I hope that everyone had a great 2007 and has an even better 2008! Our committee was very busy throughout the year. With the assistance of the congregation, we were once again able to help others in our community and abroad.  

In February, we hosted the annual Pancake Supper. A profit of $263.39 was raised for Guatemala. This year our dinner will be held on Tuesday, February 5^th. Tickets will be on sale January 20^th, 27^th and February 3rd. The cost is $5.00 per person. We continue to have two seatings at 5:15 and 6:15 p.m. with 50 people at each seating. It is such a wonderful time of fellowship with our friends. Please make every effort to join us, especially if you are new to the church! Children are welcome and we will split plates of food for little ones upon request.  

For Easter, our potted plants from King Flowers beautifully decorated our sanctuary. We had thirty nine lovely plants to admire and enjoy the wonderful scent.  

$1445.30 was collected through our Lenten Coin Boxes in 2007. Another record-breaking year!! This money was directed to PWS&D. This year there will be a change in format for the coin boxes. Actually, there are no boxes! They are no longer available. Our committee is supplying reusable containers which will be labeled and available on February 3^rd.  

Our annual Yard Sale was held on June 2nd. We had a better year than last year with sales totaling $1155.25. This money was also directed to PWS&D. Our sale this year will be held on June 7th. Begin putting aside your items now and as always, please ensure that they are clean and in good working condition. No clothing, please.  

We held our annual Walk-a-thon along the Lynn Valley Trail on Sunday, September 9th. We had a whopping nine people involved in the trek this year, but we still managed to raise $705.00 for the Simcoe Upper Deck Youth Centre. Even the nasty rain didn’t dampen the spirits of those brave souls who took part!! We hope to have much better weather this coming year and a much better turnout.  

The Thanksgiving Food Drive for Quetzal Family Homes was held In October. As always, they were most appreciative of the generous donations from our congregation. St. Paul’s was also involved with the Ten Thousand Villages Sale at the First Baptist Church during the later part of October.  

Our Mitten Tree was in place for Sunday, November 4^th remaining until November 25th. It filled quickly with both hand-knitted and store-purchased items - 206 items in total. These were packaged up and sent to Evangel Hall in Toronto and Anishinabe in Winnipeg, where they will be put to good use. Thank you to all who donated.

How is it possible that each year seems to pass faster than the year before? It feels as if 2006 just arrived and is already gone. Thank goodness our congregation managed to do many good deeds during that very fast year!

In February, the Mission & Stewardship Committee hosted our Pancake Supper. A total of $335.00 was raised for Guatemala. The dinner this year will be held on Tuesday, February 20^th. Tickets will be on sale February 4th, 11th, and 18^th. The cost is $5.00 per person and there will be two seatings of 50 people each. The first seating is 5:15 p.m. and second at 6:15 p.m. We hope to see you there.

For Easter, our sanctuary was beautifully decorated with almost fifty flower pots. How wonderful to walk into a church that is filled with such beauty and smells like Heaven! We had another outstanding year for the Lenten Coin boxes. A total of $1420.30 was collected for PWS&D. Just when we think we have reached a high, the members of this congregation seem to dig a little deeper into their pockets. Well done!

Our annual Yard Sale was held in June. For some reason attendance was down and so were sales. A total of $770.25 was raised for PWS&D. Our sale for 2007 will be held on Saturday, June 2. Please begin setting aside items now, and as always please make sure that they are clean and in good working condition.

On September 10^th, our group made our annual trek on the Lynn Valley Trail from Port Dover to Simcoe. The weather co-operated again this year, giving us an excellent day for our venture. A total of $740.00 was raised in pledges being down a bit from last year. This money was directed to the Simcoe Upper Deck Youth Centre. In October, the Thanksgiving Food Drive for Quetzal Family Homes was held. We had a good response and the food was gratefully received. Also in October, our church participated in the Ten Thousand Villages Sale, held at First Baptist Church. A total of $20,100 worth of items was sold. Outstanding!!

November continued to be a good month for giving. A total of 340 items or sets were placed on the Mitten Tree. These were sorted, packed and sent to Evangel Hall in Toronto and to Anishinabe in Winnipeg, where they will be put to good use this winter, once the cold weather actually gets here!

Throughout December, people gave generously of both their time and money. Food was donated for the Christmas Food Drive organized by the Salvation Army. Gifts were also purchased for 17 needy children from Quetzal Family Homes. In a perfect world, these gifts would not be needed. Until that time, it is wonderful that we have so many thoughtful people who think of others.

Thank you to all who gave their support and their money to the many projects that our Mission & Stewardship Committee supports. As always we appreciate the help that you give to us throughout the year. May you all enjoy a healthy and happy 2007!

Leigh/Mission & Stewardship Committee

"Don’t put a question mark where God puts a period".