How Do I Join The Church of the Incarnation?

If you would like to become a member of our church, we would be delighted.

Why should I become a member?

Becoming a member allows you to keep informed of all of our church activities. You will be added to our e-newsletter, periodic mailings and the parish list. With that information, you can contribute your time as a volunteer or contribute financially to help sustain the work of the church. It will allow us to make sure we are meeting your spiritual needs and issue things like tax receipts for your donations.

If you wish to join us on an occasional basis only, we welcome your visits, whether you become a member or not.

Please fill out a newcomer form here or pick one up from the greeters on Sunday.

We are all ministers and need to think of our involvement in the church as our own ministry: to develop and share our gifts, creativity and time in ways that help us grow into all we can be. It is a way of making choices about how best to share with each other and the church, whether that be taking leadership roles or supporting the priorities of the parish.

Our participation and commitment to the church is at its best an opportunity for personal growth as well as supporting the important work we do together. Volunteering, therefore, is so much more than a gift of time, it is a celebration of the work of the church as a whole.

Worship & Celebration

Our services couldn’t take place without our many volunteers!

Service Preparation: bake bread, set up the altar, greet people as they arrive, prepare coffee/juice, count offerings

Participating in the Service: read Bible readings and the gospel, lead community prayer, present gifts, prepare the table for communion, offer the bread or wine.

Music: sing, play an instrument. Nursery: supervise children under age 3.

Church School: teach or assist with children age 3 to grade 7.

Ongoing Ministry

You may wish to join one of our committees, such as stewardship, building, social, pastoral care, worship, music or social justice. You may also wish to become involved with Parish Council or any of the small groups being formed. Please check the current contacts list.

Or you may wish to help on an occasional basis, delivering flyers throughout the community, assisting with concerts, social and fundraising events, helping with property cleanup. These opportunities are listed in the newsletter and bulletins as they arise. If you are aware of other volunteer opportunities that we haven’t discovered yet, please let us know!

Clearly, stewardship extends to the leadership roles we play in formal activities, but also encompasses the informal support and care we show for each other on a day to day basis.

Beyond Ourselves

Our real stewardship role extends beyond the Church of the Incarnation to our responsibility as Christians to the community around us. In fact, it must be within the community that our ministry takes place, not isolated from it.

We believe that we have a responsibility to share what we have learned at the Incarnation about spirituality, community, and personal responsibility. All of us play a part in this, through our involvement with other churches in the diocese, but also through our ongoing commitments to community organizations. Please let us know if we can help you with this.

Many of us grew up in an age when it wasn’t nice to talk about money and church.

That’s a shame. Not just because the church needs our contributions to continue its work both within the church and in the wider community. Not just because we are still subsidized by the regional church and need to become self-sufficient. Not just because we have ambitious hopes and dreams for future programs.

It’s a shame because that attitude deprives us of an opportunity to share our resources, to do more together than we could do alone. As members of this church, we need and want to take responsibility for the work of our church and sharing in the cost of ministry is a way to do that.

How Much?

We have all heard the expression give ‘til it hurts. We believe in giving until it feels good. Good for our church, good for our world, good for us.

How much should you give? There’s no single answer, but there’s still a lot of merit in the old method of proportional giving suggested in the Bible. The suggested amount then was 10% of your gross earnings. That’s a vision of giving that still holds true today, but most of us can’t start there...and it’s the starting that’s important.

Following this philosophy, we ask you to look at your givings as a percentage of your gross earnings and contribute an amount that seems right for you. Perhaps your starting point is 2%, maybe 5%. Our ongoing challenge to each other is to take advantage of increasing this opportunity for giving in each new year.

Each fall, we consider our individual situations and develop a financial plan of commitment for the coming year. Our contributions help support our worship experience, Christian formation, social activities, pastoral ministry within the church, outreach, as well as covering building and administrative costs.

Regular Givings

Although we do not pass a collection plate, baskets for Sunday offerings are placed conveniently in the worship space and many members contribute that way. Some use envelopes; others give monthly or quarterly donations, or post-dated cheques for periods when they will be away. If you contribute by cheque, please make it payable to "The Church of the Incarnation".

We would encourage you to consider automatic bank withdrawal or pre-authorized credit card payments. It is more convenient for you and helps us plan. In all cases, we will write you a tax receipt. Of course, contributions are always kept confidential.

download a pre-authorized payment form 

Regular or individual donations can also be made to the church via www.canadahelps.org.

Special Funds

The regular Sunday offering goes towards the ongoing expenses of the church (i.e. the "General Fund"). If you wish to direct additional contributions, you may make donations to three other funds.

The Rector's Discretionary Fund provides money the rector can use for emergencies, to help those in need and to fund ministries which would otherwise not be possible.

The Building Fund accumulates fundraising profits, commitments made during our capital fundraising campaign and specified donations. The Building Renewal fund sets aside money to pay for major building purchases and repairs.

Fundraising

Finally, you can also contribute financially to the work of the church by participating in our fundraising ventures. Fundraising activities also give us a way to get to know each other better—and have fun. Examples of past fundraising activities include a talent auction, running a parking lot during major golf tournaments and staging a concert.