The E-Postle April 28, 2019

Second Sunday of Easter

E-postle

April 28, 2019

  “The Parish of St. John the Apostle is called to be

*          A Spirited Community at the heart of Port Moody

*          transformed through the experience of the presence of Christ

*          and sent out to share God’s Love”

 Upcoming Dates

Saturday, Apr 27         Diocesan ACW Annual General Meeting

Monday, Apr 29          7–9pm – Parish Council meeting

Tuesday, Apr 23          10:15am–12noon – Bible Study in the Parish Hall

Wednesday, May 1     9:30am – 12noon – Coffee and Crafts

Saturday, May 11        2–4pm – ACW Spring Tea

 

Stewardship Reflection

“Holy God, you have called us to follow in the way of your risen Son, and to care for those who are our companions, not only with words of comfort, but with acts of love.  Seeking to be the true friends of all, we offer our prayers on behalf of the church and the world.

Guide us in the path of discipleship, so that, as you have blessed us, we may be a blessing to others, bringing the promise of the kingdom near by our words and deeds.  Amen.”

 from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers

 

Easter Thank Yous

A great big thank you to all who helped with Easter Sunday preparations. In particular, thanks to Brenda Binns and the Altar Guild, as well as Anne Anchor, for creating such beautiful, holy space in our sanctuary. To Rich Thompson for coordinating the Spring Clean-Up and the volunteers who worked hard to tidy our grounds and get them ship-shape. To LaRee Mohr and the choir who offered up such beautiful music at our services. To Christina Anchor (also Sophie and Emily, hiders extraordinaire), and the ACW for their work in making the Easter Egg hunt a fun success. To Betty and Mel Moore and to everyone who contributed to the delicious treats on Easter Sunday, who helped make the coffee hour so special. You were all integral to making Easter Sunday such a glorious celebration of our risen Lord! Thank you!

 

LentenWords

Thank you to everyone who participated in our LentenWords project this Lent. From Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday, our parish reflected together each day on how different aspects of our worship and worship space bring us closer to God, creating a unique St. John’s Lenten calendar—both online via our Facebook page, and a physical calendar at the church. Please see the LentenWords binder in our Parish Hall or simply scroll through our older facebook posts if you’d like the chance to revisit all the wonderful reflections from various people in our St. John’s family.

 

Hand Chimes

Thank you, St. John’s!  The choir has been provided with the funds to purchase two different sets of hand chimes.  These are a relatively new type of instrument, developed in the 1980s.  They are like a hand bell but they are much less expensive and are a tubular square shape with a clapper.  When struck, it produces a very pure tone that is both peaceful and mellow.  The advertisements say that they have a “heavenly” sound.

We were able to purchase 3 full octaves of notes.  There is one hand chime for every note, so we can play a melody and harmonies with it.

I began using hand chimes about 20 years ago in my music therapy work with seniors.  I was looking for enjoyable and meaningful activities and I found that the hand chimes were a special way for seniors to connect deeply with the music.  We are very happy we can now use hand chimes here at St. John’s to enhance our worship with these beautiful sounding instruments.

With thanks,

LaRee Mohr, Music Director

 

 Rector Away

Vivian will be away serving as an evaluator for the provincial Advisory Committee on Postulants for Ordination (ACPO) this week at Sorrento Centre from May 2 – May 5, and then traveling to the annual diocesan Clergy Conference in Whistler, from May 6 – 8. She will be checking email periodically, but for anything more urgent, please connect with Jennifer in the parish office during business hours (M-F 9am-1pm) at administrator@stja.ca or wardens Geri or Ruby at rectorswarden@stja.ca or peopleswarden@stja.ca.

Please also be sure to give a warm welcome to the Rev. Roberta Fraser who will be serving as supply priest on Sunday, May 5.

 

A Note from Karen Evans

(Karen was the former long-time Administrator here at St. John’s.)

To my friends at St. John’s;

I wanted to take a moment to thank you all for your prayers and kindness! The past month has been unexpected, frightening, and filled with changes. I’m healing well for someone who had a 1% chance at survival, but God works in mysterious ways and I certainly didn’t see this coming but I’m making the best of my situation!

God and his angels might be tired of hearing my name, but I ask that you keep sending those prayers of love and healing on my behalf, you’ve all helped me get this far.

May your Easter season be filled with love, hope and the grace of God.

With love and many thanks,

Karen Evans

 

ACW Layettes

Thank you to everyone who made a donation to this year’s Baby Layette for our A.C.W. outreach project. The items will be blessed at the Diocesan A.C.W.  A.G.M this Saturday, April 27th. Throughout the Diocese, various A.C.W. groups participate in collecting baby items for this outreach project. These items are collected and stored at our warehouse at A.C.W. Place. They are sorted into a layette of all the items a family would need for a new baby, including clothing, diapers, toiletries, etc. and then bundled up in a baby blanket. All the items are new (not used) and sometimes handmade by A.C.W members and other parishioners or friends of the A.C.W. Some of these Layette Bundles are packed in with our Bales to the North (good used clothing) outreach project, and sent to the churches in Northern B.C. Other Layette Bundles are distributed to needy families in the lower mainland. If you know of any needy family with a new baby, or expecting a new baby, please talk to Sue Hall or Ann Adair-Austin for direction on how to receive one of these layettes.

 

ACW Annual Spring Tea

Please mark your calendar for the ACW Annual Spring Tea on Saturday, May 11th between 2:00 and 4:00 pm. Donations of baking and plants for the bake table and the plant table will be much appreciated and can be dropped off at the hall after 11:00 am on the day of the sale, or you can bring them in, between 1:30 and 2:00pm when the sale starts.  As usual we are mentioning that our baked goods table is extremely popular, and everything sells out very quickly so we count on the generosity of our great bakers.  Pies are in great demand as well as loaf cakes, cookies and squares or anything that is your specialty.  Please be sure to identify any baking and, particularly, label the plants that you bring in so we can identify them.  This year we are also adding a jewellery table.  Thank you for your generosity.  Hope to see you there!

 

Increasing your contributions

At the Vestry meeting, the 2019 budget represented a deficit: our expenses would be 15% greater than our income.  To make up that deficit represented each family increasing their monthly giving by $20.  A request was made to translate that need into a percentage.  Our dedicated Treasurer, Cedric Miller has come up with the following:

We need to increase our income by 15%.  What that means to weekly giving is illustrated below.

 

Current Weekly Giving	New Weekly Giving (+15%)
$20	$23
30	35
40	46
50	58
60	70

If you have any questions, please speak with wardens Geri or Ruby.

 

Introduction to Centering Prayer Program

This program offers the opportunity to explore a deep reflective practice of silent prayer based on the rich wisdom teaching of the Christian contemplative tradition. Hosted by Ridge Meadows Centering Prayer Group at #156 – 19639 Meadows Gardens Way, Pitt Meadows, V3Y 2T5. This will be a Saturday workshop on April 27th, 10 am to 3pm. Continuing sessions will be held every Wednesday in May from 7pm to 8.30pm. For further information check out the flyer online at www.cogv.org  or contact Christine Kesans at 604-944-7447 or chris.kesans@gmail.com

The Contemplative Prayer Workshop on May 4^th (the following week) is presented by Contemplative Outreach of Greater Vancouver, and will be held here, at St John’s, Port Moody, from 9:30am to 3:00pm. For further info there is a poster in the Hall or you can contact Christine Kesans as noted above.

 

Welcome Post Project’s Coast Salish cultural events

Join us as we embark on the Welcome Post Project’s second year of Coast Salish Cultural events. This year’s project is about Water and the significance of water in Coast Salish culture and the way of life for all of our relations. See www.noonscreek.org for more information.

Thursday, May 2 – s’et’k’er: Drop of Water 

7-9pm, Noons Creek Hatchery

Artist talk. Visual and multimedia artist Ocean Hyland will be spending two weeks at the Hatchery refining her skills as an apprenticing carver. She will be joined by various mentors and Coast Salish artists. Come learn more about Coast Salish style and design.

Saturday, May 4 – 27th Annual Fingerling Festival: Free Envirofest

11am-3pm, Noons Creek Hatchery

The 27th annual environmental festival and the largest and longest running event of its kind in the Nation. Help release 40,000 chum salmon into Noons Creek, which then flow into Burrard Inlet and the Salish Sea. See local Indigenous cultural, local and environmental performers, participate in arts, crafts and educational activities hosted by 70 environmental groups. Enjoy the festivities at no cost.  Local food vendors will also be present.

They are also looking for volunteers to help put on this event – check out http://noonscreek.org/fingerling-festival/ffvolunteers/.

Thursday, May 9 – Xaxatko: Water Spirit

7pm, Noons Creek Hatchery

Please join this hiphop poetry multi-media performance with Ostwelve: Ronnie Dean Harris.

Friday, May 10 – Guided Canoe Culture Tour in Indian Arm

10am – 3pm – Cates Park Paddling Centre- 4141 Dollarton Hwy, North Vancouver

Journey up the Indian Arm in traditional canoes led by cultural leader and skipper Dennis Thomas. Learn the history of the first people of the Inlet, hear their songs, and visit ancestral village sites and see the pictrographs embedded in the rocks.

Preregistration required (tickets can be purchased via https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/guided-culture-tour-in-indian-arm-tickets-60168671115). Bring a packed lunch. Meet at Cates Park.

 

House of Bishops Call to Prayer

The House of Bishops of the Anglican Church of Canada met recently and has put forward a prayer request for our upcoming national General Synod.  General Synod 2019 will bring three important issues before the Church:  The proposed revision of the marriage canon; a primatial election; and indigenous self-determination, in addition to other areas of our common life together as Anglicans.

Please join the bishops in prayer and view the full communication at https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/a-call-to-prayer-from-the-house-of-bishops; for further news on the national church please visit https://www.anglican.ca/

 

 General Synod Volunteers

The Diocese of New Westminster is very excited to host the 42nd General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada July 9 to 16, 2019, at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, and are looking for people to join the General Synod volunteer team.

They are seeking people who are:

• outgoing and friendly,
• have experience in welcoming or greeting at church, or in other frequent capacities,
• and are interested in witnessing the wider Church in action.

Volunteers will be assigned in shifts to participate in areas such as meeting participants at the airport, on-site registration, providing local information and directions, etc.

Please see https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/diocesan-ministries/general-synod-2019 for more information.

 

 Proteins needed for St. John’s Food Bank

Protein-rich foods are often the most expensive items for families to purchase when grocery shopping. People on limited budgets often cannot afford them and make do with stodgy foods to fill stomachs. Please help those who need them by donating the following to St. John’s Food Bank in May:

• tinned salmon, tuna, chicken, beef (not all can eat pork products)
• shelf stable nut butters
• dried or tinned beans and peas
• powdered or shelf-stable milks
• meaty stews or soups
• cans of vegetables

Bring your offerings on Sunday, arrange with the office to drop off during the week, or give some money to this ministry towards the purchase of fresh products.

 

Prayer Cycle

The Anglican Church of Canada – the Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, Primate, and the Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Bishop.

The Diocese of New Westminster – the Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, Archbishop, and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of BC and Yukon.

This week:

*        St. Catherine, Capilano – The Reverend Sharon Smith

*        St. James, Vancouver – The Reverend Kevin Hunt, The Reverend Lucy Price, The Reverend Matthew Johnson, The Reverend Joyce Locht

*        St. Philip, Vancouver – The Reverend Stuart Hallam

*        Our partner Diocese of Northern Philippines, Bishop Brent Alawas, and especially the people of our twin church at St. John the Evangelist Mission, Balugan;

*       The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada – National Bishop Susan Johnson, BC Synod Bishop Greg Mohr;

*       The brothers and sisters who share our worship space: The Port Moody Korean Presbyterian Church and the Polish Evangelical Church.

 

 Readings for April 28, 2019 – 2^nd Sunday of Easter

Acts 5:27-32; Psalm 118:14-29; Revelation 1:4-8; John 20:19-31

Readings for May 5, 2019 – 3^rd Sunday of Easter

Acts 9:1-20; Psalm 30; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19

 

 Important Contact Information

Rector – The Rev. Vivian Lam – rector@stja.ca or 604-936-7762

Office Administrator – Jennifer Green – administrator@stja.ca or 604-936-7762

Rector’s Warden- Geri Grigg – rectorswarden@stja.ca

People’s Warden – Ruby Ng – peopleswarden@stja.ca

Treasurer – Cedric Miller – treasurer@stja.ca

Envelope Secretary – Sheila de Vaal – envelopesecretary@stja.ca

Parish Council – Adelaine Miller, Secretary – parishcouncilsecretary@stja.ca

Altar Guild – Brenda Binns – altarguild@stja.ca

St. John Prayer Circle – Sue Elliott – prayer@stja.ca

Pastoral Visiting Ministry – Joanne Walton/Alma Oldenburg – pastoralvisits@stja.ca

Anglican Church Women (ACW) – Sue Hall – 604-936-0176 or ACW@stja.ca

Children’s Ministry /Godly Play – Christina Anchor – children@stja.ca

Prayer Shawls – Rosa Weisensel – administrator@stja.ca

Bible Study – Lynne Milner – biblestudy@stja.ca

Food Bank – Lynne Milner – foodbank@stja.ca