A) Membership:

5 members

2 of which will be the Sunday School Superintendents

B) Tasks:

Plan and implement a comprehensive program of Christian Education for the entire congregation for Sundays or weekdays.

Coordinate the library.

Create an atmosphere of hospitality in the congregation.

Coordinate planning for a variety of social activities

Annual Report
2007-08
Finding ways to nurture our congregation to grow and develop vibrant faith is one of the ways to look
at the role of Nurture Committee. Our primary focus is on children and youth and creating contexts for
our young people to feel connected to the church. While we realize it is relationships and personal faith
that is the critical outcome of our work, it is hard to report on these aspects in short report. We would
encourage you to talk to children and others about their experiences in Vacation Bible School, youth
group or Logos to get a sense of this.
For reporting purposes, we will look at how the Nurture budget nurtured faith development this past
year.
Children/Youth SS Material – Our SS continues to be one of the biggest in MCEC with a
possible 96 children from Age 2 up to Grade 8 taught by 30 teachers, and a possible 25 Youth.
Again this year the majority of the SS expenditures were spent on Gather Round Curriculum
and classroom supplies. In addition to the regular teaching, the assembly program will be a
major focus in this next year.
Adult SS - There were 12 classes led by 14 facilitators. Attendance was excellent with many
interesting topics for the adult population to engage in learning and discussion. We are blessed
at WN with many gifted adults who are willing to share their gifts, experiences and leadership
in a variety of Adult SS topics.
LOGOS - For the 2007-2008 program, the second full year of operation, 35 children/youth
were registered for the 20 wks with 35 adult volunteers involved. Operationally, Logos
continues to be a self funded program through participant registration fees and does not draw
from any Nurture budget lines. LOGOS is most visible in the ways in which its youth and
children were involved in Sunday morning worship, but continues to enjoy the development of
relationships between the children/youth and adults. We thank Chip Bender, who has left the
committee, for all his work in getting LOGOS off the ground 4 years ago.
Youth - For 2007, there were close to 25 youth listed in the directory. The youth are active in
Sunday School, Logos, and a variety of Youth Group events. A highlight in the past year was
the service trip to Mississippi. Some of the group activities, such as the service trip, are also
subsidized by youth group fundraising and some registration fees. A special thanks to Tanya
Swats who completed 6 years of service as a Youth Sponsor.
Junior Youth (JY) - In the past year JY sponsors met approximately once/month. These events
are an important opportunity for youth in Grades 7&8 to form relationships with each other and
the sponsors.
Nursery - provides childcare during worship and other miscellaneous events. The majority of
Nursery budget covers snacks and craft supplies. We are grateful to the coordinators, but also
very grateful to the many parents who contribute in this area.
Periodicals - is a line item used to subsidize the purchase of Advent Booklets, The Mennonite
and Rejoice.
Library - Our Library committee is kept very busy running and growing an active resource
centre. They provide a continually expanding selection of books and multi media resources for
children and adults.
Workshops/VBS - is used primarily to offset costs related to the Vacation Bible School
program we operate in partnership with Erb St Mennonite Church. The majority of DVBS
operating budget is self funded by registration fees. This past year Erb Street hosted DVBS -
approx 44 children participated and the program was led by the MCEC VBS troupe. Special
thanks are due to Chip Bender and Loretta Neufeld Vande Sande who represented WNMC on
the planning committee. WNMC will host DVBS in summer 2009.
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Venture Club - Due to overlap with other programs and concerns about volunteer time,
Venture Club was intentionally not run in the past year. We are planning to review this
program with Venture Club age parents later in Fall ’2008, and, if there is parental interest in
shared leadership, we will revive this program.
Rites of Passage - are ways to recognize students transitioning to Grade 1, Grade 7, and out of
High School. These public acknowledgements of significant transitions continue to be
extremely meaningful to the students, parents and the congregation.
Student Aid - provided support for four students in the 2007-2008 school year. For the 2008-
2009 year, the budget request covers five students that were approved by the Student Aid
committee. The Student Aid program is jointly administered by the Nurture and Finance
committees. As a congregation we want to ensure that families at Waterloo North consider this
as one way in which the congregation supports their choice of Mennonite education.
Mentor Program - coordinates and supports the matching of mentors with youth. There are
many formal mentor pairs active within Waterloo North. Thank you to Julie Snyder-Penner
who has completed her term as a Mentor Coordinator.
Christmas Program - This past year, inclement weather forced us to experiment with a
different Christmas program format integrated into the Sunday morning Worship. Based on
positive feedback, we are planning for a Sunday morning program this year . Thank you to
Geoff Suderman-Gladwell who coordinated last year’s program.
Church Picnic -This has been renamed from the SS picnic to celebrate the much broader scope
of our congregational programs. Planning for the picnic continues to be a joint effort between
Nurture, Worship and Fellowship. The location was changed again to the Keupfer farm, and we
welcome any input you may have on venue and format.
Abuse Prevention Policy - The nurture committee also oversees the implementation of the
Abuse Prevention Policy across the various church programs. Thank you to Margaret Campbell-
Boyle who has completed her term in this role.
This next year will be a year of transition for the Nurture committee. We are grateful for the
overwhelming congregational support for the addition of a ½ time Pastoral position focussing in the
area of Christian formation. We look forward to working with Lisa Carr-Pries in this role, and ask for
your support and prayers as Lisa joins Nurture committee as the Ministry team representative. We
also extend a huge thanks to Chip as he leaves Nurture committee after 8 years of service. Our
challenge will be to bridge these transitions, but we are excited about the gift of increased staff focus
in this area.
Finally, as a Nurture committee we are extremely grateful for the support of the many dedicated
volunteers who contribute their time and energy to nurture faith development for our children, youth
and adults. You are the village that raises our children. Thank you!!
Committee Members 07-08
Phil Ruby, Chair
Sheri Martin Soosaar (SS Superintendent)
Patty Klassen (Asst. SS Superintendent)
Elinor Snell (Adult SS Superintendent)
Margaret Andres (Logos)
Mary Lehto (Member at Large)
Geoff Suderman-Gladwell (Member at Large)
Chip Bender (Ministry Team Representative)