PICKERING VILLAGE UNITED CHURCH
Minutes of Congregational Meeting of November 20, 2022
Welcome and call to order
Chuck Hay welcomed the Church congregation after the main service to the
congregational meeting, along with those attending by Zoom. There was a quorum –
with over 70 people including 7 to 10 online.
Opening prayer
Both Reverend Dr. Steven Davis and Reverend Karen Smart offered blessings and
prayers asking guidance to deliberate the session with grace and with the values of
our church.
Introduction of ECORC representative (East Central Ontario Regional Council)
Chuck introduced the representative from Presbytery Mr. Bill Sheaves who will be
working with us during the process starting with the congregational meeting.
Motion to allow voting
A motion was introduced to permit the adherents present to vote – introduced by
Doreen Halle and seconded by Michelle Kerkos. The motion carried.
Background context for the meeting
As an introduction to the meeting, Chuck Hay presented an overview or background
of the reasons for the session. There were concerns expressed by several members
of the congregation regarding the state of our finances and requesting a
congregational meeting to discuss.
– Church Council passed a motion calling for a congregational meeting
– The purpose of the meeting is to seek congregational approval to form a
committee to create a Community of Faith Profile for PVUC.
To that end, Bill Fox was then asked to:

1. Present an overview of our church’s current financial position including a
synopsis of the situation over the last six to seven years.
2. Give an overview of the working group which was created to review our
financial future including:
a. A review / discussion on the church’s usage for other purposes or by
other organizations.
b. Use of our gym.
c. Other ways to gain income including pursuing Montessori schools, other
schools needing accommodation for graduation ceremonies, musical
concerts, other churches needing to rent or utilize our space at different
times or days.
d. Active and ongoing negotiations for Bridges Daycare for their expansion
from their Delaney Street main centre into our basement premises. A
Letter of Intent outlining mutual expectations and needs is currently in
play. This will bring additional income. There will be some expectation
of changes our Church will have to make to accommodate them.
e. Pursuing options for provincial government funding or grants like the
Trillium Grant to help the situation.
f. Exploring ways to mitigate our expenses which are quite lean currently
for things like insurance, landscaping, utilities like hydro and water, and
the biggest expense our Church payroll for staff.
g. Our General Fund has been subsidized by the Trustees each year in
varying amounts since 2015 – amounts which Bill summarized – but
continuing to do so is not sustainable.
h. Recent good news is receipt of $2,700 from the church bazaar and
$2,250 from day church rental for making of a Hallmark movie. These
are creative and exciting but sporadic contributions.
Chuck also proceeded to explain the purpose of our Trustees and their role in
ensuring we maintain insurance, and overseeing the good upkeep of the building
like shingles, roofing, parking and so on.
There was a general question period from members of the congregation at church
and on Zoom and many queries / suggestions were put forward which Bill and
Chuck agreed would be taken back to the Council. Some general highlights were:

a) Consideration for setting a deadline for completion of process and for
response from the new committee but ensuring congregational
participation.
b) Renting our expansive parking lots to people in neighbourhood – with
the insurance and other legalities considered.
c) Allowing for “Music for Life’ groups to use for musical presentations.
d) Better use of our Audio System – advertising for Church for
conferences and meetings. (Due to Covid, many organizations are
reluctant to have many in-person sessions).
e) Questions on the length of time for Committee to be created, and
volunteers to be chosen by Council to ensure a viable and effective
group.
Chuck reminded the Congregation there will be more time for review of ideas – it is
somewhat of a long and thoughtful process involving many personal feelings but per
the rules of the United Church we must proceed with the process.
Consideration of the motion from Council
Chuck asked for the motion below which was moved by Frank Green and seconded by
Doreen Halle.
Moved that a working group be formed in order to create a Community of Faith
Profile for Pickering Village United Church.
The motion carried.
Adjournment
The meeting ended at 12:19 pm followed by an invitation to lunch in the Fellowship
Hall.