On behalf of the congregation of First Baptist Church Halifax, the Board of Trustees holds fiduciary and overall governance responsibility for
all of the “assets” of the church, including financial resources and all real property;
for the health, safety and security of people of the church when on the property;
and safety and security of persons off church property when they are involved in or responsible for a program or ministry of the church.
To ensure oversight of all these aspects, the Chair of Bd. of Trustees or designate attends all meetings, of:
Finance Committee (Treasurer is ex officio member of Trustees)
Property Maintenance Committee (At this time, the Chair of the Property Maintenance, is also Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees)
Board of Management
Screening Committee responsible application of the Plan to Protect
for
the
As part of its responsibility for the health safety and security of persons when involved in church program, The Board of Trustees is responsible, along with the “Screening Committee” to develop, update and ensure application of the “Plan to Protect”. This Plan to Protect provides guidance and an action framework for all groups who work with, or have responsibility for the vulnerable with whom the church works. The “vulnerable” would include children, frail elderly or any other group involved in or receiving care through church-sponsored programs or activities. The Plan to Protect particularly affects the Church School programs, and the activities of the staff and volunteers who do visitation with those who are ill, infirm or in difficulty.
This Plan is frequently reviewed by those responsible for these areas, and includes ensuring that all church workers and volunteers have the appropriate security checks completed before they provide churchsponsored services to the vulnerable. In relation to church property, with the Property Maintenance Committee, the Board of Trustees monitors and ensures updating of the physical structure of the church to make sure that it best serves the needs and activities of the church, and to be sure that congregants are safe and secure. The Board of Trustees is also responsible for ensuring that the church property and buildings are appropriately insured . With the Personnel Committee and the Board of Christian Education, the Trustees ensure that we have an adequate response to any emergency situations, and that key workers (volunteers and staff) have First Aid training. This is described in Health & Safety policy that is administered by the Board of Management. Under the current Plan to Protect, a Screening Committee led by the Board of Trustees reviews appropriate record (e.g. results of “Criminal Records checks” and “Vulnerable Sector Checks”) for all applications and appointments to roles on church groups and committees where there will be interaction with the vulnerable. These roles include all persons who are employed by the Church, Teachers and Leaders of church school and crèche appointed by the Board of Christian Education, members of the Diaconate and members of the Visitation Committee. The Board of Trustees also monitors general land use and property valuation changes that could affect our compliance with city by-laws, the zoning of the Church property, and any changes in assessments for property taxes. Naomi Nonnekes Chair Board of Trustees
This summer was different for FBC. We worshipped in new spaces, with new friends from other congregations, following the creative path for summer worship outlined by Jenny Csinos. I heard from many people that they enjoyed these creative worship ideas, and that they are ready to gather refreshed for a new church season at FBC. One of the highlights for me, as Music Director, was the August Hymn sing. It was wonderful to get together on a beautiful summer evening and sing favourites, especially with the help of my RCCO colleagues Shawn Whynot, and Patrick Salah at the Organ. We sang while learning about hymn-singing from ancient times to modern, exploring the poetry and music as we raised our voices to God. What could be more uplifting that that? It was inspiring to imagine Bishop Reginald Heber penning the words to "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty" while he was vicar in his family's parish. We learned that it wasn't until after his death that his wife found and published all 57 of his hymns in a complete volume. The tune that we know so well was composed by John Dykes, composed in 1861 in the style of a Lutheran chorale, the tune named "Nicaea" after the Council of Nicaea. For those burning with curiosity about the numbers underneath the hymn titles, the explanation is simple: they represent poetic meter, or stressed syllables. Take for instance, the hymn #335, "Though I May Speak", which Hal Hopson adapted from the English folk tune "O Waly Waly" in 1971 for his setting of 1 Corinthians 13. This hymn is in "Long Metre" (LM), which is also known as 8888, for the number of syllables per line: 8 syllables in line 1 "Though I may speak with bra-vest fire" 8 syllables in line 2 "And have the gift to all in-spire" 8 syllables in line 3 "And have not love, my words are vain" 8 syllables in line 4 "As sound-ing brass and hope-less gain" The tradition of labelling poems with numbers of syllables allowed hymn-singers to use the tune of their choice as they sang hymns. In fact, it wasn't until the 18th century that music was paired with the text in
hymnals. In earlier times, the tune was simply named by title and sung by aural memory. Each hymn has a fascinating story, and everyone has favourite hymns that bring back memories or simply feel good to sing. One of my personal favourites is "Be Thou My Vision", based on an 8th century Irish hymn. The hymn text that we use today was translated by Mary Byrne in 1905, and the tune "Slane" is a traditional Irish ballad, named for a hill ten miles from Tara, in County Meath. This is the hill where St. Patrick is said to have challenged King Loegaire and the Druid priests by lighting the Paschal fire on Easter eve. Imagine all the history we join with in the singing of this hymn! The beauty of hymn-singing is that you don't need to know any of these details; you can simply sing and enjoy discovering the text and music yourself. Take a moment to peruse our FBC website, and sing along to the archive recording of our August hymn sing, you will be glad you did! If you are inspired to keep singing, you are encouraged to join one of our FBCH choirs: Songsters (children ages 7-14), Men Without Jackets, or the Senior Choir. Talk to any member of the choirs, or contact Lynette Wahlstrom, Music Director:
<lynettewahlstrom@fbchalifax.ca> or 902-422-5203 ex. 13.
God bless you all. Submitted: Lynette Wahlstrom, Music Director FBC
Men Without Jackets 2015 - 2016 Schedule
Looking Back 50 YEARS Ago To . . . . . Repairs, renovations and upkeep of the Church. The Maintenance Endowment Fund was established with an initial donation of $500. "Maintaining a 1965 stone masonry building in this climate is a costly and continuing process for which annual provisions must be made." The Shaw Memorial Bell was installed and dedicated in honour of Lloyd Shaw and family. The Baptistry was repaired. "Clean, warm water at last!" Stained glass windows were installed and dedicated above the choir stalls representing three saints: Peter, Paul and Stephen. "The sight of sunlight sparkling through the stained glass was amazing." A design committee was appointed to make recommendations for the installation of the Denton Memorial Window. Mrs. G. Colwell chaired the House Committee. Their responsibility was to ensure high standards of cleanliness throughout the church. Each member of the committee was on duty for two months. Curtains and slip covers were cleaned and the Boardroom chairs were re-upholstered. Harvey Crowell donated pictures of Acadia Administration Building and Manning Chapel. An Open House was held at the parsonage to show the congregation the results of the redecorating work. Deacon Roger Prentice refinished the Communion Table. Worn hymn books were replaced with 150 new ones. Elsewhere in the world: General Franco of Spain agrees to discuss legitimizing Jewish communities who had been expelled from Spain in 1492 by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Ranger 8 spacecraft sends back photos of the moon. Disposable diaper, Pampers, is patented. West Germany recognizes the state of Israel. A cyclone in Pakistan kills 35,000 people. American cigarette manufacturers are forced by law to print health warnings on cigarette packets. UK bans cigarette advertising on TV. The National Guard are called in during six days of race-related rioting in Los Angeles. 35 dead, 2200 arrested and $40 million in property damages. Top hit records of the year include The Beatles "Help", Rolling Stones "Satisfaction" and Bob Dylan "Like a Rolling Stone".
Men Without Jackets will be returning back to rehearsals on Saturday October 24. We get an extended summer break this season because of scheduling conflicts for our Music Director. One item of note: Congratulations to Anthony Zadeh on his wedding to our senior choir soprano, Amanda Seymour. We all wish for you to make beautiful music together for the rest of your lives. 2015 Sat Oct 24 Sat Nov 28 Sun Dec 13 Sun Dec 20 2016 Sat Jan 23 Sat Feb 27 Sun. Mar. 20
Rehearsal Rehearsal and decorate sanctuary Caritas 2:00 (arrive 1:15) Carol service 7 pm (arrive for 6 pm photo)
Rehearsal Rehearsal Palm Sunday at Caritas 2:30 (arrive 1:30) Sun. March 27 Easter service Saturday April 23 Rehearsal Saturday May 28 Rehearsal & Luncheon Sun. June 19th Father's Day service
For further information, contact our Director of Music, Lynette Wahlstrom 902-422-5203 or <lynettewahlstrom@fbchalifax.ca> Remember: We call ourselves Men Without Jackets because God never said we needed to dress up to sing his praises. Men Without Jackets: Peter Fillmore, Anthony Zadeh, Bryan Darrell, Mac Philips, Ian McKee, Jim Stanley, David Bourque, Alan Manchester, Erick Lee, Joe O’Brien, Brian Ashton, Ken Margeson, Nelson Metcalfe, David Dexter, Paul Henderson, John Dalton, David Gibson, Garnet Colwell, Tom Crowell, Alan North, Tony Marshall, Kim Davison, Ed Tummers, Dahrl Whitney and Allen Cruess.
The First Baptist Church has been most fortunate to receive a number of large bequests over the last ten or twenty years. In the distant past the modest sums given to the church were invested in guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) and were reinvested when they came due, at the then going rate, by the Treasurer. It became apparent as our assets grew that this elementary procedure was no longer adequate. An investment Committee was formed to oversee our investments allowing the Treasurer and the Finance Committee to concentrate on managing the expenses. This committee was set up as a special subcommittee of the Finance Committee to advise on and manage the investment funds of the church. We are fortunate to have many parishioners who have extensive financial knowledge and who were willing to step forward and assist in this endeavor. A professional Investment Dealer was approached to handle the day to day transactions as committee members all have other concerns. They in turn meet as necessary to propose policy and oversee the actions of the Investment Dealer. We hold large positions in stock of Bank of Nova Scotia, SunLife Financial, BCE Incorporated (Bell Phone), and TransCanada Corporation (Trans Canada Pipeline), as well as several other large, wellknown companies. This system has stood the test of time and we have been able to accumulate over $2,800,000. Not all these funds are endowed, that is, held in trust with
only the income being used to fund the church requirements. About a quarter of these funds are held for various committees of the church to be used for their projects, or have been donated and available for any church operations, with the Finance Committee responsible for the spending of the income and the capital if considered desirable.. Our church, with its large building, is an expensive operation to run. Many of us remember the time when it was decided that we required a building maintenance fund and we started to raise capital and agreed to spend none of this money, not even the interest, until we had accumulated $100,000. Those were the days! The Maintenance Fund is now valued at about one million dollars and the income earned is still not enough to cover routine maintenance. The Music Committee and the choir are also beneficiaries of income from major endowments. The Investment Committee raises the funds. The Finance Committee oversees the spending. We are very fortunate to have endowment funds as we could not operate without the income generated from them. The Investment Committee is very willing to take on the task of shepherding more assets from those parishioners that would like to provide additional support to First Baptist Church. Ian McKee Chair, Investment Committee
Upcoming Services September 6: Pentecost 15, Communion Isaiah 35:4-7a; Psalm 146 James 2:1-10, 14-17; Mark 7:24-37 God Has No Favourites – Rev. Nelson Metcalfe Music: Schubert, Handel
September 20: Pentecost 17 Exodus 33:12-23; Psalm 23 1 Timothy 6:11-16; John 10:11-16 What Does God Look Like? – Lic. John Dalton Music: Lang, Stanford
September 13: Pentecost 16, Sunday School Dedication, Parent/Child Dedication Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19 James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38 Small But Mighty! – Lic. Jenny Csinos Music: Guitar Solo, Tomblings
September 27: Pentecost 18 Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29; Psalm 19:7-14 James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50 A Spirit that Spreads – Dave Csinos Music: Bach, Rorem
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September 6th - Bring Your Backpacks to Church - during the children's story, we'll have a blessing of the backpacks for the start of a new school year. This is for all ages, small and tall, brief cases may be substituted for a backpack.
September 13th - Sunday School Opening and Summer Faith Formation Closing - following worship in the church Hall/Stage. We will share lunch, stories and experiences from over the summer of how your faith was challenged.
September 26th - Church Membership Class - 9:30-3:30 in the parlour, lunch provided. The class will cover such questions as: What is different about a Baptist Church? What is the FBC Halifax story? The class is always open to inquirers who are unsure about joining the Church, but have lots of questions! For information or to sign up, please speak to Lic. Jenny Csinos.
October 2nd and 3rd - CABF Fall Assembly and Annual General Meeting - will be held at the
Falmouth Baptist Church. Our speakers will be Jenny and Dave Csinos "Faith Formation - All Ages, All the Time". View the brochure here and find out how to register.
Go Star Gazing. Step outside after dark and look up into the sky. As you stare into endless space, name a way that God has blessed you and your family this summer. Then name something you need to continue to ask God for help with.
Honour the Land You Stand on. Think about the land that you live on and thank God for it. Honour the indigenous peoples who are the traditional caretakers of this land. To really connect with the land, go outside, kick off your flip flops, and let the soil and sand creep between your toes.
Make a New Year’s Resolution. It may not be January 1, but this week marks the beginning of the academic year and the church year too! Reflect on your summer faith formation experiences and set a goal for how you can continue to connect with God throughout the next year. Share your goal with at least one person and check in with them periodically throughout the year.
With summer passing much too quickly, we still need to take time to think of the Tea and Sale rapidly approaching. Mark the Date!: The annual Christmas Tea and Sale will be held Saturday, November 7, 2:00 - 4:30 p.m. Volunteers are needed to make this a success. If you are interested in being a table convener, working at one of the tables, selling tickets, serving tea, assisting in the kitchen, or donating craft or new to you items, jewellery, Boutique or Emporium items, please speak to rmeisener@gmail.com or 902-876-7515 or Julie Shore at johnsonshore@aol.com or 902-802-8947 for more information. Remember, “many hands make light work.”