The E-postle November 8, 2020

Remembrance Sunday (& 23rd Sunday after Pentecost)
E-Postle
November 8, 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, Stewardship Package, Community “Phone a Friend”
• Worship & Prayer: Remembrance Sunday
• Formation: Community Reading of the Gospel of Mark
• Parish Matters: Partial Reopening of Parish Buildings as of Oct. 20, Drainage Repair Project, Call for New Leaders – Treasurer and Council Members, Financial Status for August & September 2020, Parish Giving, Ongoing Updates Pages, E-Postle Submissions
• Parish Ministries: Virtual Bazaar, Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) News
• Community News: Next Spring Street Community Kitchen on Nov. 24 – “Soup and Beer Bread”, Lectio Divina Workshop, Sacred Teachings Podcast – Season 4
• 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, November 8               8:30am & 10:00am – Sunday Morning Prayer – Remembrance Sunday

https://zoom.us/j/542312325?pwd=R3FKTnZ4WUU1YUFveCtzOUljM2FLZz09
Meeting ID: 542 312 325
Password: 010729

Sunday, November 8             following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Virtual “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, November 10          10:15am – 12:00pm – Bible Study
Tuesday, November 10          7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Fri – Sat, Nov. 13 & 14            Drive through pick up for Bazaar items
Sunday, November 15           Stewardship Pledge Sunday
Thursday, November 19        7:00pm – A.C.W. Meeting
Tuesday, November 24          6:00pm – 7:00pm – Spring Street Community Kitchen – “Soup & Beer Bread”
Thursday, November 26        7:00pm – 9:00pm – Parish Council meeting

 

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship Reflection

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

Matthew 25:1-13
Sounds like Jesus is offering a lesson on good and prudent stewardship in today’s gospel. In thinking about your own life, would you say that your decisions and actions reflect wise stewardship choices? If they haven’t, don’t give up – it’s never too late to change choices and actions.

Stewardship Package

The Stewardship Team presented our stewardship campaign presentation last Sunday, Nov. 1 at both Zoom services. This presentation was our final offering for this year’s stewardship campaign.

Following the presentation, we placed a stewardship package on the website for you all to download, print, and return asap by email or mail at https://www.stja.ca/2020/stewardship/. If you have difficulty accessing this material, please call Kristin Kuhn (778-957-8987), or Natasha MacDonald (604-961-6630), or leave a message with the church office and we will mail out the package to you. We would ask that you return these as soon as possible.

On November 15, 2020, Pledge Sunday this year, we will have a virtual recognition of all of our pledge submissions for this upcoming year. We appreciate the effort everyone has put out to help maintain our community through this difficult time of pandemic and our team looks forward to continuing our efforts to maintain community and find ways for us to support one another during this time of separation.

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 & PRAYER

Remembrance Sunday

We will be marking Remembrance Sunday at both services this Sunday, November 8, with special prayers, and invite all who have poppies to wear them.

 

FORMATION

Community Reading of the Gospel of Mark

A new liturgical year is just around the corner, and this upcoming year features the Gospel of Mark. Mark is the shortest, and often considered the most action-packed of the Gospels.

To ready ourselves for the reading of this Gospel over the next year at Sunday worship, our Tuesday morning (10:15am-12 noon on Zoom) Bible Study group will read the whole Gospel of Mark out loud over two Tuesdays – Nov. 17 & 24. This will give us a chance to read and hear the Gospel in its entirety and to steep ourselves in Scripture in a different way – all within the context of community. Everyone is invited to join in!

If you would be interested in doing this as part of an evening Zoom group, please be in touch this week with Vivian at rector@stja.ca, and if there is enough interest we will set up a mutually-convenient time for all.

 

PARISH MATTERS

Partial Reopening of Parish Buildings as of Oct. 20

As of Oct. 20, our buildings have been partially reopened at the diocesan Phase 3 level.

While our reopening does not include use of our buildings for worship at this time, it does include the ability to welcome back community user groups, partial usage of our buildings for smaller group activities, as well as a limited reopening of our Parish Office. These activities are being gradually phased in over the next several weeks.

You may view the full reopening plan at https://www.stja.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/St-John-Port-Moody-102020-Reopening-App-FINAL-VERSION-TO-BE-POSTED.pdf; a guide for user groups is being finalized and will be made available shortly. In summary, any group wishing to meet will need to abide by protocols including:

• obtaining prior approval to meet via the church office
• keeping a contact tracing list of people attending
• wearing a mask
• physical distancing of 2m/6ft
• keeping hands clean with soap and water or hand sanitizer
• disinfecting any touched surfaces as directed
• no sharing of food or drink
• using washrooms on an emergency-use-only basis
• staying home if feeling sick or having had any potential exposure to COVID

Drainage Repair Project

Thank you to all who attended our recent informational meeting. Parish Council is continuing to seek out further quotes and information based on the feedback and questions received at this meeting.

Your participation in this project is integral. Thank you to those who have shared their wisdom and expertise so far! In addition to general feedback, we continue to seek volunteers for this project (could be as simple as vetting the proposals or meeting contractors on site), input into the decision-making process, and fundraising to build up the Capital Improvement Fund.

If anyone has a company to recommend or to consider, please forward the contact information to rectorswarden@stja.ca. If you are interested in helping out with this project, please reach out to Geri.

Call for New Leaders – Treasurer and Council Members

While waiting to replace the role of Treasurer, Amalia McGlashan has graciously offered to hold the role remotely until we find a replacement.

With the departure of the McGlashans, Council is now down to a smaller group of 2 clergy and 5 lay members. We really need those of you who have the interest and/or skillset to come forward to assist in the management of your church, St. John’s.

Please speak to Ruby at peopleswarden@stja.ca or Geri at rectorswarden@stja.ca if you are interested or have any questions.

Financial Status for August & September 2020

We append below the Parish financial status for your information.

Statement of Income and Expenses ending 30^th September 2020

	August Actual $	September Actual $	September Budget $	September YTD Actual $	September YTD Budget $
Income	10,299.70	14,089	19,083	126,022	171,750
Expenses	12,660.72	15,197	19,090	119,477	171,732
Surplus (-) Loss	– 2,361.02	-1,108	-6	6546	18

 

	August Actual $	September Actual $	September Budget $	September YTD Actual $	September YTD Budget $
Offering for General Funds	8,338	10,742	15,408	92,071	138,675
Offering for Property	1,056.70	1,392	0	11,594	0

Notes: Thanks to slightly higher donations in September, the deficit is less than in August. If donations continue to increase (27% increase needed for September YTD Budget), we can meet our budgeted amount for the year.

Parish Giving

Thank you to all who have continued with your offerings via PADs and cheques. If you wish to e-transfer your contributions directly to the church account, please contact Ruby at peopleswarden@stja.ca or Amalia at treasurer@stja.ca for more details. There are also links on our website at https://www.stja.ca/supporting-st-johns/ if you would prefer to donate by PayPal or Credit Card.

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

Virtual Bazaar

Exciting news! We present our Virtual Online Bazaar event this November!

The order deadline was November 5^th, and when the orders were placed, you were able to choose a time and date to pick up your items.

If you are interested in volunteering to help at our drive through event on November 13^th and 14^th, or would like to help set up canopies, etc., please call or email Kristin Kuhn (778-957-8987 or bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com).

We hope that you found just a little bit of joy and fun from this event. We have worked hard to bring you a few items to brighten up our fall season. Please come out and support this event, or make a donation that will then be used to support our church and our many community outreach projects.

Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) News

Next Meeting
The next A.C.W. meeting will be held on Thursday, November 19th at 7pm.

Please contact ACW@stja.ca for meeting connection details.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Next Spring Street Community Kitchen on Nov. 24 – “Soup and Beer Bread”

You’re invited to join us on Zoom on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 6-7 pm for an online cooking demonstration offered by the Spring Street Community Kitchen, a partnership between St. John’s Anglican Church, Inlet United Church, and All Saints’ Catholic Parish.

We will have a live demonstration featuring homemade soup and beer bread. There will be opportunities to ask questions and share conversation with others. Our guest chefs are members of the Spring Street Community Kitchen planning team, including our very own Geri for an encore appearance!

All funds raised in support of our Spring Street Community Kitchen will be re-gifted to the communities we serve. Funds raised this month will be gifted to the Share Food Bank to support their food hamper programs.

We would love your participation and feedback! We welcome you to share your soup and beer bread recipes with our wider community. Feel free to email your recipes to us at SpringStreetCommunityKitchen@gmail.com  and we will share them on our Facebook page. We are also looking for volunteers for future kitchens – planning, hosting, moderating, and tech support are just some of the roles available. Connect with Geri at rectorswarden@stja.ca if you’d like to take part!

Pre-registration for November 24th is required – please email your name and email address to SpringStreetCommunityKitchen@gmail.com to be included on the list to receive Zoom connection information or if you have any questions.

Lectio Divina Workshop

You are invited to join a Lectio Divina Workshop on Saturday, November 21, 9am – 3.30pm via Zoom.

Discover the “treasure hidden in a field” through praying the scriptures, and deepen your interpersonal relationship with God. Presented by Contemplative Outreach of Greater Vancouver with facilitators Kathy Renehan and Christine Kesans.

The classical practice of Lectio Divina can be divided into two forms: the monastic and the scholastic. The monastic method of Lectio Divina is a receptive form of praying the Scriptures. We will focus on the monastic method with teaching and practice.

To register for a zoom link, or further information, contact Christine chris.kesans@gmail.com or 604-944-7447.

Sacred Teachings Podcast – Season 4

Season 4 of The Sacred Teachings podcast, entitled “Stolen”, takes us on a series of investigations with guest host Peter Downie. So much has been stolen from Indigenous people for so many years – land, water, language, culture, and much more. This series looks at what has been taken, who took it, and how can justice be served.

The final episode of the season, “Stolen People”, focuses on the Murdered and the Missing – how it must STOP. This and other episodes can be found at https://www.anglican.ca/im/podcasts/.

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.

 

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 the Rev. John Stephens, Bishop Coadjutor-Elect.

And this week:

• St. Martin, North Vancouver – The Venerable Stephanie Shepard;
• St. Margaret, Cedar Cottage, Vancouver and Hineni House – The Reverend Heidi Brear, The Reverend Clare Morgan;
• 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 November 8, 2020 – 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost & Remembrance Sunday

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

Readings for November 15, 2020 – 24^th Sunday after Pentecost

Judges 4:1-7; Psalm 123; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11; Matthew 25:14-30

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	Rich Thompson	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