Knox Vancouver

     Summer greetings from the Knox Board!

A few quick Strategic Planning updates and other bits of summertime news from around Knox:

1.         Making Spaces: 

a.        Tend to the Building Project:   Alan M and our lawyer are actively pushing for a meeting with Hon to discuss the condition of the Fellowship Centre property, the portable office trailer and most importantly, anything reassuring about an intended start date for construction.  But in more exciting news, the Vancouver School Board has signed the License Agreement needed for a crane to swing out over the school property!  This is one of the final big steps to be ready for groundbreaking.  A few pieces of admin work remain on both the license agreement and the easement agreement with our next-door neighbour, but our lawyer advises that “the finish line on these items is clearly in sight”. 

b.       Become more creative and efficient in how we use our Church Building and land:  Following our June Second Sunday meal and announcements about how we’ll move forward with this goal, Sharon B, Anne M and Michelle M will form a small working group.  Their task is to look for temporary efficiencies and creative use of spaces in which we can operate well, until the new building is completed.  This team will be collaborating with key staff, the Worship and F&PM teams, and congregants, to ensure that any changes make good sense, and can be undone later (if needed).

2.        Financial Comfort:

a.        Find accord on the concepts of spending and saving:   We’re planning a fall retreat for the Trustees and Board to talk deeply about operating costs, deficit, savings and investments.  Our goal?  To agree on what funds can be used, without angst, to drive our operations and ministry at Knox over the next 3 to 5 years. 

b.       Continue to refine and upgrade our financial processes:  Margaret P is on sabbatical at this time.  In the meantime, Larry, Sharon B, Bookkeeper Jeannie and I continue to chip away at refinements to our financial process, tools and documents.

c.        Address the deficit:  See above, point 2a, as this retreat will help to inform how we define “deficit” and approach it in the future.

3.        Becoming Partner-Ready:  

A quick recap:  According to Pacific Mountain Region, the United Churches that are succeeding are the ones who partner up.  This could look like a traditional amalgamation, but it can also look like a partnership with other non-profits, denominations, or community organizations.

a.        Reach out to potential partners:   At our June meal, we called for a small working group to reach out into the community and start to make connections.  Unfortunately, we’ve had no response on this, so we’re working on Plan B for the fall.  This may involve gathering leads from the congregation, and then finding a few key people, each of whom will reach out to one lead.

b.       Governance & staff model reviews:  On July 18, the board held a retreat to begin looking at our current model, which was designed for (and by) a much larger congregation.  In the coming weeks, we will discuss ways to reduce Knox’s governance structure, become less reliant on our shrinking volunteers, and maintain an affordable, suitable staff model.

c.        Policies & efficiencies:  As I write this update, I am sitting in the Knox office, preparing to work with Sharon B today on a pile of important but non-urgent admin work:  Revising and updating our staff and rental contracts, fees, invoice and expense templates, signing off on past minutes, and much, much more. 

4.        IN-reach: 

a.        Develop & implement programs that address congregational vibrancy, wellness and resiliency – spiritual, emotional, and physical:   From the Second Sunday meals to Healing Touch and Arts drop-in, we’re making great gains on this goal.  The latest news is that our fitness program, which is rolling through the summer, is incredibly well-attended.  Now we have another decisions to make:  what will we do with the surplus income being generated by this fantastic program?    And a small teaser:  we are working on a new music & wellness program to launch in early 2025.  Stand by for news!

5.        Expand our Web Ministry:

a.       A web ministry with clear objectives, that resonates with vision content:  Neighbourhood, The Arts, Connection:   In June I advised that Ben will be joining our small Web Ministry team as a videographer, creating videos that celebrate the life and work at Knox.  I can also announce that Kevin will be expanding his Sunday morning duties by taking on our Social Media platforms.  This will help us expand our reach and share our faith, stories and programs more broadly.

In other news… we have one film shoot confirmed for July / August and hopefully will be landing a second one shortly.   These promise to be a major source of income for 2024.  We’ve also got a wedding booked on September 14th!   And you’ll want to mark your calendar for the next Lab Choir performance on September 15th (time TBA).  Please also stand by for a Sentimental Journey band concert date this fall.   We’re glad to host Bob C’s band here every summer, and we’re grateful that they share their fantastic music with us every fall.

You will see Anne M around the office more this summer and fall.  She is stepping into some additional responsibilities, which will free Sharon B up to tackle more of the administrative clean-up our office so badly needs.   

Finally, I want to extend my gratitude to our staff and volunteers for extending their talent and work into the Summer Spirit program.  This collaborative summer worship has become a highlight of the year for all the west side United Churches, thanks in no small part to the willingness of our staff to be involved in worship and in the upkeep of the church building.  THANK YOU all!

– Susan M on behalf of the Knox Board