One could argue that it is always “Visitors’ Week” around here, but let me hasten to explain that this week has seen visits from two people whom I consider to have been significant mentors and both of whom currently live in England, so to enjoy those two visits in the space of one week is “special”!
The first part of the week was spent compiling the Church Feedback Forms. Since there are 25 of these to write it is a pretty major task and involves consulting the Evaluations from the Team Leaders and Members, the Evaluations sent in either by mail or email from the Clergy and Coordinators, the Minutes of the Team Leaders’ Evaluation Meeting and my own notes taken from observations over the summer.
All 25 forms are now drafted out but still need to be reread and to verify the accuracy of all the stats etc. before sending them out. Along with the forms will go the 2015 Church Application plus the Program Flyer- “Something to Celebrate!”
So there is still a lot to do, the goal being to email all of them out by the first week of September. Ugh! –SEPTEMBER!!! One cannot hang onto the last vestiges of summer for much longer.To that end, Monday morning will see the start of the “Changing of the Decorations” for Harvest/Thanksgiving. It always seems best to do this in time for Labour Day Weekend, which most of North America does recognise as the official end of summer, despite what the calendar says about September 21st!
But back to this past week…
By mid-week I was back to sending out receipts for final payments of Day Camp fees and beginning to contact people about volunteering for upcoming events like the Fall Team Gathering and the Coffee House.
Suddenly notices are starting to arrive about various September meetings, including an invitation to consider joining a diocesan committee on the Stewardship of the Environment (do I really need another committee??)
Suddenly notices are starting to arrive about various September meetings, including an invitation to consider joining a diocesan committee on the Stewardship of the Environment (do I really need another committee??)
Thursday morning the Chapman clan descended upon me for a morning “coffee” visit- Jill, her 4 children, a young “helper” and a neighbour boy who tagged along for the fun!!
Wil had a WHALE of a time! All those children to lick, plus juice spills and cracker crumbs- dog heaven!!
Jill and I retreated to the small porch with our coffee, knitting and Owen (the youngest) while the clan took over the dining room to play a board game and have their snack. All very chaotic and enjoyable. After a quick clean up and a stint mowing the lawns Wil and I headed to the CO-OP for my first “Special Visitor” visit with the Rev. Brett Cane. Brett “invented” our Day Camp Program, directed Senior Youth Camp for a number of years, was President of CTM, etc. etc. etc. Most specially, he has mentored thousands of young Christians, myself included and drawn many into a personal relationship with the Lord.
Whenever Brett is in Montreal we manage to squeeze in a visit and I get to tell him all the stories and adventures of a Day Camps Summer; Thursday afternoon was no exception!
This morning Pat Stokes came for breakfast. Pat was a longtime member of St. Matthew’s Church. She sang in the choir with my dad for years, helped in the catering group with my Mum, tirelessly led the youth choir in Christmas and Easter Dramas, was a Lay Reader, Coordinated Day Camp at St. Matthew’s and was a huge source of comfort and support to me when my mum died.
When Pat retired she returned to the UK to live in a Devonshire cottage. She comes back to Canada every summer to visit friends and to attend the Stratford Festival.She also always makes a point of finding a way to visit, so this time it was breakfast on the deck.
Debbie, one of this Summer’s Team Leaders was able to join us as she had arranged to drop by to pick up her Evaluation Package. Debbie also grew up at St. Matthew’s and Pat knew her from the time she was born. Now a young lady of 22, it was great to watch them talking together as Debbie related her Day Camp adventures and her hopes and aspirations for the future.
In between this week’s Day Camps activities, I completed William’s birthday crown and was happy that his grandparents were able to pick it up as they have travelled up to Ottawa for his birthday, which is tomorrow.Sunday is going to be fairly epic, since besides a children’s ministry teaching on Zechariah, I’m also on Lunch Duty (more on this in “Sunday Reflections”!)
This week,there has also been a bit of garden work, knitting (I’ve finished the first Norwegian Sock, WOOT WOOT!) and one “baking day”. That day I tried a Broccoli Quiche Recipe that was sent with our farm share. I’m not a huge quiche fan but I do love broccoli and it really was quite successful so here is the recipe, which I tweaked a bit!
Broccoli Quiche
- 1 pie pan lined with pastry
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 1 garlic clove (or scape),finely chopped
- 1cup finely diced broccoli
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1Tbsp. flour
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 Tbsps. basil pesto
- ¼ tsp. each salt & pepper
Heat oven to 425F. Prick bottom and sides of crust and line with parchment and pie weights or dried beans. Bake 8 minutes, remove parchment and weights, and bake another 8 minutes. Reduce oven to 325F. Toss broccoli, onions, garlic, cheese, and flour in a bowl. Spread mixture over the bottom of the crust. Whisk remaining ingredients in the bowl. Pour filling into crust. Bake until knife inserted near center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.