Annual meeting? Some protest - what does this have to do with the church? Well, to be honest, it seems it is just one of those places where we need to be obedient to what the government asks of us.

That said, this certainly doesn't mean we can't have a great and important time together. We can and we will!

Here's the plan:

Time:

3:30 | Sunday, March 15

Please Note: As this is our first ever meeting, the agenda is very limited. The time required to work through the necessary requirements should only be about 15-20 mins. Perhaps afterward you could plan on going for coffee or something to eat with some of your friends.

Location:

We're meeting outside, on the back steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery (Robson Street Side). If it rains - bring an umbrella!

Please Note:For those with children, there will be no child-care, but the length of the meeting should make it fairly manageable. Bring the kids along!

Why there? This is our first ever Annual Meeting and we have the sense it is important for us to make a symbolic statement - for ourselves and for the world. What is the statement? We are meeting in the one place of our city where our city regularly gathers (concerts, demonstrations, etc.) to quietly and humbly remind ourselves that this "society", called to being by Jesus, exists to serve and love this city.

On our first, ever official meeting - this is an important reminder for us to have. We are called together, by God, for such a time as this - for this city.

Again, lest you be concerned, we will not do this in a way that will draw attention to us. This is about us... and a reminder of who we are.

The Plan:

Because the meeting will be outdoors, we will make it fairly brief. By law there are a few things we will need to see happen:

We need to open and close the meeting and count the members present.
We need to affirm the council members that will be serving for the following year.
We need to affirm the budget and the church reports
We need to select a "nominating group" for next years council.

That's about it.

Advance Notice:

In order to help the process. By the beginning of March we will post the names of the council members that are willing to serve for the following year and we will also post all the "reports" for you to read. Should there be a concern about any of this, please be sure to communicate this. It will be important that these things are addresses prior to the 15th.

Council:
Below are the names of the people that are willing to serve as council. We are hoping to have one more added, but we'll trust the Lord's leading for this:

Sig Toews
Ruth Toews
Taryn Herriot
Jason Irvine
Jonathan Friesen
Jolie Lambkin
Andy Lambkin
Derek Furtney **NEW!
Andre Fernandes **NEW!

Reports:
2008 Financial Committee (prepared by Sig Toews on behalf of Jason Irvine, Karen Friesen, Neto Franco) Report Click here
2009 Proposed Basic Budget Click here
Mt. Seymour Report Click here
Central Lonsdale Report Click here
Vancouver Report Click here
Lynn Valley Report Click here

The rest of the reports will be posted as they come in.

Membership

Our membership is being handled in each of the churches. We're asking us to all commit, year by year, to serving in our churches and loving our world. Its a simple way to covenant together while also helping us to fulfill our requirements for an active membership.

Final Thoughts:

This should be a really special afternoon for us as churches. Lets pray that God would be present as we join together and again affirm our purpose in this city.

Should you have any thoughts or concerns about any of this... feel free to let us all know. We're doing the best we can to be faithful to God in all of this.

You can e-mail the council @
council@simplechurches.ca

You can also contact Andy directly.