Everyone is most welcome to attend the Fellowship, Food, Finances and Fun event on May 29 in person, so that you can participate in the small group sharing that will be held in the parish hall following a presentation (details below).
If you are unable to attend in person, by joining the Zoom meeting at 11:00 using the link provided when you RSVP, you may view the presentation regarding the parish finances and share your questions via the Zoom chat. We'd love to see you!
Please RSVP to stpaulfortgarry@gmail.com by May 20th indicating if you can attend in person, or will join by Zoom.
In-person event details:
At this year’s Annual General Meeting, as a part of the motion that was passed which approved the budget, we agreed as a parish to hold two extraordinary meetings during the year. The purpose of these meetings is to focus on our finances and the first of the two, now to be known under the title ‘Fellowship, Food, Finances, and Fun’, will take place after our service on May 29th.
In addition to reviewing our January through April finances, we intend to use this gathering to serve multiple ends. First, it is an opportunity for community and fellowship. With scarce ability to be together over the past two years, this will be the first real opportunity to gather in a social setting as a parish. Despite the financial concerns that are the catalyst for the meeting, we plan to use this as an opportunity to reconnect. While the details are still being finalized, we do plan to serve some form of food and refreshment, likely coffee, tea, juice and maybe even some baked goods.
It won’t all be coffee and cookies, however, there is hard work to be done. In their current form our finances are unsustainable; we need to make some real changes to realize the long term viability of St. Paul’s. To help us prepare to begin this journey together, each one of us has homework to complete in anticipation of the May 29th meeting.
First, please take twenty minutes and listen to the discussion at the following link where you’ll hear some interesting ideas about what makes a church thrive: Connections with Colleen Houde and Mike Thom
At the meeting itself, we’ll likely inject a few prompt questions. Maybe something like: “what’s the most interesting take-away for you from the Mike Thom and Colleen Houde conversation”? or; “what aspects of the conversation seem to you to apply most to St. Paul’s?”
Next, you’ll each be asked to come to the meeting with one single novel idea about how St. Paul’s could improve its finances. Maybe you have a thought about how we could grow our community, maybe you would like to organize a new fundraiser, maybe you think we can decrease expenses, maybe you know how we can increase rental revenues. Any and all ideas are welcomed - remember, we need to adapt to continue to survive.
Looking forward to engaging in spirited fellowship, delicious food, discussion of our finances, and above all…some fun.