Three longtime employees retired from the General Council Office in June and July. The breadth of their experience and knowledge is irreplaceable and will be missed. 

Patti Talbot, Global Partnership Team Lead (Church in Mission), first joined the United Church as Global Mission personnel secretary in 1994. She became program coordinator, People in Partnership in the Justice Global & Ecumenical Relationship (JGER) Unit, and served as Regional Partnership Program Coordinator for South Asia as well as team lead of the Global Partnership Program Team. She retired at the end of July and plans to spend some time in Newfoundland and Labrador this year. 

Shirley Welch, Administrative Assistant and Governance Support in the Office of the Moderator and General Secretary, retires after nearly 40 years. She started with the United Church in 1985, first joining the division of Stewardship. She retired at the end of June. 

Erik Mathiesen, Executive Officer, Finance, joined the GCO as program coordinator for Mission through Finance in 2008. Appointed Acting Executive Officer in 2011, he was appointed Executive Officer, Finance, in 2012. He retired at the end of June.