News

ELFEC announced the appointment of Mr. Lee Gould as Executive Director (E.D.) of ELFEC, effective June 1, 2020.
Jeff Pym, E.D. since the foundation was established in 2007, announced in 2019 that he would be retiring effective June 30, 2020. Since January the ELFEC Board of Directors has been engaged in a thorough search for a suitable successor, and in Lee Gould they believe they have found the leader who can guide ELFEC through the future phases of its growth, development and service.
Lee is an accomplished and experienced not-for-profit executive, having spent three decades working in the sector. For the past seven years he was President and CEO of the Canadian Medical Foundation. Prior to that he held senior leadership positions at Lakehead University and several hospital foundations.

Lee has already begun a period of orientation with the ELFEC staff. Kathryn Smith, Krista Kuehnbaum and Jeff will spend the next few weeks introducing Lee to the programs and people who make ELFEC’s mission both exciting and rewarding.

You can continue to reach ELFEC staff at 1-888-308-9461.

Lee Gould: lgould@elfec.ca
Kathryn Smith: ksmith@elfec.ca
Krista Kuehnbaum: kkuehnbaum@elfec.ca
Jeff Pym: jpym@elfec.ca

ELCIC Synod Bishops and Assistants to the Bishops have committed to preparing sermons for congregational use through the summer: June 14 to September 13. The sermons will be provided in both PDF and video format. Details on how to access the sermons will be shared shortly!

If you would still like to view or share a copy of Bishop Susan’s sermon from this past Sunday, May 17, it is available on YouTube and you can also request a downloadable version of the video or the PDF text by email.

The Women of Faith Fund (WOFF) will not be receiving applications for the current year (2020) due to our unprecedented pandemic situation. The WOFF will receive grant applications for the final year of the fund until May 1, 2021. Please visit the elcic.ca website for funding guidelines and application forms.  

Because of the continuing uncertainty about the resumption of large gatherings, we have decided to postpone the event.

We have booked space at Geneva Park and plan to offer the practicum on October 12-14, 2021.  Most of our presenters have already agreed to participate in the re-scheduled event.  We chose to look a year and a half into the future because the venue has very few available dates in the next 12 months, and we have a number of events scheduled for next spring and summer, e.g. Dubrick Institute, Synod Assembly, CLAY, etc.

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

Bishops and treasurers of the ELCIC’s synods and national church have written to The Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development, to encourage action by the Canadian government to sustain the charitable sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
We are attaching copies of the ELCIC letter and Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC) letter for your consideration.

Specifically, the letter endorses the CCCC proposal to sustain the charitable sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, as submitted to the government on April 21, 2020. The CCCC has written to the Hon. Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development with a funding proposal, “to sustain and strengthen the charitable sector during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, when demand for services is very high, but significant decreases in donations due to income insecurity threatens to destabilize charities.”

We invite you to consider sending your own letter and sharing copies of these letters with your Member of Parliament (MP). A sample letter has been included with this mailing for your use. You can find email contact information for your MP at the following link. https://www.ourcommons.ca/en/contact-us If you have an existing relationship with your local MP, you might also choose to make a phone call raising these concerns.

If you have questions about this matter, please contact Bishop Michael Pryse (mpryse@elcic.ca) or Eastern Synod Treasurer Mr. Keith Myra (kmyra@elcic.ca).

As bishops and treasurers of the ELCIC’s synods and national church, we are deeply aware of the efforts you, your congregation and your faith community are making to care for the people you serve in your neighbourhood. We express our gratitude and offer our prayers for these expressions of ministry.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Michael Pryse