The E-postle May 17, 2020

Sixth Sunday of Easter
E-Postle
May 17, 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
• Rector’s Note
• Stewardship: Stewardship Reflection, Community “Phone a Friend”
• Worship: Virtual Coffee Hour
• Parish Matters: From the Wardens – Parish Giving, Ongoing Updates Pages, E-Postle Submissions
• Parish Ministries: Parish Visiting Ministry Zoom Meeting, Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Zoom Meeting, Food Bank Temporary Suspension & Ongoing Support Needed
• Community News: Sacred Teachings Podcast
• Weekly Devotions: Prayer Cycle, Scripture Readings
• Important Contact Information

 

UPCOMING DATES

***Note: All gatherings below take place online via Zoom otherwise indicated****
(Visit https://www.stja.ca/2020/program-updates/ for connection information)

 Sunday, May 17                     8:30am & 10:00am – Sunday Morning Prayer

 Meeting ID: 542 312 325
Password: 010729

Sunday, May 17                     following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Virtual “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, May 19                    10:15am – 12:00pm – Bible Study
Tuesday, May 19                    7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Thursday, May 21                  7:00pm – A.C.W. Meeting
Sunday, May 24                     11:45am – Parish Visiting Ministry Meeting
Tuesday, May 26                    7:00pm – 9:00pm – Parish Council Meeting

RECTOR’S NOTE

Greetings, everyone, as we transition into the 6th week of Easter – we’re almost at the end of this church season! Outside of church, we await another transition – as we move after the long weekend into Phase 2 of our provincial restart plan. As with any change and transition, this can all feel a little unsettling at times. Haven’t we just started establishing some sort of new “normal”, and now we are shifting again?

It’s in times like these that sometimes I find the beauty of sung prayer can be so grounding and help me find my balance again, no matter what unsettling change may be ahead. I came across this lovely video this week of the blessing from Numbers 6: 24-26 set to music – they are simple words of blessing sung especially for the Hawai’ian islands, but which resonate powerfully beyond to us and others in the world… especially in this continuing time of transition and change and upheaval. May we trust in and hold on to God’s blessing in this time.

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn his face to you and give you peace. Amen.

The Hawai’i Blessing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxQ0RnKjrzY

Peace, Vivian

 

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship Reflection

From Sunday by Sunday: Reflections on Stewardship, prepared by the Ven. Dr. Michael Pollesel:
6^th Sunday of Easter – John 14:15:21
Jesus promises his disciples that he will go on living in and through them. A faithful steward hears this and allows her or himself to be used as a channel for Jesus in our own world. So, what characteristics of Jesus are going to be seen by what you do and say?

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

Virtual Coffee Hour

Thanks to everyone who has been trying out the Zoom “Breakout Rooms” after the 10:00am Sunday service. We’ll be continuing to experiment with them this Sunday, so please consider joining us! These “Breakout Rooms” allow us to video chat with each other in smaller groups. We’re hoping they will be a little more like regular coffee hour (i.e. chatting while sitting around tables). Please feel free to let Vivian know your feedback either on Sunday or via rector@stja.ca.

 

PARISH MATTERS

From the Wardens – 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 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 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

Parish Visiting Ministry Zoom Meeting

Our Parish Visiting Ministry group was to have met at the home of the Waltons later this month. We have done this before and look on it as body (lunch), mind (meeting), and spirit time as we walk alongside the Fraser River and through the grove of cedars, perhaps seeing eagles, herons, geese, or seals. Ah well, a Zoom meeting instead will bring us together on Sunday, May 24^th at 11:45am. Details of connecting will be given closer to the time.

–  Joanne Walton and Alma Oldenburg

Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Zoom Meeting

We will be holding our May A.C.W. meeting via Zoom this Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm! (Please contact acw@stja.ca for connection information.)

At this meeting we will discuss the dispersal of our funds and a future collection of our layette as well as any plans for the Fall.

–  Ann Adair-Austin

Food Bank Temporary Suspension & Ongoing Support Needed

The St. John’s Food Bank is not able to operate until further notice due to the COVID19 virus and the many restrictions that are in place for the safety of all our community and beyond. The Food Bank will resume when safe to do so and will continue to rely on the generosity of our parishioners. Please speak to Lynne Milner at foodbank@stja.ca with any questions about the Food Bank ministry in general.

Since this ministry to our community is a priority for St. John’s, Parish Council has decided at our March 31 meeting to use funds that would normally have gone into purchasing food for our own Food Bank to support others who are able to continue to serve our community in this time. We will be giving $1000/month for April-June to SHARE Food Bank. Please continue to give generously to our Food Bank ministry so that in this time of great need we can continue to support this important work for the most vulnerable among us.

In the meantime, we have been informed about 2 local food programs that are currently still operating if you are interested in inquiring about other ways to help.

1. SHARE Food Bank – https://sharesociety.ca/news/share-covid-19-update
2. Club Freedom, a meal program run by CityReach Care Society, Broadway Church, and Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship – https://www.cityreach.org/clubfreedom. (To volunteer or donate food for Sun/Tues/Thurs contact Craig Savage at craigs@cityreach.org or 604-253-2700. To volunteer or donate food for Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat—contact Debbie Fell at debbiefell@shaw.ca or call 604-942-5622)

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

Sacred Teachings Podcast

The Sacred Teachings podcast’s current season has the theme “Path to the Stronghold“. In the 5^th episode “A Moment To Pause”, Rev. Dr. Raymond C. Aldred gives his view on the global pandemic and how we can all take a moment to pause. Check it out at https://www.anglican.ca/im/podcasts/.

The teachings, languages, traditions and stories of the Ancestors are shared in this “Sacred Teachings” podcast series, 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.

 

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. Dunstan, Aldergrove – The Reverend David Taylor;
• St. Helen, Vancouver – The Reverend Scott Gould;
• St. Helen, Surrey – The Reverend Stephen Laskey, The Reverend Jonathan Pinkney;
• 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 May 17, 2020 – Sixth Sunday of Easter

Acts 17:22-31; Psalm 66:7-18; 1 Peter 3:13-22; John 14:15-21

Readings for May 24, 2020 – Ascension Sunday

Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 93; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53

 

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	Lynne Milner	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