Message from the President (Kirkehilsen November/December 2021)

... especially if you are able to get out of the city and into the country and see the beauty of the fall colours. We are busy raking leaves and preparing our yards and gardens for the coming winter. Likewise, we are also getting ready at the church for this fall. We still have to follow the Covid rules as best we can, and that, unfortunately, limits what we can do. But even with those constraints, we have been able to have our Sunday services and meetings of some of our activity groups. Participants have enjoyed meeting again and talking to friends once more. As long as we encourage vaccination for all (and hopefully soon for the younger children) and are cautious and careful – we will be able to put the pandemic behind us sooner than later.

Although we are able to have several activities at the church, we are still limited to the size of events that can be held in our Royal Hall. Because of that, we are not able to have many of the special cultural festivities that we usually have at this time of year. Events like the in-person Fall Bazaar, the Lucia dinner and reception, and the children’s Christmas Party are unfortunately cancelled. If and when we are allowed to significantly increase the participation size of similar events – we will of course let you know and spread the word as much as possible. In the meantime, we are still planning various get-togethers (i.e. movie Saturdays and an Introduction to Christianity) where we feel we can still safely gather and enjoy these events in smaller numbers. Happily, we can still have our Lucia Pageant in the sanctuary along with other special services (Nine Readings, Christmas Services). 

Many of you have already seen and even heard that we had to move to a Plan B regarding the sanctuary upgrade. With the expensive cost of labour and materials (much related to Covid), the contractor’s bids were way too expensive for what we felt were reasonable original estimates. Make sure you look at the Sanctuary Upgrade Update section in this newsletter to be better informed (pg. 8-9). Rest assured that by Easter we should still end up with a beautiful sanctuary as depicted in the artist’s renderings. You will also see that we still have a way to go to reach our funding goals. Several of you have already made contributions (just under $19,000 so far). Having to rely on contributions means we have to come with hat in hand to ask for your support. I know this is not new, but if we get the support from both you and those “out there”, I’m sure we can accomplish this.

Even though we now have regular in-person Sunday services, and some of them are live-streamed and available on You-Tube, we still would like to see more people participate in person. The pastor, deacon, musicians, and board representatives spend time and energy to plan and produce these events. Most if not all of our members are double vaccinated and we follow Covid protocol to provide a safe service. All we need is people to fill in the seats. Similarly, we have “relaxed coffee” after the service which is a self-serve snack of coffee and perhaps a small sandwich and/or cookie. Hope to see you either upstairs or downstairs soon.

Before you know it – it will be Christmas and then the New Year. The past two years have been very challenging for everyone. But with your participation and support, together we can move forward and make a difference. Best wishes for a happy and safe Christmas season. 

Sune Overgaard