Trinity - Unified Board Meeting notes

An update on the manse was given: a buyer has been found with the deal closing in the new year. The Trustees accepted a cash offer that had fewer conditions of sale than other offers and the manse has been rezoned from "Institutional" to "Commercial/Residential Non-Conforming".

During the Stewards report, we wondered how we might meet the projected increase in monthly expenses next year (approximately an $1000 per month). While interest from investment arising from the manse sale funds will offset some of this, more needs to be done.

This naturally led to the question of how to attract more people to church. The metaphor of a marketing campaign, of energetically promoting a quality product, was mentioned. (Might we even call such a venture "evangelism"?)

What if everyone connected to the church showed up one Sunday? It would be energizing for people to see how valued and important the church is in the community. How could we make this happen?

As an aside, I commented that the church needs to let go of trying to do everything for everyone, which is a discouraging exercise of trying to reclaim the glory years of the church, and focus its ministry – find its niche. It would be more fruitful to identify what is it that we do well, and concentrate on really developing that aspect of our being.

I encouraged people to consider attending The Swell, an "alternative" youth-oriented worship service, to see what attracts young people from all over southwestern Ontario to spend a Friday night in church, seeking the front and centre pews for a 90-minute to praise God.

Initial planning and consultation about Confirmation Class will begin in the new year. I'd like to use mentors in the congregation to match up with confirmation candidates to provide a further degree of connectedness and support.

I'll post an update about hosting a mission trip from South Korea later.