The E-Postle, October 3, 2021

Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost
E-Postle
October 3, 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: St. Francis Animal Blessing – This Sunday Oct. 3, Zoom-Only Worship Next Sunday Oct. 10, Change to Music Protocol + Other Worship Notes, 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: Rector Away Next Weekend, Parish Office Will Be 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: National Day of Truth & Reconciliation in Port Moody, Spring Street Community Kitchen
• 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 3                 8:30am & 10:00am – Holy Eucharist + 1st Stewardship Speaker + St. Francis Animal Blessing

Services are in-person (with pre-registration) + on Zoom
https://zoom.us/j/542312325?pwd=R3FKTnZ4WUU1YUFveCtzOUljM2FLZz09
Meeting ID: 542 312 325
Password: 010729

Sunday, October 3                 following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Zoom “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, October 5                10:15am – 12noon – Bible Study
Tuesday, October 5                7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Sunday, October 10               8:30am & 10:00am – ZOOM ONLY – Harvest Thanksgiving Morning Prayer + 2nd Stewardship Speaker
Thursday, October 21            6:00pm-7:00pm – Spring Street Community Kitchen
Thursday, October 21            7:00pm – Anglican Church Women (“A.C.W.”) Meeting

 

WORSHIP & PRAYER

St. Francis Animal Blessing – This Sunday Oct. 3

To mark the Oct. 4 feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, we will be having a special animal blessing at the beginning of both services this Sunday, Oct. 3. We invite any pets (stuffed animal friends are welcome too!) to join us at that time either in-person or via Zoom. If your animal companion is fidgety or otherwise shy, feel free to bring a photo of them instead.

Zoom-Only Worship Next Sunday Oct. 10

As Vivian will be away next 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 that one Sunday. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and look forward to seeing everyone together on Zoom for Harvest Thanksgiving.

Change to Music Protocol + Other Worship Notes

After receiving feedback on our first services, Council has decided to update our safety protocols for music in our in-person worship – people may now hum along with the music as LaRee sings. (Those joining virtually can continue to feel free to sing along at home!).

Also, a reminder that we will share the bulletin onscreen only at the 10am Zoom (not the 8:30am) for the time being, at least until we have more technical support volunteers. You can download the bulletin and readings each week at https://www.stja.ca/2021/program-updates/ to print or follow along with on your own device.

Our COVID safety protocols for in-person worship can be found at https://www.stja.ca/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/.

As with all things during COVID, we will prepare to shift as needed as new data becomes available. We appreciate your patience, humour, and support as we practice these new ways of “being church” during this pandemic time.

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 next Sunday, Oct. 10 services will be Zoom only.  Beginning again for Oct. 17 services, please continue to 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, or are you entering grade 7 this year? If so, that means you are the perfect age to participate in the exciting youth activities happening right now and continuing into the new school year!

The local youth group that meets at St. Laurence Anglican Church meets regularly to have fun together and is involved in all sorts of youth-related community and church projects. There are also lots of chances to participate in the youth movement to support youth in our churches at large, or to add a youth perspective to the work of the church. If you are interested in youth activities and would like to connect with our local youth group, please contact Kristin Kuhn at bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com or connect with the Parish Office and we will help build that connection with you!

 

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship Reflection

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

Mark 10:2-16
“Let the children come to me… after all, God’s domain belongs to people like that.” A faithful steward aims at and works towards simplicity—in all aspects of their life.

 

PARISH MATTERS

Rector Away Next 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 Will Be Closed Oct. 12-20

The Parish Office will be open as usual this coming week, but will be closed the following week, 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 will be resuming in-person worship in our space on Sunday afternoons, beginning this Sunday Oct. 3. 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 about Oct. 12!

After their quarantine is finished, they will be needing a permanent residence. Malik has a lead on a townhouse, but it may not work out, so if anyone knows of a 3-4 bedroom townhouse in the Tri-Cities that becomes available please let myself, Deanna, or Vivian know, and I will pass the information on to Pat and the ReSponse group.

Also, 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 early October 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

National Day of Truth & Reconciliation in Port Moody

On Thursday, Sep. 30, members of the congregation and the choir joined in Honouring the Children at Noons Creek. Thank you to all who attended. Tasha Faye Evans was amazed at the response from the community of Port Moody with close to 250 people in attendance (we were outside and all masked) and with the response of our choir. At 2:15pm we all joined people singing across Canada a song for the children prepared for the day by Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc.

I raise my hands to all of you as we enter into this time when to paraphrase Chief Bobby Joseph… the children have been waiting for this time and they are now leading us out of the shadows so that we can embrace true reconciliation in Canada.

Pictures of the event are available on the Facebook pages of St. John’s (https://www.facebook.com/StJohnAnglican) and the Diocese of New Westminster (https://www.facebook.com/Anglican-Conversation-Diocese-of-New-Westminster-130319853684475).

All my relations, Deacon Anne

Spring Street Community Kitchen

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. 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 September kitchen will be gifted to Port Moody Elementary School to support food programs that they offer to students. 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:

• St. Francis in the Wood, West Vancouver – The Reverend Angus Stuart.
• 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 3, 2021 – Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Job 1:1, 2:1-10; Psalm 26; Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16

Readings for October 10, 2021 – Harvest Thanksgiving

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

 

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
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