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Welcome to St. Catherine's!Friends,
On this day of love, may we look beyond romantic love, to the place where every creature on Earth begins and ends, in the embrace of Love.
Know that you are loved.
It has been a week of adjustment for the St. Catherine's community, as the news of my role change settles in. For those of you who have not heard or read my message, I have included it below. I am stepping down from the Priest in Charge position at St. Catherine's and moving into a part-time role to support the property development. This will take effect on March 15th, 2025. The good news is that Archbishop John is in conversation with a possible interim Priest. St. Catherine's Wardens, Vivian and Rhonda, will have more information for you in their report on Vestry Sunday (February 23rd, 2025).
We are preparing for our meeting of St. Catherine's Members. See post below with more information.
May each of you this week know the love and grace of God in all the ways that you need at this time.
My prayers are with you,
Rev. Sharon
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Presider and Preacher: Rev. Sharon Smith
Our Musician is Ruth Enns The service will also be livestreamed. A copy of the bulletin is here: Sunday February 16, 2025 The Service livestream can be found here: St. Catherine's Website Services Page Previous livestreamed services, and sermon notes can be found here: |
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Rev. Sharon's Announcement - Stepping down from Priest-in-ChargeOver the past months as we evaluated the ministry of St. Catherine’s, specifically the plan we set in place in 2021, my heart swelled with gratification and joy at the work we have done together. It is a leadership practice of mine, to periodically imagine in my mind a balcony view of the community. And as I look at the scene, I see the amazing strides this community has taken.
I have some hard news to communicate. So, take a breath. Friends, I have led you as far as I can take you. I am stepping down from Priest in Charge on March 15th, 2025. I am not leaving but rather moving into a smaller position one day a week position - to specifically support the property development. I realize that this may come as a shock and disappointment. If you think of the shelf life of a Priest - I am now at my ‘best before date’. I am not the Priest to walk you forward into your future. As a Priest, my unique gifting, is being an agent of change, I am wired to lead by giving an injection of energy to unblock obstacles in order to move people forward. This takes intense energy and I have given all I have to give to you as a Priest in Charge. Over these 7 years, I have watched the St. Catherine’s community imagine change, make change, adapt to the change, and open wide to the future. And I have delighted in our work together. It is thrilling and exhausting. And for me as a person, with my Dad’s situation, more recently the passing of my Mom, and my engagement to be married, I need to step into my next chapter. Read more on the website... _________________ A message from Rhonda Garton - People's Warden Sharon has given us so much over the course of these past seven years. She has generously poured her heart, her talents and her energy into our parish, leading us to accomplish SO many things. Sharon has also given us the tools and the confidence to move forward without her. She’s taught us to think outside the box, to believe in possibility and to take on big challenges. Her 4 month sabbatical last year taught us that we CAN indeed survive and thrive with a different leader - our experience with Rev. Laurel was excellent. Read more on the website... ___________________ A message from Vivian McGie (Vicar's Warden) As Vicar's and People's Wardens, we have been holding this transition of Rev. Sharon close to our hearts. We have had time to process what this will mean to our parish and our community. Each of you will need time to let this news sink in and inwardely digest the change. This is not easy, but we are a strong faith community and Sharon has given us the energy and encouragement to move forward. Read more on the website... |
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Meeting of Members of the Parish (VESTRY 2025)Greetings community of Saint Catherine's, We are gathering on February 23rd, 2025 at 10 am for a short Morning Prayer Service, followed by our Annual Vestry Meeting. If you have been part of the community for 3 months or more, then you are invited to give your opinion and share your ideas at this meeting of members. The Vestry will be Livestreamed and will be at the same link as the Sunday service for February 23rd, 2025. If you would like to vote from home, please register with the office (scadmin@shaw.ca) and Natasha will send you a number to text or an email to message. You can find that link below or here: LIVESTREAM LINK FEBRUARY 23RD SERVICE AND VESTRY In preparation, you might like to: (1) familiarize yourself with the reports of the ministries of the parish: You can find these here: LINK TO 2024 YEARBOOK (2) read the vestry material - agenda, minutes, financials, and budgets. You can find these here: LINK TO VESTRY PACKAGE (coming by Wednesday February 19th) On Sunday February 16th, 2025, following the 10 am service at 11:30 am - 12:30 pm, we will be reviewing the operating budget and property development budget for 2025, so that you have time to think these through before the Vestry meeting on February 23rd, 2025. Thank you for being part of such a vibrant community! Rev. Sharon |
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Property Development UpdateProperty Development Committee Update February 2025 The Property Development Committee (PDC) has been working throughout January on the ongoing plans for the restoration of the Church. We have also been working to propose a budget for presentation to Parish Council and Vestry for 2025 activities under this project. That draft 2025 budget was approved by Parish Council on February 12 and will be presented to Vestry for its approval on Sunday February 23. PDC is seeking a budget to spend up to $399,500 on further pre-construction activities in 2025, subject to availability of funds to perform this work. Details of the make-up of this budget will be presented to the congregation at an information session following the Sunday service on February 16.
The PDC including Paul Reynolds and our architect Erica Wolowydnyk met on Tuesday January 28 with a representative of the District of North Vancouver planning department to outline our current position with respect to the Project and get an update on the District’s deliberations. We felt there was some good news that the DNV gave an indication that they want to work with us in what we want to do with our surplus land, but staffing shortages and workload at DNV are making their response times much slower than usual. The general feeling was that the meeting with the DNV was positive, but more work is required to ensure the file gets the attention it needs.
PDC also met in January with two potential construction managers to discuss their recently received cost estimates to construct the current “Plan C” design and to begin the process to identify cost saving measures to bring the project within the available budget.
Two PDC representatives were invited to attend a Finance and Property Committee meeting of the Diocese to explain and answer questions about the Parish’s request for further available funding of up to $300,000 to pay on-going expenses of the project to maintain momentum in 2025 until the receipt of land sale monies (this is the second half of the $600,000 requested last year). The reception by this Diocesan committee was supportive and complimentary on how the project was being managed, but their appreciation of the potential for difficulty in obtaining land re-zoning from the District was also noted in their questions. A decision by the Diocese on this further bridge loan request remains pending.
There will be an information session on the progress of the Committee and proposed 2025 budget after the service on February 16 in preparation for Vestry.
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Look who is turning 88 !Let's all wish Tony Dodd our heartfelt birthday greetings. He would love a phone call or visit. Contact the office for details: 604 985 0666 |
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Highlands United ProductionsSt. Catherine's Sunday School Teacher, Shaunti Bains, will be in the Highlands Productions of 10 Millions stars on March 5 -8, 2025. Tickets are on sale now! Get your tickets: Brown Paper Tickets or for those who need assistance with ticket purchases. Tickets can also be purchased at Highlands after their church service in the office area Feb 9, 16 and 23. |
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Save the DateRev. Sharon and John are getting married at St. Catherine's on September 27th, in the afternoon. Everyone is invited to the ceremony. Following the ceremony, food will be available for purchase from a variety of food trucks. Details to come in the coming months. Put the date on your calendar. She would love you to be there. |
