Life and Work of the St. Paul s Community for the week of January 15, 2017

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1 Life and Work of the St. Paul s Community for the week of January 15, 2017

2 In our prayers this week: We lift up prayers of gratitude for the life and witness of Gord Michener who passed away last weekend. His Celebration of Life service will be held at St. Andrew s Presbyterian Church with Rev. Dr. Ted Reeve officiating, and Blair Bailey and the Chancel Choir providing the music at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 14. His obituary appeared in the Orillia Packet last Saturday: We pray for the continuing recovery of David Horn from his liver transplant surgery. We surround Margot and all her family with love and prayers. We continue to pray for the health and well-being of Carol Calvert, Beverley May, Grace Lawrie, Deanna Peacock, Mary Rose, Eleanor Wilson, Julia and Peggy Winn. Church Calendar Friday, January 13 th 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born rehearsal 8:00 p.m. Orillia Youth Centre concert: Roots North Revisited! Saturday, January 14 th 12:00 noon Express Yourself Perf. Arts 1:00 p.m Gord Michener service at St. Andrew s Sunday, January 15 th 9:40 a.m. Chancel Choir practice 10:30 a.m. Worship Service 1:00 p.m. Orillia is Born rehearsal Monday, January 16 th 9:00 a.m. Facilities Operations group 9:30 a.m. Movement Exercises class 12:00 noon Orillia Homeschoolers group 2:30 p.m. Book Circle Rm 333 3:30 p.m. Couchiching Jubilee House 4:30 p.m. Meditation Group Rm 333 7:30 p.m. N. A. Support Group 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born full dress rehearsal 7:30 p.m. Oddfellows Lodge Rm 333 Tuesday, January 17 th 10:30 a.m. Floor Yoga upstairs 11:30 a.m. Staff meeting 12:30 p.m. Green Haven drop in group 7:00 p.m. Shout Sister Choir 7:30 p.m. O.A. Support Group 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born rehearsal (TBC) Wednesday, January 18 th 9:00 a.m. OSMH cooking group 9:25 a.m. Pastoral Care committee 10: 30 a.m. Learning Circle resumes 5:00 p.m. Good Food Box pickup 6:30 p.m. Brownies/Sparks 7:00 p.m. O Town Improv group 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born performance Thursday, January 19 th 10:30 a.m. Chair Yoga upstairs 5:30 p.m. Orillia is Born Dinner [SOLD OUT] 7:00 p.m. N.A. support group 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born performance Friday, January 20 th 9:00 a.m. Mariposa Grandmothers upstairs 1:00 p.m. UCW #1 planning meeting Rm 333 5:30 p.m. Orillia is Born dinner 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born performance Saturday, January 21 st 12:00 noon Express Yourself Perf. Arts 5:30 p.m. Orillia is Born dinner [SOLD OUT] 7:30 p.m. Orillia is Born final performance

3 Sunday, January 22 nd 9:40 a.m. Chancel Choir practice 10:30 a.m. Worship Service A Place of Gathering: Last Sunday during the worship service, minister Ted Reeve announced his intention to focus during the season of Epiphany on the subject of gathering and what it means that we declare St. Paul s to be a place of gathering. He posed the following questions for our individual and collective reflecting: 1. How am I grounded in this place; how does my story intersect with this place? 2. How do we join with others in sharing the hospitality and gifts of this place; its sacredness? 3. As stewards of this place St. Paul s how do we offer it as a safe, open place to gather? 4. How do we join our sense of place with others in the global community in order to imagine new stories of creation (a constant process of dying and renewal), of cultural expression, of celebration, wonder and awe? Please be sure to read his ponderings in this week s Service Bulletin, and also at the end of this newsletter. Annual report time: a notice to all groups at St. Paul s that your annual report of your activities during 2016 is now due in the office so that the church s annual report can be prepared. Please submit your report, including numbers of participants, not later than January 31, A Note from your Leadership Team At the December Leadership Team meeting we again reviewed the feedback from the house Gatherings. We recognized that there are more people involved with St. Paul s than attended the Gatherings so we will be reaching out to these individuals and groups through additional discussion groups and a questionnaire. We plan on sharing the feedback received at a special luncheon hosted by the Leadership Team after church on January 22 nd. This is one action in response to the need to improve communication. As well as sharing the feedback from the Gatherings we hope to start a dialogue on the values of St. Paul's as a community of faith. What are the essential values that distinguish us as a church? How can we strategically place St. Paul's United Church as the heart of the centre and the heart in the centre of Orillia? What programs do we want to develop in the coming year? How can we best utilize the resources that we have? Similar to other volunteer-driven organizations it is important to provide opportunities for everyone to easily contribute. To this end a list of volunteer positions is being developed with a brief statement outlining the commitment required. Where will you engage in the life of the church in the coming year? An initial draft list of opportunities will be available January 22 nd. Please mark your calendars now and join us for lunch and dialogue that day. Don Atkinson, Chair

4 The Learning Circle: has started up again, and will be discussing Journey to the Future: A Better World is Possible by Guy Dauncey starting in January. If you wish to order this book and join us, call Manticore Books in downtown Orillia; cost is $25 per copy. For more information about the book, google the title. It s not too late to join this stimulating group Calendar Sales Summary: Total Receipts - $ Expenses - $ (40 calendars + tax + shipping) To Mission & Service: $ Thank You. Orillia is Born will be here before you know it! The cast and crew have been hard at work rehearsing and preparing. The ticket sales are going well, and it is suggested that if you want to take advantage of the dinner theatre option, you act quickly, as dinner seats are SOLD OUT for Thursday and Saturday; a few remain for Friday evening. Box office ticket line call the church and press extension 8. Extended box office hours this month including Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; tickets also available at The Bird House on Mississaga Street. Ushers are needed for the four performances if you can help with one or more of these performances, please call Maureen Bithell at or speak to her at church this Sunday. Kitchen Help is also needed speak to Cathy Marshall or call her Vista Gift Cards: The Stewardship Committee has decided not to accept or process an order for Vista Gift Cards for the month of January. This decision was taken as a result of the theft from our mailbox of some Vista order forms and cheques in December. The OPP is in the process of investigating this situation, and our Property Committee is discussing more secure arrangements for accepting payments. People who placed orders in December are encouraged to be in communication with their banks, and to expect a call from the OPP officer investigating this situation. Save the date: Saturday, February 4 drop in to St. Paul s Banquet Hall between 1 4 p.m. to join us in wishing the Bauman family well as they prepare to depart for their two year adventure in Nepal. See the invitation later in this newsletter.

5 celebrate God s reconciliation, to recognize the pain of the deep divisions which afflict the Church and to urge us to become ambassadors of Christ s message of reconciliation. Christians of every faith community are urged to come and pray together. A reception and time for fellowship is to follow, so we ask that you please advise Guardian Angels Parish in advance at: gangels@bellnet.ca about how many of your congregation expect to attend. MARIPOSA GRANDMOTHERS have an exciting new fundraiser planned ART from the ATTIC on May 13, This will be a one day sale: prints, posters, originals, and frames. All appraised professionally and priced to sell. Art from your attic, off your own walls if you are tired of a piece, and especially perfect timing for seniors moving to smaller accommodation. Items can be dropped off for Ann at her house or she will arrange pickup service Of course we need shoppers to come by St. Andrews; we expect line-ups for this sale. Don t miss it! See the poster later in this newsletter. [photo from the Regina Grandmothers Art from the Attic] Evening of Prayer for Christian Unity: The Orillia and District Association of Churches in co-operation with the Canadian Council of Churches in an effort to promote unity in diversity invites Christians of all denominations in Orillia and surrounding district to come together for an evening of common prayer on Wednesday January 25, 2017 at 6:30 pm at Guardian Angels Church, 115 West St N. to

6 A Direction for 2017 Ted s Ponderings A Place of Gathering In 2017 how to do we deepen our appreciation of what a place of gathering means for St. Paul s as both congregation and centre? As I sat pondering the new year, looking out across the sparkling snow in the rare winter sun these days, I picked up Michael Jone s book again The Soul of Place. His inspiration invites us to consider how place grounds us in a deep sense of connection with where we are, with ourselves, and with the cosmos. He calls us to pay fundamental attention to how place informs who we are and how we interact with the world around. As wise counsel to St. Paul s, Michael has affirmed that what we continue to create here is a place of gathering. St. Paul s long-time community engagement embodies this but in each era we are challenged to ask again how we live God s mission in the world. Part of this is the stewardship of our building but also the recognition that God s mission is much bigger than bricks and mortar. We embody God s mission in how we share space a place of gathering but also how we live this ethic of hospitality out into our community and world. So in this time we look again to how we ground ourselves and live our values. One of the true blessings of this place is its deep, sacred history. We have come to refocus our lens on a 5000 year history not just the 150 years of Orillia s incorporation or even the years of European contact. Even before the pyramids of Egypt, indigenous peoples gathered here to fish, talk, celebrate, and prepare themselves for the harsh winter ahead. It was known as a safe place to gather, a sacred place, where creator offered food for winter and peaceful relations to ensure the fish felt welcomed. There are even creation stories, like those of Genesis, of how creator gave life to all things here. What a powerful way to frame our sense of being a place of gathering. We can join this sacred story with our Judeo-Christian story of peoples seeking to know creator in their contexts. In this time we join these stories into a new global sense of identity as we see ourselves as a planetary people. Not homogeneous (except in our basic DNA) but as peoples who have lived, and continue to live, into the Mystery in similar, yet unique ways, depending upon their sense of place. So as we seek to tell this new story for ourselves, and in this place, some questions emerge: 1. How am I grounded in this place; how does my story intersect with this place? 2. How do we join with others in sharing the hospitality and gifts of this place; its sacredness? 3. As stewards of this place St. Paul s how do we offer it as a safe, open place to gather? 4. How do we join our sense of place with others in the global community in order to imagine new stories of creation (a constant process of dying and renewal), of cultural expression, of celebration, wonder and awe?

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13 DID YOU KNOW? To celebrate Canada's 150th anniversary, Parks Canada is offering its 2017 Discovery Pass free of charge. It would normally cost around $140 per family. It's an opportunity to visit some of the country's most famous sites, such as Banff (pictured), Pacific Rim, the Bruce Peninsula, the Thousand Islands, Cape Breton and Gros Morne. Some practical details: You can have the pass shipped to your address for free, or pick one up at a park entrance It covers unlimited entry to National Parks, Historic Sites and Marine Conservation areas operated by Parks Canada Extras that carry a separate fee, such as camping, tours or parking, are not included The pass is valid from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017 You only need to order one pass for your group or family if you are all travelling together. A 2017 Discovery Pass is valid for everyone arriving in the same vehicle at a national park, or arriving together at a marine conservation area or historic site. The Discovery Pass is only accepted at national historic sites which are operated by Parks Canada. Display: The 2017 Discovery Pass must be hung from the rear view mirror of the vehicle facing forward or it can be placed on the front driver side dashboard facing up. If you have questions regarding the above information, please contact Parks Canada National Information Service at or information@pc.gc.ca.

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16 The Mariposa Grandmothers are already starting to collect art for their sale in May what piece(s) in your possession could to go to a new home while benefitting African grandmothers in the process? Call Ann Downard