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End Notes:

Special Funds: The Special Funds associated with particular committees have been added to the committee descriptions for reference and information. Beyond the Special Funds and the amounts allocated in Annual Budgets, additional funding, for Session Committees is also available, on request, from the Allenby and Memorial funds, provided the purposes of such requests meet with the established terms and conditions of these funds. Such requests should be made, through Session, to the administrative committees to which Session has delegated fund responsibility and oversight.

Detailed descriptions of all Special Funds are currently being developed and these will be given to Session Committees, when completed. In parallel with this, summary descriptions will also be prepared. For Congregational information, these will be appended to the financial statements of the funds, in future Annual Reports.

Identified Committee Priorities: Along with the restructuring in 1997, various study days/visioning exercises identified several priorities, some of which were included as such, within the rolls and responsibilities of the appropriate committees. These were and are:

Christian Education: an emphasis on biblical learning and "life issues" studies.

Congregational Life: the development of congregational activities, support groups and a lay pastoral care team.

Mission and Outreach: neighbourhood outreach, personal outreach (e.g., Bring-a-Friend Sunday, Face-to-Face Evangelism), and advertising and promotion (newspapers/fliers/church sign).

Worship: "alternative worship", and further development of the music program.

The committees should take a second look at these and ask questions, such as:

1. What has been achieved in four years?
2. What has precluded the achievement of all or some of the priorities?
3. What must be done to eliminate these preclusions
4. What priorities are invalid and should be eliminated?
5. What new priorities should be added?
6. What can be done to increase congregational participation?
7. What can be done to reach beyond the congregation?

Unidentified Committee Priorities: Membership at Trinity has seen an average annual loss of 16 members over the past 18 years? If allowed to continue unchecked, at some indeterminate time in the future, this is certain to become a crucial priority. Recent history shows that, in each year since the fall of 1996, Session has undertaken various studies, from Visioning Exercises to Three Year Plans, etc., with "committee restructuring" in between, and so the results of these are still relatively fresh What, as yet unidentified priorities, can the committees take from these that will assist in bringing about a reversal in the long-time membership trend?

Pastoral Relations: At its original [1983] inception Session agreed that a 'sensitivity factor' precluded non-Elders from membership in this committee and similar sentiments were re-echoed during the January/February 2001amending process. Bearing in mind that committees can be as 'confidential' as Sessions, if so mandated, the Session and Moderator may wish to reconsider "Elders only" membership in this committee, in light of the following quotation:

New members are perceived as threats by existing long-term members; perceived as irresponsible; tend to be disproportionately represented in large numbers in ministries; are "assimilated by works"; are less tied to the past; generally more creative and enthusiastic about the congregation and its projects; are often the best evangelists; most aware of the needs the church's ministry meets; tend to be the best source of leaders for new small face-to-face groups; should be most disproportionately represented on the pastoral support committee since they are most supportive of the pastor.

Lyle Schaller - Activating The Passive Church, p. 130

Potentials: From the mood of Session at its February 2002 meeting, it appears likely that Trinity will invest in the 8 to 9 month "Visioning" consultancy process, offered by the Rev. Paul McLean of Potentials. This should not imply that Session and its committees go into hibernation for the duration. Rather, any leads indicated as the consultancy progresses should be identified and pursued. For the end result, other than the energy generated by the process itself, will not take the congregation much beyond where it currently stands.

If this process is similar to the 1999 study conducted of behalf of East Toronto Presbytery, Trinity will be given a report on itself. This will be filled with demographic statistics from within the congregation, and the area served by it. There will be anecdotal evidence and summaries of 'wish lists' provided by the leaders and members of the congregation. Some parts will relate to the functional mechanics of a congregation of Trinity's size and type and a list with comments on the directions in which Trinity has indicated that it wishes to proceed. Almost certainly, there will not be a 'strategic plan', and it's doubtful the report will contain any advice on pursuing the directions indicated in it.

Bill Easum of 21st Century Strategies, Inc. suggests the following, in an article entitled Strategic Mapping and Futuring: "In an unstable world of random change, strategic planning is an oxymoron. By the time a plan is on paper, it is unlikely to be strategic (got any of them lying around gathering dust on a shelf somewhere?). Reflecting on my ministry, I discovered that the most productive periods occurred during those times when we had little or no plan to follow." [see End Note 3 for an indication of Trinity's dust gathering studies.]

If Session, its Committees and the Congregation are wise, they will use the 'Potentials duration' as a time of preparation in which to utilise the spiritual energy evoked and focused throughout the process, "so that the people" not only "can", but are also willing and able to "invest in the congregation as it is going to become." As the spiritual leaders of the congregation, it falls to the Kirk Session and its Ministry and Mission Committees to ensure this happens.