Leadership Council Third Quadrimestre Report (September - December 2025)
During the third Quadrimestre of 2025 the Leadership Council had two regularly scheduled meetings.
We continue to be grateful for the individuals who have volunteered to be a part of the Leadership Council as well as those individuals who volunteer for the variety of events and programs planned by our various ministry teams and working groups.
Highlights from these third Quadrimestre meetings include:
The Operations Working Group provided updates on the key work of this group, and this information can be found in our meeting minutes.
The South Calgary Cluster (McDougall, Ogden, Red Deer Lake, Fish Creek, Lakeview, and Southview United Churches) raised concerns around the proposed government changes from AISH to ADAP. Rev. Bill, on behalf of McDougall, will draft a statement outlining our concerns.
Marketing and Fundraising shared the highlights from their fundraising for 2025. The next planned fundraising event will be dessert, silent auction and concert on March 6th, 2026.
A petition policy was drafted by our ministry team and approved in principle by the Leadership Council. It will be reviewed again at our February 3rd, 2026, meeting.
As an affirming church we lack the visibility within the community to indicate that we are an affirming church. Rev. Bill shared potential ideas that the Affirming team has suggested to increase our visibility within the community. Further action is required.
Updates and discussions regarding the Shared Ministry Team continue to be a crucial part of our meetings. The following are some of the highlights from their updates:
The name of the Joint Vision and Planning Group was changed to Joint Advisory Council. This council will provided recommendations related to the vision and direction of the Shared Ministry Team to the individual church councils.
Rev. Danah’s hours will move from 30 hours/week to 20 hours/week effective January 1st, 2026.
The concept of hiring a 20 hour/week First Third Ministry Connector had been considered but after much deliberation this position will not be filled at this time.
Due to Ogden United Church’s decrease in contribution to the Shared Ministry, McDougall and Red Deer Lake will be increasing their contribution.
This quadrimestre we began looking at a preliminary 2026 budget.
A Town Hall meeting will be held on January 18th, 2026, to provide information regarding Rev. Joanne’s three-month Restorative Care leave, and plans for our Shared Ministry in 2026.
For those interested the Leadership Council minutes can be found posted in the Hospitality Hall, in a binder in the library, and on the McDougall website https://www.mcdunited.com/leadership-council .
If anyone is interested in becoming a member of the Leadership Council please contact the church office, Daren Patterson (daren.denise@gmail.com), or Joanne Pritchard (jmpritchard@shaw.ca). Our next regularly scheduled meeting will be on October 7th, 2025 @7pm.
Respectfully submitted by,
Daren Patterson
Co-chair Leadership Council
To read other updates or to learn more about what is going on behind the scenes, please visit the Leadership Council webpage.