The E-postle September 6, 2020

Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
E-Postle
September 6, 2020

“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
• Stewardship: Stewardship Reflection, Call for Stewardship Volunteers, Community “Phone a Friend”
• Worship: Blessing for New School Year on September 6
• Parish Matters: Call for New Leaders- Immediate Need for Building Coordinator and Treasurer, Property Redevelopment Committee, Financial Status for June & July 2020, Parish Giving, Ongoing Updates Pages, E-Postle Submissions
• Parish Ministries: Fall Bazaar, Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Zoom Meeting, Food Bank Update
• Community News: Bishop Election, Spring Street Community Kitchen–Seeking Volunteers, Sacred Teachings Podcast
• 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/2020/program-updates/ for connection information)

Sunday, September 6             8:30am & 10:00am – Sunday Morning Prayer + Blessing for New School Year

Meeting ID: 542 312 325
Password: 010729

Sunday, September 6             following 8:30am and 10:00am worship – Informal Virtual “Coffee Hour”
Tuesday, September 8           10:15am – 12:00pm – Bible Study
Tuesday, September 8           7:00pm – 8:00pm – Prayer Group
Tuesday, September 15         7:00pm – 9:00pm – Parish Council meeting
Thursday, September 17       7:00pm – A.C.W. Meeting
Sunday, September 27          Orange Shirt Sunday

STEWARDSHIP

Stewardship Reflection

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

Matthew 18:15-20
Some people say that they can’t see or find Jesus anywhere in their lives. In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that he will be found wherever two or three are gathered together in his name. Sounds like Jesus likes to be among company. How often do you gather with others “in his name”?

 

Call for Stewardship Volunteers

The Stewardship Team is looking for new members to join our team. We are hoping you will join our team as we work together to reach out to our community and our church, to inspire one another to build community, and to encourage financial support within our church.

If you are interested in helping us with our fall campaign, we are hoping you will come and join us. We are also planning for events come the re-opening of the church and are still working on community building projects during this closure time.

We have been meeting by conference telephone calls during the closure. We usually meet weekly during the campaign itself (from now until October) and then monthly during the year. We would love to have you come join us! Please contact Kristin at bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com or 778-957-8987.

 

Community “Phone a Friend”

Your St. John’s Stewardship Team have set up a “phone a friend” service for us all to keep from feeling a bit disconnected during these days of physical distancing. We have set up phone teams to call each week to “check in” and help relieve some of the loneliness that is inevitable in the current circumstances.

We would like to make sure no one out there is left out, so email or call Kristin (bobandkristinkuhn@gmail.com or 778-957-8987) or Natasha (freefromfear101@gmail.com or 604-961-6630) if you are not receiving a call and would like to, or if you are interested in helping to make these phone calls, and we will make sure you get hooked into the service.

We know that the caring community that is St. John’s will not leave any of its people feeling more separated than is absolutely necessary. “Distance means so little when people mean so much.”

-Your Stewardship Team

 

WORSHIP

Blessing for New School Year on September 6

We will be offering a special blessing for the upcoming school year at both the 8:30am and 10am services this Sunday, Sept. 6. Join us as we pray for educators and students—both in our parish and in our wider circles—as they begin this new year.

 

PARISH MATTERS

Call for New Leaders – Immediate Need for Building Coordinator and Treasurer

The McGlashans have moved up North and are settling in their new home.  Their departure has left a big gap in the leadership of the Parish.

While Amalia has graciously offered to hold the Treasurer’s role until we find a replacement (though not ideal for her to manage remotely), we are in dire need of a Building Coordinator, left vacant by Brian. Although we do not use the church properties as much during this pandemic, the buildings still need to be checked regularly and maintained.

You may already know that we are thinly spread at Council this year with a smaller group of 2 clergy and 7 lay members (before Amalia and Brian’s departure). There is definitely room now for additional Council members!

We pray that those of you who have the interest and/or skillset will step up to assist in the management of your church, St. John’s.

Please speak to Ruby at peopleswarden@stja.ca or Geri at rectorswarden@stja.ca if you are interested or have any questions.

 

Property Redevelopment Committee

Going forward into the next few years, pandemic notwithstanding, our property will be an ongoing theme for St. John’s. As we prepare to do more long-term discernment in this area, Parish Council has emailed to all a summary of the work our parish has done over the past few years. Please review this document, and if you would be interested in joining our Property Redevelopment Committee to assist with this discernment work, please connect with Ruby (peopleswarden@stja.ca) or Geri (rectorswarden@stja.ca).

 

Financial Status for June & July 2020

We append below the Parish financial status for your information.

Statement of Income and Expenses 31^st July 2020

	June Actual	July Actual	July Budget	July YTD Actual	July YTD Budget
Income	$13,661	$15,060	$ 19,083	$ 101,633	$133,583
Expenses	$ 9,126	$12,384	$19,078	$91,619	$133,552
Surplus (-) Loss	$ 4,535	$2,076	$5	$7,189	$31

 

	June Actual	July Actual	July Budget	July YTD Actual	July YTD Budget
Offering for General Funds	$10,261	$10,016	$15,408	$72,991	$107,858
Offering for Property	$950	$1,494	0	$9,145	0

Notes: Expenses for July are higher due to (1) Replacement of the PMC stairs, fascia board, and railings for the deck; and (2) Exploration and flushing of the perimeter drain tile system around the church properties.   

 

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/2020/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/2020/updates-re-coronavirus/ – a collection of all special correspondence from Archbishop Melissa 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

Fall Bazaar

The ACW is hoping to be able to hold a virtual bazaar this fall and are looking for donations of canning jars for the jams and jellies.

If you have jars to donate, please contact Kristin Kuhn so that we can arrange a drop off plan.

More to come on the fall bazaar later.

 

Anglican Church Women (A.C.W.) Zoom Meeting

Our next meeting will be on Thursday, September 17th at 7:00pm via Zoom.  The meeting will include focus on a possible alternative for our Fall Bazaar.

Please contact ACW@stja.ca for meeting connection details.

-Ann Adair-Austin

 

Food Bank Update

At our last meeting, the members of the Food Bank decided to not resume the Food Bank until it can operate in a way similar to how it had in the past. We will be looking for a new coordinator and discussing ways in which we can divide and/or share the duties. If anyone is interested in joining the group of Foodbank and/or Lunch volunteers your help would be very much appreciated. Please connect with us at foodbank@stja.ca.

Since these times are so economically difficult for many people, we are happy to continue to support SHARE with donations of $500 per month this summer, in addition to the food items that we are unable to use at this time.

-Mary Kyle

COMMUNITY NEWS

Bishop Election

Archbishop Melissa will be retiring at the end of February 2021 and our diocese will be electing her successor on October 3, 2020.

The 5 nominees have been announced at https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/news/announcement-of-the-nominees-for-bishop-coadjutor. In addition to general information on nominees and the election process, a video and transcript for the upcoming virtual “Town Hall” will be made available at the election site https://www.vancouver.anglican.ca/collections/seeking-our-next-bishop.

Please continue to hold this election process in your prayers.

 

Spring Street Community Kitchen – Seeking Volunteers

Spring Street Community Kitchen, Virtual Edition, is in the final stages of planning.  We are seeking interested volunteers to be part of the planning committee, host a kitchen, moderate sessions, and offer tech support.

Planning involves about one meeting a month via Zoom; hosting a kitchen involves preparing a recipe on camera, sharing the recipe, and answering questions; moderating supports the host so they can focus on cooking; and tech support involves helping with social media, filming, editing, or offering advice for any non-tech kitchen hosts.

No experience is required, just enthusiasm, ideas, and the courage to try something new! To sign up or for more information, contact Geri at rectorswarden@stja.ca.

 

Sacred Teachings Podcast

The Sacred Teachings podcast (https://www.anglican.ca/im/podcasts/) has recently completed its third season, “Dismantling Racism,” in which we ventured into the timely discussion of racism and its place in the world. Raw discussions and teachings were featured in eight episodes—all of which were recorded remotely across Canada whilst we continue through the pandemic.

The teachings, languages, traditions and stories of the Ancestors are shared in this podcast, which is sponsored by the Anglican Church of Canada. Highly respected Indigenous speakers are featured in this series, with a different theme for each season, including the sacredness of Creation and finding meaning in a global crisis.

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 Diocese of New Westminster – the Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, Archbishop, and Metropolitan of the Ecclesiastical Province of BC and Yukon.

And this week:

• Holy Cross Japanese Canadian, Vancouver – The Reverend Lucy Price
• Synod Office Staff
• Our partner Diocese of Northern Philippines, Bishop Brent Alawas, and 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 6, 2020 – Fourteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 149; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20

 

Readings for September 13, 2020 – Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost

Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35

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		administrator@stja.ca	604-936-7762
(Office is closed at this time, but email and voice messages will be checked Tuesday – Friday)
Rector’s Warden	Geri Grigg	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	Kristin Kuhn, 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		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