"PERCEPTIONS AND REALITY"

Members of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faith communities are invited to participate in an interfaith event entitled "Perceptions and Reality" being held Sunday, October 17, 2010 from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm at the Islamic Society of North America, 2200 South Sheridan Way in Mississauga.

The purpose of the event is to deal with misunderstandings both internal and external to the three religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and to enable our faith communities to provide suggestions on how interfaith dialogue can continue to progress.

Attendees will have the opportunity to listen to three significant speakers: Rabbi Dow Marmur, Rt. Reverend Dr. Lois Wilson and Sheikh Alaa Elsayed.

Following the morning presentations, a Kosher lunch and refreshments will be served. The afternoon will involve small group discussions, networking and reporting back on insights and opportunities to continue an interfaith dialogue amongst and between each of the faith communities.

There is a $20.00 registration fee for the event. Registration forms can be obtained from St. Jude's Anglican Church or the Islamic Society of North America or can be downloaded from their website www.isnacanada.com.

For more information please contact the Islamic Society of North America (905-403-8406) or Mervyn Russell (H) 905-845-3250 or (W) 905-844-3972.

What is it?

S3 is a major initiative undertaken by the parish - a call to build further on the excellent foundations entrusted to us by our ancestors in this place.

That call has three dimensions - Song, Space, and Serving:

1. A call to support the song of the church with an excellent instrument. The current organ, a 1969 Allen Electronic Organ, has significant flaws and limitations. Taking up the work begun under the previous rector during the latter part of his tenure, S3 has considered the musical needs and capacity of the congregation, gathered insight from parishioners and experts alike, to help the Vestry to come to the best possible response to our call - to support the song of the church with an excellent instrument.

2. A call to support the worship of the church in an excellent space. Since 1883, the space in which we worship has changed significantly and on several occasions. The additional space (from the tower doors to the back of the church) provided by the 1956 renovations is the only one that changed the exterior dimensions of the church. Through a process of education and reflection such as "Come to the Feast" in the past two years parishioners have had various opportunities to learn about worship practices and the spaces that shelter our worship. S3 has considered the space in which we worship, how it functions, and how it might be enhanced, gathering insight from parishioners and experts alike, to help the Vestry come to the best possible response to our call - to support the worship of the church in an excellent space.

3. A call to support the mission of God to the world with a strong and growing serving endowment. The ability to support initiatives that serve human need with effective and strategic sharing of the income from a significant endowment would strengthen our witness to the servant ministry of Jesus. St. Jude's has a long habit of serving, and we need now to consolidate and align the resources to do so in a continuing and effective way. With such resources, the Vestry will be able to respond to our call to support the mission of God to the world with a strong and growing outreach endowment.

When did this get started?

It really got started in 2004 when a working group was convened to address the failing state of the organ. Competing visions, apparent space constraints and the departure of the Rector, Alex Hewitt, put this initial project on the shelf. In 2007 the Corporation mandated a new committee "to identify a replacement for our dying organ (Song), to creatively re-examine our worship space (Space) and to define a soaring mission (Service)." This became known as the S3 committee, whose original members were: Don Pangman, Allan Smith, Dan Tregunno, Doug Field, Judy McCracken, and Michael Thompson.

What has been achieved so far?

• Song - The Committee has recommended that the church buy a new Organ - A ‘made for' St. Jude's Casavant Frères Pipe Organ

• Space - It is difficult to consider changes to our worship space without a thorough knowledge of its current condition, so the Committee recommended that a Building Audit be conducted. This was completed by Alan Avis Architects and the final report received in November, 2009. The report indicated that significant work will be required over the next 5 - 10 years. In addition to the necessary work required to preserve the building, and taking its current condition into account, Vestry has approved, and the Corporation has engaged Tom Payne of the firm Kuwarbara Payne McKenna Blumbertan to provide some vision about how we can improve the worship space and the parish hall building for the current needs of the congregation.
  

• Serving - The Foundation For Hope has been established with a founding gift of $85,000, and the parish has agreed that its prime focus for community outreach will be food. Space

What Happens Next?

The Corporation recognizes the very hard work of the S3 committee and in bringing its work to a most satisfactory conclusion and is now managing the process of moving forward.

• To completely fund all three elements of S3, including the work recommended by the building audit, could require several million dollars. The 2010 Vestry approved, and the corporation has engaged the firm of M&M International Consulting Services to assess the capacity of the parish to raise the necessary capital.

• Before that assessment can begin, we need a clear picture of what changes we want or need to make to the church envelope. Vestry approved and the Corporation will shortly engage an architect to provide us with ideas and drawings.

• The timetable now looks like this:

• Summer 2010 - architectural visioning

• September/October - M&M assists us in clearly articulating the purpose and importance of Song Space and Serving and, by means of interviews with parishioners, determining our capacity for a capital fund-raising campaign

• With that information we would convene a special vestry meeting at the end of 2010 or early in 2011 to approve a plan for a capital campaign in the spring of 2011

• If the campaign is successful, we should be in a position to move forward with the vision in the summer of 2011

How Can I Get involved?

The best thing to do at this stage is to be as well-informed as possible by reading whatever updates appear in the Newsletter and Weekly Bulletin. When we have some drawings from the architects, there will be opportunities to weigh in on the space possibilities. In the meantime, the Rector and Wardens are happy to answer any questions.

More Information?
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At February's meeting, members of Vestry approved funding for a new pastoral ministry position to begin in the fall of 2010. In the intervening months, the position description was refined and the position was advertised. There were many applications, and from among the applicants, four were invited to a first round of interviews, and two to a second round.

The first interview team included Margaret Brockett, George Southey, Kim Ball and Frank Morewood. The two candidates they recommended were interviewed by a second team - Kim Ball, Colleen Murray and Michael Thompson.

As a result of that second interview, Corporation received a recommendation that Michelle Stanford be engaged in the new position of Coordinator of Pastoral Vitality. The focus of this position is to ensure that all of the pastoral realities among us are part of how we shape our common life. For example, the existing focus on ensuring pastoral care for seniors, and for those in hospital, now becomes part of the focus for our new Pastoral Vitality Coordinator. Job one is to ensure that we continue to do the important things we already do.

Pastoral realities include ages and stages of life, circumstances and particular challenges of health, livelihood and relationships, and the gifts of caring that are so abundant in our midst. Over time, Michelle's role will be to encourage and support initiatives that address the full range of pastoral vitality in our life together and as we reach out with care into the world around us.

Michelle is also a candidate for ordination in the Diocese of Niagara, and we look forward to her ordination as deacon in the fall of 2010, and, God willing, to her subsequent ordination as a priest. These ordinations will allow her to participate in the range of liturgical ministries of our parish, including the vital outreach through Communion services in four Seniors' residences in Oakville.

Many of us had an opportunity to connect with Michelle during her recent internship. We now look forward to her work in supporting and encouraging the pastoral vitality of our parish. Michelle will begin her work in mid-September.

Call NOW to reserve a place for
August 23rd - 27th
9 - 11.30am
5 yrs to 13 yrs
$40.00/child (family rates available)

Continued Day Care Arrangements available upon request.
Registration is limited to 40 children for this program.
Check your calendars, plan your holiday so that your child
can take part in St. Jude's VBS

with....
the wonderful and experienced St. Jude's Staff and VOLUNTEERS!
Contact Wendy Hart by e-mail ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Or call the church to register your child(ren)
905-844-3972

or click here for the registration form

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