The E-postle December 8, 2019

Second Sunday of Advent

E-postle

December 8, 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 8              following both services – “What Can’t Wait” Advent art discussion group;

                                               following both services – Mini “Bazaar Revisited” display

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

Thursday, December 12          12noon – ACW Christmas lunch

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 2. Matthew 3: 12

Like so many prophets before him, John the Baptist called on people to change their ways. And the proof of these changes would be seen in the fruit borne out of their lives. Simply saying that we are stewards isn’t enough, is it? It will be seen in the fruit of our own lives. What kind of fruit do others see from the way you live?

 

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’ll 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 beginning this Sunday Dec. 8, and 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.

 

Diocesan Advent Meditations

Sign-up for a daily email in Advent with meditations from Archbishop Melissa and spiritual directors in the diocese. Each day includes a selected image, hymn, or poem that evokes the actions of Advent: waiting, longing, anticipating, expecting, and preparing. The art is a means for awakening our imaginations to renew our journey through Advent once more. Advent is usually the season to once again celebrate the coming birth of Jesus. Yet the scriptures and hymns also point us to the central event we are expecting in Advent: the future coming of Jesus Christ.

Sign-up for the free daily email by filling out the short form at https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/diocesan-resources/2019-advent-calendar. (Emails began December 1.)

 

Parish Council Message Re: Marriage at St. John’s

Thank you to all who answered our Parish Survey and participated in our Nov. 10 Parish Forum on marriage at St. John’s – we are grateful for a healthy and prayerful response from our parish family on this issue.

At our November 25 meeting, Parish Council passed a motion that the Rev. Vivian Lam be authorized to write a letter to Archbishop Melissa Skelton advising of the consensus of the people of St. John’s and that we be recognized in the Diocese as a parish that is authorized to provide Same-Sex Marriages.

During our January meeting, we will continue discussion on how we will share this information as a parish, and other practical details.

As always, if you have any questions, please see any Parish Council member (The Rev. Vivian Lam, The Rev. Anne Anchor, Geri Grigg, Ruby Ng, Cedric Miller, Mary Lou Kyle, Adelaine Miller, Tony Pellett, Sheila De Vaal, Rosa Wiesensel, or Brian McGlashan).

 

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

 

Bazaar Revisited

The bazaar is over for this year…but the planning has just begun for next year. Come and check out the Bazaar Revisited this Sunday, Dec. 8 after both services. We will have a display of bazaar items for you to peruse and purchase in case you missed the bazaar…and we hope that you will make suggestions or bring your ideas to us for what we can do at next year’s bazaar. If you are interested in participating in next year’s bazaar and would like more information, please contact the office or ask at the Bazaar Revisited coming up soon!

 

Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Hot Socks Collection

The A.C.W. are collecting ‘Hot Socks’ (wool blend please) for the Mission to Seafarers. There is a basket at the back of the church to leave the ‘Hot Socks’ if anyone would like to contribute to this outreach. The collection for this outreach has been extended until December 12th.

 

A.C.W. Christmas Lunch

The Christmas Lunch will take place at 12 noon on Thursday December 12th. We will be ordering pizza – cost will be $10. We will be making up the seniors’ Christmas goodie baskets after lunch. Please bring 2 dozen wrapped cookies/treats for the baskets. We will also be collecting cookies or treats for the Mission to Seafarers at this meeting.

 

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.

 

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 on 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.

 

Coquitlam Chorale Society

The Coquitlam Chorale presents carols and lullabies of Christmas at 2 performances this week, which will be held at Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship Church, 1160 Lansdowne Drive, Coquitlam:

—–Friday, December 13, 7:30pm

—–Saturday, December 14, 2:00pm

For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.coquitlamchorale.com/performances

 

Call for Volunteers – Cold Wet Weather Mat Program

During the month of January 2020, St. Laurence Anglican Church—together with the Hope for Freedom Society—will offer hospitality of overnight shelter and meals to those in need. Help will be needed for staffing of morning and evening shifts and for providing food, clothing or a financial contribution.

An Orientation and sign-up meeting will be held this Saturday, December 7, 2019 from 10:00 – 11:00 am at St. Laurence (825 Saint Laurence Street, Coquitlam).

Anne Anchor will be attending this meeting and selecting certain dates for providing lunch sandwiches. If others wish to attend to sign for an evening meal or working a shift, you will be more than welcome. If you are unable to attend and would like Anne to sign-up on your behalf please contact her at deacon@stja.ca.

 

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 Anglican Canadian-Asian Ministry (ACAM) Group

*        The Deanery of Richmond-Delta – The Reverend Paul Woerhle, 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 8, 2019 – 2^nd Sunday of Advent

Isaiah 11:1-10; Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19; Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

 

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

 

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 “A Child Shall Lead Them” by Lisle Gwynn Garrity, © A Sanctified Art, and is used by permission.]