Greetings St. George’s families,

Happy New Year and I wish you God’s blessings in 2015. I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and that a good time was had by all. As the decorations come down and the bright lights disappear, January seems so dark and bleak.

Take heart, the days are getting longer.

Messy Church this month is January 14 and we have returned to our original start time of 5:00. We will be having a turkey potpie for supper. Over the next three months at Messy Church we will be exploring the story of Moses. This month we will be looking at baby Moses and his miraculous rescue.

Also at this Messy Church, the families who participated in the December Nativity Pageant can pick up their DVD. I think it was our best Nativity Pageant yet! The turkey dinner we shared after was really tasty.

In all of the countries where Messy Church is a presence, it has been shown over and over again, that the best way to grow Messy Church is word of mouth. A family invites friends or neighbours to come and experience Messy Church. If you know a family who you think would find Messy Church to be a fit for their busy life, please invite them to join your family on January 14.

Church School happens at our 11:15 service. The children gather at the back during the service and leave with the volunteer leader during the sermon for a game and some time to reflect on the reading for the day. They return to share communion with their family. The children are also invited forward at the end of the service to join the Praise Team with their own set of musical instruments. If you think you would like to be part of the volunteer Church School leader team, let me know. The craft is prepared for you, as well as activity sheets and a lesson outline. You are welcome to use what has been prepared, or if you want to do something you have prepared, that is great.

Vestry will be March 1 at 11:00 this year. Vestry is our ‘annual general meeting’ where the members of St. George’s make decisions for the coming year. It is important that people attend to provide input and bring ideas.

Finances are always a challenge and this year the Wardens have asked for people to make suggestions to increase our revenue over the coming year so that we do not end up in a deficit position again. Please mark this date on your calendar.

Again, I wish you all the best in 2015 and I look forward to seeing you at St. George’s.

Blessings,

The Rev’d Nancy Rowe