The E-Postle, October 10, 2021

Harvest Thanksgiving
E-Postle
October 10, 2021

“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
• Worship & Prayer: Zoom-Only Worship This Sunday Oct. 10, Pre-Registration for In-Person Worship, Pre-Registration for In-Person Worship, Tech & Hospitality Volunteers Needed for Hybrid Worship, Flowers for the Altar, Ongoing Pastoral Care & Support
• Formation: Area Youth Group!
• Stewardship: Stewardship Reflection
• Parish Matters: Church Drainage Repairs Info Meeting – Oct. 17, 12 noon, Rector Away This Weekend, Parish Office Closed Oct. 12-20, Current Parish Office & Buildings Status, Financial Status for July and August 2021, Parish Giving, Ongoing Updates Pages, E-Postle Submissions
• Parish Ministries: Anglican Church Women (“A.C.W.”) News, New Members for the Altar Guild, ReSponse News: N. Family Arriving in October + New Refugee Sponsorships, Food Bank Report
• Community News: Spring Street Community Kitchen- “Filipino Adobo” with Rose Samaniego of Kulinarya
• 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/2021/program-updates/ for connection information)

Sunday, October 10               8:30am & 10:00am – ZOOM ONLY – Harvest Thanksgiving Morning Prayer + 2nd Stewardship
Speaker

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

Sunday, October 10               following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Zoom “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, October 12              10:15am – 12noon – Bible Study
Tuesday, October 12              7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Sunday, October 17               12:00 noon – Church Drainage Repairs informational meeting
Thursday, October 21            6:00pm-7:00pm – Spring Street Community Kitchen – “Filipino Adobo” with Rose                                                           Samaniego of Kulinarya
Thursday, October 21            7:00pm – Anglican Church Women (“A.C.W.”) Meeting

WORSHIP & PRAYER

Zoom-Only Worship This Sunday Oct. 10

As Vivian will be away this Sunday, Oct. 10, and because we are currently limited in numbers of tech support volunteers, we will be shifting back to Zoom-only Morning Prayer just for one Sunday. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and look forward to seeing everyone together on Zoom for Harvest Thanksgiving.

Pre-Registration for In-Person Worship

Note: The below registration instructions can be found also at https://www.stja.ca/2021/how-to-pre-register-for-in-person-worship/.

Please note that this Sunday, Oct. 10 services will be Zoom only.  Beginning again for Oct. 17 services, please visit https://bit.ly/394zwHt to register to attend in-person for the following week. This link will be “live” again beginning Sunday 5pm each week.

(If you are attending by Zoom, you do not need to pre-register. The Zoom link for worship remains the same, and can be found at https://www.stja.ca/2021/program-updates/.)

Please submit your registration by Wednesday at 5pm to help us in our planning. Everyone who has registered by Wednesday 5pm will be notified by Thursday afternoon if we can fit you in, or if you are on a “waitlist”. Waitlist people will be contacted by Friday 2pm if there are any cancellations.

If needed, you may submit a phone registration by calling and leaving a message at the parish office at 604-936-7762 (we need your name, phone number/email, who is in your household or bubble, and which service you are registering for). We encourage you to fill out the online form if you are able, to help lessen our administrative load.

Note that first priority for registration will be given to those who are scheduled to volunteer that day and their households/bubbles, and then to those who have not attended the previous week. Depending on the size of households/bubbles who are able to sit together without distancing, the number of people we can fit in the church will vary – it will be roughly 20-30 people per service. We will try our best to seat households/bubbles together, but may separate the group if needed.

You may see the current safety protocols for in-person worship at https://www.stja.ca/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/. As per provincial and diocesan recommendations, we also encourage everyone who attends to be fully vaccinated, as possible.

Tech & Hospitality Volunteers Needed for Hybrid Worship

We are looking for help with technical support aspects of both in-person and Zoom services, as well as people who could help online with hospitality and welcome for our Zoom participants. Training will be provided. If you or someone you know is interested, please connect with Vivian at rector@stja.ca to chat.

Flowers for the Altar

The Altar Guild would like to draw your attention to the flower chart in the Narthex by the Chapel door. Please consider signing up to place flowers at the Altar in thanksgiving for something, or in loving memory of a family member, or friend.

A member of the Altar Guild will contact you the week before the date you have chosen to see what type of flowers you would like and also the wording for the Bulletin. Thank you.

Ongoing Pastoral Care & Support

A note from Vivian:

Please know that St. John’s is here for you as we continue to move through this pandemic. Now that I don’t see many of you as regularly, and with the limitations of virtual interactions, it is more challenging to know what everyone’s state of wellbeing and ongoing pastoral needs are. I invite and encourage you to reach out to me or to any of the other parish resources below, if and as you need.

Rector – Please contact me via rector@stja.ca or cell.  I am happy to connect via phone, email, text, Facetime or Zoom, and, during this pandemic, in-person in urgent situations. I am here for support in crisis times (i.e. emergencies, hospital stays) and if you would like prayer for an upcoming medical procedure or other major circumstance. I am also available for general spiritual support and encouragement, and can offer a listening ear and prayer in the moment.

Community “Phone a Friend” – our Stewardship Team has set up phone teams to call folks each week to “check in” and help lessen isolation and foster connection. Connect with Kristin (bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com or 778-957-8987) or Natasha (freefromfear101@gmail.com or 604-961-6630) if you’d like to receive or help make these calls.

Sunday Prayers of the People – If you would like to be prayed for in our Sunday intercessions, please email Anne at deacon@stja.ca. You will be prayed for by first name, for whatever time period you indicate. If you are adding someone else, please be sure you have their OK to do so.

Prayer Circle – Please email Sue E. at prayer@stja.ca. This is a group of parishioners who commit to pray for prayer needs of parishioners and friends/families. All requests are kept confidential within the group, and you can let the group know as much or as little detail of the situation they’re praying for, as you wish. If you are requesting prayer for someone else, please be sure you have their OK to do so.

Parish Visiting Ministry – Members of this team focus on our parishioners who are homebound or living in care homes. During this pandemic time, they are praying for and connecting with these parishioners via phone, email, and mail. Please connect with Joanne W. or Alma at pastoralvisits@stja.ca with needs in this area.

 

FORMATION

Area Youth Group!

Are you a member of our St. John’s community that is aged 14 to 19? There is a local youth group that meets to have fun together at St. Laurence Anglican Church regularly and is involved in all sorts of youth-related community and church projects, such as the upcoming event below that is for the whole family! For more information or updated details about this or upcoming youth events, please feel free to contact Kristin Kuhn (778-957-8987 and/or bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com). If you are interested in attending this event, call Kristin Kuhn or the church office and we will help you get registered!!!

Restoration Saturday @ A Rocha on October 16 in the afternoon (exact time to be determined)
Join us for an outdoor work party, helping the habitat restoration team at A Rocha in their ongoing conservation work on the Little Campbell River. Afterward we’ll rest our labours with a celebratory Tim Hortons run! Friends and family are invited! This event requires pre-registration by October 14 and carpooling is available.

If you don’t know them, A Rocha (https://arocha.ca/) is an amazing Christian organization focused on environmental stewardship. Their local site is the Brooksdale Environmental Centre, where they’ve been farming, tending the river, and educating all sorts of people about the goodness of God’s creation and how to live well in it.

 

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship Reflection

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

Matthew 6:25-33
God provides – not only for small birds, but for us too. Jesus reminds us of God’s extravagant bounty towards all creation. A faithful steward knows and practices genuine gratitude.

 

PARISH MATTERS

Church Drainage Repairs Info Meeting – Oct. 17, 12 noon

Following up on work that was previously done to gather estimates for replacement of the drainage system around the church building, Parish Council is considering a proposal to repair and restore the existing drainage pipes and catch basin. The cost of this work would be considerably less than an outright replacement, but will still meet our needs of ensuring adequate groundwater and roof water drainage away from the church. There will be a meeting (via Zoom) following the 10:00 service on Sunday October 17, to outline the proposed scope of work, gather input from interested parishioners, and to answer any questions. The meeting is planned for 12:00 noon to allow time for in-person attendees to get home and log into the meeting.

Rector Away This Weekend

Vivian will be taking some vacation time from Friday, Oct. 8 through Tuesday, Oct. 12. Please connect with Ruby or Rich at peopleswarden@stja.ca and rectorswarden@stja.ca for urgent parish matters during this time.

During Oct. 8-12, for pastoral emergencies, to be connected to the on-call priest, please call Ruby on her cell.

We are grateful to the Rev. Michael Chin and the Rev. Anne Anchor who will serve as preacher and officiant, respectively, at Zoom worship services on Oct. 10.

Parish Office Closed Oct. 12-20

The Parish Office will be closed from Tuesday Oct. 12 through Wednesday Oct. 20, as Deanna will be away. She will be back on Thursday, Oct. 21. Office emails and voicemails will be periodically checked, but for anything urgent during this time, please contact Vivian at rector@stja.ca or Ruby or Rich at peopleswarden@stja.ca and rectorswarden@stja.ca.

Current Parish Office & Buildings Status

Note: You may view our original reopening plan, the guide for user groups, as well as diocesan updates at https://www.stja.ca/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/

WORSHIP
Protocols for in-person worship services can be found at https://www.stja.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Worship-Protocols-091021b.pdf. For additional information, please see the “Worship & Prayer” section of this epostle.

PARISH OFFICE
The Parish Office is open 3 partial days a week – generally on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10am-2pm – but this schedule may shift from time to time. For now, the office will not be open to walk-in visitors – anyone coming by the office for a necessary purpose will need to make an appointment beforehand and follow Covid safety protocols as directed.

Anyone planning to come inside the church buildings at this time must also check in beforehand with Deanna in the office at administrator@stja.ca – even if you plan to be here just for a brief period of time. This is to enable necessary contact tracing, notification to anyone else in the building at the same time, and to review safety protocols as needed.

SMALL GROUPS
Parish small groups who wish to meet for ministry gatherings may do so, provided they 1) contact the Parish Office to book time through Deanna, and 2) follow all COVID protocols (see “Guidelines for User Groups” at https://www.stja.ca/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/).

The main protocols for small groups include:

• obtaining prior approval to meet via the church office
• 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
• staying home if feeling sick or having had any potential exposure to COVID

OUTSIDE USER GROUPS
The Port Moody Korean Presbyterian Church have resumed in-person worship in our space on Sunday afternoons. Two of our community 12-step groups are currently meeting in our space; the third has opted to hold off on meeting in-person for the time being. All groups are following strict safety protocols (see “Guidelines for User Groups” at https://www.stja.ca/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/).

Financial Status for July and August 2021

We append below the Parish financial status for your information.

Statement of Income and Expenses ending 31^st day of August 2021

 

	July 2021 Actual $		August 2021 Actual $		August 2021 Budget $		YTD August 2021 Actual $		YTD August 2021 Budget $
Income	17,792.70		11,927.70		18,620.82		126,993.94		148,966.56
Expenses	23,173.73		17,714.20		18,541.32		136,027.85		148,330.56
Surplus (-) Loss	(5,381.03)		(5,786.50)		79.50		(9,033.91)		636.00
		July 2021 Actual $	August 2021 Actual $	August 2021 Budget $		YTD August 2021 Actual $		YTD August 2021 Budget $
Offering for General Funds		9,016.00	8,361.00	15,333.33		77,740.00		122,666.84
Offering for Property		921.70	911.70	0		8,289.60		0

Treasurer’s Note: Thanks to all for your continued support in these difficult 18 months. We are still below what is needed; as such we are currently running a deficit. Hopefully things will improve now that we have begun in-person services again.

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/2021/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/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/ – a collection of all special correspondence from the Bishop 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

Anglican Church Women (“A.C.W.”) News

Dues
Reminder that A.C.W. dues for 2022 should be submitted by October 15th.

Please send your payment of $20 to Antoinette. Cheques should be payable to St John’s ACW, with a notation ‘ACW dues’.

All women of the Parish are welcome to join the ACW which works to support the Parish and other outreach. Please contact Alma at: ACW@stja.ca if you are interested in attending the meetings which are held on the third Thursday of the month.

Meeting
The next A.C.W. meeting will be held on October 21st at 7pm via Zoom. Please contact ACW@stja.ca for Zoom connection information.

Canadian Church Calendars
The Canadian Church Calendars will soon be available for a cost of $7 each. Please contact Antoinette at: toni.woodman@shaw.ca to reserve a copy. More information will follow on where and when you will be able to receive your calendar.

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 Brenda Binns or any member of the Altar Guild if you are interested in joining us.

ReSponse News

(Submitted by Mary Kyle)

N. Family Arriving In October!
We have heard that the N. family (originally from Afghanistan) will be arriving Oct. 13!

If anyone has furniture that is in good condition that they would like to donate, or used laptops that are still up to date, could they please send a photo to Pat Ratcliffe and let her know if they would be able to store the furniture until needed and if they are able to deliver it. Bunk beds and single beds will be needed for the children and a double or queen-sized bed for the parents. Mattresses should be new or nearly new.  We will probably NOT be able to accept all donations as we don’t have a storage facility.  Also, if anyone has a truck and could help with moving furniture please let us know. Thank you for your help!

New Refugee Sponsorships
I have heartwarming news! In the spring, our church was contacted by a resident in the neighbourhood regarding St. John’s potentially supporting a sponsorship of Syrian asylum seekers currently residing in Jordan. The resident and her husband were part of a Group of 5 Sponsorship in 2017, when a group of friends (5 households) privately sponsored a young Syrian family to come to Canada. After 3 years, the sponsored family is thriving in Maple Ridge and they are in the process of applying for Canadian citizenship!

The Group of Five has maintained a close relationship with this family and want to continue to help them lay their roots here in Canada. They now would like to sponsor two families (one couple and a couple with a child) that are related to the original sponsored family. They cannot go through the same route of private sponsorship that they did in 2017—now, in order to reunite them with their family, they need to be aligned with a local SAH (Sponsorship Agreement Holder) organization. Since they have sponsored before, they are very aware of all that is involved in terms of logistical, emotional, and financial support. They are committed to fully financing the sponsorships through their own contributions and fundraising activities.

We forwarded the request to the Deanery Re-Sponse Group, which has followed up with the Group of Five. The Re-Sponse Group is comfortable with the terms of this application and has recommended taking on the sponsorship, and getting an approval from our parish councils to become a constituent group for the Diocese. The Diocese would be the SAH organization, with at least one parish needed to serve as a constituent group.

At our July Parish Council meeting at St. John’s, the request to become a constituent group to sponsor these families was approved. We have informed the Rev. Pat Ratcliffe (chair of Re-Sponse) of our vote, and Re-Sponse will be sending the application to the Diocese for consideration for 2022 sponsorship. We hope other parishes will join us in the application in the next couple of months, as their parish councils reconvene after the summer to decide on the matter.

As a Re-Sponse representative from St. John’s, I am grateful for the positive and faithful way in which our parish council has responded to the request. Please pray for the safety of the families as they wait to be sponsored.

Food Bank Report

Parish Council decided to continue to support the SHARE Foodbank in 2021 with donations of $500 per month taken from the St. John’s Foodbank fund, since our own Foodbank does not have immediate plans to resume in the near future. Thank you to those of you who have continued to support the Foodbank financially. Your contributions will still be helping those in need in our community.

And thank you to those who had supported the St. John’s Foodbank with donations of food while we were still meeting in person. The food has been sorted by date, and items close to their “Best Before” date have been taken to the SHARE Foodbank every month during the pandemic–so food donations have not been wasted!

Thank you again, Mary Kyle

 

COMMUNITY NEWS

Spring Street Community Kitchen – “Filipino Adobo” with Rose Samaniego of Kulinarya

Please save the date for our next Spring Street Community Kitchen – Thurs. Oct. 21, 6-7pm with guest chef Rose Samaniego from Kulinarya Filipino Eatery, who will be making a version of the Filipino dish, Adobo. And thanks to all who participated in our most recent kitchen, “Fall Soup with GRIT Coffee House’s Anitha Tindyebwa”. The video and recipe will be available soon at https://www.facebook.com/SpringStreetCommunityKitchen.

Note that funds raised in support of our Spring Street Community Kitchen are being re-gifted to the communities we serve, through local charities. Funds raised for our October kitchen will be gifted to CABE Secondary School. Donations can be given via https://www.stja.ca/supporting-st-johns/; please designate your gift to our Community Kitchen project.

We would love your participation and feedback! We welcome you to share your 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 also welcome volunteers for future kitchens – planning, hosting, moderating, and tech support are just some of the roles available.

(The Spring Street Community Kitchen is a partnership between St. John’s and Inlet United Church – be sure to like and follow us at https://www.facebook.com/SpringStreetCommunityKitchen.)

 

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 Province of BC and Yukon – The Most Rev. Lynne McNaughton, Metropolitan.

The Diocese of New Westminster – the Rt. Rev. John Stephens, Bishop.

And this week:

• The Deanery of Yale – The Reverend Paul Bowie, Regional Dean.
• Our partner Diocese of Northern Philippines, 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 10, 2021 – Harvest Thanksgiving

Joel 2:21-27; Psalm 126; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Matthew 6:25-33

Readings for October 17, 2021 – Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost

Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Psalm 104:1-9, 25, 37b; Hebrews 5:1-10; Mark 10:35-45

 

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	Deanna Lemke	administrator@stja.ca	604-936-7762
(No drop-in visitors at this time – please make an appointment to come in. General office hours are Tues/Thurs/Fri, 10am-2pm, but may occasionally change.)
Rector’s Warden	Rich Thompson	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	Geri Grigg,     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