Millwoods Community Church November 2013 Newsletter

Transcription

1 Millwoods Community Church November 2013 Newsletter Sunday Worship Schedule Pastor: Rev. Josh Viste Church Administrator Sunday 9:30am pastor@mcchurch.ca Kimberley Berg Prayer 10:10am Cell: Office Hrs: Tues - Thurs 9-1 pm Worship Associate Pastor office@mcchurch.ca With Children s / Youth Church Milton Liska Phone: Coffee 11:30am music@mcchurch.ca Website: A Remembrance Day Story He was very old now, but could still hold himself stiffly at attention before the monument. His war, the one to end all wars, now just a fading part of history. Very few could remember, first-hand, the savageness of the ordeal that had sent millions of young men to their deaths. Cannon fodder, they'd called them, sent before the guns to be mown down -- blown apart by chunks of metal which had decimated their frail bodies. The cream of a generation; almost wiped out. He was haunted by the faces of the boys he'd had to order into battle, the ones who'd never come back. Yet one nameless ghost was able to bring a measure of comfort to his tormented mind. At the sound of the gun signalling the eleventh hour he was mentally transported back to the fields of Flanders. The battle had raged for over two hours, with neither side gaining any advantage. Wave after wave of soldiers had been dispatched from the muddy trenches and sent over the top. So many had died already that day that he decided he could not afford to lose any more men before reinforcements arrived. Perhaps they'd give the remnants a few more days of life. There came a slight lull in the battle due to the sheer exhaustion of the men on both sides. During this interval, a young soldier came up to him requesting that he be allowed to go over the top. He looked at the boy who couldn't have been more than nineteen. Was this extreme bravery in the face of the enemy or was the soldier so scared he just needed to get it over with? "Why would you want to throw your life away soldier? It's almost certain death to go out there." "My best friend went out over an hour ago, captain, and he hasn't come back. I know my friend must be hurt and calling for me. I must go to him, sir, I must." There were tears in the boy's eyes. It was as if this were the most important thing in the world to him." "Soldier, I'm sorry, but your friend is probably dead. What purpose would it serve to let you sacrifice your life too?" "At least I'd know I'd tried, sir, he'd do the same thing in my shoes. I know he would." He was about to order the boy back to the ranks, but the impact of his words softened his heart. He remembered the awful pain he'd felt himself when his brother had died. He'd never had the chance to say goodbye. "All right soldier, you can go." Despite the horror all around them, he saw a radiant smile on the boy's face, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "God bless you, sir," said the soldier. It was a long time before the guns fell silent for the last time and each side was allowed to gather their dead and wounded. The captain remembered the young soldier. He looked through the many piles of bodies. Young men. So many as to give an unreal quality to the scene before him. When he came to the makeshift hospital, he looked carefully through the casualties. He soon found himself before the prone body of the soldier, alive, but severely wounded. He knelt down beside the young man and gently laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, son. I knew I was wrong to let you go." "Oh no, sir. I'm glad you did and I'm glad you're here now so I can thank you. You see sir, I found my friend. He was badly wounded, but I was able to comfort him at the end. As I held him dying in my arms, he looked me in the eyes and said: "I knew you'd come." The young soldier faded between consciousness and oblivion for some time before he finally slipped away. The captain stayed by his side until the end, tears streaming quietly down his cheeks. Only in war could the happy endings be so terribly sad. As the bugle sounded "Taps", the old captain envisioned once again the young soldier's face. Looking up, he could almost hear the stone monument calling out to him: "I knew you'd come." Looking down from heaven, Jesus intercedes with the Father to join us on the battlefield in life. He holds our hand and brings comfort to our loss and bereavement. God is here, not only to hold our hand, but ever more to take our place. He has given us the victory over life and death. Lest we forget

2 Christian Education Children s Church Children s church, ages 3-12 meet the 2 nd and 4 th Sunday during worship. This year, we will be using a new program called Agents in Action where children will be challenged to live courageously as God s Special Agents. Youth District youth event: Belong Retreat. Nov at Camp Van Es for youth Gr Youth Lunch Outreach Update: On Saturday October 26th over 200 people were served lunch on the streets of downtown Edmonton. Special thanks to the congregation for your generosity, and to the Rayment family who donated fruit and veggies in memory of Emily Furhop. Prayer Group Please join us in the fireside room Wednesdays at 10am. All are welcome! Four in Six Club Four in Six Club groups have been made. You will be contacted by your group leader to set up your meeting dates and times. Please see the social section in the info binder in the sanctuary to find out which group you are in. Marriage Group 2013 Calling all couples, married, engaged, dating or otherwise; if you would like to grow in your relationship with God and that special someone, then please check out the Marriage Group now entering into its third year. Evenings are filled with laughter, great connections and conversations, and of course good snacks! Ron and Charlene Adam will be leading the Marriage Group this year, which will focus on Phil Callaway's "Live Rich without Money: Chasing What Really Satisfies." The first meeting will take place at the Adam's home on Saturday November 23rd, at 7pm. All are welcome! Inquirer s Class If you are new to the Millwoods Community, or if you have been here for a long time and would like to discuss membership with the church, please speak with Pastor Josh. If there is interest we will plan to have one gathering to discuss the nature of membership followed by a welcoming of new members during a future worship service. Please advise the office if you are interested in hosting or leading a group study this fall! Women s Morning Out Is held the third Saturday of each month. We will be meeting on November 16 th at 10am at the church. We will be studying the book Bad Girls of the Bible: And What We Can Learn from Them. (by Liz Curtis Higgs) With humor and honesty, Liz teaches women of all ages how to live (and how not to live!), drawn from the lives of several ancient women from Scripture. Enlightening, fun, challenging, and life-changing! Men s Breakfast Great food, manly talk, prayer, study and the odd field trip make this a morning you do not want to miss! Come on out and join us on the last Saturday of each month. Our next meeting will be November 30th, at 9am. Community Care & Connection Millwoods Prayer List Clem Adam, Clarence Ceretzke, Rob Hempstock, Velma Seutter, Barb Severyn, Bertha Callendar, Danny Rayment, Eric Lankoff, Joyce Neuman, Helen Drebert, Family of Emilie Furhop. If you or someone you know would like to be added or removed from the prayer list, please contact the office. Thank you. Visitations If you or someone you care about would appreciate a pastoral visit, please don t hesitate to give Pastor Josh a call any time! Especially if you or a loved one is in the hospital. Pastor Josh s cell #

3 Monthly Community Dinners Are on the 3rd Thursday of each month. This month the Faith in Action group will be hosting this exciting community outreach event on Thursday November 14 at 5:30pm. Worship Sundays this fall we have been exploring the Moravian Covenant for Christian Living, one of our denominations founding documents that encourages us to live in Christian Community. We will conclude this series on Sunday November 24 th with a community connecting worship service please plan to attend. Celebration Choir This is your year to join the choir! We meet every Wednesday at 7pm at the church. Come and be part of this fun and entertaining group. No auditions, experience or references required; join this wonderful small group and help us praise the Lord with song. Join us as we lead in worship, carol sing at Allan Grey and work towards this year's Moravian Music Night and our annual Christmas pageant. Hope to see YOU there! If you are interested in being part of a trio or quartet let me know. I would love to help organize small groups to participate in the music and worship on Sunday. Mission & Outreach Faith in Action Faith in Action is a mission and outreach group focused on making sure that Christ s presence is felt in the community. Our next meeting will be Thursday November 7th in the fireside room. We will start with a small devotional time at 6:45pm, followed by the meeting at 7pm. Everyone is welcome! Winter Clothing Drive: Thank you to all who contributed, either through a clothing donation or a monetary contribution! The Community Dinner held on October 17, 2013 in conjunction with the Winter Clothing Giveaway was a great success. Attendance was excellent as was the food supplied and served by the women from Women s Morning Out. Over 70 people were served. Also, to all who helped with both the setting up / taking down of the clothing much appreciated! Just Christmas ( Faith in Action would like to invite you to an evening of delicious food, fellowship, Christmas shopping, and an opportunity to promote social justice and fair trade.*** On Friday, November 22nd, we will meet at church at 5:30pm to carpool to Alberta Avenue Community Hall ( Ave Edmonton). The event has food for sale from a variety of cultures. When we are done shopping and full of delicious food, everyone is welcome to come back to the parsonage for some hot chocolate and fellowship. Please either sign up in the binder during worship or let Melissa know if you plan to attend. (MelissaViste@hotmail.com or ) The Parsonage is located at th St. Edmonton. Justice at Christmas is a global marketplace for quality arts, handmade crafts and other goods. When you purchase a gift from the non-profit and charitable organizations in this market, the money you spend goes towards the building of healthy communities around the world. *** Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers - especially in the South. Fair Trade organisations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising, and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade. Silent Auction and Dinner Saturday November 30th, 6pm at the church. Tickets are $15 each or 2 for $25. The meal will be a pasta dinner. We will be accepting donations for the auction, if you would like a sponsor letter to present to businesses please speak to Cheryl Davy-Thomas. All proceeds from this event will go to missions and outreach.

4 Santa Store We will be partnering with Crossroads Family Services to help them with their Santa Store Event on Dec. 5, 2-7pm. We will be accepting donations of gifts for all ages. At Santa Store we set out over 1200 gifts for foster children to come and shop for their biological and foster families Moravians in Missions We are planning a trip in August 2014 to Limon, Costa Rica. If you are interested in participating in a future mission trip, please speak with Pastor Josh as together we organize the next mission opportunity. Moravians, Non-Moravians, friends and family are all welcome! We would welcome the donation of grocery store gift cards, bus tickets as well as donations to our Food Pantry in the Fireside Room. If you would like to make a tax deductible cash donation please memo grocery/bus tickets. Leadership & Administration Joint Board Highlights: The Joint Board, Elders and Trustees met, on Tuesday Oct. 22 for their monthly meeting, and here are some of the highlights from that gathering. Some representatives from the board will be coming to the end of their term of service in February. They are looking for new individuals to serve on the board as an Elder or Trustee. If you would be interested in serving in this capacity, please let us know! We reviewed the Safe Sanctuary Policy put together by the PEC and will follow their directions in keeping our congregation safe. Criminal background checks will be done on those working with children, and procedures implemented to reduce potential risks of endangerment. Emilie Furhop passed away last week, funeral will be held on Friday, Oct 25 at 1pm. We reviewed district events, brought forward by our church representative Cheryl Davy Thomas. Thank you to Brenda Jones for coordinating children s church and for developing a new and innovative curriculum for our kids! We are ready to handle winter, but continue to pray for no snow! Silent Auction update Nov. 30 at 6pm, tickets will be available for sale soon. Sign up clip boards in worship will now be replaced by 1 signup binder for greater ease. Pastor Milton will entertain the congregation with song and dance during the offering collection. Christmas Eve service is set for 7pm on Dec. 24 th. Cantata is Dec. 22 nd, and district music event will be at Millwoods Dec. 8 at 7pm. Inquirers class for new members is forming if interested please talk with Pastor Josh. 4x6 club is almost ready to kickoff look for updates. Winter clothing drive/community dinner was a huge success! 2014 August Mission Trip to Costa Rica is being planned, if interested in participating please speak to Pastor Josh. Santa Store (outreach from the foster care community) to be held at Millwoods, Dec. 5, 2-7pm. Consider volunteering or donating to this great opportunity more info to come. As always, this is but a taste of the meeting, much more was discussed but our space is limited. If you have any questions or concerns, please speak with a board member or pastor and we d be happy to help! Parsonage (P3 Revisited) We continue to pay down the parsonage, yet still have a way to go. Let s pay down the debt sooner than later. Memo: P3. Financial Note Parsonage mortgage outstanding balance: $94,070 Year to date (deficit) budget: $ - 26,000 Please help us balance the budget and pay down our mortgage with your continued generous giving. Check out the church See what s happening!

5 November Worship Support Greeters Kimberly & Kaitlin Bryan & Carol Ushers Regan/ Armand Ken Riske/Armand Nolan/Armand Randy/Bryan Music Elaine Bev Lorraine/Concert Band Deb Readers Karen Gorcak Sound Larry Media Donna Coffee Bildfell s Kendell & Cheryl Counters Reid/Jill Kevin/Randy Leroy/ Carol Dave/Ron Lock Up Sherlene Lawrence Leroy Dave Children s Message Milton Watchword for the Year: As God s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience.

6 November 2013 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Sunday Worship Faith in Action Meeting 6:45pm Sunday Worship 11 Remembrance Day Women s Morning Out 10am 17 Sunday Worship Ritchie trombone Choir concert 2pm 18 Joint Board Meeting 6pm Community Dinner 5:30pm Marriage Group 7pm at Ron & Charlene Adam s 24 Sunday Worship Candle Trimming & Potluck to follow service US Thanksgiving Day Men s Breakfast 9am