The E-Postle September 5, 2021

Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost
E-Postle
September 5, 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: Blessing for New School Year on Sept. 5, New Members for the Altar Guild, Ongoing Pastoral Care & Support
• Formation: Area Youth Group!
• Stewardship: Stewardship Reflection, Stewardship Thank You’s, Seeking Pictures of Your Talents
• Parish Matters: Reopening for In-Person Worship Planned for Sept. 19, Current Parish Office & Buildings Status, Financial Status for June and July 2021, Parish Giving, Ongoing Updates Pages, E-Postle Submissions
• Parish Ministries: Anglican Church Women – Jigsaws for Mission to Seafarers, ReSponse News: N. Family – Housing Leads Needed + New Refugee Sponsorships, Food Bank Report
• Community News: Save the Date! Sept. 23 Spring Street Community Kitchen – Fall Soup
• 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, September 5             8:30am & 10:00am – Sunday Morning Prayer + Blessing for New School Year

https://zoom.us/j/542312325?pwd=R3FKTnZ4WUU1YUFveCtzOUljM2FLZz09

Meeting ID: 542 312 325
Password: 010729

Sunday, September 5             following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Virtual “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, September 7           10:15am – 12noon – Bible Study
Tuesday, September 7           7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Sunday, September 19           Target Date for First In-person Worship Services
Tuesday, September 28         7:00pm – 9:00pm – Parish Council Meeting

 

WORSHIP & PRAYER

Blessing for New School Year on Sept. 5

We will be offering a special blessing for the new school year at both the 8:30am and 10am services this Sunday, Sept. 5. Join us as we pray for educators and students—both in our parish and in our wider circles—as they begin this new year.

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.

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 7:24-37
One of the things Jesus seems to be able to do, with a variety of people, is to take care of them. A faithful steward is one who also takes care — of others, of self, of the environment, of . . . (you name it).

Stewardship Thank You’s

Our theme for our stewardship thank you’s this year is thanks and praise for patient steadfastness and endurance in adversity.

Clergy and Wardens 

When we entered the new decade in January 2020 none of us knew what was just around the corner. Who could have predicted that by the end of March our much-loved gathering space would be firmly closed up and that it would stay that way for many, many months?

This was a new frontier and navigating it both safely and effectively was a challenge our clergy team and wardens would have to address without any previous experience, preparation or training.

However, within days we had our new Zoom service organized; within a few short weeks we had “phone a friend” set up. A huge banner appeared over the church door, reaching out to our wider community. Noonday psalms and prayers promptly arrived to fill a void and suddenly we were all connected again as wholly and completely as was possible in the circumstances.

So much thought, discussion, work and prayer were carried out behind screens to achieve all this and our heartfelt thanks and praise go out to every contributing member of these two teams and their God-given wisdom and persistence, for bringing us so calmly and safely through the tunnel and back into the light of a new day. You are indefatigable and indispensable and we thank you.

“Be like the cliff against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm and tames the fury of the water around it.” – Marcus Aurelius

Seeking Pictures of Your Talents

The stewardship team is preparing a presentation for this fall’s campaign, and we are looking for everyone and anyone in our community to send us pictures of our members and their talent; everything and anything you do or that you are passionate about would be useful.

We are looking for pictures of things you do for fun, things you are passionate about, things you are skilled at, things you do for work, things you do for play, etc. We are also looking for pictures from our kids. If you are able to take a picture of your child in a superhero costume, we would love for this picture to be submitted. This can be as simple as a homemade cape of some kind. If your child has a talent or thing they love to do, play, or create, we would love that too.

If these pictures could be sent to us ASAP, we would love to include your submissions in our presentation. Please send to Kristin at bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com. Any questions please email her or call 778-957-8987.

Thanks so much for the help we get from our community. We really need your help with this if anyone is willing, so please consider our request and submit what you are able. We appreciate your help and participation in this project.

-Your Stewardship Team

 

PARISH MATTERS

Reopening for In-Person Worship Planned for Sept. 19

As of our July 27 meeting, Parish Council has decided to plan for a reopening of our buildings for in-person worship on Sunday, Sept. 19. There are still many details to be worked out in order to ensure a safer environment for all, and to allow for ways to connect online to worship. Some of the protocols that we will be following for the initial weeks include:

• Masks and social distancing
• Pre-registration system for worship attendance
• No congregational singing
• Eucharist in bread form only

We will communicate more details to the parish in the next several weeks as they are decided. In the meantime, our current safety protocols for parish small groups, outside user groups, and the Parish Office will continue. Please see “Current Parish Office & Buildings Status” below.

For your reference, the Bishop’s pastoral letter giving guidelines on the recent provincial changes re: a mask mandate and providing proof of immunization can be found at: https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/pastoral-letter-current-orders-from-the-pho

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/

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
• 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

OUTSIDE USER GROUPS
Two of our community 12-step groups are currently meeting in our space; other outside user groups have opted to hold off on meeting in-person for the time being. The 12-step groups are following strict safety protocols (see “Guidelines for User Groups” at https://www.stja.ca/2021/updates-re-coronavirus/).

Financial Status for June and July 2021

We append below the Parish financial status for your information.

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

	June 2021 Actual $	July 2021 Actual $	July 2021 Budget $	YTD July 2021 Actual $	YTD July 2021 Budget $
Income	12,914.70	17,792.70	18,620.82	115,066.24	130,345.74
Expenses	18,155.72	23,173.73	18,541.32	118,313.65	129,789.24
Surplus (-)Loss	(5,241.02)	(5,381.03)	79.50	(3,247.41)	566.50

 

	June 2021 Actual $	July 2021 Actual $	July 2021 Budget $	YTD July 2021 Actual $	YTD July 2021 Budget $
Offering for General Funds	9,438.00	9,016.00	15,333.33	69,379.00	107,333.31
Offering for Property	921.70	921.70	0	7,377.90	0

Treasurer’s Note: We continue to have large deficits into July, and we no longer have a surplus for the year. Our expenses are within budget. However, contributions are well below what is needed to cover all our costs. In July we purchased some online streaming equipment, and received a technological grant for this amount; therefore the income and expenses are higher then normal but cancel each other

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 Vivian by Wednesday at 9:00pm at rector@stja.ca.

 

PARISH MINISTRIES

Anglican Church Women – Jigsaws for Mission to Seafarers

The Mission to Seafarers is seeking donations of jigsaw puzzles. The Seafarers have been confined to their ships during Covid – however, the Mission can still take donations to them. If you are among the many people who, like myself, have rediscovered jigsaw puzzles during Covid you may now be wanting to pass them on. If so, please contact Deanna to arrange for a time to drop them at the PMC during office hours. Thanks very much.

-Sharon Cooper

ReSponse News

(Submitted by Mary Kyle)

N. Family – Housing Leads Needed
The N. family (originally from Afghanistan) may soon be coming to Canada! The Rev. Pat Ratcliffe has been asked to provide a quarantine plan. This has been done, and we are now waiting for news as to when they may be arriving. It may take anywhere from a week to a few months but we are very excited about this new development! After their quarantine is finished, they will be looking for a permanent residence. 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.  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

Save the Date! Sept. 23 Spring Street Community Kitchen – Fall Soup

The Spring Street Community Kitchen has been on summer break, and we will resume with a Zoom kitchen on Thursday, Sept. 23, 6-7pm. This month’s kitchen will feature Anitha Tindyebwa, a local chef from GRIT café, demonstrating a delicious soup recipe – perfect as we move into the fall season!

Pre-registration is required – please send your name and email address to SpringStreetCommunityKitchen@gmail.com to reserve your spot.

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

We also welcome volunteers for future kitchens – planning, hosting, moderating, and tech support are just some of the roles available. Email us at SpringStreetCommunityKitchen@gmail.com.

(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. Hildegard’s Sanctuary – The Reverend Melanie Calabrigo.
• The Deanery of Golden Ears – The Reverend Kelly Duncan, 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 September 5, 2021 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Psalm 125; James 2:1-17; Mark 7:24-37

Readings for September 12, 2021 – Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost  

Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38

 

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