Minister's Report 2010
Diamond Jubilee is the moniker that captures the year 2010 for Northlea. It was a year of celebration and memory and thanks. It was a year of events and occasions, kicked off by a family Bowling Party, then running the gamut of a brand new Photo Directory, a grand Gala and (almost-)all-ages Curling. There were fun- and fund-raisers - from Euchre to a Vocal Recital and Alistair Ant - which brought us support, and together, and gilded the schedule of occasions and worship we have come to embrace and depend on. It was a year of celebration, of events and occasions. Rightly so!
And it was a year of reflection, and thanks. We honoured the vision and deep dedication of Charter Members and founders. We recalled an inaugural service, and the passion and planning for a church in North Leaside – a United Church. We most certainly are not here by default, or by chance. Our founders were founders in faith, who saw hope and a future in the ways of the One we call Christ; who came to know God through the strong and compassionate living and teaching of a young man named Jesus of Nazareth. They bequeathed us not only a building we honour and care for and keep up-to-date, but a vision, to care for and honour and keep. It is a torch and a trust that they pass us; a promise, Good News to the world. It’s the trust that is ours to take with us. It’s the voice and the heartbeat of hope, the heartbeat the world needs so dearly. It is the finest keepsake of the forbearers on whose shoulders we stand. It is the legacy of a Jubilee Year.
And so it is that the pages of this Annual Report tell of the year’s events and occasions - celebrations founded on the years gone before, and bringing foundation to the hopes and the plans for the years still ahead. Let our prayer be of thanks for our Jubilee Year, and the life-giving gift we pass on.
Sincerely,
Rev. Jim