The E-postle December 15, 2019

Third Sunday of Advent

E-postle

December 15, 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

Sunday, December 15             following both services – “What Can’t Wait” Advent art discussion group

Tuesday, December 17           10:15am–12noon – Bible Study (in the Parish Hall)

Thursday, December 19         Food Bank Christmas Dinner

Tuesday, December 24           Christmas Eve services

                                               7pm – Family Service with Eucharist; 10pm – Choral Eucharist

Wednesday, December 25    10am – Christmas Day Eucharist

 

Stewardship Reflection

From Sunday by Sunday: Reflections on Stewardship:

Advent 3. Matthew 11:2-11

Jesus answers John’s question by pointing to the signs that God’s dream for creation are there for all to see. God’s dream for creation is that all live in “shalom,” a wellbeing that takes in everything and everyone. As one who wants to be a faithful steward, what am I doing to help make this dream come true?

 

Christmas Worship Services

Christmas will be here soon, and we hope you will join us for any or all of our 3 worship services. Don’t forget to invite family and friends to come and be part of the celebration at St. John’s!

• Tuesday, Dec. 24, 7pm – Christmas Eve Family Service – Join us for our fun and family-friendly Christmas Eve service! The young people of the parish join together in a retelling of the Christmas story, including singing of all your favourite Christmas carols and Christmas communion. Visitors are welcome to dress up and join in the fun too!

• Tuesday, Dec. 24, 10pm – Christmas Eve Choral Eucharist – Join us for our more formal Christmas Eve service, complete with Christmas communion, the singing of beautiful Christmas carols, and lovely music offered by our choir. Art supplies will be available for younger worshippers.

• Wednesday, Dec. 25, 10am – Christmas Day Worship Service – Join us after you’ve opened your presents for a festive Christmas Day service. We continue our celebration of Jesus’ birth with a relaxed service on Christmas morning – come to sing beautiful Christmas carols and take part in the joy of Christmas communion. Art supplies will be available for younger worshippers.

 

Parish Advent Program – “What Can’t Wait?”

You are invited to join “What Can’t Wait?”, a journey through art that we are taking together as a St. John’s family this Advent. Throughout Advent, we are meditating on contemporary art from several artists, that was inspired by our weekly Advent scripture readings. There are several ways to engage with this program; we hope that you take part in whatever will feed you spiritually:

• Art Booklet – pick up a booklet on Sunday, or contact administrator@stja.ca to have it emailed to you to print yourself. Take a little time each day of Advent to pause in your busy-ness, reflect on the artwork, and jot down where you see God (or where you hope to see God) in the midst of this art and in your life. There are a few pieces that you can colour on your own too, to aid in your meditation.

• Advent Calendar – Visit our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/StJohnAnglican) to see the art up close, and written reflections from our community. Comment and share your insights on others’ reflections. We are posting these reflections daily on Facebook and in the parish hall.

• Coffee Hour Gatherings – Join us for 2 more Sundays (Dec. 15 & 22) at coffee hour after both 8:30am and 10am services. We will gather to meditate together on and share about what God is saying to each of us and to our community through this art.

• Group Colouring – Each Sunday one of the week’s art will be displayed – help to colour in this poster-size version each week, and treat it as another way to meditate on the art.

 

Office Assistance Needed

Please note that the Parish Office will be on reduced hours from now through Christmas, while Sarah, our Interim Parish Administrator, is away. Should you need to stop by without a prior appointment, please call ahead to confirm someone is here beforehand. Thank you!

If you are able to offer any help in the office – i.e. answering the phone and responding to emails during office hours, or assembling Christmas bulletins later this week, please let Vivian know in person or at rector@stja.ca.

 

Financial Status

Statement of Income and Expenses as of YTD for September and October 2019

	Sept. 2019 ACTUAL	Sept. 2019 BUDGETED	Oct. 2019 ACTUAL	Oct. 2019 BUDGETED
INCOME	$ 156,619	$ 160,200	$ 173,715	$ 178,033
EXPENSES	$ 163,611	$ 160,200	$ 180,775	$ 178,033
Surplus (-) Loss	-$ 6,992	$0	-$ 7,060	$0

 

Food Bank Christmas Cookie Gift

During the first three Sundays in Advent we are inviting parishioners of St. John’s to donate $20 toward the Food Bank Christmas Cookie gift. The donation goes towards the cookie gift and towards the grocery items for each Food Bank household.

There will be a table in the Narthex on Dec. 1, Dec. 8 and Dec. 15. We will be happy to accept donations before and after the services.

 

Food Bank “Christmas (Re)Stocking”

The shelves at the Food Bank are starting to look a little bare and we don’t have any corporate donors coming forward this Christmas to help restock our shelves. During the rest of the month of December we will focus on one or two items needed. If you are able, we would appreciate a donation of these particular items on the following Sundays to help us fill up the shelves again:

      December 15: soup and crackers

      December 22: tins of salmon, tuna, chicken, or ham

      December 24/25: Christmas Wildcard – bring whatever non-perishable you like to celebrate Jesus’ birthday!

      December 29: pasta and pasta sauce

(Other non-perishable items are also welcome at any time. If an item is coming from your kitchen cupboard to our cupboards please check the expiry date before bringing to the Food Bank.)

Every little bit helps! Thank you for your generosity in supporting this important St. John’s ministry to our wider community.

 

Cold Wet Weather Mat Program – January 2020 at St. Laurence, Coquitlam

There is a sign-up sheet on the stage doors in the Parish Hall for anyone who would like to supply sandwiches during the time when the homeless will be welcomed to St. Laurence in Coquitlam. The guests will be provided with an evening meal and breakfast, and given a bag lunch with the sandwiches that are supplied to take with them.

The dates are January 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 13th.

If you would like to help by making up to 30 sandwiches, please either sign up on the sheet or send an email to Anne Anchor at deacon@stja.ca. The number of sandwiches needed will be confirmed a few days before the date you select; each day may vary depending on the weather.

 

care+share Advent 2019 Campaign – Urban Aboriginal Ministry

care + share has been helping to fund a wide variety of ministries in our diocese since 2011. The ministries are supported for a two-year period to help them to expand and strengthen their work.  Every two years Synod selects and affirms from one to three recipients of the care + share donations for the next two-year cycle.

The Urban Aboriginal Ministry (UAM) was chosen as the sole beneficiary of care + share for this 2020 – 2021 cycle to help UAM expand to meet the needs of more First Nations brothers and sisters. Towards that end the Mission and Ministry Development team of the diocese are launching a “mini-campaign” during the season of Advent 2019 to encourage the members of our diocese to support the care + share program. Although UAM will be the recipient during the next two-year funding cycle they hope that your participation now will contribute to a pattern of generosity that will enable future ministries from around the diocese to also flourish through care+share.

Donations to UAM through care + share may be made via your regular donation envelope or PAD. You may also visit https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/care-share-advent-campaign-for-2019 to learn about other ways to give and more information about UAM.

 

Blue Christmas at St. Timothy’s

You are invited to “The Longest Night” (also known as “Blue Christmas”) Service this Saturday, Dec. 21, 7pm at St. Timothy Anglican Church (4550 Kitchener Street, Burnaby). This is a service to celebrate Christmas, but especially geared for people who have difficulty with the holiday season. Many of us have lost loved ones or aren’t able to celebrate with those we’d like to, so the exuberance and joyfulness that often accompanies the Christmas season can be especially challenging. This service will give us the chance to celebrate Christmas in a much more subdued way, with candles, carols, silence, scripture, prayers, and some time and space to reflect—and the opportunity to light a candle of your own.

 

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.

• 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. Linda Nicholls, Primate, and the Most Rev. Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop.

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

And this week:

*        The Deanery of Royal City / South Burnaby – The Reverend Gordon Barrett, Regional Dean

*        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

 

Readings for December 15, 2019 – 3^rd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 35:1-10; in place of the Psalm – Canticle 18 (Luke 1:47-55); James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

Readings for December 22, 2019 – 4^th Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25

 

Important Contact Information

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

Deacon – The Rev. Anne Anchor – deacon@stja.ca

Office Administrator – Jennifer Green (currently on leave)

Interim Office Administrator – Sarah Golding – administrator@stja.ca or 604-936-7762

(Office Hours during this interim time are Tues/Wed/Thurs, 9am-1:30pm & Fri, 9am-11:30am)

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

 

[Art at top of page is “Give Us Bread, But Give Us Roses” by Lisle Gwynn Garrity, © A Sanctified Art, and is used by permission.]