Session Notes

Your Session sat for its regular monthly meeting earlier this week. For the first time in 16 months, the meeting was not entirely online – about half of us were present in the Courtyard Room, the rest attended by Zoom. 

We were modelling what’s to come for the entire church beginning next month – hybrid worship that is simultaneously in-person and online. 

Our experience demonstrated that technology is important. It’s challenging for everyone to see, hear and participate without the requisite equipment (microphones, speakers, screens). We’ve begun to purchase and install some of these items in the sanctuary, and need to do more. We’re asking the congregation to help with a special one-time fundraising effort, and hope you’ll contribute. 

To the business at hand, we spent considerable time (beginning with our devotional) considering how our sustainable budget commitment is grounded in our faith. As we’ve reported here before, our church budgets henceforth will be governed by this principle: investment fund proceeds will be yoked to the costs of operating our building, and congregation giving will pay for our missions, benevolences, programs and staff. 2022 is the first opportunity to put this principle into practice. 

This begins with determining our priorities as a congregation, post-pandemic, and your participation is essential. There’s a lot on our plate – antiracism, children’s ministry, mission commitments, hybrid worship, staffing. We will be reaching out to engage you in this process, and we’re grateful for your involvement.