The E-postle July 19, 2020

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
E-Postle
July 19, 2020

“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”

 

THIS ISSUE AT A GLANCE

• Upcoming Dates
• Stewardship: Stewardship Reflection, Community “Phone a Friend”
• Worship: Noonday Psalms & Prayers Volunteers Needed
• Parish Matters: July 19 Deadline – Survey Re: Reopening Buildings & Future Worship, Bottle Drive for Fundraising, Financial Status for April & May 2020, Parish Giving, Ongoing Updates Pages, E-Postle Submissions
• Parish Ministries: Education for Ministry (EfM), Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Call for Donations, Deanery Vacation Bible School, Food Bank Update
• Community News: Sacred Teachings Podcast, Nominations for Bishop of New Westminster
• Weekly Devotions: Prayer Cycle, Scripture Readings
• Important Contact Information

 
UPCOMING DATES

***Note: All gatherings below take place online via Zoom unless otherwise indicated.***

(Visit https://www.stja.ca/2020/program-updates/ for connection information)

Sunday, July 19                      8:30am & 10:00am – Sunday Morning Prayer

Meeting ID: 542 312 325
Password: 010729

Sunday, July 19                      following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Virtual “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, July 21                     10:15am – 12:00pm – Bible Study
Tuesday, July 21                     7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group

 

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship Reflection

From Sunday by Sunday: Reflections on Stewardship, prepared by the Ven. Dr. Michael Pollesel:

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
How do you help “good seed” to not only take root, but to grow, and keep on growing in your life? Jesus suggests that the faithful steward is the one who listens to the words—his words—and allows them to guide all of her or his life.

Community “Phone a Friend”

Your St. John’s Stewardship Team have set up a “phone a friend” service for us all to keep from feeling a bit disconnected during these days of physical distancing. We have set up phone teams to call each week to “check in” and help relieve some of the loneliness that is inevitable in the current circumstances.

We would like to make sure no one out there is left out, so email or call Kristin (bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com or 778-957-8987) or Natasha (freefromfear101@gmail.com or 604-961-6630) if you are not receiving a call and would like to, or if you are interested in helping to make these phone calls, and we will make sure you get hooked into the service.

We know that the caring community that is St. John’s will not leave any of its people feeling more separated than is absolutely necessary. “Distance means so little when people mean so much.”

-Your Stewardship Team

WORSHIP

Noonday Psalms & Prayers Volunteers Needed

We’re looking for a few more people (of all ages) to help lead our Noonday Psalms & Prayers on Facebook! You would read (out loud) a pre-selected psalm, and share a personal prayer focusing on something or someone in the world around us. You can sign up to lead these prayers as frequently as you’d like, and instructions and training will be provided. Please contact Vivian at rector@stja.ca if you’re interested.

For the past few months, we have been holding some sacred space in this way for scripture and prayer each day – we see it as a small spiritual gift for our wider community during this pandemic time. Check out our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StJohnAnglican to see past videos.

PARISH MATTERS

July 19 Deadline – Survey Re: Reopening Buildings & Future Worship

As we discern about and move through various stages of reopening our buildings, Parish Council would like parishioner input on how we might worship together in the future.

We have created a short online survey* – please indicate your thoughts here by this Sunday, July 19. Thank you to all who have filled out the survey to date!

[NOTE: We invite each adult in a household to fill out a separate survey. Please submit only one survey per person.]

*Please email administrator@stja.ca to request the survey link.

 

Bottle Drive for Fundraising

Good news! We now have another option for bottle recycling fundraising, besides the existing arrangements with Biggar Bottle Depot in Port Coquitlam.

We are now registered with Return-It, and you can bring your unsorted cans, bottles and containers in clear/transparent plastic bags to ANY Return-It Express Depot.

Log in at the Express Kiosk using St. John’s phone number – 604-936-7762.

A label is then printed out to be placed on the bag – no sorting, no counting, no waiting in line. The staff will sort the containers and credit refunds to St. John’s Express account, which will go into the General Fund. Since we started (during Cathy Hall’s tenure), we have raised $7,087.15

Note: Pre-printed labels will be made available once church buildings are reopened.

 

Financial Status for April & May 2020

We append below the Parish financial status for your information.

Statement of Income and Expenses 31st May 2020

	April Actual	May Actual	May Budget	YTD Actual	YTD Budget
Income	$15,127	$12,610	$ 19,083	$73,437	$95,383
Expenses	$3,347	$2,789	$ 19,079	$70,109	$95,395
Surplus (-) Loss	$11,780	$9,821	$4	$3,327	-$11

 

	April Actual	May Actual	May Budget	YTD Actual	YTD Budget
Offering for General Funds	$10,984	$9,340	$15,408	$52,714	$77,402
Offering for Property	$1,473	$1,380	0	$6,702	0

Notes: Expenses were reduced significantly as the Rector’s salary was paid for by the Diocese and the Parish Assessment waived.

 

Parish Giving

Thank you to all who have continued with your offerings via PADs and cheques. If you are interested to e-transfer your contributions directly to the church account, please contact Amalia at treasurer@stja.ca or Ruby at peopleswarden@stja.ca for more details.

 

Ongoing Updates Pages

There are 2 important pages on our parish website which will be updated regularly as we have new information (links to both pages can also be found at the top of our homepage www.stja.ca):

1. Program & Worship Updates/Links – https://www.stja.ca/2020/program-updates/ – current information on programs, including Zoom meeting information and the bulletin and scripture readings for Sunday worship.
2. Updates on Covid-19 at St. John’s – https://www.stja.ca/2020/updates-re-coronavirus/ – a collection of all special correspondence from Archbishop Melissa and from our parish re: actions that St. John’s and our greater diocese are taking with the Covid-19 virus.

E-Postle Submissions

If you have submissions for the E-Postle, please email them to Kathy by Wednesday at 9:00pm at news@stja.ca.

 

PARISH MINISTRIES

Education for Ministry (EfM)

EfM restarts in a new way for now.

Starting in September 2020 we will be using the Zoom format for EfM – although it will be a little different, the content will still be the same.

The program is four years long, and will cover:

• The Hebrew Scriptures (Year 1);
• The Christian Testament (Year 2);
• Church History (Year 3); and
• Ethics, Liturgics and Theological Perspectives of this Century (Year 4).

Incorporated as a key component to the course material is learning a way to reflect theologically through life events and issues, something which is a very helpful tool in this day and age.

We meet on Wednesday evenings from September to May with the mentors, Anne Anchor and Debora Jones-Akiyama, as well as people from the deanery.  Anyone who wishes to attend may do so.

The cost is $350 per year plus the textbook.

If you are interested in joining EfM, please reach out to Anne Anchor at deacon@stja.ca.

 

Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Call for Donations

The A.C.W. is continuing to do its community outreach programs on behalf of St. John the Apostle. Unfortunately, due to the cancellation of our Spring Tea, we have less funds available to continue our work.

We would like to ask the St.  John’s community to consider donating what you would have spent at the Spring Tea to the A.C.W. directly.  Donations can be made by cheque or by e-transfer to the church, and all donations will receive a tax receipt.  When donating, please ensure that “A.C.W.” is clearly marked in the memo line or comments section.

We know that this is a difficult time for many, and any donations would be helpful. We would like to thank you for your ongoing support of our outreach ministry work.

-President Alma Oldenburg, Vice-President Sue Hall

 

Deanery Vacation Bible School

For 2 more Sundays this summer (July 19 & 26), St. John’s is sponsoring a Sunday morning virtual Vacation Bible School for all children of our deanery. We begin at 9:30am and gather until approximately 9:50am on Zoom.

The theme of our VBS is “Compassion Camp – Be Loved, Be Kind, Be You”, and during this time together the children hear a Bible story and have a discussion relating to the theme of the day, while doing some artwork with some musical accompaniment.

Afterward, for those who stay for St. John’s worship, the Children’s Talk picks up on the day’s theme, and children have a chance to gather as usual, as well as to share more of their VBS experience with our wider congregation.

For more details and Zoom connection information on our VBS please connect with Anne at deacon@stja.ca.

 

Food Bank Update

It is with sadness that I am letting you know that our Food Bank coordinator of many years, Lynne Milner, has decided to step down from this position. She has done a fabulous job and will be dearly missed by the volunteers and clients alike. Thank you, Lynne, for your devotion to this ministry. You have been a blessing.

At our last meeting, the members of the Food Bank decided to not resume the Food Bank until it can operate in a way similar to how it had in the past. We will be looking for a new coordinator and discussing ways in which we can divide and/or share the duties. If anyone is interested in joining the group of Foodbank and/or Lunch volunteers your help would be very much appreciated. Please connect with us at foodbank@stja.ca.

Some of the food items that had previously been donated to the church are coming close to their “Best Before” date,  therefore we will soon be sorting them and arranging to have them given to other groups that help the needy, including SHARE, while we wait until it is safe to reopen our own program.

Since these times are so economically difficult for many people, we are happy to continue to support SHARE with donations of $500 per month this summer, in addition to the food items that we are unable to use at this time.

-Mary Kyle

COMMUNITY NEWS

Sacred Teachings Podcast

In “Dismantling Racism,” the new third season of the Sacred Teachings podcast, we venture into the timely discussion of racism and its place in the world. Raw discussions and teachings will be featured in eight episodes—all of which have been recorded remotely across Canada whilst we continue through the pandemic.

The second episode of this season “Racism As Sin (Part 2)” can be found at https://www.anglican.ca/im/podcasts/. Get new episodes there every Monday.

The teachings, languages, traditions and stories of the Ancestors are shared in this podcast, which is sponsored by the Anglican Church of Canada. Highly respected Indigenous speakers are featured in this series, with a different theme for each season, including the sacredness of Creation and finding meaning in a global crisis.

 

Nominations for Bishop of New Westminster

Archbishop Melissa will be retiring at the end of February 2021 and our diocese is now open for nominations for our next bishop! Please hold this discernment process in your prayers over the next few months, and help spread the word wide and far – the deadline for nominations is July 31. The election will be held on October 3, 2020.

From the press release: “In the spirit of celebrating the diversity of God’s people, we ask you to reach out widely to the many networks to which you are connected. We are seeking a diverse and inclusive set of nominees, especially nominees who are members of communities who have been under-represented or not represented in episcopal elections.”

For more information, see the press release at https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/episcopal-election-call-for-nominations and the full election site at https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/collections/seeking-our-next-bishop.

 

WEEKLY DEVOTIONS

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:

• St. Mary Magdalene, Vancouver – The Reverend John Marsh, The Reverend Vivian Seegers;
• St. Christopher, West Vancouver – The Reverend Karen Urquhart;
• St. Anne, Steveston – The Reverend Roberta Fraser;
• 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 July 19, 2020 – Seventh Sunday After Pentecost

Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139:1-11, 22-23; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

 

Readings for July 26, 2020 – Eighth Sunday After Pentecost

Genesis 29:15-28; Psalm 105:1-11, 45c; Romans 8:26-39; Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

 

IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION

Rector	The Rev. Vivian Lam	rector@stja.ca	604-936-7762 (church voicemail) / 604-723-5029 (cell)
Deacon	The Rev. Anne Anchor	deacon@stja.ca
Parish Office		administrator@stja.ca	604-936-7762
(Office is closed at this time, but email and voice messages will be checked Tuesday – Friday)
Rector’s Warden	Geri Grigg	rectorswarden@stja.ca
People’s Warden	Ruby Ng	peopleswarden@stja.ca
Treasurer	Amalia McGlashan	treasurer@stja.ca
Envelope Secretary	Sheila De Vaal	envelopesecretary@stja.ca
Parish Council	Kristin Kuhn, Secretary	parishcouncilsecretary@stja.ca
Altar Guild	Brenda Binns	altarguild@stja.ca
Anglican Church Women	Alma Oldenburg	ACW@stja.ca	604-788-2562
Bible Study	Lynne Milner	biblestudy@stja.ca
Building Repairs / Maintenance	Brian McGlashan, Building Coordinator	property@stja.ca
Children’s Ministry/Godly Play	Christina Anchor	children@stja.ca
E-Postle	Kathy De Vaal	news@stja.ca
Food Bank		foodbank@stja.ca
Parish Visiting Ministry	Joanne Walton/Alma Oldenburg	pastoralvisits@stja.ca
Prayer Circle	Sue Elliott	prayer@stja.ca
Prayer Shawls	Rosa Weisensel	administrator@stja.ca