The use of the church building and facilities by persons or groups from outside of the church became a concern in 1988,10 when the trustees were advised by the insurance agent that such groups should be required to carry liability insurance, indemnifying the trustees and other officers and members of the church. Up until that time, various groups approved by the Session had invariably been allowed the use of parts of the building with apparently no thought of protection in the case of Wesley's being named in a legal action brought by someone as a result of the activity of the group. Other companies agreed that over the years, it had become more and more evident that such coverage could well be required. The trustees drew up a tentative list of responsibilities expected of those using church facilities. It included the requirement of an insurance policy and later formed a standard condition contained in applications from outside interests.

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From time to time, the church suffered break-ins; an attempt was made September 17, 1988. Ac-tual thefts have been very light, since the building does not house currency nor documents of value to anyone other than the church itself. Damage has been limited to broken windows or jimmied locks-and that to little avail. However, the cost of repairs and the suggestion of the police that security lights be installed on the north side of the building moved the trustees to have lights installed in that area by Hancock Electric at the end of January, 1989. Motion controlled flood lights were installed on the south side of the building in June of 1994.1 Before leaving the activities of 1989, it is worthy to note that the U. C. W. once again put their funds to work for the church when they replaced the existing rose coloured cloth on the chancel wall with the present rich red drapery. It was installed on May 16th by David Davies, Gary Simser and others.

In 1990, the "Report Towards A Christian Understanding of Sexual Orientation, Lifestyle and Ministry" was still a hotly debated issue within the courts of the church. As well, the National Church found itself discussing such matters as the departure of several dozen ministers to other denominations, the authority of Scripture, a declining membership and a falling off of weekly attendance. The affirmation of the General Council's stand at its 33rd assembly on August 21st concerning these subjects did little to encourage the Wesley congregation.2 Nonetheless, Wesley's spirit of devotion to inherent Christian beliefs and loyalties at the local level, meant that few members left to go elsewhere. Although the congregation was not about to leave the United Church, there remained a somewhat diminished confidence in the deliberations of General Council.

In August of 1991, the church lost a humane and valuable worker in the person of Evelyn Merrifield. Her husband, Leonard, was secretary of the trustee board at the time, becoming chairman in November. It was at the trustees, meeting of December 1, 1991, that he announced his desire to set up a fund to be called "The Evelyn Thelma Merrifield Memorial Fund", in honour of his late wife. Since it involved an initial contribution of notable size, it was considered an asset of the church and the terms of its implementation and maintenance were placed before the Board of Trustees for consideration and ac-ceptance of responsibility for administration of the fund. The trustees accepted the terms of an agreement with the principal contributor, Leonard Merrifield, and the fund was set up with a capitalization of $7,634.84 on December 6, 1991, with a further $5,000 deposited January 2, 1992. The trustees' investment continues to provide welcome contributions to the church's Benevolent Fund. 3

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January of 1992 also saw the reappearance of "Wesley Wisdom", the church's monthly newsletter. It was re-established by Cyril Chapman after some years of absence following a failed earlier attempt by Wayne Pointen and Joan Smith to provide a newsletter.4 The same name was used and therefore the January, 1992 issue was designated "volume 2. number 1 ". Wayne Pointen initially photocopied and distributed the newsletter.

As a means of augmenting church funds. the idea of instituting a Memorial Book was suggested by Martin Pelton at the January 26, 1992 Congregational Meeting. The suggestion was adopted and the Memorial Committee was given the responsibility of implementing the plan. In return for donations given to the church in honour or memory of someone. that person's name would be inscribed in the book, (by Leslie Smith), which would be displayed in the sanctuary each Sunday. Ariel and Alex Hancock donated a decorated book for the purpose and Leonard Merrifield built an ornate stand which he donated in memory of his wife, Evelyn. 5

A busy schedule in May of 1992 prevented the observance of Police Appreciation Sunday. The May 3rd service was conducted by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Ottawa District #55 and Rebekah Lodge, #34. Tim Carrigan, who has conducted several services in the absence of the minister and during Christmas Eve and Easter sunrise services. conducted the May 24th service. The minister and clerk of Session were attending the sessions of the United Church's Montreal & Ottawa Conference. Wesley was not entirely deprived of a police presence during 1992, however. Early in June, Rev. Taylor entered hospital for surgery which would keep him inactive throughout most of June and July and mem-bers of the Fellowship of Christian Peace Officers and Nepean and Ottawa Police Services joined the Wesley congregation and conducted the service on June 14th. The minister's daughter. Jo-Anne Taylor and Martin Pelton filled in until the July closing.

May 2, 1993 saw the last Police Appreciation Day observed at Wesley, as one week later, the congregation, for the second time in the church's history, lost its minister through sudden tragic death. The news awaited worshippers as they arrived at the church for the regular service, May 9th - a bright and pleasant spring morning. That Sunday was to have featured a guest preacher from the Bible Society. Mr. W.G. Wight. speaking at the invitation of the U.C.W. He was introduced by Laurine Pointen and spoke briefly with a message of condolence to a shocked congregation.6 Rev. Taylor's funeral service was held at the church May 12th and included an honour guard of members of the Nepean Police Service. A memorial plaque. mounted on the north wall of the sanctuary beside that of the late Rev. Dr. H W. Pointen (1969), was dedicated April 23, 1995 during an impressive ceremony.7 Rev. (Bill) Taylor had been a very active pastor, greatly appreciated by the congregation and his passing was keenly felt.

The first move toward replacing Rev. Taylor was made on June 20. 1993 when the Rev. Stewart Hewlett conducted the worship service and remained for a meeting of the congregation in which he ex-plained the first steps to take in securing a new pastor. This involved the formation of a Pastoral Relations Committee, who would be given the task of choosing an appropriate candidate. The committee was elected by the congregation numbering forty-five persons at the same meeting.8 After a lengthy and involved period of application by the committee, including a formal written survey of the congregation on a wide ranging number of aspects concerning attitudes and expectations of the church population, the com-mittee made its recommendation on Palm Sunday. March 27. 1994. In the presence of Presbytery repre-sentatives Doug Powel and Rev. Christine Gross, Pastoral Relations Committee chairman Paul Johnston announced the committee recommendation that Karen Niven-Wigston, a diaconal minister who had recently served temporarily at Rideau Park and Kanata United Churches, be called to serve full time at

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Wesley.9 She originally came to Ottawa from St. John's United Church in Georgetown, Ontario, where she was the minister of Christian Education. The congregation accepted the recommendation and Karen Niven-Wigston became Wesley's first full-time woman minister on July 1, 1994. At the same time, the Presbytery was asked to seek permission of the Montreal-Ottawa Conference that she continue to be permitted to preside at the sacraments. This was granted for as long as she remains pastor at Wesley. 10

An interesting issue arose during the time that the Pastoral Relations Committee and congregation were wrestling with the requirements of the United Church in seeking a minister. An apparently erroneous report was received by Presbytery that Wesley and Eastbrook were interested in possibly joining in a 2-point pastoral charge arrangement, sharing a common minister. Since the Wesley congregation had heard nothing of such a suggestion, it was a curious Wesley crowd that turned out to a meeting, called and conducted by Presbytery representatives, held jointly with the Eastbrook congregation. Those present soon learned that Presbytery was under the misapprehension that the Eastbrook and Wesley congregations had met and were interested in pursuing the possibility. Such was not the case and con-trary to the initial belief of some, Eastbrook United had not approached Wesley hat-in-hand for help, but had merely wondered if Wesley might see such an arrangement as helpful in affording a pastoral replacement. 11

By 1994, the term "installation" to describe the official placement of a minister into a pastoral charge had been changed to "covenanting", and the covenanting service for Karen Niven-Wigston was held at Wesley on September 25th of that year. The service was a revelation to the Wesley congregation of how the church was changing in terms of liturgy and worship when for the first time, a liturgical dance began a service unlike any former induction of a Wesley minister. The ceremony was highly symbolic in nature. Several congregation members presented articles representing the various facets of the church's Christian responsibilities, and the commitment of the pastor and congregation to each other. The dance was performed by Ruth Richardson and Wendy Morrell, who swept along the centre aisle to the chancel while a tape player sounded: "Holy Spirit, Thou Art Welcome in This Place". Presiding officer of the service was Rev. Shawn Ketcheson, B.Sc., M.Div., chair of Presbytery. The Rev. Grant Dillenbeck, B.A, M.Div.; STM, was the worship leadgr and the Meditation was delivered by Rev. Christing Gross; RA; M.Div., Th.M. Symbolic gifts, given to the new minister who placed them on the Communion table, included a Bible (Martin Pelton), a pitcher of water (David Lashley) that the minister poured into the font; a towel and basin (Ruth Foster, Adam Worth and George McLellan), and a loaf of bread and cup of wine (Paul Johnston and Lorna Baldwin). Music during the service included a flute quartet made up of stu-dents, Meriam Tadolsky, Patrick Manhire, Hilary Myron and Amy Charlton. St. Paul's Eastern's Ashley Dent played a violin solo accompanied by Pat Girard and the choir, joined by many members of the Kanata United Church choir, sang the anthem, "Go Into the World", requested by pastor Niven-Wigston.

During the period in which the Wesley congregation was somewhat preoccupied with welcoming a new minister, some other things were happening around the church. The chronic shortfall of weekly offerings versus church expenses was again voiced at the congregational meeting of January 31, 1993. Church treasurer; Debbie Orth-Lashley; stated that monthly offrings were invariably $1,000 short of church expenses. The perennial input of large sums of money by the UC.W. could not be counted upon to continue with the aging and retirement of many of its members, and newcomers were few. With the untimely death of its minister during the year, the church received a sizeable insurance payment and the U. C. W. was not asked for money that year, but the insurance money all but disappeared by the end of the year due to the constant monthly deficit. Items like boiler repairs, surveyor's fees, carpeting and reroofIng

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the main body of the church all took their toll fmancially.12 So, the quest for increased offerings remains a continuing characteristic of the church.

Wesley and its organizations have always been vitally concerned and interested in the welfare of those in need. In that regard, the U. C. W. has consistently used its financial resources to support many charitable organizations and social programs. In the same spirit, the men's groups, when possible, have done the same. The Sunday School initiated a program called "Children Helping Children" in which money raised from teas, sales and special services is used to provide help for other children through its support of specific missions and includes hampers of food, clothing and toys for the needy at Christmas time. The arrival of Karen Niven- Wigston gave Wesley a pastor dedicated to the furtherance of such benevolence, a concept of change and an intense desire to raise Wesley's profile through community out-reach.

XIX

In keeping with most pastors entering a new charge, Karen Niven-Wigston introduced some new and different aspects to the regular liturgy. She called upon her previous association with other con-gregations and contacts to invite guest groups and individuals to enrich worship services. 1 She encouraged members of the congregation to participate in various aspects of the worship service and included new (lawfully) photocopied contemporary hymns.2 Many of her services included dramatic readings, interviews and special presentations as alternatives to the traditional sermon and the King James Bible gradually fell into total disuse in favour of the Good News version, and others. She supported common interests with other local churches like ecumenical outdoor Palm Sunday services with Canadian Martyrs and Church of the Ascension, seniors luncheons with Canadian Martyrs and an unsuccessful attempt was made to initiate a seniors' drop-in centre at the church. A group made up of volunteers from the local congregations began meeting regularly with visible minority immigrants to converse and socialize as a means of easing their transition to Canadian language and customs. One unexpected innovation to a regular Sunday morning service occurred on January 16, 1994, when sometime during a cold week-end, with temperatures ranging around -30 C, the heating plant failed and worship had to be cancelled.3 The boiler and machinery clause in the church's insurance policy covered most of the cost to repair the resulting damage and State Farm Insurance finally paid the church the sum of $2,831.58 a year later.

On January 1, 1994, Wesley became a contributing member of an organization known as the Centretown Churches Social Action Committee, a group supplying benevolent support to local groups and individuals. Our initial representatives to that group were Ann Howe and Marilyn Peacock. With the death of our former pastor, the practice of dispensing money and food directly from the church was discontinued and the Official Board decided to financially support the C.C.S.AC., while continuing to provide nonperishable food to the Emergency Food Centre.4 In keeping with her desire to make use of the church building and facilities as widely as possible in response to requests from charitable groups and individuals, the minister sought approval of the Official Board to allow an organization named, "Chil-dren's Creative Response to Conflict" to use various sections of the building The Board concurred and an agreement was drawn up.5 However, after discussions with the principals of the group, it was decided that its unusual and extensive requirements in time and space would interfere with the regular congrega-tional use of the church and no agreement was reached. Another proposal by Karen Niven-Wigston, however, that Wesley run a "Collective Kitchen" program was inaugurated and was conducted by Laurine Pointen.6 The minister presided over Bible study and discussion groups and on May 7, 1995, initiated a women's organization that they named "Bamboo": a women's "Spirituality and Social Action" group.

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There was also an announcement that Laurine and Wayne Pointen wished to aid in the financing of con-tinuing education at appropriate institutions such as Stewart House Resource Centre and the Ottawa Lay School of Theology, for those who might require it. Each case would be handled individually and at the discretion of the minister and Session.7 In mentioning the Session, it is interesting to note that at its meeting of December 6, 1994, it was decided to end the long-time traditional practice of having the church's elders visit members before an upcoming communion service and distribute cards which were placed on the offering plate during the service. The cards were then collected by the Session and used to determine who were not in attendance and, following a given number of abstentions, the member would be contacted to see if there was a problem. 8 The telephone has replaced the routine pre-Communion vis-itation. In the Fall of 1994, four elders and the choir director and Sunday school secretary made up a new worship committee meeting monthly to plan and introduce innovations to the agenda, ritual and mu-sic of the church's worship services. It was later expanded to include additional members from the con-gregation.

On November 26, 1995, the Committee of Stewards, in an attempt to augment lagging weekly offerings, entered the field of entertainment when it presented a concert entitled "The Classics Revisited". The concert of classical music featured mainly local Wesley performers, with Debbie Orth-Lashley as compere. Taking part were Candice Bernes, Patrick Manhire, Grace Davies, Linda Smith, Cyril Chap-man, Jessica Alfoldi, Karen Johnson. Patricia Truemner, Jasmine Kelly and Joy, Marma and Kim Vidal. The Stewards also sponsored an informal talent show on May 5, 1996. That concert, also by local performers, was preceded by a hot-dog and chilli supper and presentation of a musical, "Ok Jonah", per-formed by youth of Kanata United Church and a few Wesley members. The show included performances by members of the Woods Manufacturing Co. brass band, directed by David Bruce. Wesley performers were Grace Davies, Ruth Foster, David Lashley, Linda Smith, Cyril Chapman, Patrick Manhire and Jack Ross.

In January of 1996, a project was launched to adopt a Mission Statement for Wesley. The procedure, following guidelines devised by the United Church's national office, began with the distribution of three assignments in the form of questionnaires (answers to be personal and unpublished), which mem-bers of the congregation were asked to complete by the February 4th annual congregational meeting.9 That meeting included the first of three workshops designed to arrive at a representative Mission State-ment. The chosen wording of the resulting document was announced on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1996. It read:

'To serve God by ministering to the spiritual and practical needs of the people, both in our church and in the greater community in a changing environment"

One of the many requests received by the minister from outside groups wishing to use the Wesley building came from a group of women in 1995, who had formed a collective called The Women's Cloth-ing Exchange. On December 4, 1995, representatives from the Committee of Stewards, Board of Trustees and the minister met with a member of the collective to discuss the possibility of its using the church for its operation. The expressed purpose of the organization was to lend suitable clothing to women seeking employment, who were financially unable to dress appropriately for job interviews. Tentative agreement for the use of designated portions of the church on an ongoing basis was reached and the trustees accepted a signed application. as required, contingent upon receipt of evidence of an acceptable insurance policy. A later problem arose, however, concerning financial responsibility and the collective found it necessary to withdraw the application. Subsequently, a change in insurance coverage allowed the church to operate its own organization, using the same name and some members of the original group