only fund raiser we have is our Bean Supper which is held as close to Valentine’s day as possible and has always been a success.

This past year the Social Club donated $ 2000.00 to the church and assisted in making for a better Christmas for a needy family. We also give an annual contribution to the Alzheimer's Association.

Some of the activities of the Social Club are:

  • Programs organized by our members for each meeting
  • Group dinners & entertainment
  • Boat trip from Lewisporte on the bay
  • Folding the weekly Church bulletins
  • Christmas party at the Church Hall

Overall the members of the club enjoy the fellowship and the activities on a monthly basis, if you would like to be a member, please come and enjoy.

We extend best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2009 to all members of our congregation

Veneta Anstey
Secretary

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FRASER ROAD UNITED CHURCH WOMEN
FELLOWSHIP UNIT


The Fellowship Unit of the UCW meets at the church hall at 8 p.m. on the third Tuesday of every month with the exception of June, July and August. All meetings begin with a period of worship followed by the business period. This is followed by a program of usually related activities of the worship. Whenever possible videos are shown or a special guest is invited to speak or sing. Also sometimes a special craft project is demonstrated to us. Then, last but not least, the usual cup of tea with delicious treats is served.

We presently have 47 members on our roll which includes 23 life members. The average attendance is 28. Our rallies and UCW district meetings keep us in touch with other UCW local groups and give us a time to renew old acquaintances and make new ones.

We were sorry to lose one of our long-time members this year, namely Clara Snook. Clara was one of our life members and a very active and dedicated member.

Life Membership Pins were presented to Joan Guy, Sadie Lane and Hilda Lewis. These ladies have served our UCW quite well over the years and we wish them God’s blessings for years to come.

Worship and Programs presented from Jan. 08 - Dec. 08.

Jan. 22
- Growing in Christ
Feb. 19
- Searching for Love
March 24
- Lenten Table Conversation
April 16
- Sturdy Hope, Spirituality and Justice Making
(Video - End Hunger Fast)
May 20
- A Mother’s Love(Special Guest Singers - Annette Crummey & Wanda Dooley)
Sept. 23
- Fountains
Oct. 19
- In Everything Give Thanks
Nov. 18
- We Will Remember (Guest Speakers - Marina Halleran and Roger Snook, who had served in Afghanistan and showed video of living conditions there.)
Dec. 10
- Christmas -Dinner at Hotel Gander and Gift Exchange


Community & Church

  1. Attended ecumenical service at Lakeside Homes
  2. Supplied sandwiches for Kiwanis Music Festival
  3. Helped with entertainment for church’s 50th anniversary concert
  4. Supported our youth by attending “Silhouettes of the Cross” at St. Joseph’s Church.
  5. Knit prayer shawls for sick and shut-ins
  6. Held church services at Benton on Sept. 23rd
  7. Held church service at Fraser Road on Oct. 26th
  8. Ushered at church services
  9. Helped with World Day of Prayer service
  10. Made alternative monthly visits to Lakeside and Nightingale Homes
  11. Provided lunch after funerals for UCW members’ families and others on request
  12. Helped with “Sale of Daffodils” for the Cancer Society
  13. Made baby quilts for preemie babies at the Janeway Hospital
  14. Served at the Scout Banquet
  15. Visited sick and shut-ins with treats for Christmas
  16. Helped with Gander Academy’s breakfast program
  17. Knit afghans for Cara House

Donations Made

Church Operating Expenses
Mission and Service Fund
Fraser Road Boy Scouts
Vacation Bible School
Lakeside Homes
Kiwanis Music Festival
Janeway Children’s Hospital
Gander Girl Guides
West District UCW
Stella Burry Fund
Cara House

Fundraising Projects

Three Afternoon Teas
Bakeless Bake Sale
Wake-a-thon
Fall Bazaar

Our members continue to be active in friendship and visiting. Any non-attending or sick members are sent flowers, cards, phone calls, fruit baskets and visited whenever needed.

We would welcome new members and your involvement with this group will not only help others but you will find it rewarding as well.

Many thanks to all our congregation for your help in our various projects. Your help makes our job that much easier. A special thank you goes to Geof, our custodian, who is always at hand whenever needed.

We have had a successful 2008 - let’s look forward to the same for 2009 !

With God’s blessings,
Respectfully submitted,

Ida M. Winter
Recording Secretary


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FRASER ROAD UNITED CHURCH WOMEN
GENESIS UNIT

Genesis has had another year of fellowship and fun. Each meeting we shared worship, programs and ended with great lunches.

Our Executive is:

President: Wanda Dooley
Vice President: Marilyn Feltham
Treasurer: Laura Tibbo
Secretary: Mary French
Sunshine Girl: Marilyn Boone


 

 

We started our fall with an overnight at Marilyn Feltham’s B&B in Eastport where we had a great fun filled evening which bonded our group with close camaraderie.

We are 16 members strong with an average of 11 members attending each meeting. 75% of our members are working fulltime day jobs which challenged us to meet our obligations but we always found the time to attend our monthly meetings and fulfill our expectations.

With our monies raised we were able to:

Donate $500.00 to the fellowship unit
Purchase two dried floral arrangements for the Sanctuary
Donate $150.00 to the Goose Bay Air Search and Rescue in Remembrance of Leon Feltham
Replenished the dish cloths and dish towels in the Church Hall Kitchen

Activities Genesis was involved in:

Helped Fellowship with their Fall Bazaar
Participated in the 50th anniversary mug-up,
Ushered in church,
Decorated the church for Christmas,
Cleaned the church hall kitchen
Conducted the Vesper Service.
Made visitations to the Nightingale Manor, James Paton Memorial Hospital and the Lakeside Homes
Provided Choir for the confirmation service

We hope to become stronger and enjoy another successful, rewarding year.
Continued blessings to all.

Mary P. French
Secretary


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GLENWOOD – APPLETON
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT

Greetings from First United Church, Glenwood-Appleton.

We have been involved with the Conflict Resolution and Governance Committee from June to October. As most of you know this committee has recommended some restructuring of Governance for the Gander Pastoral Charge.

I would like to thank Rev. Stephanie for doing her best with very limited time, and also any other pulpit supply who has filled in while Rev. Stephanie has been away on study leave or vacation.

Our Sunday School has combined with our neighboring Anglican Church Sunday School. It is working out great. We have 16 children registered and most Sundays see at least 12 or 14 kids attending.

We have installed a new chimney in our church and have purchased a new ride-on lawn mower. We are concentrating on our to do list for the coming year, the biggest project is to get our parking lot paved.

Thank you to the UCW for their continued support. The Christmas Party was a treat again this year, and one that we’ve come to look forward to as part of our Christmas celebrations.

Our Choir remains to be the heart of our church. Your hard work and dedication is very much appreciated! Our Sunday School pageant couldn’t have been the same without you. Thank you all for the time you spent practicing with the kids, and for reading the beautiful story, Shirley.

Thanks to everybody who has supported our church in any way this past year.

Maxine Barbour
Chairperson

 

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GLENWOOD/APPLETON
SESSION REPORT


Hello everyone, as Chair of Session I would like to wish one and all a happy new year with best wishes for 2009.

Session meets on a monthly basis with ministerial staff and eight members in the group. We had three confirmations, one baptism, one marriage and said good-bye to three of our church members in 2008.

Sunday, June 29th saw our congregation share and enjoy a family barbecue. Our “well attended” Flower Service was held on a sunny July 27th.

A spiritual discussion group, centered around our revised “Statement of Faith” begun in March and continued for six weeks. We all enjoyed the lively interactive communication between us.

Our Sunday school program has re-started with a combination of children from both Anglican and First United. This Christmas season saw them delighting a full church when they performed their first Christmas pageant for us.

A special thank you to Rev. Stephanie, lay readers and all other people who have helped with “pulpit supply” for our congregation during this past year. We want to give our gratitude to those who provided “our ministry of music”, our choir, Diane Best our organist, the Community Choir and the Guitar Group from Gander. We remember and thank the session members for preparing the communion table and providing readers on a regular weekly basis.

The work done by all of you and others is greatly appreciated. A special thank you to all our session members for your dedication in trying to meet the spiritual needs of the congregation. May God give us the courage, motivation and determination to “keep the faith” and keep our church strong and active in our communities.

Gertie Little
Chair

 

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GLENWOOD/APPLETON
UNITED CHURCH WOMEN

Another year has quickly passed by and I am beginning to believe what my Grandparents tell me…”the older you get the faster time passes”

Our very small lady’s group has had another very successful year. This year we had the privilege of hosting the UCW Rally. We had a great day and it gave us the opportunity to boast about our church and all its facilities, we enjoyed each other’s company and got the opportunity to show off our talents. The ladies were very impressed and look forward to visiting us again soon.

It seems that every other weekend this past summer and fall we were cooking up a scoff for the residents of Glenwood and Appleton, their families and friends. Whether it was for a graduation, wedding, anniversary or company staff party it seemed we were always in the kitchen, and one would think that we should be very wealthy, well not so, and as a result we have had to increase our prices.

As our way of saying thank you to everyone who helps out with our group we host an annual Christmas party, and extended the invitation to everyone who contributes to our group in anyway. This year we enjoyed a fine meal, great entertainment and a gift exchange which seem to be the highlight of the church season for Marjorie!

We would like to share with the congregation the chores of cleaning and decorating the sanctuary for the church seasons. Because there are only a few members in our group who are able to help with these duties we find it difficult at times to get a group together, please call Netta if you would like to be on a call list for these activities and help us share the load.

In closing I would like to thank all our congregation for their continued help and support, to our members Peggy for her dedication as treasurer, Netta, our secretary who pays attention to everything we say, Cora, our social convener everyone gets a call from her from time to time (thank goodness for call display), Ethel for her devotions, Maxine for visiting the sick, and to our newest member Gertie we are sure to find a title for you very soon, and Marjorie, Vice-Chairperson.

God Bless

Michelle Stuckless
President

 

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FIRST UNITED CHURCH
BENTON


Another year has ended and it was a fairly good year for us, there was siding and soffit that needed to be finished on the Church and this was done in the spring.

There were seven fundraisers during the year. We collected $9,600.00 worth of Dominion cash register receipts and we will get $2.00 for every thousand dollars collected. Many thanks to all those that helped with this fund raiser and the other events that we had to raise money for the Church.

We were successful in paying off the two loans that we had when the renovations were done to the Church. There is still one outstanding amount owing on material for the renovations and hopefully this will get paid this year.

We were blessed on several occasions during the year with members of the Choir from Glenwood. Also many thanks to Diane for playing the organ for us. I also want to thank those that did the services when the Minister was unable to be in Benton.

We are a small group but we have accomplished a lot in the past few years.

Genny Osmond


 

 

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GANDER PASTORAL CHARGE
FINANCE

Comments

The 2008 church year was indeed a most eventful one. From the perspective of Finance, the year was most successful as can be seen from the following observations:

  • Offerings through the weekly envelopes exceeded our estimates by $904.30.
  • Our M & S givings through regular envelopes exceeded our budget for 2008 by $1,677.50
  • The committees are to be commended for holding expenditure reasonably within budgeted amounts, despite some unusual increases in cost of providing services and goods by our suppliers.
  • We give God thanks that our capital debt has been eliminated thus freeing up funds for other uses.
  • The United Church Women have exceeded their budget to the church by $1,000.00 and increased their offerings by $500.00 to the Mission and Service Fund.
  • Again this year income from the rentals of our Hall has exceeded budget by $925.00. This is due in no small way to the efforts of our Caretaker/Manager who maintains a careful oversight in scheduling events that require space in the Hall.
  • We achieved certain milestones in 2008, our fiftieth anniversary year. I refer, of course, to the extra funds raised to buy and install a memorial stain glass window, to buy new lighting fixtures for our sanctuary, and to underwrite the cost of new padding to our church pews.
  • We were indeed a most fortunate congregation at Fraser Road United to receive in 2008 two very generous bequeaths that enable us to have a very healthy surplus by the year’s end. These generous gifts will reflect on the approach we can take to budgeting in 2009.

Special Features of the 2009 Budget

Ministry Personnel

  • You will note that again this year, as in 2008, the budget shows two scenarios. Scenario # 1 assumes we will have one ordained minister for 2009 with some assistance being made possible for Accountable Ministry personnel. This scenario also assumes that we will need extra pulpit supply, and some replacement personnel for our chaplaincy program as shown in the budget for Session. Scenario # 2 assumes we will have two full-time ministry personnel who will be scheduled to cover all of the pastoral services required on the pastoral charge.
  • This budget also provided for the usual inflationary increases for personnel as required by General Council policy.
  • Provisions are also made to increase the hourly wages for our Caretaker-Manager by $0.50 per hour as per our agreement when this person was hired.
  • The replacement organist stipend has been increased to $75.00.

Capital Project (Paving Parking Lot)

It is estimated that the cost of paving the parking lot will be $100,000.00. It is far beyond our means to find this amount of money in one year; so a plan must be devised to enable the Council to amortize this expense over several years. This budget provides for an amount of $30,000.00 to be raised by weekly envelopes (Building Fund section), capital fundraisers, and any amounts that can be raised through a special congregational appeal as was successfully attempted to pay for the stain glass window, lighting and pew padding projects in 2008. The congregation has several options for raising the balance. One option is to negotiate a Capital assistance loan from General Council for 50% of the total cost of the project ($50,000.00). This loan is interest-free in year one and 3% in subsequent years. The balance of funds needed may be realized from a combination of monies from surpluses, the reserve, and borrowings from the bank.

It goes without saying, our church will have a debt to repay over time, and each subsequent budget year will have to provide funding for interest plus principal until the payments are made in full.

Reserve

A new item, “Reserve” has been added to this year’s budget. The amount of this year’s reserve is calculated from surpluses accumulated. The reserve should be spent cautiously and only with the approval of the Church Board. The Church Board should establish the terms and conditions under which funds can be drawn to meet some urgent situations that might occur.

Capital Debt

In order for the church to undertake a major project such as is envisioned by the paving of the parking lot, it will require negotiating a loan to be amortized over time. It is suggested that the management of loan payments be undertaken in a manner that is most favourable to the congregation with payments adjusted to pay down principal and interest as soon as possible.

The experience of this past year has shown us beyond a doubt that this congregation will rise to a challenge to provide funds for needed projects; and it is generally felt that the deplorable condition of our parking lot is something that must be addressed.

It is recommended that all of the income from the “Building Fund” section of our weekly offerings be directed toward the cost of undertaking the paving of the parking lot.

Accountable Ministry and Pulpit Supply

These items are separated out in this budget submission. The Accountable Ministry section is recorded in the M&P budget as shown in Scenario 1, while the pulpit supply section is reported in the Session budget. This reflects the change adopted by our last congregational meeting, and clearly shows which committee has responsibility for each component of providing these services as required.

Claude Hender
Chair


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IN MEMORIAM

FRASER ROAD UNITED CHURCH

February 6

William (Willie) James SHEPPARD
February 10
Louise LOUGHLIN
March 8
Clara SNOOK
April 27
Harold F. DOUCETTE
April 27
Leon James Graham FELTHAM
April 29
Dorothy June KING
June 4
Brain RAFUSE
June 30
Julia Elizabeth CAHILL
June 9
Hazel SEAWARD - Interred St. Johns's
July 11
Roy BURSEY - Interred Catalina
July 15

Susan Linda IVANY

July 21
W. Maxwell THORNHILL
August 2
Jabez Ammon HOWELL
August 8
Robert Kingford STANLEY
September 5
Nellie Cecilia BEST
October 6
Stephen Michael "Butch" CLARKE
October 8
Allan John CRANE
October 16

Phyllis C. TIBBO

December 21
Neta DAVIS
December 26

Melvin PARROTT

December 29
William Thomas CLARKE


FIRST UNITED CHURCH
GLENWOOD-APPLETON

March 4
Frances Theresa VIVIAN
March 13
Samuel STEELE
April 6
Dorman Ernie POMEROY - Interred August 24/08


FIRST UNITED CHURCH
BENTON

January 13
Francis "Frank" William RICCHUITI
May 7
Susanna MERCER
 




I am the resurrection and the life;
all who believe in me, thought they
die, yet shall live, and whoever
lives and believes in me shall never die.
(John 11:25 & 26)

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