What's going on at Parish Council?
In January you elect fellow parishioners to represent your interests at Parish Council.  So what do they do at Parish Council?

Parish Council has always handled the overseeing of the health and wellness of parish life, mission, and ministry, supporting the Rector and many teams and committees that exercise a ministry and outreach at St. Anne’s.  The administrative side of the church, includes monitoring our budget spending, the healthy stewardship of our givings, paying our  apportionment, bills, filing diocesan reports, looking after property matters, coordinating parish activities (with help from everyone), etc.. Over the last few years in particular, there has been an increase in diocesan expectations and directives around safe church criteria.  Our responsibilities include verifying to the diocese and to you that St. Anne's is a safe place to come.  We not only have to ensure the property is in good shape, but also that vulnerable people are not put in uncomfortable situations in which they may be taken advantage.

Keeping track of all these details, from job descriptions to police checks to first aid kits to property safety, takes lots of volunteer time.  It also means we must be able to show these records to others in case an incident occurs.  Council is working on a solution to ensure it is organized to meet these demands.  In our efforts to strengthen communication, be supportive and ensure our activities are transparent to all, we have introduced a template for church committees, teams and groups to submit monthly to council.  Council sponsored groups are asked to provide their list of activities, responsibilities, membership, etc.  If you are a leader/member of a Council sponsored group and not yet involved in setting out these details, please contact the Rector, Keith or David for details.  Our goal in asking you to take the time to fill out this report is to better know and support all our work for God at St. Anne’s.  We will also be using our last May open house mission passport day to celebrate, thank and invite your help in filling these various tasks, ministries and job positions.  Please pray about the possibility of God calling you to new ministries.

Together, step by step, we will discover (and record) all the wonderful work being done here at St. Anne's to ensure we have a lively, faith-filled and safe community.
Canon Janet Lynall and Keith