Rev. Harvey Self of Tweedsmuir Memorial, Orangeville, Ont. is the moderator-elect of the 2009 General Assembly. His nomination will likley be affirmed on June 7 when assembly begins in Hamilton, Ont.

Self said he was excited and honoured by the opportunity, and by the vote of confidence from “a church that I’ve served for 28 years and have loved all my life, and that has been a huge part of my family.”

He hails from a long line of Presbyterian ministers, elders and chaplains, and served nine years as a military chaplain himself. As moderator, he hopes to make contact with the Presbyterian chaplains serving in the regular forces and reserves. It will be a challenge for the church, he said, “to find a way to speak as one to our military chaplains and others who are going through difficult times on our behalf. To say something meaningful, when saying nothing would be more comfortable.”

This year, “it all comes down to Presbyterians Sharing,” Stephen Roche, the Presbyterian Church’s chief financial officer told Assembly Council in March. “How 2009 unfolds will be reflective of the mindsets of people, but will also be reflective of the messages we give. It all comes down to, are there personal stories in congregations about Presbyterians Sharing?” Contributions to the national fund are voluntary.

Roche stated that the church has not suffered unduly from the economic downturn. He assured members that the church’s funds are invested conservatively, and although total net investments lost $4 million between the end of 2007 and 2008, the unrealized losses can be recovered as markets improve in the coming years.

Since the economy began its downward spiral last fall, the Scott Mission in downtown Toronto has seen 10 per cent more men and 20 per cent more women make use of its programs on a regular basis, compared to the same period last year.

According to David Smith, CEO and executive director, there are many new faces amidst the drop-in centre’s usual crowd. “They don’t look like what you’d think of as homeless people,” he said. “Often they’re people whose economic situation was tenuous anyway and now they’ve crossed the line into poverty. Many have never used a food bank or soup kitchen before.”

Five environmentally-minded, inner-city youth, sponsored by the Yonge Street Mission and Banyan Youth, traveled to Washington, D.C. for a green conference in March.

PowerShift 2009 focused on creating green jobs, sustainable energy use, and building enthusiasm among a new generation of environmentalists. As members of the St. James Town youth council, the teens hope to promote environmental projects in their impoverished Toronto neighbourhood.

ISARC—As MPPs inside Ontario’s legislature debated the provincial budget, representatives from diverse faith communities prayed at Queen’s Park for the government and the poor throughout the month of March.

Thirteen years after it was launched by PCC web pioneer Rev. Michael Farris, the PCC Web Daily is read by over 64,000 subscribers around the world, and has archived over 4,000 devotions on its website.

Shaping a vision for the future of the church and responding strategically to local needs is the focus of a proposed conference for the spring of 2010. The national long range planning committee is suggesting April 29 to May 2 at Nottawasaga Inn in Alliston, Ont., and has proposed the theme On the Road to Emmaus.

As convener Rev. Daniel Cho noted in his opening remarks at the Life and Mission Agency meeting in March: “Even in times like this, we have the potential to change things around in our attitude, our vision for the church, and our Christian faith.”

“We're not developing followers for mission, we're developing leaders. That's a huge difference,” said Rev. Sameh Hanna of the Arabic Outreach Ministry. “Planting a church used to mean holding a service every week. That's not true anymore. We must build bridges first – start with relationships, express love and care. A worship service will follow naturally.”

The presbytery of East Toronto approved the AOM in November 2007. Since then Egyptian-born Hanna has worked to make his group useful to individuals, families and institutions in the Arabic-speaking community. The group has held conferences, retreats and services, often with members of Coptic and Syrian Orthodox churches. Two members are licensed councilors and donate five per cent of their time to cases received by the mission.

Personal visits are common, as are private services in homes or hospital rooms. For instance, Hanna and members of his group held a communion service for a pharmacist and his wife, who was dying of liver cancer. The couple had no previous contact with the mission.

Thanks to a devoted team at St. Andrew's, a new Ten Thousand Villages store on the quaint main street of Picton, Ont., is planning to open for the May long weekend.

“Prince Edward County – and Picton especially – have become big tourist destinations,” said Rev. Lynne Donovan, who spearheaded the initiative. “So we asked, how can we take advantage of the strengths of our context to make an impact? This store was perfect.”

Ten Thousand Villages is a non-profit, fair trade organization with 49 permanent locations across Canada. Some stores are corporately owned and operated, but others function under a partnership agreement. They are staffed by volunteers working with a paid manager.

The Presbyterian Record ended 2008 with its best annual appeal to date; donations exceeded $100,000, a six per cent increase from 2007 despite a six per cent drop in circulation.

“Since I'm a relatively recent immigrant, some people may have felt I … wasn't here, didn't know what was going on,” Rev. Cheol Soon Park, moderator of the last General Assembly, says of his experience at the Truth and Reconciliation: Healing the Legacy of Residential Schools conference held in Edmonton in January. “But I feel this … is about the dignity of humankind and the dignity of living. It's about conscience and the next generation – our children and children's children. In that sense, it is my … history, and I was there and will be there and will learn with the aboriginal people.”

“Even if it fails horribly, its better that we try something,” says Rev. Kerry McIntyre, minister at St. Andrew's, Duncan, B.C., referring to two very different mission projects begun by the congregation. “We want to experiment and find out what works and what meets people's needs. Even if some things don't work out, somewhere along the lines we'll do something right.”

Alain* has been on the run since childhood. When he was nine, his sister and father, a Hutu and minor government official, were slain by a Tutsi rival. Ethnic fighting ravaged his native Burundi; his mother was likely killed in the conflict a year later. His elder brother was forced to become a child soldier – a fate Alain narrowly escaped.

“The Clergy Care Centre is becoming a sort of centre without walls, as we're expanding beyond our physical centre to work in the rest of Canada,” says Rev. Dr. Andrew Irvine, Director of the Centre for Clergy Care and Congregational Health housed at Knox College, Toronto.

Four potential moderators have been nominated for the 2009 General Assembly, to begin June 7 in Hamilton, Ont. Ballots were sent to presbyteries in December, and the committee to advise the moderator will tally the votes on April 1.

With recent market downturns on everyone's mind and a new year ahead, finances were a concern at the November meeting of Assembly Council.

It was a common message at the Life and Mission Agency's November meeting: The national church must change how it thinks about mission, or risk losing touch with congregations.