Parish Profile

About This Profile …………………………………………………………………………………….2

About the Community ……………………………………………………………………………..3

A Brief History ………….……………………………………………………………………………..10

A Time of Transition ………….……………………………………………………………………15

A Look at us Today ..…………………………………………………………………………….…17

Looking Ahead ..………………………………………………………………………………………34

Appendix …………………………………………………………………………………………………….36

Saint Alban the Martyr of Acton has been in transition since April 2009 under the leadership and guidance of our interim Rector, Rev. Dr. Barbara Sykes. We have completed the five transitional tasks through meetings held in our Parish Hall and through surveys taken by our parishioners at large. We have reviewed the past, examined who we are at present and looked to the future during this process. This Parish Profile of has been written by the Parochial Committee with this input and review from the parish.

This profile not only represents what we think is an accurate reflection of our parish but also our vision and goals of our future that our congregation has developed.

The Municipal Structure

Acton was first named Danville in 1828. It was later called Adamsville, after three settlers from a family of that name. In 1846, the postmaster named the community after the area of Acton in West London, England. Originally part of Esquesing Township, Acton was incorporated as a town in 1874. The town is often referred to as Leathertown by the locals because of the tanning industry that was dominant during the 19th Century and early 20th Century (existing right up to the closure of the Beardmore tannery in the early 1980s).

On January 1^st, 1974, one hundred years after its incorporation, Acton became part of the Town of Halton Hills when it amalgamated with the Town of Georgetown and most of the Township of Esquesing.

Halton Hills covers an area of 276.26 km² and had a reported population of over 55,000 at the time of the 2006 census. Georgetown and Acton remain as the two principal urban centers.

The Regional Municipality of Halton includes Halton Hills, Milton, Oakville, and Burlington.

Population Growth

Population growth in Acton, Halton Hills, and the Halton Region has been very strong since 2001.

Growth in Halton Region has been dominated by the growth in the Town of Milton which, at 75% in 5 years, has been the highest growth rate in Canada in this millennium.

The Town of Halton Hills has experienced significant growth between 2001 and 2006 (14.8%) which included the Acton growth of 25% in that period.

The growth in Acton’s population is anything but monotonic. Growth from the 1960s to the late 1990s was constrained by limitations in the water and sewer systems. Rapid domestic construction and growth was seen from 2000 to date, however Acton is poised to be again constrained by the greenbelt surroundings and the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) intensification policy (see later section on future growth expectations).

Demographic Profiles

Age Profile

Acton’s age profile reflects the Provincial demographics in general, however there is a slightly greater concentration in the 30 to 45 years segment (26% for Acton, 22% Provincially) and a correspondingly lower concentration in the groups >60 years (13% for Acton, 19% Provincially). This shift causes the median and average ages to be lower in Acton. The 2001 census data indicates that this difference has steady since then.

The family unit

87% of the population in Acton lives within family structures. Although that is down from 90% in 2001, it is similar to Halton region but ahead of the Provincial rate (84%).

Acton Families

2006

2001

Change

2-parent, no children at home

1050

725

45%

2-parent, children at home

1535

1315

17%

Lone-parent families

340

320

The major sector of growth (in terms of the number of family units) has been in the “2-parent, no children at home” category. Comparing this data to the change in demographics by age, there appears to be a correlation between this category growth (i.e. 650 persons) and the 430 persons increase (47%) in the 55 to 64 age group over the same period. This suggests that Acton is a seeing a move towards the empty-nesters.

Dwellings

The housing in Acton is dominated by low density dwellings (i.e. single or semi-detached houses) which account for around 80% of the capacity. This rate compares to 66% for Halton Region and 62% Provincially. The period between the 2001 and 2006 censuses represents the highest unit expansion rate in Acton’s history.

Acton

Halton Hills

Halton Region

Ontario

Owned

81%

86%

83%

71%

Rented

19%

14%

17%

29%

Average value

$299k

$374

$399

$297

Av. monthly rent

$825

$930

$1020

$834

House ownership is a slightly lower rate than the Halton Hills in general or the Halton Region. However, the ownership rate has increased from 74% in 2001. In fact, the rented accommodations decreased in absolute number from 745 units in 2001 to 685 units in 2006. This suggests that the value set of the population influx is essentially fully orientated towards home ownership.

Acton’s individual income profile is noticeable weak in the upper tier as illustrated by the table below.

Individual income	Acton	Halton Region
Under $10,000	17%	18%
$10,000 - $19,999	14%	14%
$20,000 - $24,999	5%	6%
$25,000 - $29,999	6%	5%
$30,000 - $34,999	8%	6%
$35,000 - $39,999	7%	6%
$40,000 - $44,999	6%	5%
$45,000 - $49,999	7%	5%
$50,000 - $59,999	10%	8%
$60,000 and over	18%	27%
Median	$34,652	$35,574
Average	$38,188	$51,154

Given that the household demographics are similar, the individual income influence translates directly to the household demographics.

Household income

Acton

Halton Region

Under $10,000

$10,000 - $19,999

$20,000 - $29,999

$30,000 - $39,999

$40,000 - $49,999

$50,000 - $59,999

$60,000 - $69,999

$70,000 - $79,999

$80,000 - $89,999

$90,000 - $99,999

$100,000 and over

27%

39%

Median

$74,922

$83,710

Average

$79,223

$108,126

Per capita

$28,758

$39,183

Employment participation is high in Acton (75% compared to 67% Provincially). The unemployment rate is also low (4.2 % compared to 6.4% Provincially).

The income data is supported by the occupational statistics whereby the trades sector is strong in Acton (20% vs. 10% for the Halton Region) and the participation in management or scientific oriented occupations is relatively weak (24% vs. 33% for Halton Region).

Educational Achievement

The general level of education lags behind the Halton Region at the higher end. This seems to be consistent with the individual income data.

Standard achieved	Acton	Halton Region
No certificate, diploma or degree	23%	16%
Certificate, diploma or degree	77%	84%
High school certificate	31%	26%
Apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma	9%	6%
College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate/diploma	24%	21%
University certificate, diploma or Degree	13%	31%

Transportation

92% of Acton residents rely on driving to work in private vehicles and only 3% rely on public transport.

Ethnic Diversity and Immigration

Acton, and Halton Hills in general, is trailing behind the GTA in terms of ethnic diversity. Visible minorities only represent 3% of Acton’s community compared to 13% in Halton region and 23% Provincially.

Although modest in number, immigration to Acton is still heavily skewed towards European origins (50%) compared to the Region (26%) or Ontario in general (15%).

Community Services and Organizations

Acton has many well established organizations but also accesses the amalgamated Halton Hills and the Region of Halton for the capital intensive services. For example:

Today’s Actonite

The profile of the emergent Actonite is that of a person who values a family environment and house ownership. Acton provides a favourable property price that attracts middle class earners who are prepared to commute to work with privately owned vehicle.

The Future Actonite

Acton does not provide local high level career opportunities and it is unlikely to do so within the foreseeable future. As such, Acton is likely to become more of a dormitory town for those who cannot afford their desired housing standards close to their area of work.

The growth of Acton has been strong over the last 10 years. The future growth is uncertain due to the greenbelt constraints as well as the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) intensification plan that directs 40% of new growth (40%) to previously developed areas through intensification. The south former Beardmore land represents a potential intensification site and hence a significant opportunity for a new neighborhood to enhance Acton.

In general, the Region of Halton’s general view of long term planning is to primarily develop Georgetown and Milton with an anticipated 100,000 population growth by 2031. Acton must demonstrate it’s capability to contribute to the Region’s vision.

Saint Alban the Martyr was established in 1870 when The Rev. Mr. Bates with our forbearers met in a temperance hall somewhere near where the flower mill stands today. The Sharp family donated the land to “The Church of England in the Dominion of Canada” as we were called then. William F. Swallow became Rector and named the parish St. Alban's (Diocese of Toronto). In 1876, one year after the Diocese of Niagara was formed; the Church building was consecrated by Bishop Fuller. We were a two point parish in 1881, Acton & Rockwood, with W. W. Pigott our Rector. St John’s in Rockwood built their new church and St. Alban’s interior was refurbished but it wasn’t until 1899 that we got electric lights a year after the bell tower was installed. In 1951 the Parish Hall was built and named after the Rev William Luxton who died suddenly in 1952. He was the driving force behind the building of the hall. The Narthex was built in 1985 with money left to the church by the Bennett family. The buildings remain basically the same with improvements being made over the years.

We are a parish that likes to socialize via worship, pot luck dinners, dances or just plain old parties. We were riding a high 10years ago as our congregation was growing, we had a Jr. St. Alan’s full of kids and we were meeting all of our financial commitments without borrowing funds or dipping into our endowments. There were many events throughout the year that were well attended; Seder Supper, Talent Night, Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner, Various Dinners, typically Pot Luck in nature, Valentines Dance, Dance & Silent Auction. We cap off our year with a Year-in-review with a PowerPoint of Pictures of our Parish Life through the year.

Although we have kept up most of these activities they are generally attended by the same people and we have very few new people joining us. This is also reflected in our Jr. St. Alban’s as it has shrunk to less than 10 children. The core group of parishioners is concerned about the future of St. Alban’s as we are not attracting new members to our church, in particular young families. We enjoyed great growth with our former Rector but a lot of the leadership was left up to a group of lay people. From one standpoint this led to a very strong lay leadership team within our congregation but we were unable translate this into attracting new families.

We had two or three same sex discussions before Bishop Ralph put a moratorium on it. The rector assumed we would be in favor of it and the discussion was slanted in that manner this had a very negative effect on some members as we didn’t fully explore and discuss this topic.

Parish Statistic

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Total Number of Parishioners

497

503

473

462

448

488

478

489

470

442

432

Number of Families

212

211

178

187

168

180

175

182

172

178

162

Individuals

Envelope Holders

Communicants Easter Day

135

173

178

211

192

223

202

200

210

172

Attendance Christmas

222

213

277

295

262

263

277

265

277

243

204

Average Sunday Attendance

107

109

112

118

127

124

113

Baptisms

Weddings

Funerals*

* Our Rector was on call with all the Funeral homes in Guelph to perform funerals for people with no church affiliation from 2001 to 2008 this is the reason the funeral numbers are disproportionately larger

Our Budget for 2009 is just under $146,000 and is a bare bones budget with very little discretionary spending. We have met all of our financial obligations including our DMM over the last ten years without borrowing from a financial institution. We have although had to draw on our endowment to do this through a monthly draw of $1,500 and supplemented in all but 2007 by an extra draw at the end of the year.

We redeem $1,500 monthly which at first represented interest we gained on our investment but as markets yielded smaller returns the redemptions began to eat into our principle.

The endowment fund has been reduced to $28,483.00 (this does not include $106,685.00 in the Rectory Fund) that will impact on future budgets.

Over the years we have run several different stewardship programs. The congregation of St. Alban’s does respond to the challenge of meeting our budget when approached as evident in our 2007 income figures. We challenged our congregation to make up the shortfall through a step-up program (everyone gives a little more every week and makes up our shortfall) in which we successfully increased our regular giving’s to meet our commitments without a supplemental draw on our endowment fund in 2007. We were not able to sustain this momentum due to declining members.

St. Alban’s income comes primarily from the sacrificial offerings of our parishioners with 81% coming either directly or indirectly from them.

We have begun a new campaign to raise capital for improvements to our building. The campaign relies on contributions of our congregation’s time and talents rather than on funds. We believe this will re-energize our members and give us a higher profile on our community. The activities are revenue and/ or outreach based, and is extensions of current activities or new ones that can become much larger than activities we currently hold. The object here is to involve the greater community and thus create a higher presence in the community and draw more people to our fund raising activities and hopefully to our Church.

We have a good core of volunteers that can organize these events but we need the drive and energy of our Rector to help carry it off.

While the general transition time between our Rector’s resignation, the installation of an Interim Rector, and the selection of a new Rector seems to vary from 9 – 18 months, it is St Alban’s goal to have a new Rector in place by Easter of 2010. This would equate to a total time of about 11 months.

Our Interim Rector is the Rev. Dr. Barbara Sykes who since her retirement has specialized in this important ministry. Barbara, being our first point of contact at the

commencement of her interim ministry, has guided and advised us on all the intricacies involved in the long journey to the installation of a new incumbent. She has directed us in the areas of concern that the Parochial Committee and the parish had to deal with. These areas are namely the Five Developmental Tasks of:

Bill Thomas our Transitional Consultant from the Diocese also had a meeting with Barbara and the Parochial Committee to advise us on the route to take in documenting our Parish Profile. He will make a second trip to Acton on the completion of our Profile to check for content and subject completion.

Parish Council have been kept up to date on the progress of the Parochial Committee and were recently explained the benefits of the Narrative Budget that will be included in our Profile. The parishioners have filled out a questionnaire regarding what they thought were the primary requirements of a new Rector part of the fifth transitional task.

Information accumulated in the completion process of our Profile, have been gathered from several sources. They are as follows:

The Five Developmental Tasks was completed by the parish with a mixture of uncertainty for the future, but always with enthusiasm towards the learning process and the eventual completion of the project.

The first mission statement was developed by the Parish in the early eighties and was accepted by the Parish Council of the day after a long discussion about the wording.

In 2009 at the vestry meeting it was suggested that the Mission Statement did not reflect the current mission of St. Alban’s. A new Mission Statement was proposed that was a modification of the original statement but better reflects St. Alban’s today.

The Parish was asked to comment on the new Mission Statement and the Wardens reviewed all comments and incorporated them into the new Mission Statement. The Parish Council then discussed it and was asked to pass it. It was passed almost unanimously.

As a vibrant and visible Parish family, we seek growth by contributing Spiritual strength and service to the community, thus bringing people into a deeper relationship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.