The E-postle October 20, 2019

19^th Sunday after Pentecost

E-postle

October 20, 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, October 19              5–8pm – All-Ages Parish Games Night

Sunday, October 20                2^nd Stewardship Presentation on “Creativity”

                                                after the 10am service – Food Bank volunteer meeting

Tuesday, October 22               10:15am–12noon – 2^nd “Holy Envy” Book Study – in the Parish Hall

Sunday, October 27                Stewardship Pledge Sunday & 3^rd Stewardship Presentation on “Volunteering”

Monday, October 28               7–9pm – Parish Council Meeting

Saturday, November 2            10am–2:30pm – Parish Bazaar

 

Stewardship Reflection

Draw Near to God – by Glen Mitchell

All that I have is a gift from God and that Jesus had some special messages for the likes of me. Scripture constantly reminds me in our Lord’s own words that I cannot serve God and Mammon. As the years have gone by, I have come to know that Jesus was so concerned about this clash between his followers’ spiritual values and their lifestyles that more than half the parables address the problem. The stories of the widow’s mite and the rich young man spoke very directly to my own selfishness. In the end I had to decide whether to follow our Lord’s teaching or to acknowledge that worldly goods are more important than my salvation.

2 Corinthians 9:7

Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

 

A Note from the Stewardship Team

We hope that everyone received their pledge packages last Sunday. If not, please notify the office and we will make sure that you receive one. Please remember to fill in these forms and bring them back to present as your offering on October 27, 2019.

The presentation boards will be up for one final time this Sunday, October 20. We hope that you will once again take the time to review these boards, make a comment on the topics, make suggestions, or note your ideas, etc. We hope that you have found this presentation helpful.

This week, the Stewardship Team presents another speaker. Ferne Malcolm will speak on the topic of “creativity” as it pertains to stewardship.  We are pleased that she was willing to participate in this manner and we look forward to her insight and sharing on this topic. We hope you find these presentations helpful as we all consider our contribution and participation for the upcoming year at St. John’s.

• The Stewardship Team – “Lovingly sharing and creatively demonstrating our God-given gifts”

 

New Members for the Altar Guild

The members of St. John’s Altar Guild are looking for some new members to join us.  We work in groups on a 4-week rotating schedule, usually on a Saturday morning, arranging flowers, cleaning the brass, setting up for the Eucharist and laundering the altar linens. Please speak to a member of the Altar Guild if you are interested in joining us. Contact us at altarguild@stja.ca.

 

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

At our September 30 Parish Council meeting, following consideration of Archbishop Melissa Skelton’s pastoral letter of July 17, we had a strong, prayerful, and joyful consensus that we would like to make marriage between same-sex couples available at St. John’s, supporting our parish values of inclusivity and hospitality. We plan to move forward with this officially as of our November 25 Council meeting.

If you have questions about this, 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). If people feel the need and there is enough interest, we will consider further parish discussion on this matter.

For those who have asked, and for others who are interested, two links for further information:

• Archbishop Melissa Skelton’s July 17 pastoral letter https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/pastoral-letter-from-archbishop-melissa-skelton
• “This Holy Estate” – document created by a national committee of the Anglican Church of Canada to offer background and grounding for consideration of the marriage canon amendment:        http://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/Marriage_Canon_REPORT_15Sept22.pdf

 

Financial Status

As requested, we append below the financial status up to 31st August, 2019.

Statement of Income and Expenses as of YTD to Aug 2019

	ACTUAL	BUDGETED
INCOME	$137,975	$141,833
EXPENSES	$144,694	$141,833
Surplus (-) Loss	-$6,719	$0

 

Offering for General Funds	$97,606	$116,134
Offering for Property	$14,529	$12,800

 

Fall Book Study

Our October/November book study on Barbara Brown Taylor’s new book, Holy Envy continues this Tuesday, Oct. 22, 10:15am-12noon! If you have ordered a book through the parish, please see Vivian to collect it.

We invite you to come join us as we explore together Taylor’s story of encountering various other religions as an Episcopal priest and as a college religion professor, and how her own Christianity informed and shaped that journey. There will be time and space for us also to reflect and share about our own journeys, and to consider how we as individuals and as a community share our faith with others, how we might respectfully and lovingly engage with and learn about other faiths, all the while deepening and strengthening our own walks with Jesus as we move through our wide and diverse world.

We will meet for 4 more Tuesdays (Oct. 22, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 12) from 10:15am-noon at the church. If you have any questions about this book study, please connect with Vivian in person or at rector@stja.ca.

 

Fall Bazaar – Saturday, November 2, 2019

The fall bazaar sign up sheets are posted on the wall downstairs. Please feel free to sign up on these sheets. You can also speak directly to Rosa Weisensel, Pronella Daniels, Joanne Walton, Brenda Binns, Ann Adair-Austin, Sue Elliott, Sue Hall, Sharon Cooper, Debora Jones-Akiyama, or Kristin Kuhn and they will make sure your name gets added. We need volunteers at each of our tables, to serve lunch, to sell raffle tickets and lunch tickets, to collect food and/or cash donations for our food bank, to help in our Kid’s Zone, to bake cakes for our cake walk, to bake for our bake table, or to come and help wherever and whenever you can. There are also sign up sheets for setting up tables on Thursday, October 31, for setting up displays and receiving contributions of baking, crafts, and final contributions on Friday, November 1, and cleaning up after the 10 am service on Sunday, November 3, There is a place for everyone and we need your support to make this event a success!! Please consider volunteering for an hour or so, if possible, in some capacity. It will be a lot of fun.

If you have items hanging around that you no longer need, we are accepting donations for our white elephant sale. Please drop off donations during office hours at the PMC, or bring them with you on Sunday morning. PLEASE REMEMBER, NO CLOTHING FOR THIS SALE (save them for our annual garage sale!).

Raffle tickets are available after both services and are $2 per ticket. There are some great prizes. So make sure you get some tickets or ask for a book of tickets to take to sell to your friends, family, and neighbours.

We hope to see as many of you out as possible to this event. We have worked hard to make sure there is something for everyone. This year, we have a new environmentally friendly focus. If you have not come out to the bazaar before, please come this year. If you regularly attend this event, we are looking forward to seeing you again. Please invite your family, friends, and neighbours and come and join with us to celebrate our creativity and accept this presentation as our gift to our community and our neighbourhood. Thank you for saving the date and for your support!

 

Gordon Shelter Donations Needed

A note from Patti Flanagan:

Betty Moore and I were at 3030 Gordon Homeless Shelter today working in the clothing donation room. There is a real need right now for men’s clothes. We realized the need when a man came to ask for a jacket and found only one available.

We especially need:

• warm men’s and women’s jackets, especially ones with hoods
• men’s sweaters, sweat shirts, sweat pants and hoodies
• socks, gloves, hats/toques
• men’s underwear
• rain gear including boots and umbrellas

Donations can be brought to church and will be taken to Gordon House by Mary Kyle, Betty Moore, or myself.

 

Extreme Weather Shelter Program – Call for Volunteers

Together with the Tri-Cities Homelessness Task Group, and funded by BC Housing, Trinity United Church offers emergency hospitality of overnight shelter and meals to those in need Nov. 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020 (as Emergency Alerts are declared). For each day that the Alert is in effect, Trinity United Church will coordinate volunteers to provide a hot evening meal; a warm, safe place to sleep; breakfast; a bag lunch; and clothing for up to 20 homeless persons aged 19 years or older.

 

How You Can Help:

• Volunteer for an evening or morning shift
• Help monitor our grocery supplies
• Help ensure bedding and blankets are cleaned
• Make a financial contribution to the Church

 

Volunteer Shifts:

Evening Shift:  9:00pm to 11:00pm – 2 volunteers per shift

Morning Shift:  5:30am to 7:30 am – 3 volunteers per shift

 

Volunteer Orientation session for those interested in participating is on Saturday, October 26, 2019 at 10 am at Trinity United Church (2211 Prairie Ave, Port Coquitlam). Sign-up Sheets for volunteer shifts will be available to all then. Free parking behind the church. Attending orientation is the best way to understand the program and what is being asked of volunteers.

 

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 Bishop.

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 Vancouver School of Theology – The Reverend Richard Topping; The Reverend Grant Rodgers; and all faculty, staff and students.

*        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 October 20, 2019 – 19th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8

 

Readings for October 27, 2019 – 20th Sunday after Pentecost

Joel 2:23–32; Psalm 65; 2 Timothy 4:6–8, 16–18; Luke 18:9–14

 

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