Thanks so much for dropping by! We're going to be updating this page regularly to keep us all up to date on our interactions with the Presbyterian Church in Canada as we seek to position ourselves to move forward with what we believe God is calling us to. If you have any questions - do not hesitate to contact us today!

Decision of the Presbytery of Barrie

The Presbytery of Barrie decided to defer the motion to dissolve the congregation of Trinity Community Church. This means that Trinity will continue November 1st under an entirely new leadership structure. Presbytery also appointed a new assessor session to govern the congregation in light of the resignation of the entire current eldership of Trinity.

This decision also takes off the table the purchase of the current Trinity facility by the leadership team of Connexus Community Church, at least for the forseeable future as the Presbytery attempts to begin a continuing congregation.While both myself (Carey!) and the current leadership team will finish up our ministry at Trinity by the end of the month, those wishing to continue to be part of a continuing Presbyterian witness at Trinity are invited to contact Interim Moderator Neal Mathers at nmathers@georgian.net or at 705-444-6823. Neal has been appointed by the Presbytery to lead the transition into new ministry and is happy to answer questions, as is our current team who will serve here until the end of the month.

As we have expressed on numerous occasions, the most important thing we can do as a congregation is to love each other. Jesus said this would be how the world will know we are his disciples, and judging by the way current Trinity people conducted themselves last night at Presbytery, we're off to a great start (seriously). Thanks for the grace and humility exhibited so far. Let's continue to support and love each other and celebrate each other's successes. When the world sees that, they might actually believe we have a God worth knowing. After all, this isn't about us, it's about the Kingdom of God.

Decision Week

Next week is the week we should know for sure whether the future ministry our current leadership team will be launching (Connexus) will begin in the current Trinity facility or in the Galaxy Cinemas in Barrie or Orillia. It all depends on whether our denomination accepts the offer to purchase Trinity. The decision will be made the evening of Tuesday October 9th during the meeting of the Presbytery of Barrie which will be held right here at Trinity. A dinner for presbyters begins at 6, with public worship at 7 (you are invited to worship with us) and the meeting begins at 7:30.

The meeting is open to the public (unless the court decides to go in camera), so you are welcome to attend. I am sure emotions might at times run high, and you know that the Presbytery has already met with people who may want to continue here as a Presbyterian congregation. This will be a meeting where mature, balanced, prayerful leadership must be shown.

The current team here at Trinity has done a thorough job of putting forth what we believe is a more than generous offer to purchase this facility. The decision of whether to dissolve Trinity to make the acceptance of that of that offer possible rests with the Presbytery, and we fully trust that God will speak in the Presbytery's decision.

If you are going to come to the meeting, I would encourage you serve our Presbyterian brothers and sisters in Christ in love and to treat our brothers and sisters who may want to be part of a continuing Presbyterian congregation here in Oro in love. Let's serve an excellent meal, pray humbly, and trust that however this turns out, God will provide abundantly. If you have questions, please call us, and feel free to check out more information on line at Trinity.

October 3rd Update
Interim Moderator Neal Mathers met people who gathered Monday night to discuss the possibility of forming the basis of a congregation at Trinity that would continue to form a Presbyterian congregation after our leadership team leaves Trinity October 31st. According to Dr. Mathers, 36 people were in attendance last night.

The current senior Trinity staff and several elders met yesterday with Dr. Mathers and representatives of the Presbytery of Barrie special executive team charged with handling the situation at Trinity. The interim moderator and executive team will be preparing their report to the general meeting of Presbytery which will meet next Tuesday October 9th at Trinity to again consider whether to dissolve Trinity as a congregation or attempt to continue it.

Coincidentally, the Trustee Board of the Presbyterian Church in Canada today indicated that it would not entertain the offer forwarded by Connexus last month to purchase the Trinity facility unless and until the Presbytery of Barrie dissolves Trinity. So for Connexus and for anyone who wants to continue in the Presbyterian church, next Tuesday October 9th will be a pivotal night. We are totally trusting God on this, and Connexus has a well developed plan to meet in an alternate location starting December 2nd in any event. In the meantime, let's keep loving each other and respecting each other deeply in Christ. For the record, discussions continue to be amicable and courteous, and Dr. Mathers will receive a full copy of all correspondence published about these issues.

From Thursday September 27, 2007

We received word yesterday that the Presbytery of Barrie has appointed Rev. Dr. Neal Mathers as Interim Moderator of Trinity in light of the resignations of our senior staff. The interim moderator has called a meeting for Monday, October 1st at 7 in the auditorium. The purpose of the meeting is to meet with anyone who may want to continue within the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and the interim moderator will explore whether there is enough support for Presbytery to consider a continuing Presbyterian congregation in Oro after November 1st when our leadership team departs to begin Connexus Community Church.

Here is the official notice: "With the request by our congregation that Presbytery dissolve Trinity Presbyterian Church effective October 31st, 2007 the Presbytery of Barrie has appointed Rev.Dr. A.R.Neal Mathers as interim moderator. Presbytery has instructed him to meet with any persons interested in continuing within the Presbyterian Church in Canada before Presbytery makes its final decision. Anyone wishing to discuss this possibility is asked to meet with Rev. Mathers on Monday, October 1st at 7:00 p.m. Location: Trinity auditorium. Alternatively, you may also contact him at 705-444-6823 or nmathers@georgian.net.

Naturally, it is up to your individual conscience whether you want to join the team moving to Connexus or explore other options. We encourage all those who may want to explore a continued Presbyterian connection to meet with Dr. Mather's Monday night. We are open to and will submit to whatever God will do in this regard. If you have questions, you are welcome to contact us or Dr. Mathers. To allow freedom of expression, none of Trinity's staff or eldership (all of whom are supporting the launch of Connexus) will be in attendance Monday night.

From Wednesday September 12th 2007

Thank you SO much for your prayers. The leadership team here at Trinity appreciates them and continue to value them. The team had several meetings yesterday with various denominational officials and bodies and it's fair to say several "tracks" were embarked on, with the final outcome to be determined in the next month. The Presbytery received Carey Nieuwhof's resignation and Patrick Voo's resignation as pastors of Trinity Community Church effective October 31st (they will be fully in leadership until then!). As you may recall, the resignations were necessary because Presbyterians have no provisions for a congregation to "leave" the denomination and it is the leaderships intention to pursue the multi-site vision outside of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. Carey and Patrick have to "leave" by resigning. This is not a sudden or unanticipated move, and was done with the full encouragement and support of the staff and leadership team. You will recall it is the intention of the current leadership team to step back as of October 31st, so this is all part of that process. Carey Nieuwhof will be serving as lead pastor until that point (preaching, writing this stuff, the whole deal). As to what happens after October 31st, watch this space next week as Carey will share a new blog the team is setting up to chronicle the journey to a new beginning. The second development is that the representative of the Trustee Board of the Presbyterian Church in Canada took the offer to purchase the current facility for $506,000 (along with the assumption of all assets and liablities) to the Trustee Board. The leadership team expects to hear back from them by the end of September. The third development is that Carey Nieuwhof moved at last night's Presbytery meeting and Patrick Voo seconded that Trinity be dissolved as a Presbyterian Church in Canada congregation effective October 31st. This is a follow up to the congregational meeting August 26th where 97.6% of those who voted ask that the leadership team petition the Presbytery to do this. Last night, the Presbytery voted to defer that decision to its next meeting October 9th, so the leadership team awaits the outcome of that meeting next month. In the meantime, the Presbytery is going to appoint an interim-moderator to work with Patrick and Carey to help the congregation through this transition. In the meantime, all the necessary steps that have to be taken for a December 2nd launch of a new ministry are being taken. Again, watch this space next week as we start to share details for anyone who may want to join in this new venture. Carey finds himself more excited than he's ever been about the future of ministry in this region.

In the meantime, your prayers are valued and your support is appreciated, and until October 31st, it's business as usual. We're praying for more changed lives this weekend. This is indeed all a part of a plan, and more importantly, nothing in this process is removed from God's plan. It's a joy to be in this together.

Trinity's Future (september 7th - 9th, 2007)

Another update. We are happy to report that on Thursday afternoon, representatives from the national church offices agreed to meet with us next Tuesday, September 11th at 3:00 p.m. to discuss our offer to purchase our current facility for $506,000. We were not sure whether we were going to get a direct response, and we are very grateful to have an opportunity to have this dialogue face to face. That meeting will be very helpful in shaping the discussion and action that might take place later that evening when the full Presbytery meets. Trinity has a special spot on the agenda next Tuesday night to update the court on what has happened, and, we hope, to act on our recent vote. Thank you for your prayers. We will keep you posted. Tuesday will end up being a very important day, and we value your prayer partnership!

Trinity's Future - Update (september 6th, 2007)

Thank you for your prayers as we entered yesterday's meeting with the special committee of Presbytery. We had a two hour meeting with the committee but in the end were not able to make significant progress with the key issues. Our request really involves three "layers" of church government (special committee, Presbytery, and the national church structure). The special committee felt it couldn't speak authoritatively without a national church representative present, and even with that, is not sure what it might be able to negotiate. Naturally, our team was disappointed with that response as we have all along requested the presence of the national church around the table and believe that our constitution gives the Presbytery authority to act. We are attempting to secure another meeting that includes national church representatives before next Tuesday and the committee is assisting with this. The Presbytery committee has received the full results of our congregational vote and is still analyzing them. We are hoping they will help move negotiations further along the path, but we are still awaiting an answer on that. In the meantime, we remain prayerful and are making appropriate plans for vibrant ministry in all scenarios in the future. Your prayers, and your engagement in day to day ministry are deeply appreciated. Watch for another update soon, as we are working toward participating in two more meetings in the next five days to continue negotiations. We are confident God is making a way for His objectives to be accomplished and we continue to seek a peaceable solution that really honours Christ in all of this.

Vote Results (september 5th, 2007)

Thank you to all 382 people who voted on the question of whether to affirm the multisite vision for Trinity and request the Presbytery of Barrie to dissolve Trinity as a Presbyterian Church in Canada congregation effective October 31st 2007. In all, 373 people voted in favour of the resolution, while 9 voted against. It broke down as follows:

Members: 103 yes, 7 no
Attenders: 247 yes, 2 no
Teens 23 yes, 0 no.

We are meeting with the Presbytery of Barrie special committee this morning (your prayers are appreciated) where we will present the results of the vote. We will let you know what happened tomorrow.

Thank you, and we are totally excited about taking this major step forward in faith together. I truly believe Christ will honour your faith in abundant ways.

Trinity's Future (aug 31st - sept 3rd, 2007)

Thanks to all of you who have written encouraging words since Sunday about your optimism over the huge step in faith we took together on Sunday as we voted to leave our current denomination to more fully embrace a multisite vision. Your enthusiasm is awesome! All the details are on line at www.trinitycommunity.org. If you are an attender or member at Trinity and missed the meeting, you can vote on line this week or in person this weekend at one of our three services. In all of this, let's continue to pray for the Presbyterian Church in Canada and actually bless them as we prepare to leave. God is doing good things throughout His kingdom, and it has been our elder's prayer from the beginning that somehow this would all lead to an expansion of God's work. Let's work together toward that end.

You Voted! (august 27th, 2007)

Friends...wow, did you ever take a huge step, maybe even jump, forward in faith and trust yesterday. I am soooo grateful to be in this with you. I am humbled by the trust you have placed in our leadership team (I promise you we feel the responsibility attached to it), and the demonstration of faith you have made toward Christ. I honestly believe God will honour your vote yesterday in ways that you cannot imagine in the future.

What happened yesterday? Of 268 people who voted at yesterday's meeting, 262 voted to affirm the multisite vision and ask our Presbytery to dissolve Trinity as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Canada as of October 31st, 2007. Six voters voted against the motion. That totals out at 97.7% in favour of leaving the PCC and pursuing the multi-site vision. The reason this is such a bold faith move is because your vote put the retention of our current facility in jeopardy (since the denomination owns our building and all of our assets).

If you missed the vote, you can participate by casting a supplementary ballot this week either:
a) voting on- line, or
b) voting in person next weekend at a ballot box during one of the three services.

Your vote is important because the Presbytery wants to hear from all Trinity people. (Please note; you can only vote once! If you already voted -- thanks, your vote has been counted. All votes will be checked against a master list to ensure there is no duplication and all voters are actually affiliated with Trinity.) On behalf of the church leadership who has worked so hard on this for the last two years, thank you to all of you who partnered with us yesterday and rearranged your life to be here for the vote We look forward to all this means, and as information becomes available, we will share it with you. We know there are as many questions as answers, and the leadership team is working hard to make the transition as smooth as possible, and the new church we will be forming together as effective as possible in reaching our community.

So what happens in the meantime? Ironically, we are actually anticipating our best fall ever as we believe the best way to launch something new is to do the best we can in serving Christ every day He gives us. We pray you will stay deeply engaged as God does something amazing in the next few months. Stay tuned.

Important Congregational Meeting August 26th (august 24th - 26th, 2007)

Don't miss the important congregational meeting this Sunday, August 26th at 1:00 p.m. about our future with the Presbyterian Church in Canada.

By now most of you have read the information package distributed last weekend. If not, catch it on line right now. We can also share the ballot question you'll be voting on Sunday. It will read: "I support the multi-site vision and request that the Presbytery of Barrie dissolve Trinity Community Presbyterian Church as a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Canada effective October 31st 2007. Yes/No" So many of you have asked how you can vote. Members of Trinity who are present at the meeting will have an official vote. Attenders who are at the meeting may also vote in the first round of what we call "supplemental voting". Because Presbyterian law restricts official voting to members, the official vote belongs to them. However, we want to hear from you. So we will give attenders the right to vote too, even if the results are not part of the "official" tab. There will be two other ways to vote for people who can't make the meeting. You may vote as well either on-line beginning Monday, August 27th until Saturday, September 1st, or by attending one of the three services on Sunday September 2nd where you can vote in person post-service in the Trinity Room. Remember, we expect Presbytery to pay the most attention to the votes cast at the meeting...so be there if possible. The other votes (on line and September 2nd) provide additional evidence of where our congregation is at! Sorry it's that complex, but we're trying to give everyone possible a vote within the reality of Presbyterian law.

Important Congregational Meeting This Sunday (august 20th 2007)

There will be an important congregational meeting on Sunday, August 26th at 1:00 p.m. about our future with the Presbyterian Church in Canada. There is a complete information pack available at the office and we'll be uploading the contents to our website shortly. The denomination has asked for this meeting so they can see how many Trinity people are in favour of leaving the denomination. We encourage you to attend, and will be happy to answer your questions. Stay tuned, and please mark Sunday August 26th at 1:00pm on your calendar. We apologize for the short notice, but we are doing all we can to keep the timeline for moving to multi-site moving along. Many of you have asked about proxy votes. Presbyterian polity states you have to be present at a meeting to vote, but I can assure you we are trying to set up a process to have your sentiment counted using other means if you can't make the meeting. (We hope to have clarity on what alternative means we can use by tomorrow. We are negotiating that with the denomination right now.) We'd like as many people to come out as possible. Remember, if you attend the meeting, you can vote, even in you are not a member. If you have questions, please call or email. We'll do our best to speak to each one of you, and remember there is an open Q and A next Sunday. Thanks for your prayers.