News Blog

Posted by on Sunday, January 22nd, 2017 in Clerk of Session

Good morning…

I have some news to share with you from Session.  The Annual General Meetings on February 22nd for the budget presentation and February 26th for the full meeting are fast approaching. All committee and group reports are due very soon for the Annual Report. With this in mind, Session has been occupied with two considerations for the AGM.
2016 was a game-changing year at Session. Your Session sat 11 times in 2016 and at each meeting, the budget was front and centre. Last year a motion was passed that; Session would establish sustainable financing for St Andrews’ and that in association; we would resolve why the attendance at worship was changing.
Today I bring news that when you attend the AGM this year you will see the fruits of a lot of work.
On the budget and sustainable financing, Session will unveil the good news of what happened in 2016 and the plans for 2017. Many of you would like the news today but I’m going to ask you come to the AGM and celebrate the results achieved. It is our hope that many of you will appreciate how difficult it is to turn things around and especially quickly. 13 Elders and untold others crunched the problem for you.
On the second front, why are people not coming to church has been the subject of most Session meetings? I typed “why is church attendance declining” into GOOGLE and got 198,000 results. Here are some of the things people are saying about declining membership:
·       10 reasons why members are not coming to church
·       7 or 9 or 10 key reasons your church attendance is declining
·       How can you revitalize your church
·       How declining attendance effects worship.
There are many reasons, some global, some local that effect attendance.  Picking one is just not possible. A list of 10 possible reasons can be found on my blog – accessible through the St Andrews webpage if you are interested.
I’d like to share with you a comment from Session that has grown to reflect how Session has struggled with this issue.
To quote an Elder at Session in December 2016 –“We know that the Presbyterian Church of Canada is struggling to keep members, just as most organized churches in North America are.  This does not mean St. Andrews’ Hespeler has to follow this pattern. We have choices.”   
Today I’d like to advance Sessions plan that will reverse declining attendance here in Hespeler.
Late in 2016 Session reviewed a book recommended by Joni Smith - called "Beyond the Worship Wars; Building Vital and Faithful Worship” by Thomas G. Long.  Session decided that all of sitting Elders will read and discuss the ideas presented. Session will cherry pick the most salient ideas and implement them, with care that they fit into our missions and ideals. Secondly, Session is suggesting that the Congregation read this book for insight into the challenges and opportunities this represents.
In late 2016 Session met with Corey, our Music Director as she presented a program called “Blended Music at St. Andrews”.  This methodology is not new or even new to St. Andrews. Originally Rev. Linda Ashfield discovered that this systematic way to make worship “flow” led a deeper spiritual experience. In selecting Corey Linford Cotter as a Music Director we also hired a protégé of Rev. Ashfield.  The significance of theses connections to St. Andrews has allowed Corey to find a kind of consensus to music selection.  
Secondly, on January 21 Session held a special meeting that created a blueprint for change that is crafted specifically for us. The workshop, Moderated by Rev. McAndless looked at broad topics like; Re-engaging or Revitalization, Outreach – within St Andrews, Communication method changes, Christian Education must-haves, Worship Space and Worship Format including the way the front of the church looks and works during service, Care as in care for the members, plans for Elder/Deacon teams as well as other ideas like parking.
Out of this mix Elders found trends and common themes that reoccurred throughout. Communication was a thread that reappeared constantly – build a conduit that delivers what is happening and why seems obvious. The details of reaching all the congregation are difficult to pin down, though. Also common was the idea of creating a path forward that includes the opinions and voices of the church in building us up. Engagement, the flow of service and praise for meaningful worship are also key elements to foster.
This plan was intentionally created by Session to meet the expectations we heard from the congregation in early 2016 and feedback throughout the year. It is our fervent hope that with these plans and your help and input we can create significant change on a local level. To co-opt a phrase we are working locally to create global change.
This plans successes are only limited by the enthusiasm we provide and the understanding that everyone’s help and opinions are needed to make this church the one you want to attend. In doing so we create a church everyone wants to attend.
Please consider going to the Annual General Meeting and share in fellowship as we engage the future.
Thanks;


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Session Highlights 2016

Posted by on Monday, January 16th, 2017 in Clerk of Session

Session Report Highlights 2016

The Kirk Session with 14 sitting Elders held 11 regular meetings during 2016. No special meetings were held.The Annual General Meeting was held in February. At the regularly scheduled meetings a wide variety of matters were discussed and resolved. Below is a recount of the highlights of these meetings:

January

The Hespeler Place of New hope Advisory committee – terms of reference were adopted as written [September 2015].
In January a group met to develop strategies that would underpin the budget process for 2016. This group (Rev. Scott McAndless, Rob Hodgson, Donald Paddock, Ray Godin, Bob Neath, Ron Paddock and Vern Platt) was assembled in a round-table discussion concerning 2016.
Four major fundraising Session initiatives outlined and defined for 2016.
Session announced “We are holding a special study based on the document Body, Mind and Soul: Thinking together about human sexual orientation in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. We are holding this study to help us to understand the issues in order to feedback to the General Assembly as they try to formulate a path forward for the PCC.”
Once again Session considered parking at worship this time due to the changes by the City of Cambridge initiated on Queen Street Hespeler. The parking spots immediately in front of the church on Queen St. have been posted “no parking” while traditionally “Sunday only” was allowed.
Session approved a portion of the Saint Andrews Endowed fund be actively managed by the Cambridge & North Dumfries Community Foundation.

February

Session approved the 2016 budget of $234,512 as presented. This constitutes the document to be forwarded to both the pre-AGM financial meeting and at the Annual General Meeting for budget review.
Planning for the Rev. Jeff Veenstra memorial Walk-a-Thon planned for October 16, 2016 at Crieff Hills was announced.
Session created the “160 Group” to plan and implement the 160th Anniversary of St. Andrews Hespeler. This group in cooperation with the Mission & Outreach Committee are tasked to develop a creative, inviting and inclusive atmosphere for the July Hespeler Reunion festivities and the October Celebration of our 160th year.

March

Elder/Deacon elections for 2016 are announced and approved.  Elders serve on Session for a period of six years upon being elected unless they withdraw for other reasons. Elders may opt to be re-elected if they wish.
The Annual General Meeting passed a resolution to eliminate the recurring debt entries as seen for the last few years. The AGM resolution clearly stated that in 2016-2017 Session would research and develop a strategy to eliminate the debt and establish sustainable long-term funding. Session developed strategies throughout the year to meet these expectations.
Session authorized the insertion in the Bulletin on how the budget cuts impact: administration, the office, office hours and staffing. TBA weekly office hours and advisory the office will be closed Fridays (appointments only).

April

 St. Andrews authorizes an independent contractor to do bookkeeping and financial services replacing the Administrative Assistant (vacant).This would be set up on a pilot or trial basis and would involve the contract period of April 11 through to July 15, 2016. That Human Resources Committee commences a recruitment process to fill the part- time position of Administrative Assistant with 9 scheduled hours of work weekly.
Session discussed: Amazing Shrinking Tea Party, a re-invention of the meat pie sales, the Christmas Dream Auction and we will creatively research fundraising in 2016 - 2017.

May

Session approved that the Stewardship Committee development of sustainable finances for 2016 and beyond.  Inclusive of:
·         compiling detailed projections of all expenses and expense timelines
·         providing guidance on unfunded projects/liabilities and accumulated debt
·         provide guidance on 2016-2017 revenue and expenses
·         develop a process to create sustainable financial governance beyond 2017.
In association with the Operations Committee, Session formalized a cheque writing authority on behalf of St. Andrews Hespeler. This document outlines the procedures to be used to issue cheques and who may authorize a draft.

June

                Session reviewed the status of the election of Elder/Deacons 2016. 4 Elders were to be elected – one new Elder (Randy Rattansingh) and two re-elected Elders were confirmed. One Deacon was found and confirmed. Kim De Boer has graciously joined the Deacons ranks in 2016.
 The Clerk of Session briefed Elders on a working document called Revision of the Communion Serving Model.  Congregational numbers have reduced the need for a large number of servers at communion.  
Session reviewed the replacement of the Youth Group Co-coordinator (May 2016) upon the resignation of the current staff member. Session accepted a proposal from Joni Smith on to serve as an interim replacement up to June 2017.
Session approved the replacement of the addition roof by Thompson Roofing Inc. in the amount of $19,549.00 including HST to be completed as soon as feasible.
In realization of the AGM referendum to balance the budget and achieve sustainable financing, the Stewardship Committee delivered the following plan to meet goals.
·         That remaining funds from Share the Warmth, the Capital Endowment Fund and any giving doors opened in response to the need to re-roof be used to replace the “new” addition roof in 2016
·         We fundraise specifically for the Organ repair (“Buy a key” campaign)
·         Invent a loose change ongoing Ministry
·         We keep the Video projection system on a “warm pause”.
·         We fund any shortfall in our commitment to Hope Clothing not raised by donations as follows (70% from the Mission Fund and 30% from the Memorial Fund). 
·         With respect to the loan from Presbytery, we recommend repaying it over the remaining term ($2,500 per year over next 8 years). No use of the balance is currently scheduled. Backup funding for extreme emergency use only.
·         The schedule of Session approved fundraising be enhanced and promoted to achieve our goal.
       Upcoming event:  the Race to Eliminate Poverty a challenge to pit teams against each other in association with Hope Clothing and the Food Bank.

September

The Sustainability Task Team has been asked to; ascertain why attendance is falling, and reconstitute the task force to re-examine the funding new information received.  
Updates for September: Loose change Ministry is currently underway, Meat pie sale - in recognition of traditional fundraising well underway and Christmas Dream Wish Auction will also be returning to St. Andrews.
Christian Education will be reviving the pop can drive for the fall – funds raised will be donated to the Jeff-a-thon. In recognition of this, a trailer will be parked in the upper lot on October 2, 2016 part of the challenge to fill it!

October

The fall joint Deacon/Elder Meeting was convened with: a general meeting to start, fellowship and team building activities for Elders and Deacons ending in each group separating to meet.
The Stewardship Report was discussed at length on some changes in financing that need to be enabled currently. Due to confidentiality requirements, these changes will be revealed at a later date.
Mathew Brown has communicated that he wants to go the Knox College in preparation to become a Minister. The process starts at Session with recommendations forwarded to the Presbytery for intake. More information will be announced soon.

November

On Wednesday, December 14th we will be having a “Youth Ministries Potluck Dinner” for families with children Grade 7+.  This dinner will be organized in a way similar to a LOGOS dinner; with a time of team/group building, food & fun.  After eating we will brainstorm ideas and needs so that we can begin the process of rebuilding a Youth Ministry.
Session is recommending the congregation read “Reformed Worship.”   “Beyond the Worship Wars; Building Vital and Faithful Worship” by Thomas G. Long. In the past, Session has had book studies and hope to open the door for the entire congregation to participate. Session is exploring how we can get books.

December

Christian Education will create a “Little Library” outside the church in a place to be approved soon. A little library is a lending are where books can be borrowed or donated to others.   It is more or less an outdoor cupboard to encourage book lending. It will be monitored carefully to ensure that appropriate books are traded and available.

GOOD NEWS 2016

The Jeff-a-thon raised $30,000 for PWS&D and when matched 3 to 1 by the federal government this means a whopping $120,000 donated.  Awesome.  In the spirit of giving, St Andrews Hespeler won the competition for most dollars raised and a free luncheon in December.

The Stewardship Committee announced some very good news on the sustainable financing results. The meat pie sale and Christmas Dream Wish Auction have raised more than $8,000 in two events. More news is to follow on a significant change to this goal hopefully in the New Year. Certainly in time for the AGM.  

The Mission and Outreach Committee move towards a Mission Trip in 2017 and had a full schedule in 2016. Ably led by co-chairs Pete Moyer and Elaine McLean ensure a visible footprint of St. Andrews in all Hespeler events. Most notable this year -  The Great Hespeler Reunion.

St. Andrews has confirmed funding of Hope Clothing for 2017. From conception to established program only a little than 3 years has transpired. Jane Neath laid a firm footing with a business plan and financial framework in 2012-2013.  And with that leverage New Hope Clothing is off to a running start. The other instrumental force has been Karen Kincaid. Her day-to-day-operations, bootstrapping the launch of New Hope have created a social network with her enthusiasm.  Thursdays will never be the same!  Of note in 2016 a simple announcement on the internet for help with Syrian Refuges brought over 3,000 visits and dozens of calls to donate to New Hope.

In 2016 Session discussed and researched the movement of the piano and the pulpit a number of times. Session did approve the moves and has heard that some members are troubled by this decision. In recognition of this discomfort, a process to define what the arrangements on the dais need to be made to serve the congregation better have been started. In the near future, Session will be asking for recommendations, consolidating the results and presenting the plans before further changes are made.  Your participation in this process is greatly encouraged. Session thanks you for your input on this.

In the New Year, Session will invite Corey Cotter Linforth, Music Director to share the philosophy and workings of “Blended Worship Music” with Session. Session hopes to open up the understanding to the congregation on how blended worship music works. More information will be made available in 2017 on this.

The Clerk of Session has offered his resignation effective December 31, 2016. In respect to Session, I have confirmed I will stay COS until March 31, 2017 in an effort to select a replacement Clerk. I would like to thank the congregation, staff and Elders for the seven wonderful years I have spent.

The highlights provided are assembled chronologically to help communicate Sessions’ discussions to the congregation. In the course of the year many other topics were discussed, some of the minor significance and others of major importance. In this synopsis, you see the core of what happened excluding those issues that are confidential and must be protected and those too insignificant to include. If you have any questions I would be happy to respond.


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Notes form Session and Blended Music

Posted by on Monday, January 16th, 2017 in Clerk of Session

Notes from the Session

At the session meeting this week, Session discussed some important matters in the life of the church including:

· What our priorities in music and worship should be, and how we can to connect with the congregation to get effective feedback on proceeding.

· Budget priorities for 2017. The AGM will be held February 26 and the financial     
  pre-AGM meeting will be February 22. Please plan to attend.

· Elders agreed that we will read the book, “Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship” by Thomas G. Long  together. Several copies of this book will be made available in the church library (shortly) and we hope that many congregational members will read it too.

· Session agreed to hold a special planning workshop on Saturday, January 21, 9 am to noon. We will be looking at many aspects of the life of the congregation and what can be done to improve. Please be in prayer for Session and what they seek to accomplish in this meeting.

  You will hear the details of this important discussion and are urged to comment to Rev. Scott, Rob Hodgson or any member of Session or Deacons. If you are unsure who to communicate with, try the Church Office and ask for a list of Deacons and Elders.



In preparation for this renewed direction, Session would like to introduce you to a program designed to formalize music selection for worship. Session has endorsed a way to look at music as a component of worship for each Sunday. In effect, music will enhance worship and vice versa. It is called “Blended Music at St. Andrews”.  This methodology is not new or even new to St. Andrews. Originally Rev. Linda Ashfield discovered that this systematic way to make worship “flow” led a deeper spiritual experience. In selecting Corey Linford Cotter as a Music Director we also hired a protégé of Rev. Ashfield.  The significance of theses connections to St. Andrews has allowed Corey to find a kind of consensus to music selection.  You may remember November 13, 2016 at worship when Corey explained the music selected by prefacing how and why it was included. On that Sunday you saw Blended Music deconstructed – previously Rev. Scott and Corey worked behind the scenes to ease the kinks out before we even knew of the change.

If you want more information on Blended Music you are free to ask any Session Member, Rev. Scott or Corey – all of us would be delighted to answer or find answers for you. The most significant component is the congregation, we want your ideas…we need your comments.

Below are a limited introduction and explanation of Blended Music


Introduction
Frequently, the congregation who are sharing comments are trying to make the music program better by making suggestions and criticisms. The problem has been that the ideas and dislikes have been highly contradictory. Music Directors have always done their best to include everyone's voice in our service musically and what has happened is that a practice of blended worship has naturally developed.

Definition
Blended worship means a lot of different things to different people and has a fairly broad scope. This definition will be limited to only music at worship. From a musical perspective, blended worship means including a variety of styles of music from different generations in most services. Generally, this looks like having at least one traditional piece and one contemporary piece in each service, using a variety of instruments (piano, organ, guitar, etc.), and using both old and new hymns. Because the service is stylistically disjointed, it becomes more important for it to be thematically unified.


Benefits of Presenting to Congregation
The hope is that an understanding of the methodology and reasons will become a thing the congregation is excited by. Session would like everyone to be able to see how they fit in to the music program and how their preferences are being met. We also think this will bridge the gap between various generations and groups.




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Resolutions 3) To Listen

Posted by on Sunday, January 15th, 2017 in Minister

Hespeler, 15 January, 2017 © Scott McAndless
Mark 4:1-9, James 1:19-27, Psalm 116:1-8
J
esus, like many good speakers, had certain catch-phrases that he would use over and over again in his preaching and storytelling. One of his favourite lines, for example, was “the first shall be last and the last first.” It comes up so often in the discourses of Jesus in the gospels and in varying contexts (usually as the punchline of a parable) that it seems reasonable to conclude that it was one of those phrases that Jesus threw around all the time.
      But there was another phrase that Jesus must have used even more – one that just seems to have slipped out all the time – not necessarily as a part of the parable or story he was telling but almost like punctuation or emphasis. That saying was, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
      It is an odd phrase when you think about it. I mean, very few people don’t have ears. Barring some birth defects, tragic accidents or the madness of Dutch post-Impressionist painters, ears are pretty much universal. Everyone listening to Jesus had ears which would make the saying seem like nonsense. But obviously Jesus didn’t keep saying this as a nonsense phrase. It is, in some ways, an expression of Jesus’ own frustrations. Here he was communicating vital truths that, as far as he was concerned, were quite clear. He was illustrating those truths with stories and parables that were really quite easy to understand and yet people weren’t getting his point.

      Jesus was pointing out that it is one thing to have ears and to be able to hear what somebody is saying but it can be quite another thing to listen. Hearing is a passive thing. Hearing is actually something that can be very hard to keep from doing. If you are in the vicinity of a noise or of someone speaking, you can’t help but hear it unless you do something to prevent it like plugging your ears or shutting off your hearing aids.
      Listening, on the other hand, is active. You don’t listen to something unless you choose to do so. Listening means attending to what is being said and acting in response. Jesus’ frustration was that people were hearing what he was saying but that something that was preventing them from actively listening. Often it was be­cause they did not want to actually hear the truths that he was teaching and they certain­ly didn’t want to change their lives because of what they heard. It was just easier for them to hear what he was saying without actually listen­ing because, if they listened they’d probably have to change in ways they didn’t want to.
      And if Jesus were here today, would he continue to repeat that same saying? Would he be as frustrated with us over our tendency to hear without listening? I am afraid he probably would because things really haven’t changed all that much.
      I wanted to start out this New Year by preaching about the resolutions that I’d like to make and that I’d like to see more people make that might create a real difference in the world. I’ve talked so far about resolving to leave some time and space to grieve losses and I’ve talked about being committed to the truth. I think that the third resolution that we could make that would make a real difference in our world is to learn to listen. I would even go so far as to say that the failure to listen is creating a number of crises in our world.
      Take, for example, two of the most surprising political developments of the past year: the Brexit vote in the United Kingdom and the election of Donald Trump. Neither of those political developments were supposed to happen. They defied polling but also were contrary to what the “elites” and political “experts” and establishment said should happen. They are also events that will likely have some far-reaching effects on where the world goes from here for good or ill (and I don’t really have an agenda at the moment to say whether it will be good or ill).
      But I think that we can say a little bit about why things unravelled the way that they did. Many people did not cast their vote because they were making a positive selection of a candidate or an agenda. Many, perhaps the majority, were voting to reject instead and what they were rejecting were the opinions of the elites, the experts and the establishment political leaders. The widespread perspective was that the elites and establishment didn’t care about the needs of the great majority of people and had not listened to them and their needs for a long time. Some really big things – world-changing things happened this past year because a lot of people felt like they were not being listened to. When I say that the failure of listening is important, that is the kind of thing that I am referring to.
      But it is not just something that we see happening in big political events and movements. It is a something that affects people’s personal lives and struggles. How many people go through their daily lives without ever getting the sense that anyone is truly listening to them? How many have to pay money to go to a psychologist or counsellor just to have someone actually sit there and listen to them talk.
      And what a difference that can make! I am not trying to put down the professions (like counselling and psychiatric analysis) that have a big element of listening to them. Such a level of listening does not come without a great deal of learning and practice and it truly can bring a great deal of healing into a person’s life. And there are definitely many people who will not be able to find the healing that they need without making use of such professional counsellors. No one should ever be ashamed if they need to access them. But I cannot help but think that such professions would be much less desperately needed if only more people put in the effort to really listen to people at all the various times in their lives where they really need someone to just listen to them.
      And one place where listening is surely lacking is in the church and it is precisely on that point that Jesus was expressing his frustration with the people in his favourite saying. People of faith have the opportunity to hear the word of God, but how often do we listen? We believe that God speaks through the life and example of Jesus Christ. We believe that God speaks through the scriptures that bear witness to Christ. We believe that God speaks through the sermon. And this speaking is not something that is frozen in time. We don’t say, for example, that God spoke (past tense) when the Bible was first written. The word of God is nothing if it is not living and active in the present moment. So God speaks; that is not and has never been the problem. The problem is that we don’t listen.
      So we really do need to work on our listening. How could we do it? How could we become a people who take the task of listening seriously? Well the first thing we need to recognize is that simple truth that was behind that saying of Jesus – that there is a difference between hearing and listening and that just because you have heard what somebody is saying, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have listened to them. Hearing is passive but listening is active.
      So how can we learn to be listeners? Well, I’ll start with one piece of advice that should be obvious, shouldn’t need to be said, but I’m afraid that it does need to be said. Listening means, first of all, giving undivided attention which means that when someone is speaking you turn off the phone, close the book, turn off the television or do whatever you need to do to shut out any distractions. If we are not willing to do that, we will not progress very far in our quest to learn to listen.
      The next piece of advice I am going to steal from the Letter of James. “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak.” Our own speaking is one thing that most often gets in the way of our effective listening. How often, when you are hearing someone speak, is your brain engaged, not with what they are saying, but with your own speaking. You are thinking of what you are going to say in response to them – perhaps to defend yourself or to further your own agenda at the expense of their needs. This is a symptom of what James would call being “quick to speak.” It is not actually measured by how many words you say or how soon you say them but rather by how much brain power you devote to your own agenda.
      Listening, real listening, is about being willing to put aside your own agenda in service to the needs of another person and, let me tell you, it is something that you have to work at. It does not come naturally and most of us will only be able to accomplish it by being incredibly disciplined in our minds.
      One thing that can help us to do this is the use of a practice of active listening. The next time when you have a chance to actually sit down and listen to someone, try this: say nothing. If you have to say anything, let it be to ask questions and make sure that they are questions that are focussed on what the other person has said and that help you to understanding their concerns.
      You can ask questions like, “It sounds to me like you are saying this event made you feel frightened or excited or whatever it sounded like they were feeling. Is that correct?” You can ask questions like, “What were you trying to do?” “Why are you interested in that topic?” and questions that focus on their personal background in whatever topic is being discussed. These kinds of questions will, more than anything else, convince someone that your really are focussed on what they have to say. And, what’s more, actually help you to be focussed on that very thing.
      One mistake that people often make, and in my experience it is often (but not always) men who do this, is to think that listening means that you are trying to fix whatever you perceive to be wrong about the other person. If someone is describing a situation that they are dealing with, for example, you may jump to the conclusion that they are telling you about a problem and you break in and tell them what they should do to solve it. “Well, you see, all you need to do is report your co-worker to management and let them deal with her.” Or, if you perceive that there is some kind of flaw in the person you are talking to, you break in with a prescription for how they ought to change. “You just need to be more assertive,” or something like that.
      But trying to fix people or their problems (unless that it what they are asking you to do) is not really listening to them because what you are actually doing is attending to your own agenda. You are trying to solve their problems and get them out of the way so that the focus can return to you and your needs. Most often what people need is for someone to listen to them, perhaps be sympathetic or understanding. Maybe then – maybe after they have been fully heard – you can work on solutions or changes together, but nothing important will ever happen until they have been heard.
      Listening is not easy. It doesn’t come naturally to most of us. But, precisely because it is so rare, it is an extraordinary and sometime life-changing thing. So I resolve to work on listening this year. I hope you might too because how much could the world change if people only really listened.
     
140CharacterSermon Resolution for 2017 #3: Jesus is frustrated with us because, though we have ears, we so rarely use them to really listen.

Sermon Video:

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What does the Clerk of Session do?

Posted by on Tuesday, January 10th, 2017 in Clerk of Session


 

What does the Clerk of Session do?


Over the years I have had occasion to notice that not everyone knows what the Clerk of Session does. Although you could glean some understanding that a clerk is an administrative job and Session is the governing body of St. Andrews. You might note I prefer to use COS – which is both friendlier and shorter when I’m writing. Well…it’s not always a book definition that applies because it is much more organic than that.  You may have some kind of intuitive sense of what is involved in being a COS, but for anyone who is invited to accept this appointment it is difficult to know exactly what to expect. While recognizing that there is much more to being a COS than simply carrying out the prescribed duties of the office, it is nonetheless important to know what these are and what is generally expected of a Session Clerk. So below you will find the main duties and responsibilities:

The main duties of a COS are:
(a) with the Moderator (Minister) or Interim Moderator to call and prepare for meetings of the Session.
(b) to keep Minutes of Session meetings.
(c) to attend to correspondence, including the issuing of summaries of meetings.
(d) to be responsible for all Records of the congregation.
(e) to submit the Records of the congregation annually to the Presbytery for attestation (a kind of test of completeness and form), based on hundreds of years of historical record keeping.
(f) almost any administrative job can be assigned to the COS as required.
(g) generally to see to the functioning of the Session, to be concerned for the welfare of the congregation, and to have a working knowledge of the Church’s practice and procedure which is called the Book of Forms.

It’s (g) where the unspecified responsibilities and tasks seem to go from textbook to less defined. It’s also the best part of the job and the most demanding. I won’t go much farther in how this works because tomorrow it will be different – just thought you might like to know that it is: rewarding, task heavy and exciting to be your COS. Sometimes I feel like somehow I was groomed for this role. Sometimes you end up exactly where you want to be. Funny eh?

2 Timothy 2:5 
similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. 

A part of the COS’s job is to prepare the Kirk Report for the Year End Annual Report of Saint Andrews Hespeler. Which you will find in the church mid to late February or at the Annual General Meeting on February 26, 2017


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Resolutions: 2) A Commitment to the truth

Posted by on Sunday, January 8th, 2017 in Minister

Hespeler, 8 January, 2017 © Scott McAndless
Ephesians 4:17-25, Psalm 43, John 8:31-38
A
s you may have heard, the Oxford English Dictionary chooses a word of the year for every year that goes by – one word to capture the spirit of the age and mark significant trends in society. You may have also heard that the word that they chose for 2016 was, “post-truth.” They did not choose this word lightly or subjectively. They noted that the use of this word had grown enormously over the last 12 months – appearing 2000 percent more often in articles published over the last year.
      The word, they say, is often used in the phrase “post-truth politics’’ and it has to do with the fact that we are living in a time in which truth has become largely irrelevant. The dictionary defines it as an adjective that relates to “circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”
      Of course, the reason why this idea of “post-truth” has become so important is because it has driven events in a powerful way. We saw it in the Brexit campaign in the United Kingdom where the side that was campaigning to see the UK exit the European Union kept going on and on about all of the money that Great Britain was sending away to the European government in Brussels and how that money would be used to improve health services when they won. After the vote was over, they admitted that it that simply a slogan with no actual reality behind it and amazingly it didn’t seem to matter – at least it certainly didn’t change anything.

      And then, as we in Canada looked on, the American election rolled out with a post-truth approach taking centre stage. Now, I am not naive. I realize that politicians have been lying and stretching the truth to win elections probably ever since the Greeks first invented democracy. But something unprecedented went on in that vote. As one news organization documented it exhaustively, one of the candidates was saying something that was either partially or completely untrue 70 percent of the time that he opened his mouth. But what was really unprecedented was not necessarily the number of lies but how little they mattered. In fact, you might even make the case that telling the truth was far more likely to get you defeated than telling lies.
      But the post-truth reality is not just found in politics. It was actually even more important to journalism. With traditional news media failing all over the place (especially, sadly, in Canada) we saw a powerful new kind of media come on strong as news stories that were blatantly false – that could easily be proved as false with a moment’s research – spread far and wide and were read and largely believed by more people than ever saw much more important legitimate news stories. For example, a story that reported that Pope Francis had endorsed Donald Trump as president was read by millions of people and widely believed even though all you had to do was google the Vatican website to know that it was fake.
      The people at Oxford were right, I think, to underline the importance of post-truth as a significant development in our day. Lies are nothing new; they have always existed and they have always been powerful. But we are dealing with something new here – something that will undoubtedly shape our society in significant ways. I am not concerned, at least for the moment, with what this means for the careers of particular politicians. I am more concerned with why it has become so powerful at this particular moment in time.
      It doesn’t seem to make sense. We live in an age when people have more information available at their fingertips (literally) than ever before in the history of the world. Never has it been easier for people to do the necessary research to discover the truth or lack of it behind any story, but people seem less inclined to do it than ever. What we have seen is that people are far more likely to connect to and share a story that just feels right to them or that confirms what they have already decided is true about the world. Even more important, a well-established fact or truth that is inconvenient to them or that means that they will have to change their mind or something about their life, they will be very likely to dismiss out of hand.
      Truth, it turns out, is simply a lot harder than we all thought that it was. We thought that all you had to do was expose the truth, make it accessible to people and the truth would just prevail from there. Apparently it doesn’t just work like that, at least not anymore.
      I decided that I would start out this New Year of 2017 by preaching about the kind of resolutions that we could make that would actually matter. I realize, of course, that New Year’s resolutions have a bad track record. For years millions of people have been making vows on the first of January with the best of intentions that just don’t seem to carry until the end of the month. The impulse is good, but the follow-through just seems to be lacking. But, I thought, what if we worked on changing the underlying attitude rather than just focussing on the outward actions. Maybe that would lead to real and lasting change.
      And, given some of the events that have unravelled in politics and media in the past year, it would seem that a dedication to truth is one attitude that we definitely need to be working on. In particular, it would seem that Christians need to be working on it. I would like to be able to say that Christians should be immune to the lures of the post-truth era, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. In fact, it would seem that Christians (in general – I’m sure present company is excepted) have fallen victim to this more often than the general population.
      I did my undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto and, over the years, had a number of courses at Victoria College. Every time I would enter into that beautiful old building, I would look up and see the words that were inscribed over the entrance: “The truth shall make you free,” it said. It is, I assumed, at least the unofficial motto of Victoria College. I wonder how many students who have looked at those words over the decades and were inspired by them know where those words come from. It might surprise many of them to know that that inscription is actually quoting Jesus of Nazareth as reported in the Gospel of John. I’ll bet that, if you went to that University campus today and asked the students, many of them would tell you that the last place they would look to find the “truth” would be in religion or the Bible or Christianity. That is, to a certain extent, a result of the general cynicism of our age but part of that is also on us as Christians. Christians have had a certain history (maybe especially in recent years, of being more interested in being right or in getting their way than that are in being committed to the truth no matter what.
      But what Jesus says in that passage in John is something that goes to the heart of our faith. Jesus really believed that anything that he came to reveal and represent was not at odds with the fundamental truths of the universe. To embrace the truth was to embrace him, of course, but truth was not exclusive to the revelation in Christ. All truth that might be discovered in this world (even truth that would be discovered in future centuries by the scientific method) was part of that larger idea of truth.
      Even more important, Jesus declared that there was a connection between truth and freedom – that those who remained dedicated to truth would remain free while those who didn’t care about it would become slaves. This is a very clear warning and one that we need to take very seriously.
      I think that this is something that we see very clearly in what is apparently our modern post-truth reality. Because we are now in an era where people don’t seem to care about the facts behind a report so long as it feels right and reaffirms their previously conceived notions, the population is just that much easier to manipulate so that they act and vote in the ways that the people who are publishing the fake news want. I don’t think that there is any doubt that this kind of manipulation with falsehood did play a role (though it would be hard to quantify how much) in some of the surprising political outcomes in the past year including the Brexit vote, the American election, Italy, Greece, Turkey and a number of other places.
      If people were willing to look further than their Facebook feed to figure out whether a story was true or not, the populations would not be so easily manipulated. I wouldn’t say that any of this has yet led us to a place where we are literally enslaved to the whims of powerful masters or that that will necessarily happen, but I will say that I am more concerned that that could happen than I would have been a year ago.
      In such a world, I would suggest that one of the resolutions that we as Christian people – as people of faith – should make at the beginning of this New Year is to be committed to what is true. We, the followers of Jesus really ought to be the first to make such a commitment. But what would such a resolution really look like. How would we work it out in practical terms?
      Well, first of all, being committed to truth means valuing what is true more than our own comfort. We have all experienced, I am sure, that discomfort and resistance that often comes with being confronted with a truth that we have not heard before or that contradicts what we had previously believed. It is irritating and annoying and it is often just so much easier to simply reject the new information out of hand. I am sure that I have often been guilty of that as have many of you. It is a human reaction, but it is not the reaction of someone who is truly dedicated to the truth. Being such a people means being willing to consider new truths, especially those that come in a convincing way, even if they are uncomfortable or inconvenient and maybe especially when they mean you have to rethink everything that you had always taken for granted. Jesus never promised that the truth would be easy, only that it would set you free.
      Being committed to the truth means being willing to use the critical mind that God has given you. I know that sometimes people think that having faith means that you should never have to deal with any doubts or questions. But that is not faith. That is simply certitude – often a foolish certitude because the truth is rarely that simple. In many ways, not having any doubts or questions is the opposite of having faith. Faith is actually about a relationship of trust between you and God and no truly healthy relationship can ever come when you are afraid to entertain questions or doubts. So use that brain that God gave you to ask questions and to seek answers that make sense to you. We ought not to be afraid to engage in such quests for true understanding because God can never be at odds with truth. Questing earnestly for truth can always be a part of your journey towards God.
      Being committed to truth also means, Jesus tells us, being committed to freedom. If ever you find yourself being drawn to a story because it just feels right to you, a good question to ask is if this story is leading you closer to freedom or to slavery. Is someone manipulating me with this story? That is always a question worth examining. If they are, chances are that they are not dealing in an entirely truthful way.
      It would seem that our world is in desperate need of someone to lead us into a dedication to what is true. My dream is that the Christian church could be a key leader in this journey towards a commitment to truth whatever the cost. To do so would be faithful to the calling and example of Jesus. To do so might just help to change the world in a way that truly matters.
     
140CharacterSermon Resolution for 2017 #2: God’s looking for people who are committed to truth (even if uncomfortable) in a post-truth age.
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10 Predictions about the Future Church And Shifting Attendance Patterns

Posted by on Wednesday, January 4th, 2017 in Clerk of Session


This isn’t about why people have left the church (that’s a different subject.) This is about church attenders who love God, appreciate the local church and are even involved in the local church, but who simply attend less often. This trend isn’t going away…in fact it’s accelerating; it impacts almost every church regardless of size, denomination or even location. It probably marks a seismic shift in how the church will do ministry in the future.
So…why are even committed attenders attending less often? There are at least 10 reasons.

1. Greater Affluence                                       

Money gives people options.


2. Higher Focus on Kids’ Activities                    

A growing number of kids are playing sports. And a growing number of kids are playing on teams that require travel. Many of those sports happen on weekends. And affluent parents are choosing sports over church.


3. More Travel                                                        

Despite a wobbly economy, travel is on the rise, both for business and pleasure. And when people are out of town, they tend to not be in church.


4. Blended andSingle Parent Families

Church leaders need to remember that when custody is shared in a family situation, ‘perfect’ attendance for a kid or teen might be 26 Sundays a year.

5. Online Options                                             

Many churches have created a social media presence. There are pros and cons to online church and there’s no doubt that churches with a strong online presence have seen it impact physical attendance.

6. The Cultural Disappearance of Guilt         

Back in the day people felt guilty about not being in church on a Sunday. The number of people who feel guilty about not being in church on Sunday shrinks daily.

7. Self-Directed Spirituality                           

People are looking less to churches and leaders to help them grow spiritually, and more to other options. The church in many people’s minds is seen as an institution.

8. Failure to See a Direct Benefit                     

People always make time for the things they value most.  If they’re not making time for church, that tells you something.

9. Valuing Attendance over Engagement           

The  most engaged people—people who serve, give, invite and who are in a community group—are our most frequent attenders. The church in many people’s minds is seen as an institution.

10. A Massive Culture Shift                               

All of these trends witness to something deeper. Our culture is shifting Seismically.

10 Predictions about the Future Church And Shifting Attendance Patterns

http://careynieuwhof.com/10-predictions-about-the-future-church-and-shifting-attendance-patterns/

by Carey Nieuwhof.  February 23, 2015 
My name is Carey Nieuwhof. I'm a husband, a dad to two sons and a daughter-in-law, and the founding and teaching pastor of Connexus Church north of Toronto Canada. I'm also incredibly passionate about helping leaders lead like never before. That's why I write this blog, write books, host a leadership podcast and produce courses like the The High Impact Leader Course.
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Surprise! Oh no

Posted by on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2017 in Clerk of Session

Recently I realized that change was harder than it used to be. In my formative years change was always exciting, new and neat. Now-a-days change strikes me as not so exciting and sometimes a little threatening. Sometimes the sheer pace of change seems troubling. Technology seems to demand attention unlike the passive TV or radio we grew up with. The world is changing from what I am comfortable with. I'm sure many of us have read the headlines and have seen the dramatic things happening that clearly are not how society used to be. Sadly churches seems to have the similar challenges with change. The article below helped me in some ways to understand and I hope you might find a little to encourage you to be a change master too. 


Churches Can Handle Change, But They Don't Like Surprise

Introducing big changes is much easier if we give church leaders and members the time to process them.

by Karl Vaters
Churches can handle change.
If you’ve tried and failed to change things at your church, that may not feel true, but it is.

The problem in many churches isn't that they can't handle change. It's that they don't like being surprised by changes. And they shouldn't have to.
Wise leaders work very hard to reduce surprises as much as possible.
The more changes are needed, the more critical it is that church leaders and members know what’s happening and why.

A Promise Made and Kept
When I first arrived at my current church, a lot of changes were needed. The church was discouraged, unhealthy and broken. But they had a long, bad history of changes being attempted before the church was ready to receive or implement them. So, in my first church leadership meeting, I established this principle.
Never ask for a decision on a big issue in the same meeting in which the issue is introduced.

On small issues, it's not a problem. But big issues need time to simmer.
After all, most big issues have been simmering in our hearts and minds for weeks, months or years before we're ready to present them to the leadership team. We need to give those leaders some time, just like we needed time.

A Matter of Respect
We’ve made a lot of changes in our church in the last two-plus decades. Some good. Some not. But no one was ever surprised by them. Using that principle has been a credibility builder like no other. Even when people disagreed with the changes, they understood the process. They knew what was happening and why, and they had the opportunity to give input and state disagreements without fear of reprisal. In short, the lack of surprise gave the congregation one essential ingredient. Respect.  Everyone deserves it. Leaders require it. Churches will turn inward upon each other in dangerous ways without it. But when people have it, it’s amazing how much change they’re willing to take a chance on.

If pastors respect the church's need to process the issue, church members are more likely to respect the pastor's leadership through the change. Then we can discover the joyful truth that most churches are far better with change than we give them credit for

Give People Time to Ponder
Here's an example.
Over a decade ago, I was considering changing the name of the church. So I brought up the possibility to the deacon board. I told them I didn’t want any feedback right then. I asked them to pray and ponder it until the next meeting.
At the next meeting, the longest-serving, most respected deacon spoke up.
“When you brought up a possible name change, I was opposed to it,” he said. (Uh-oh) "But when my wife and I were on vacation, she found a pamphlet with the names of some local churches. When she read the name of one church, I told her 'I don’t want to go there. It sounds dull and boring.'” "My wife looked up from the pamphlet and said 'that’s the same name as our church.' “It hit me like a ton of bricks,” he admitted. “That’s how people see us. We need to change our name.” 

If I’d asked for comments on the possible name change when I brought it up, his negative response would have been the first seed planted. And, like a weed, it would have grown and choked out any chance for change. Instead, I gave him a month. And in that month, everything changed. Within a year we had a new name for our church. And we’ve made a lot more changes with the same process.

Take Your Time – And Give Some to Others
People need time to process big changes. After all, I’d had months to ponder it before I’d brought it up to them, and I still wasn’t sure. How do we, as pastors, expect people to make the right choice in 20 minutes, when we’ve had weeks, months, sometimes years to consider the question ourselves?

Most churches are far better with change than we give them credit for. As long as the church is relatively healthy, that is. If the environment is not just broken, but toxic and dysfunctional, different rules apply. But the leaders and members of a relatively healthy church want what every pastor wants. Necessary changes, properly understood, with enough time to think, pray, learn, discuss and implement them. Yes, this process takes a little longer. But doing something slowly and right is always better than doing it fast and wrong.

Copyright © 2015 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.
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