The bulk of this report to Vestry was printed in our last edition of the Tidings newsletter as I felt that all of the good things going on here at Christ Church should be shared with our community and with those who may not be able to attend this year's Vestry meeting.As we enter this Vestry meeting and begin 2010 here at Christ Church, we do so with renewed energy and a sense of excitement with what God is doing in our midst. From services of Blessing of Animals, Christingle Advent services, Family services, to increased outreach programs into the community and beyond, the energy and spirit of Christ Church continues to grow.

Building on the tremendous work and dedication that Canon Rob Shields has given to Christ Church over the better part of two decades we find ourselves a strong and spirit-filled parish family. I am honoured and excited to be Priest-in-Charge of this community at such an important time as Stouffville continues to grow and as so many new families come into the area. I am also excited to be working with The Rev. John Anderson who will be staying on as our Assistant Curate for the next two years and who brings with him a wealth of energy and new ideas.

One of the many blessings of this parish is strong and faithful ministry leaders and volunteers and as we begin to look at new ways to move forward together as a parish, I am confident that they will continue to step up to the challenge and that we will be able to reach out with the Gospel message of Jesus to even more people in our community.

We also continue to have a very strong Church School with programs for toddlers right up to senior youth and over the coming year it will continue to be one of our primary goals to build on the tradition of inter-generational worship here at Christ Church with periodic Family Services and the development of a youth choir.

In addition to this we will also be introducing some new services such as a monthly Praise Service on Sunday afternoon and a mid-week service of prayer.These new liturgies will be aimed at reaching even more people in the community and will provide a variety of worship times and styles as they will be added to our current Sunday morning services, monthly Seniors service and monthly Healing service.

Then we have the Christ Church commitment to outreach. With a well established and dedicated International Outreach Committee we continue to have a strong connection with the Mully Children's Family in Kenya. This connection was seen in the fantastic visit of the Mully Children's Choir this past November and assisting MCF will continue to be an integral part of Christ Church in the coming years.

Closer to home in the Stouffville community our Local Outreach group helps out with clothing drives, food drives, and supporting local branches of Faithworks. Our Local Outreach ministry also includes the Deacon Al Fund which assists those in our parish and local community with much needed financial assistance. Over the past year we have helped over ten families in our parish as well as sending assistance to the Scott Mission and Evergreen Hospice.

I could go on with the list of all of the incredible things that are done here at Christ Church but I will leave it up to you to come and visit us and to catch the spirit of this place, a place of warmth and welcome, a place where the love of Christ shines.

Yours in Christ,
The Rev. Jason Prisley