I’m pleased to report that last piece of business related to the balcony and narthex project is new doors for the main, East, and West entrances to the narthex. As luck would have it, each of those doors is a different size so it’s not like we can order them “off the shelf” so to speak. They should be here by the beginning of October. The doors for the main entrance with be clear to let in more light and made of shatter resistant material to avoid any vandalism.
The EV charger is now good to go having passed City inspection and is in use. We are hoping uptake will gradually increase as our location appears on EV charging apps.
Archbishop John Stephens will be coming to St. Hildegard’s on September 14 to celebrate the Feast of St. Hildegard. St. Hildegard’s is also pleased to welcome Ben Dobyns as their new community musician.
The Stewardship Committee will be launching their new campaign throughout October and it promises to be another thoughtful series. This fall the campaign is entitled A Chorus of Generosity.
As many of you are aware we had an unfortunate water leak behind the drywall next to the elevator which necessitated tearing out the drywall, locating and repairing the leak, and then installing new drywall and painting. While not inexpensive (church repairs never are it seems) the repair work was brilliantly done. Not only did they have the same paint colour we used to paint the wall originally, but they also considered how the colour had faded over the years since it was first applied and made the necessary adjustments.
We are pleased to welcome a Seminarian Intern, Chris Clark, who will begin his placement with us in September. He will be assisting Adam and Melanie in all aspects of church life. In other church news, we will be starting up a bilingual (English & Mandarin) Faith & Fellowship Sharing Gathering hosted by Sunny and Rey commencing September 11th from 7:30 – 8:30pm in the church hall.
Our new Laundry Ministry continues to be a work in progress; however, we are thankful for the volunteers who have made themselves available in this new and growing outreach to our neighbour in Marpole.
As part of our commitment to the Diocese, volunteers assigned to responsibilities in the Church must undergo Screening in Faith Compliance. This includes undergoing a Criminal Record Check as well has Safe Church Training and Anti-Racism Training. All 3 of these requirements are good for 5 years and then must be re-done. Safe Church and Anti-racism training are done on-line and at your own pace. Shortly, those affected will be notified if they are overdue in any areas and need to refresh their training.
On a final note, the funeral for our dear friend Peter Cole will be held on Saturday, September 13th. The service will commence at 4:30pm and all are welcome to attend.
Yours in faith,
Theo Madeley