Mission and Ministry Narrative
September 2009
8 Withrow Avenue, Nepean, ON K2G 2H6
Phone: 613-224-7178 Fax: 613-224-9710
http://www.saintrichards.ca/
Email: strichs@magma.ca
Introduction
You have in your hands right now a description of our life at St. Richard’s. This is one description –
there are a number of others, including that provided in the Boken Report1, and a small pamphlet
describing ministries and activities2. These help tell the story of St. Richard’s.
This Mission and Ministry Narrative for 2009 describes where St. Richard’s focuses its resources of
time, talent and treasure. We hope this narrative about our parish will tell you in an interesting way
what the plans are for 2009-10… what will Outreach and Pastoral Care, for example, look like.
This narrative tells the story of our missions and ministries and why we exist as part of a
community – in Ottawa West-Nepean, within the Diocese of Ottawa, and around the world as part
of the World Wide Anglican Communion.
In fact, the Mission and Ministry Narrative is organized around our five major missions or ministries:
Worship, Education, Fellowship, Outreach, and Pastoral Care. The line items you are accustomed
to seeing in an annual financial budget have been allocated to the missions and ministries that form
the work we do as a parish. These financial figures are still here but have been allocated to the
missions and ministries in which they are used.
This narrative is meant to complement rather than replace the Parish’s financial plans and
statements. For the most part, amounts are rounded to the closest $1,000. Totals may not add
due to rounding. A rough estimate has also been made of the volunteer hours and number of
volunteers that contribute to the various activities. We will refine these figures in future editions of
this narrative.
The financial figures in this Mission and Ministry Narrative are based on the 2009 budget approved
by Vestry on February 22, 2009.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the
breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many
wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers
were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and
goods, they gave to anyone as he or she had need. Every day they continued
to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate
together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of
all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being
saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
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Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 2
Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... 3
Our Parish Provocative Statement ........................................................................................... 3
Worship................................................................................................................................. 4
Education .............................................................................................................................. 5
Fellowship ............................................................................................................................. 6
Outreach ............................................................................................................................... 7
Pastoral Care......................................................................................................................... 9
The Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester: ................................................................................ 10
Our Parish Provocative Statement
St. Richard's is a welcoming, caring, Christian community filled with warmth,
vibrancy, and a diversity of music and worship. We offer a variety of opportunities for
spiritual learning, growth and service to others. Through active communication, we
encourage all to use their gifts and talents to further serve the Lord. We respect our
past and have confidence in our future, which we face with courage and a
willingness to take risks. We recognize that our future is dependent on youth coupled
with the wisdom of experience.
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Worship
“All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your
name.” (Psalm 66:4)
“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,
praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people.” (Acts 2:46)
Time
1989 volunteer hours
Talent
112 volunteers
Treasure
Salaries & Benefits
$39,000
Music Ministry
$15,500
Liturgical
$3,000
Support
$57,000
Total
$114,500
Over the coming year, we will gather more than 150 times to
worship at St. Richard’s: to listen to the reading and interpretation
of the Word of God, offer praise and thanksgiving in prayer and in
song, and share in a ritual meal that binds us to God and to each
other. We are blessed with insightful preaching, the music of our
dedicated choir and a group of talented musicians, active
participation from our community, and a magnificent worship space
– all of which contribute to the experience we share over and over.
St. Richard’s has one full-time priest, the Reverend Canon Michael
Fleming. Our Organist and Music Director, Kacper Waclawski,
leads our talented and committed musicians (organ, keyboard,
violins, guitars, drums) and choristers in creating a diverse and
inclusive worship experience, blending traditional and contemporary
approaches to expressing our adoration and devotion to God.
While clergy and our music ministry are key to our worship services,
they are supported by the altar guild, servers, service and lay
assistants, greeters, flower ministry, children’s ministry team,
healing team, prayer leaders, readers, administrators, and those
who care for and manage our property.
Parishioners at St. Richard’s devote many volunteer hours to our Worship activities. The volunteer
hours of the choir and musicians alone are estimated at 1,000 hours per year. Countless other
individuals give willingly of their time, talents, treasure and energies to prepare the worship space
and carry out the various ministries that form part of our worship experience each week.
Operating and administrative expenditures for our parish and property are shared across our five
major missions, with a portion included here under Worship. The management of the parish is
supported by thousands of hours of volunteer time through the talent of the stewards, the Parish
Council and the various committees that ensure that St. Richard’s remains a vibrant and relevant
community of faith. Our active presence at Synod and in Diocesan committees contributes to the
well-being of our Diocesan community as well and strengthens our connection to the world-wide
Anglican Communion.
In keeping with our parish provocative statement, we are committed to embracing a diversity of
music and worship and growing spiritually as a caring community, and thereby offering a
welcoming spiritual home for all seekers.
4
Education
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (Acts 2:42)
“...for you have one teacher, and you are all students.” (Matthew 23:8)
Time
1049 volunteer hours
Talent
38 volunteers
Treasure
Salaries and Benefits
$24,000
Education Ministry
$3,000
Support
$26,000
Total
$53,000
At St. Richard’s we believe that Christian education is an ongoing
process to increase our knowledge and understanding and
strengthen our faith. To this end, we have a weekly church school
ministry for children, designed and led by both caring adults and
young people of the parish. A dedicated team of volunteers
provides a supervised nursery and preschool program for our
youngest parishioners. Periodic gatherings for families of all
descriptions enhance learning and fellowship opportunities.
We also recognize that Christian education must go beyond our
children; adult education opportunities are held throughout the year.
Between the two Sunday morning services, an adult bible study is
held to explore in greater depth the lectionary readings for the day.
Our rector is leading a series of Kingdom studies, to help us
recognize and establish among us the Kingdom of God, as Jesus
expressed it through His Sermon on the Mount/Sermon on the
Plain, and taught about it through His specific “kingdom parables”.
Study programs are also led by the rector during Advent and Lent.
VideoVolunteer
and book discussion
Hours groups occur periodically throughout the year, offering an opportunity to
explore a variety of topics related to our faith or to activities being carried out or supported by St.
Richard’s. We offer the Alpha program in an effort to invite spiritual seekers to explore questions
and the basics of the Christian faith. Daily bible reading resources are available for those
interested in pursuing this personal discipline. Several house groups and group reunions gather
regularly to share their Christian journey and encourage each other in learning and growing in faith
and service. Our annual Women’s Retreat draws a group of parishioners together to withdraw from
the everyday cares of the world and focus on nurturing our faith and community. St. Richard’s also
supports Christian growth and education through the Ottawa Anglican Cursillo Movement, with a
large number of parishioners participating in Cursillo activities. Prayer workshops offer an
opportunity to learn more about, practise and develop this spiritual discipline. Special programs
are offered as well, including a baptism preparation ministry for families with children and for adults
wishing to be welcomed into the Christian family.
Stewardship is about managing what God has entrusted to us: our time, our skills, our financial
resources. To better understand this aspect of our community life together, St. Richard’s is
embarking upon a stewardship education program to raise awareness of needs and opportunities
in order to create an abundance of these resources to enable us to do God’s work in our parish and
in the world.
The leadership and participation of so many parishioners in education activities underlines the
importance to our community of continuing to learn and follow the teachings of our Lord.
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Fellowship
“Every day they continued to meet together…” (Acts 2:46)
Time
2920 volunteer hours
Talent
138 volunteers
Treasure
Salaries and Benefits
$400
Fellowship Ministry
$300
Support
$3,000
Total
$3,700
Fellowship provides opportunities for us to grow closer as a caring,
connected community, equipping us to support each other through
life’s many and various journeys.
St. Richard’s hosts a wide range of fellowship activities, from our
weekly coffee hour after the 10am Sunday service, to a number of
annual events. The men of the parish host the annual Shrove
Tuesday pancake supper, the ladies put on the Valentine tea, while
the Parish Picnic is an opportunity for families and children to gather
and celebrate the arrival of summer. Our Heritage Luncheon
affords us the opportunity to reflect on our parish history and the
vibrancy of our parish family over the last 50+ years. Periodic
parish potluck meals, including for special events such as
decorating the church at Christmas, strengthen our community as
we spend time together. And our annual parish camping trip allows
us to spend time getting to know each other better while enjoying
and relaxing in the midst of the beauty of God’s creation.
A cornerstone of parish fellowship is the St. Richard’s Curling Club,
whichVolunteer
has been active
for
37
years
and draws parishioners, past and present, to share exercise
Hours
and friendship on Sunday evenings. We also have groups that gather for specific activities, such
as baking, knitting, and crafts, which also contribute to our fundraising ministries. Some special
interest groups, such as for photography and cycling, have been established. The annual Church
Bazaar and garage sale continue to build friendships and strengthen ties within our parish and with
the broader community in the neighbourhood surrounding St. Richard’s. Our parish also opens its
doors to many community organizations and groups, drawing people into our building for music
lessons, the community preschool, dog obedience training, and seniors’ activities, among others;
all of these provide opportunities for us to welcome these individuals into our spiritual community
as well.
While fellowship activities bring us all together, they still require the contributions of many hands to
plan, organize and bring them to fruition. We are grateful for the involvement of so many people in
so many events to ensure our parish family develops and maintains strong bonds of friendship and
love.
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Outreach
“Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he or she had
need.” (Acts 2:45)
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or
sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Time
4173 volunteer hours
Talent
132 volunteers
Treasure
Salaries and Benefits
$2,500
Outreach Programs
$18,000
Help & Discretionary
Funds
$1,000
St. Richard’s is quite active in big and small ways to support
Outreach projects2, beginning with our service to our
neighbours in Nepean and the City, and reaching out to the
Diocese, the national church and around the world. We
have a very active Outreach Committee and dozens of
volunteers who participate in a myriad of activities.
St. Richard’s has a special relationship with the L’Arche
community – a home for people living with a disability and
for those who share life with them. Our former rectory has
been transformed into a meeting space and offices for this
organization. Joint activities with and service to this
community of adults with special needs enriches our lives,
both individually and collectively.
St. Richard’s is also an active supporter of the Carlington
Community Chaplaincy and Caldwell Family Centre,
Support
providing regular donations to their food bank, particularly
$18,500
at Thanksgiving and Christmas, hosting monthly dinners for
the community on a rotating basis with other churches,
Total
raising funds through dinners, bake and craft sales, selling
$40,000
grocery store coupons which provide 4-5% back to the
chaplaincy,
supporting
the
Neighbourhood
Diversity Store, and providing Christmas
Volunteer Hours
hampers and dinners for members of the community. We feel blessed to be able to help
those in need by providing and supporting practical and spiritual aid.
Our parish operates the Nearly New Shop as a means of raising money to pay for
Diocesan Missions and partnering with Nelson House, which provides a valuable
community resource. The shop is staffed by a team of dedicated volunteers who donate
countless hours to sort, clean and prepare donated second-hand items. Items from the
Shop are made available to help women residing temporarily at Nelson House shelter, so
they and their children can obtain the necessary items to re-establish their households.
Our shop also regularly provides used clothing and other articles to the Carlington
Community, to Centre 454, to the Mission and, in previous years, to the people of
Venezuela. Items from the shop are also sold at reasonable cost to others in the
community. When we have more than we can handle, we often drop off articles to the
Salvation Army and Value Village shops. We also provide new items (with store tags
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intact) for the Bales for the North to help our brothers and sisters in Canadian Arctic
communities, and provide volunteers to help package those bales each spring.
We support the community ministries of the Diocese, both through our Diocesan
assessment contributions and more directly with donations of time and financial resources.
These include Centre 454, the Anglican Social Services Centre, the Well and Cornerstone,
and Temple Pastures. We have also contributed generously to the Diocesan Residential
Schools Fund Ministry. Our help fund and rector’s discretionary fund enable us to provide
immediate assistance to those in distress, both members of our parish and the wider
community. We support the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund and the
Ottawa Mission through our donations, as well as Christie Lake Kids Ministry to provide
opportunities to attend summer camps for children who might not otherwise be able to
participate. We also reach out to those who have difficulty getting to church on Sundays,
offering rides so they can worship with us, and have contributed to the landscaping efforts
of the alternative school across the street from our church. We enjoy working within our
neighbourhood and city to be able to spread God’s love through our actions and our
provision of practical help for those who require it.
Our Lenten donations each year are directed towards charitable organizations within our
community, our country, and around the world: in addition to the Carlington Community
Chaplaincy, in 2008 we supported St. Jude’s Cathedral in Iqaluit, and the House of Hope
Orphanage in Uganda. In this way we remember that we are part of a larger,
interconnected world, and are blessed in sharing our resources with others.
Our Christmas outreach activities include the Christmas Exchange hampers, support to
Centre 454 and the Caldwell Family Centre Food Bank. In addition, we fill over 120 boxes
for Operation Christmas Child, to share our blessings by sending basic supplies and
presents to children all over the world as a way of bringing Christ’s love and message to
them at this special time of year. We also prepare and send Bales for the North, providing
much needed clothing and items to our brothers and sisters in Northern Canada.
St. Richard’s has had an active Refugee Committee which has provided settlement
assistance to a number of families arriving in Canada. Parishioners have contributed
funds as well as their time and experience to help families learn how to adapt to Canadian
society and become established in their new homes.
The large number of volunteer hours and involvement of so many parishioners in our
numerous outreach activities testifies to the importance of this aspect of our Christian walk
– to seek justice for and show kindness to all God’s children, as we share the love of Jesus
beyond ourselves.
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Pastoral Care
“I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more,
nor be dismayed.” (Jeremiah 23:4)
Time
2118 volunteer hours
Talent
52 volunteers
Treasure
Salaries and Benefits
$57,000
Support
$49,000
Pastoral care is a ministry of the church to serve those who
seek wholeness in any dimension of their being. Pastoral
care reaches beyond the physical walls of the church. Our
rector leads regular monthly communion services at
Starwood Extendicare, Peter D. Clark Long Term Care
Home, and Park Place in Central Park, and he and our
team of pastoral care volunteers visit seniors’ residences
where our elderly parishioners now live, as well as those
who are unable to get out of their homes to join us for
worship. Visiting these seniors, the sick and shut-ins
maintains their close connection to the parish.
Pastoral care activities also include the healing team and
prayer ministry available during the services on Sunday
Total
mornings, the prayer chain which provides confidential
$106,000
prayer support for parishioners and others, and volunteers
who visit and pray with those in hospital – both from our St.
Volunteer
Hours
Richard’s family and beyond. Pastoral care is offered to any person or family in crisis or
distress in a private, caring, supportive way. During Lent, our prayer partners program
establishes stronger relationships among parishioners, as we pray for each others’ needs
over a 40 day period. Our columbarium committee also provides a valuable service to
those wanting to prepare for or making decisions about a final resting place. And our
parish involvement in supporting the work of the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer encourages
us to pray for others in our parish, community, diocese, and world.
While the rector devotes a good percentage of his time to pastoral care activities, he is
supported in this endeavour by many committed volunteers who give selflessly of their
time and energies to bring comfort to others.
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The Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester:
Thanks be to you, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits you have given us,
For all the pain and insults you have borne for us.
Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother
May we know you more clearly,
Love you more dearly and
Follow you more nearly, day by day,
Now and forever more. Amen.
1
http://www.ottawa.anglican.ca/planning/AMBfull.pdf
A small pamphlet describing St. Richard’s ministries and activities is available on the welcoming table at
the church.
2
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