Until quite recently there was no President at Olinda.  There was, instead, a 

Moderator, a title in use from the time of foundation of the Church in 1880.  However, it 

was decided, naturally with some reluctance, to fall in line with all the other UU 

Congregations in Canada and adopt the standard form and change Moderator to 

President.  So even though we have a long history, the current incumbent is in fact only 

the second President, and is indeed the first to enter office with that title. 

 

 The duties of the President are spelled out in the By-Laws.  Article VII (a) (i) 

states that the President shall “preside at all Congregational and Board Meetings and shall 

set the agenda for such meetings”.  One of the arguments for changing the title of the 

office had to do with that word “preside”, as by definition the one who “presides” is in 

fact the “President”.  The power of the President lies largely in the second part of the 

sentence quoted above which has to do with the setting of the agenda.  This is not to say 

that no one else has input in to the agenda but the President is entitled to the final word. 

 

 Article VII (a) (ii) declares that the President is “an ex-officio member of all 

Committees of the Board”.  In practice, the President does not attend all Committee 

meetings, but the possibility exists for her or him to do so.  It is probably a good idea for 

the President not to make a practice of regularly attending, because in the event of an un- 

resolvable disagreement occurring in a given Committee, the President would likely be 

called on to resolve the issue and that would be easier to do if she or he had not been a 

party to the original discussion(s). 

 

 Line (iii) of the Article requires the President to “report in writing to the Annual 

Congregational Meeting”.  This is an important duty as it gives the President the 

opportunity both to report and to reflect on what has happened in a given year.  The 

report is one of a series of reports in the Annual Report, but the only one that can provide 

an overview of Church activities, especially in terms of Policies. 

 

 The final sentence (iv) of the Article indicates that the President “shall represent 

the Church on appropriate occasions”.  It is not clear what “appropriate” means, but 

presumably this is a residual power that the President could exercise if deemed necessary 

by Congregation who felt the need to be represented in a public arena. 

 

 The Olinda Church has two leaders.  The spiritual leader is the Minister.  The 

administrative leader (for want of a better phrase) is the President.  The two leaders work 

in tandem with the shared goal of providing the best possible leadership for our beloved 

Church. 

 

Wilf Innerd (President).  

Eventually we grow weary of seeking treasures outside
ourselves and we begin to look within. There we discover
that the gold we sought, we already are.

Alan Cohen

“God grant me the courage not

to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless.”

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

There is a sewing circle

hosted by Karen Miller every third Sunday in the church basement following coffee hour. Everyone is welcome. Bring your own projects and enjoy the lively conversation. The more that come, the more ideas can be shared about sewing but also about almost anything else you might like to discuss.

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” 

Edmund Burke 

“A society is defined not

only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy.”

John Sawhill

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it.

Do not believe

in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many.

Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.

– The Buddha

“What we think or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence.
The only thing of consequence is what we do.”
~ John Ruskin

“The future depends on what we do in the present.”
~ Mahatma Gandhi

“Your talent is God’s gift to you.
What you do with it is your gift back to God. ”
~ Leo Buscaglia

“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
~ George Eliot

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap,
but by the seeds you plant.”
~Robert Louis Stevenson

” Energy and persistence conquer all things. ”
~ Benjamin Franklin

Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences (with all the BLOOPERS) actually appeared in church bulletins:

1.  The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.

2.  The sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on the Water.’ The sermon tonight: ‘Searching for Jesus.’

3.  Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around      the house.

Bring your husbands.

4.  Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love.             Say ‘Hell’ to someone who doesn’t care much about you.

5.   Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.

6.   Miss Charlene Mason sang ‘I will not pass this way again,’ giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

7.   For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

8.   Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

9.   Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that             began in their school days.

10.  A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.

11.  At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be ‘What Is Hell?’ Come early and listen to our              choir practice.

12.  Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the                deterioration of some older ones.

13.  Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to                cripple children.

14.  Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

15.  The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

16.   Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM – prayer and medication to follow.

17.   The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on             Friday afternoon.

18.    This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket           and come prepared to sin.

19.   Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the                     Fellowship Hall after the B. S. is done.

20.   The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the Congregation would lend him their electric girdles              for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

21.   Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

22.   The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the Church  basement Friday at 7PM.              The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

23.  Weight Watchers will meet at 7PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the         side entrance.

24.  The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new campaign slogan last Sunday: ‘I Upped My Pledge –             Up Yours’.

Responsibilities:

Finding and engaging speakers and service leaders for Sunday mornings when our minister is away from the pulpit.

Monitoring the Sunday services, the attendance, interest and satisfaction with the aim of optimizing the experience for regular members and visitors to the church.

Scheduling and communicating special events associated with the services.

Current Membership:

Helen Moore, Sunday Services Trustee

Bill Baylis

Gypsy Carroll

Pat Haynes

Reverend Christine Hillman

Jane Innerd

Mariette Preyde

Carabel Ringrose

Guests are always welcome at meetings of the committee

Next

scheduled meeting: May 6, 2012, at 9:15 AM