The E-Postle March 10, 2019

The First Sunday in Lent

E-postle

March 10, 2019

 

“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”

 

Upcoming Dates

Sunday, Mar 10                 8:30 & 10am + coffee hour discussion after each service – 1^st sermon in Preaching Series – “The Main Motive of Jesus’ Ministry”

Tuesday, Mar 12               10:15am – noon – “The Poetry of Lent” Bible Study in the Parish Hall

Saturday, Mar 16              9am – 1pm – Parish Council planning retreat

Sunday, Mar 17                 8:30 & 10am + coffee hour discussion after each service – 2^nd sermon in Preaching Series – “Jesus’ Ministry Priorities”

 

Daylight Savings Time

A friendly reminder to turn your clocks forward one hour this weekend for Daylight Savings Time, so that you’re not late for church this Sunday, March 10!

 

Rector’s Note

It was wonderful to gather together with so many this past Tuesday for our Shrove Tuesday pancake supper, and to have our last big community feast before entering into the season of Lent. Thanks to Ruby for organizing the event, and to all others who helped make it a fun and tasty success – everyone who set up chairs, tables, and cutlery; flipped pancakes and cooked up sausages; served food; and helped with take-down and cleaning.

And then the next morning and evening we had the stark contrast and beauty of our Ash Wednesday services, where each of us were marked with the sign of ashes with the solemn words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” What a poignant reminder each year of our human-ness, and our dependence on God’s grace and love!

Now we are full-steam ahead into Lent, and I encourage you to review the list below of our various opportunities for learning and growing together in faith in our parish.

I especially encourage you to prayerfully consider offering a personal reflection on one of the Lent Worship Words. There is an envelope in the parish hall from which you will randomly select a word – you just have to decide what day to offer your reflection and a photo. You can also contact me at rector@stja.ca to sign up for a day, and I can randomly pick a word for you!

I have had a few conversations with people who have been reluctant to sign up because they do not consider themselves computer- or camera-savvy or familiar with Facebook – do not let that stop you from taking part! I am happy to assist anyone in submitting your contribution in whatever way is comfortable for you.

Finally, know that there is no right or wrong way to reflect on your Lent Worship word – each person’s meditation is a perfect reflection of their unique selves. The goal is simply for everyone to pay a little more attention in these next few weeks to how we each connect to God through our worship in our own unique ways. Your reflection can encourage others to do their own Lent reflecting. Hopefully, over the next few weeks all of us will learn a little something new about each other, and grow together in our connections to God!

 

Lenten learning opportunities

We are excited to invite you to several opportunities for learning together this Lent at St. John’s:

• Preaching Series on Jesus – Sundays Mar. 10, 17, 24, 31, and Apr. 7. Michael Chin, Anne Anchor, and Vivian Lam will be taking turns preaching on a different aspect of Jesus’ ministry, and how that connects to our lives now. At coffee hour after both the 8:30am and 10am services, we will gather to share our reflections on that week’s sermon topic.
• Lent Worship Words – Mar. 6 – Apr. 14 – This Lent, we will be reflecting together each day on how different aspects of our worship and worship space bring us closer to God. As we did in Advent, we will be creating our own St. John’s Lenten calendar—both online via our Facebook page, and a physical calendar at the church. Individuals and families are encouraged to sign up to take the lead on reflecting on one day’s word – sign-up sheets are in the parish hall, or contact Vivian at rector@stja.ca
• The Poetry of Lent – Tuesdays Mar. 12, 19, 26 & Apr. 2, 9 – 10:15am-12noon – Our Tuesday morning Bible Study will be reading the poetry of Mary Oliver together and reflecting on it and different scripture passages each week. Printed copies of the study guide are available – pick one up in the back of the church this Sunday or contact Jennifer in the parish office at administrator@stja.ca to have the guide emailed to you.

 

Stewardship Reflection

From “Malnourished  by Abundance,” by Suzanne Guthrie:

“Welcome dear feast of Lent, says George Herbert.

I can’t count how many people have said to me over the years, “I just LOVE Lent!” But Lent, in the Northern Hemisphere is when you’re running out of the winter stores and the greens have not yet sprouted in the earth and you’re half starved. It’s a fast imposed by the land and climate made holy by practice.

When Bill and I lived on the farm with the Community of the Holy Spirit, we grew and preserved most of our food. Every spring, all of us (the sisters, guests, interns, resident companions) wondered aloud what our own stores would be like if we didn’t use freezers (which use energy). Trying to live close to the land and reflecting on food this way opens to us the fragility of life and the abundance we take for granted. I mean we could just go to the store and pick up all sorts of wonderful foods at any time of year if we wanted to. But we rarely did. And there was lots of frozen kale in the freezer…

But just thinking of the store reminds me of the larger majority of people in the world for whom an American grocery store is like a decadent dream. Fasting widens the boundaries of compassion, stretches the heart, makes room for love. Lent is meant to expand our capacity to love.

On her speaking tours in the United States, Mother Teresa was always quick to point out that the obscene abundance of the West fostered malnourished souls. Maybe so many folks love Lent because it’s time to set aside other things in order to tend the starving soul, malnourished by abundance.”

 

Food Bank Bread Help Needed

Help is needed! We are in need of more people to help to collect the bread for the Food Bank from Cobs Bakery on alternate Tuesday evenings at 8 pm and deliver it to the church. This takes approximately ½ to ¾ of an hour to complete depending on how much bread is to be collected. Ability to lift the bins, which are a moderate weight, is required. If you are interested in helping out, please talk to Teri Hazelton or Ann Adair-Austin.

 

Cold Wet Weather Mat Program volunteers and donations needed

The Cold Wet Weather Mat Program (CWWMP) is being held again in the Tri-Cities. Even with people being housed at 3030 Gordon there is a need for extra shelter at this time of year.

The people of St. John’s have been helping in many ways since the beginning of this program in 2010. The Hope for Freedom Society continues to provide this unique CWWMP (it is the only one of this sort running in North America) with the help of the area faith communities. The uniqueness of this program is that the guests are able to get a good quiet night’s sleep, which is unusual at other shelter programs with people coming and going all night. Another unique quality is that people are fed dinner and breakfast on site and provided with a bag lunch to nourish them throughout the day. The evening meal is served restaurant style, rather than the guests standing in a line up to receive food and they report that they feel loved, respected and welcomed.

Homelessness is on the increase as our BC economy makes it more difficult for those living on the edges of employment. It is now estimated that 80% of working age people have seen a decline in their living standards. With this also is an increase in addictions and the cycle that goes along with that.

St. John’s is a caring community and can continue to offer support to this program when it is being held at St. Laurence Anglican, Coquitlam, in the month of March.  If you are unable to help on a morning or evening shift you can be part of collecting food for the lunches provided.

There is always a need for juice boxes, soft granola bars or simple bag lunch snacks that are easily chewed. These can be dropped off on Sundays at St. John’s or taken directly to St. Laurence during the week from 10-2.

A sign-up sheet for making sandwiches is posted on the bulletin board by the door in the hall.

Contact Mary Lou Kyle or Anne Anchor if you would like more info or would like to work a shift in March.

 

“Celebrating Generous Communities” Stewardship Workshop

The next diocesan stewardship workshop will be held this Saturday, Mar. 16, 10am-3pm at the Synod Office (1410 Nanton, Ave, Vancouver), and if anyone is interested in going and bringing back and sharing these learnings with our parish, please speak with Vivian immediately. This year’s workshop is entitled, “Celebrating Generous Communities – Practical Tools for Encouraging Giving,” and there will be speakers from several different parishes sharing their wisdom on Annual Campaigns; A Culture of Stewardship; and Constructing a Narrative Budget. There will also be time to develop ideas for our own stewardship work here at the parish with assistance from stewardship leaders from the diocese and other parishes. For more information, please refer to: https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/events/celebrating-generous-communities/2019-03-16.

 

A Lenten Sequence concert

The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge, UK, directed by Graham Ross, is one of England’s most respected choral ensembles. The thirty-voices-strong ensemble are presenting ‘A Lenten Sequence,’ on Friday, Mar. 22, 7:30pm, at St. James’ Church (303 E. Cordova St., Vancouver) which will include Tomás Luis de Victoria’s celebrated Requiem of 1605– widely considered one of the last great masterworks of the Renaissance – interwoven with English motets by William Byrd, Robert Ramsey, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, Herbert Howells, and Gerald Finzi.  For more information & tickets, visit www.sjmusic.ca.

 

Death, Dying, & Dessert

Why should you have your estate & funeral planning in place? Come and learn how to make your family’s life a little easier when you’re gone. There will be presentations by the Rev. Wally Shea (Deacon) who is a retired Pre-Planning Counsellor & Funeral Director, and Stephen M. Miller who is a Barrister & Solicitor of Miller Law.

This free workshop will be held on Saturday, March 30, 2:00 to 4:30pm, at St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church, 9887 Cameron Street, Burnaby. Please RSVP to ststbby@shaw.ca or 604-421-0472 to reserve your space. Presented with the support of the Anglican Parishes of North Burnaby and Tri-Cities (St. Timothy, St. Stephen, St. Laurence, St. John, St. Catherine).

 

Less Plastics for Lent calendar

The Anglican Communion Environmental Network and Green Anglicans has created a “Less Plastics for Lent Calendar,” with a practical suggestion for each day of Lent to reduce your use of plastics. Download a PDF of this resource from https://files.constantcontact.com/a9c022f9001/d595440e-bcf3-4647-bddb-ee946084a535.pdf

 

Anglican Journal and TOPIC subscriptions

Following the receipt of the June (Summer) issues of the Anglican Journal and TOPIC, members of parishes will no longer be automatically subscribed to these national and diocesan publications. In order to continue to receive print copies, folks will need to confirm their subscription. Subscribing is very simple and there are four easy to follow options outlined at https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/confirm-your-anglican-journal-and-topic-subscription. The print copies of the two periodicals will also include detailed information on how readers can confirm their subscriptions.

 

General Synod Volunteers

The Diocese of New Westminster is very excited to host the 42nd General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada July 9 to 16, 2019, at the Sheraton Wall Centre in Vancouver, and are looking for people to join the General Synod volunteer team.

They are seeking people who are:

• outgoing and friendly,
• have experience in welcoming or greeting at church, or in other frequent capacities,
• and are interested in witnessing the wider Church in action.

Volunteers will be assigned in shifts to participate in areas such as meeting participants at the airport, on-site registration, providing local information and directions, etc.

Please see https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/diocesan-ministries/general-synod-2019 for more information.

 

Proteins needed for St. John’s Food Bank

Protein-rich foods are often the most expensive items for families to purchase when grocery shopping. People on limited budgets often cannot afford them, and make do with stodgy foods to fill stomachs. Please help those who need them by donating the following to St. John’s Food Bank in March:

• tinned salmon, tuna, chicken, beef (not all can eat pork products)
• shelf stable nut butters
• dried or tinned beans and peas
• powdered or shelf-stable milks
• meaty stews or soups
• cans of vegetables

Bring your offerings on Sunday, arrange with the office to drop off during the week, or give some money to this ministry towards the purchase of fresh products.

 

Prayer Cycle

The Anglican Church of Canada – the Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, Primate, and the Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Bishop; the Diocese of New Westminster – the Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, Metropolitan and Bishop;

This week:

*          The Deanery of Sea to Sky – the Reverend Clarence Li, Regional Dean;

*          The Coming Home Society – Linda Adams ODNW (President);

*          Our partner Diocese of Northern Philippines, Bishop Brent Alawas, and especially the people of our twin church at St. John’s Mission, Bila, Mountain Province;

*          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 and the Polish Evangelical Church.

 

Readings for March 10, 2019 – First Sunday in Lent

Deuteronomy 26:1–11; Psalm 91:1–2, 9–16; Romans 10:8b–13; Luke 4:1–13

 

Readings for March 17, 2019 – Second Sunday in Lent

Genesis 15:1–12, 17–18; Psalm 27; Philippians 3:17– 4:1; Luke 13:31–35

 

Important Contact Information

Rector – The Rev. Vivian Lam – rector@stja.ca or 604-936-7762

Office Administrator – Jennifer Green – administrator@stja.ca or 604-936-7762

Rector’s Warden- Geri Grigg – rectorswarden@stja.ca

People’s Warden – Ruby Ng – peopleswarden@stja.ca

Treasurer – Cedric Miller – treasurer@stja.ca

Envelope Secretary – Sheila de Vaal – envelopesecretary@stja.ca

Parish Council – Adelaine Miller, Secretary – parishcouncilsecretary@stja.ca

Altar Guild – Brenda Binns – altarguild@stja.ca

St. John Prayer Circle – Sue Elliott – prayer@stja.ca

Pastoral Visiting Ministry – Joanne Walton/Alma Oldenburg – pastoralvisits@stja.ca

Anglican Church Women (ACW) – Sue Hall – 604-936-0176 or ACW@stja.ca

Children’s Ministry /Godly Play – Christina Anchor – children@stja.ca

Prayer Shawls – Rosa Weisensel – administrator@stja.ca

Bible Study – Lynne Milner – biblestudy@stja.ca

Food Bank – Lynne Milner – foodbank@stja.ca