The E-Postle, January 23, 2022

January 25, 2022

Third Sunday after the Epiphany
E-Postle
January 23, 2022

“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

*New or updated announcement this week

Upcoming Dates
Worship & Prayer:
- *Zoom Worship Continues
- Flowers for the Altar
- Tech & Hospitality Volunteers Needed for Worship
- Ongoing Pastoral Care & Support
Formation:
- *Forward Day by Day
- Area Youth Group!
Stewardship:
- *Stewardship Reflection
Parish Matters:
- *Seeking New Parish Council Members
- People’s Warden Away
- Current Parish Office & Buildings Status
- *Financial Status for November & December 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
- Food Bank Report
Community News:
- Zoom Trivia Night at St. Stephen’s
- *Abbotsford Flood Relief
- *Gnocchi & Tuna Melt Pies 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, January 23 8:30am & 10:00am – *ZOOM ONLY* – Morning Prayer

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

Sunday, January 23                following 10:00am worship – Informal Zoom “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, January 25               10:15am – 12noon – Bible Study
Tuesday, January 25               7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Sunday, February 27              Annual Vestry meeting

WORSHIP & PRAYER

*Zoom Worship Continues

At the Parish Council meeting on January 18, there was discussion surrounding a suitable timeframe for a return to in-person or hybrid worship. It was decided that at this time, it is not possible to even suggest a date for return to hybrid worship. The main factors are of course the impact of the Omicron variant of the Covid virus, current public health orders, and Vivian’s ongoing medical treatments. It is expected that by early March we will be in a better position to assess the public health considerations, as well as Vivian’s well-being and energy levels.

Given this, it was decided to continue with Zoom-only worship through the end of February. The annual Vestry meeting is on February 27th, and the new Parish Council will meet shortly thereafter to consider this matter and decide how best to proceed in a way that will safely meet the needs of the parish.

Flowers for the Altar

Due to services being held via Zoom, we ask that anyone who has signed up to have flowers at the Altar choose an alternative date once in-person services are resumed. Please speak to Brenda Binns or any member of the Altar Guild.

Tech & Hospitality Volunteers Needed for Worship

We are continuing to look for help with technical support aspects of both Zoom services and (future) in-person 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. Descriptions of the roles can be found at http://www.stja.ca/2022/e-postle-ongoing-announcements#techsupport.

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 described at http://www.stja.ca/2022/e-postle-ongoing-announcements#pastoralcare, if and as you need.

FORMATION

*Forward Day by Day

We have copies (both large and small print) of the February-April 2022 “Forward Day by Day” booklets. If you would be interested in having one mailed to you, please contact Deanna at administrator@stja.ca. (You may also read each day’s devotional online at https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/ )

Forward Day by Day is published every three months by Forward Movement, a ministry of the Episcopal Church in the U.S.; it is a daily devotional with an excerpt from scripture and a short meditation, with each month featuring a different author.

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! For more information or updated details about upcoming youth events, please feel free to contact Kristin Kuhn (778-957-8987 and/or bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com).

STEWARDSHIP

*Stewardship Reflection

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

Luke 4:14-21
The role of the steward has not changed over the centuries. Jesus claims that the same task which was Isaiah’s is also his. And even to this day the task remains the same: to care for everything and everyone.

PARISH MATTERS

*Seeking New Parish Council Members

As we move into a new year and come up on our next Annual Vestry meeting, we are looking for several new folks to stand for election to Parish Council. An email was sent out earlier this week with a letter from the wardens with this call, and included a specific request for someone with bookkeeping or accounting experience to consider stepping into the role of Treasurer.

You may be wondering, what is Parish Council and what would it look like to serve? First, being on Council doesn’t mean you will be expected to do everything at the church! One of our parish values is “We strive to be a spirited and courageous family, valuing all people—laity and clergy—in their ministries.” Here at St. John’s, responsibilities are shared and everyone has a role to play, whether on Council or in another capacity.

Council has previously spent time clarifying what we see as some of the KEY ROLES of Parish Council:

Praying together while recognizing and seeking God’s guidance in parish decisions
Responding efficiently to our church’s needs – making decisions, recruiting others, delegating work
Listening to and hearing the needs and wants of the congregation, and representing those voices at the table
Identifying the gifts of people in the parish
Visioning for and with the congregation
Being fiduciary overseers
Being a bridge/liaison to our diocese and to the outside world

When we reflected on the HIGHLIGHTS of being on Parish Council this year, a few things we came up with:

Getting lots of stuff done
Lots of laughs!
Spiritual reflection time at the beginning of meetings
Knowing what’s going on in the church and being able to participate in it
Being able to help out, give back to our church, and make a difference
The satisfaction of helping things run (like running a business)
(For Lay Delegates) being part of diocesan synod meetings
Efficiency and ease of Zoom meetings

Do any of these descriptions of Parish Council resonate with you? We hope you will prayerfully consider whether you may be called to serve this year – please talk to Ruby or Rich (peopleswarden@stja.ca or rectorswarden@stja.ca) if you are interested.

People’s Warden Away

Please note that Ruby will be away from Jan. 16 through Feb. 8. While she is away, please contact Deanna at the office at administrator@stja.ca, Rich at rectorswarden@stja.ca, or Vivian at rector@stja.ca for any parish matters.

Current Parish Office & Buildings Status

Please read the current status of Worship, Parish Office, Small Groups, and Outside User Groups at http://www.stja.ca/2022/e-postle-ongoing-announcements#buildingstatus

*Financial Status for November & December 2021

We append below the Parish financial status for your information.

Statement of Income and Expenses ending 31 December 2021

	Nov 2021 Actual $	Dec 2021 Actual $	Dec 2021 Budget $	YTD 2021 Actual $	YTD 2021 Budget $
Income	16,002.93	21,371.37	18,620.82	192,955.64	223,450.00
Expenses	17,509.61	17,023.33	18,541.48	219,682.92	222,496.00
Surplus (-) Loss	(1,506.68)	4,348.04	79.50	(26,727.28)	954.00

	Nov 2021 Actual $	Dec 2021 Actual $	Dec 2021 Budget $	YTD 2021 Actual $	YTD 2021 Budget $
Offering for General Funds	11,560.29	11,862.85	15,333.37	122,707.14	184,000.00
Offering for Property	1,086.27	1,455.00	0	12,954.27	0

Treasurer’s Note: Thanks to all for your continued support in these difficult times. Expenses were lower in December and donations were up from special donations for the Christmas season, narrowing the gap in the deficit.

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):

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.
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

Canadian Church Calendars
We now only have 1 Canada Church Calendar available for a cost of $7. If you would like to purchase one, please contact Antoinette at: toni.woodman@shaw.ca or 604 942 4765.

Thank You
A huge thank you to everyone who made a recent donation to the ACW in lieu of our usual annual Bazaar. A total amount of $2,093 was donated to our account, which will be disbursed to our various outreach projects. The ACW are very grateful for your generosity.

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

Please visit http://www.stja.ca/2022/e-postle-ongoing-announcements#response for current information on the ReSponse refugee ministry.

Food Bank Report

Please visit http://www.stja.ca/2022/e-postle-ongoing-announcements#foodbank for current information on the Food Bank.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Zoom Trivia Night at St. Stephen’s

St. Stephen’s, Burnaby is hosting their annual fundraising Trivia Night on Saturday, January 29. The event is virtual. St. John’s team narrowly missed the top spot last year and are seeking to reclaim our title this year!

We need a couple more players to make a squad. Interested? Contact Geri. See more event info at https://www.ststephenburnaby.ca/events/trivia-night–106/2022-01-29.

*Abbotsford Flood Relief

At our November Council meeting the work that was being done through Deacon Paul Richards of Holy Trinity, White Rock, for Abbotsford Relief help was brought to our attention.

We passed a motion to send $500.00 to Abbotsford Flood Relief for food support for those in need. We have since received the following message of thanks from Deacon Paul:

“Thank you and blessings to you and your congregation in Port Moody for their generosity and love of their neighbour in these difficult times.”

We have also received a message of thanks from The Rev. Alan Doerksen of St. Matthews Abbotsford:

“Thank you so much…. the community of Abbotsford is blessed by your thoughts, prayers and generosity! In Christ, Allen”

Finally, we have also received a thanks from Bishop, the Rt. Rev. John Stephens:

“Thank you so very much for your support …. And thank you to Paul Richards for his ongoing work. John”

As a parish we have had an ongoing ministry of feeding people and even if we do not have our Food Bank open, we continue to provide ways in which we can help. We continue to send funds to our local SHARE Food Bank to assist in this way.

*Gnocchi & Tuna Melt Pies Community Kitchen

Thanks to all those who participated in our most recent kitchen, where our guest chef, Port Moody resident and author, Tara McIntosh with her sister, Keeli demonstrated how to make gnocchi from scratch and canned tuna melt hand pies. The video and recipes will be available soon at https://www.facebook.com/SpringStreetCommunityKitchen.

Donations raised in support of our Spring Street Community Kitchen are being re-gifted to the communities we serve. Funds raised for our November gathering (collected through the end of the year) will be gifted to ACCESS Youth Outreach Services Society, who deliver innovative programs and services to help disadvantaged, marginalized, or at-risk youth ages 12-23 in the Tri-Cities and Ridge Meadows communities reach their full potential. Donations can be given via https://www.stja.ca/supporting-st-johns/; please designate your gift to our Community Kitchen project.

(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. Agnes, North Vancouver – The Venerable Stephen Muir.
St. Paul, Vancouver, the Advocacy Office – The Rev. Philip Cochrane, The Rev. José Luis Aranda Moyano.
St. Titus, Oakridge -The Rev. Marion Wong.
St. Timothy, Brentwood – The Rev. James Duckett.
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 Kathy Martin.
The brothers and sisters who share our worship space: The Port Moody Korean Presbyterian Church.

*Readings for January 23, 2022 – Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Nehemiah 8:1-3, 5-6, 8-10; Psalm 19; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Luke 4:14-21

*Readings for January 30, 2022 – Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30

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	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

CONTACT US