Another has passed and we are back to worshipping in church. We reopened the Church for Easter 2022 and, until the end of June, we offered both online and in-person worship services. We were so very happy to be able to have in person services once again on Easter Sunday, whilst being able to offer online services as well for those who still felt uncomfortable gathering in community. As some of us said, "It felt so good to not only see my friends but literally feel their warmth in person"
Even though government regulations surrounding in person gatherings ended in the summer many were still not confident enough to organize large fund-raising events and so we continued in small ways to have seriously scaled-back events. One such event was the brunch organized by a couple of our church members at which money was raised for the Anglican Church of Canada's Canadian Companions of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (known as the Companions of Jerusalem) and included donations for the renewal of our membership in this most worthy of charities, helping Christians in the Middle East.
Closer to home, on Thanksgiving Sunday after the service we delivered our offerings that had decorated the church to Maison Emmanuel. At Christmas we donate to the « Garde-Manger » for Christmas baskets which are distributed in Saint-Sauveur and the surrounding area to those in need of food.
Our congregation continues to be active under the leadership of the Reverend Tania Lesack, Incumbent for 4 parishes in the Laurentians. We keep in close contact with our parishioners and friends of St Francis.
Members who are unable to be with us in person on Sunday morning, can now join the service live on Zoom; online prayers are offered every evening from Monday to Friday.
We continue to encourage the St Sauveur artistic community by lending our premises for rehearsals and concerts offered by local music teachers, musicians, and Ensemble vocal Cantivo. This year we were again treated by the Cantivo choir to a wonderful concert attended by more than 100 people from the community.
The proceeds of this concert were donated to St Francis. Our organist Mireille Villeneuve is now offering French conversation courses to the community.
In May, Quebec succumbed to a very violent storm. Trees fell on our church roof, and sadly, we discovered that our insurance deductible was so high that the cost of repairs to the roof and steeple were not covered.
Our oil furnace must be replaced, and we are looking at installing a more environmentally friendly heating system. The church has electric radiators, but these are not sufficient for the winter months; for the coming year, we plan to close the church building for the coldest winter weeks and meet for worship online. Another expense this year was the replacement of our old gas stove in the hall. The hall is now rented everyday to local community groups; many of them use our kitchen.
In 2022, we were happy to welcome Chelsea Patterson as our new Deputy Warden. Chelsea has been setting up a new interactive website for us, using a platform designed specifically for churches. This project was made possible thanks to a donation from one of our parishioners. The new website www.stfrancisofthebirds.ca will help us greatly with our outreach. Your comments on the website would be greatly appreciated
We also welcomed, Simon Hartropp as our Treasurer. Simon is a lay reader of long standing in the Diocese of Montreal. He moved to the Laurentians and has a vast experience in church finances. As a lay reader, he leads worship when Tania is leading worship in the other churches in her care. We are in very good hands.
Many thanks to Chelsea and Simon.
Heartfelt thanks to you, our long-time friend, for your continued support. Should you wish to make a donation a tax receipt will be issued. Donations can be made on this very website, please make a note that it is for the annual appeal.
Tania Lesack
Incumbent
Quitterie Roques de Borda and Sverre Gjessing
Wardens