Hello Blog Friends!
Apologies that this post is being published a day later than expected. Yesterday’s Electoral Synod took me away from home for 11 hours and, as there were 5 rounds of balloting, there was little time to try and finalise the blog while also taking minutes of the proceedings. I am very thankful it is now over and am pleased that the candidate for whom I was voting, was (eventually!!)elected.
There were 7 candidates on the slate and, in order to be elected, a person must receive a majority of votes in both Houses (Laity and Clergy). Each time we voted all the ballots had to be tallied and then, unless there was a clear majority, we started all over again! Ten years ago, when Bishop Mary was elected, there were 4 ballots, and in the election before that (Bishop Barry) there were 7 ballots, so it is quite possible we will to be there all day, and we were! For the next 6 months our Coadjutor Bishop will work alongside Bishop Mary, getting to know the ropes and will then be consecrated on All Saints Day, November 1st. Hi name is Victor David Bipungu Mbyui . He is originally from the Congo, is trilingual, holds a doctorate and is currently the Regional Archdeacon of the Laurentians (suburbs north of Montreal and rural areas further north). We are proud to have elected the first Diocesan bishop of colour in the Anglican Church of Canada.
Meanwhile, the past week started with CTM’s Annual General Meeting, last Sunday afternoon. Although invitations had been sent to all those who, in 2024, had given a donation of 20$ or more (there were 53 individuals) only the 6 current Board Members and 2 members of staff from Junior Youth Camp, attended. I had been SO worried that the “Instant Meet” links might not work but, thankfully, all was well and everyone logged in successfully. The meeting was pretty straightforward with only a couple of acrimonious remarks from one member! After the meeting, and knowing the week ahead did not contain much wiggle room for household tasks, a couple of hours were spent on the quarterly full cleaning of the pantry shelves. It is good to see all the jars sparkling, again!
Monday’s work started with typing up the AGM minutes and with that task out of the way, I began some intensive organising of all the files and folders, which constitute the Day Camps Resource Package. A fruitless hour was spent trying to reformat the ”Daily Worksheet” document, finally throwing in the towel and begging Jillian to do it for me, as she is much more adept at text boxes!
Tuesday evening, the FINAL version of the 2025 Program Manual arrived in my Inbox and I happily uploaded a copy to said Resource Package. I think it unlikely that the Google Slides and the MP4 of the Liturgical Dance will turn up very soon and so, this morning, I decided to share the Resource Package with all the host communities (that have already applied) and will add the additional files as they are ready. Thursday afternoon, an email arrived from a church in BC, asking when they could have access to the Program Manual, so I decided it was best to share the documents we have, as most host communities are looking, primarily, for the Manual!
Happily, two of the four sets of Creative Activity sample photos were sent in, this week, so those were also uploaded. Yay!
Not much time for handwork, but I did complete, and block, my new spring pullover. The plan is to wear it to Synod, as one always feels more confident in a new item of clothing!
Today there will be lots of extra food prep, as a friend from out of town will be staying overnight and holding the fort, tomorrow, with Mr.T. So, late yesterday, I did the weekly Bake and, as a bonus, made a pizza for my supper, with leftovers for packed lunches!
A friend recently gifted me with some special Pizza Flour and so I made my favourite crust recipe and with it created:-
Spinach, Mozzarella & Pickled Jalepeño Pizza
- 2 Tbsps. cornmeal
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup grated Mozzarella
- ½ cup sliced pickled Jalepeños
- 1 Tbsp. Virgin Olive oil
- 11/2 recipe pizza dough (see link above)
Preheat a pizza stone (or large cast iron skillet) in a 450ºF oven. Roll out the crust to a 10” circle. Remove the stone from the oven and sprinkle, evenly, with cornmeal. Working quickly, lay the crust on the stone and cover first with the cheese, then the spinach and finally the peppers. Drizzle with the oil and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Serves 2.