Connections NEWSLETTER

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1 November 2013 Connections NEWSLETTER Mill Woods United Church 15 Grand Meadow Crescent, Edmonton, AB T6L 1A millwoodsunited.org Hope is in the Air Welcome to November! Can you feel it? Can you feel the excitement rising? Can you feel the optimism returning? Can you feel the anticipation building? I can!! Normally in November I would be referring to the coming Advent season and with it the Christmas season and all that it entails. This year it s something much, much more. It s been 10 months since we have said farewell to Armand and began the process required to find another minister. In that time we have enjoyed a wonderful array of worship services from a number of lay worship leaders and ordained pulpit supplied. It s been an opportunity for a number of people to step out of their comfort zones and take the pulpit for a ride. Meanwhile in the background people took on the job of defining what our congregation wanted in a minister and then another group took on the daunting task of finding that minister. The dedicated group that took on the job of looking for a new minister made the decision to find the best fit, not someone they could live with, better to wait than try and fill the position for June. I applaud them for that and now we await the Reverend Ian Kellogg to take the pulpit on January 5 th 2014 So with the coming of November we are that much closer to both Christmas and to a new adventure at Mill Woods United. We have a new partner to travel with on our journey, a new guide if you will, with new ideas and perhaps a new direction to go as we build our community. Speaking of building our community, now is the time to spread the word of our new minister. We all know folks who have drifted away since Armand left us, reach out to everyone you can think of, share the excitement and encourage them to come on January 5 th to meet and listen to Ian and hopefully become inspired to join us again on our travels. I feel the energy in the air and the feeling of optimism, talk of the future and talk of how to build on our strengths and build better relations with the community around us. I feel the hope and expectation both of the coming Christmas season and of our new minister. Help spread the word and share the energy of hope that is transforming our congregation! Paul Verdin Council Chairperson WANTED Children s clothing for our Clothing Bank is desperately needed. If you are going through your closets and have warm winter wear you can donate, please consider bringing it to the church so that it can be shared with those less fortunate. Your generosity will be greatly appreciated.

2 Our first step will be to have conversations with people in our congregation. This is our invitation to you to participate. It will be on a household basis. Two of us will sit down with you for maybe 45 minutes to an hour. We have a few questions to guide the discussion but most of all, we want you to talk to us about this congregation's future. We can meet you here after church, in your home in the evening, at your favorite coffee shop... whatever works for you. Contact any one of our group to indicate your interest. After we have a few names on our list, we will get started. One of us will contact you to make arrangements. An Invitation... Facing the Future Last winter, the majority of the congregation members who responded to the Joint Needs Assessment survey believed that our congregation needs to make some changes going forward. The business plan we adopted at our May congregational meeting laid out what needs to happen to ensure we are sustainable in five years. At that same meeting, a position labelled 'Partnerships' was created to actively explore our options for the future. The group that has gathered to begin this work is made up of Carla Janzen and Nancy Siever from Stewardship; Randy Round and Laine Pickle who developed the business plan; Tim Janewski, our Chair Elect; and Linda Paddon, the person named at the annual meeting to facilitate this process. We decided to call this project 'Facing the Future'. We also have recommended reading... an article in the September Observer titled Imagine If you don't get the Observer, find someone who will loan you their copy. Everyone should read about this survey. You can also check out survey results on-line at imagine_church_2013/ Please respond soon. Our addresses are below or you may phone Linda Paddon at We want to get a good start on this phase of the work before our new minister arrives. We want him to know right off that we are indeed Facing the Future. For more information or to respond to our invitation please contact one of us: Carla Janzen - carlajj@shaw.ca Nancy Siever - distributors@mindalive.com Randy Round - rround3@gmail.com Laine Pickle - pickleindustries@shaw.ca Tim Janewski - Tim.Janewski@kingsu.ca Linda Paddon - lpaddon@shaw.ca

3 November 3 Paul & Lesley Verdin will be leading us in worship November 10 Join in remembrance as Norm Macdonald takes the pulpit CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIR November 23rd 10 am 4 pm Mill Woods United Church 15 Grand Meadow Crescent (east of 66 Street on 38 Avenue) November 17 Our Worship Team leads with a special interview of Francisco Rico Jr. on his year in Turkey November 24 Reign of Christ Sunday and Renee Englot will be leading our service Admission by donation Door Prizes Easy Shopping Soup & Sandwich concession Handmade specialty items Volunteers will be needed to help with the Craft Fair again this year. Decorating the church, setting up tables, and taking down and clean-up all come to mind. If you would like to volunteer please be in touch with Ethel Ray (ethel.wellspring@gmail.com or ) or Carla Janzen (carlajj@shaw.ca or ). They will appreciate hearing from you.

4 20 Questions Get to know our Council members just a little bit better Council Chair Elect Tim Janewski in his own words. My position is Chair Elect. So, I will be trying to fill some big shoes next year when I become Chair. I chaired council once before, about 8 years ago. I think that my job will be to be attuned to the needs and wants of the congregation and to work with the council, minister and administrator to work toward making our church sustainable in terms of attendance, programs and finances. 1. If you didn t do what you do for a living, what would you be? My real passion is history. If I had the luxury of not having to worry about making a living right now, I would choose to undertake a PhD in history. I love reading about Canadian and world history and I would love to spend my days traveling and researching topics that fascinate me like Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code. 2. Who would play you in the movie of your life story? That s a tough one! I can t think of anyone who would be able to stay awake through a movie about my life! I m a pretty tame guy. 3. What three famous people would you have dinner with? I love this question. I m always interested in hearing about whom people admire it can tell you a lot about someone. So, my three would be Jesus Christ Wow, would I ever have a lot of questions for him!! Winston Churchill I admire him for his intellect and also for his incredible determination and refusal to quit despite great odds. Lady Gaga she would add some fun to the evening and I think she s really quite smart! 4. What s your favorite Edmonton landmark? The Shaw Conference Centre. I think that it s one of the most imaginative buildings in Edmonton. 5. What do you enjoy most about MWUC? Feeling like I belong to a community. 6. What is your favorite hymn? The Old Rugged Cross - reminds me of Westminster United Church, the church I attended as a child. 7. What s playing in your ipod or cd player right now? Honestly, mostly recorded books, usually spy novels. I get bored with commercial radio. 8. If you were marooned on an island, what would be the one item you d want with you? My Swiss Army knife. 9. Who s your hero? Well, Dave Irving, a former MWUC minister was definitely a mentor for me. I admire him for his wisdom and gentleness. 10.What s the one gadget you can t live without? My wife would probably tell you that I love flashlights. Can t get enough of em. 11. What s your favorite restaurant? The Old Spaghetti Factory. 12. What s your culinary specialty? Barbequed salmon. 13. What s your favorite vacation spot? In Canada Jasper. Overseas Italy. 14. What s your proudest moment? It s two, really: when my children were born. 15. What is at the top of your to-do list? Getting into better physical shape! 16. What is your favorite animal? Right now it s the Leopard Gecko. My wife and children are allergic to dogs, so we make do with an undemanding lizard. 17. What is your guilty pleasure? Watching Mystery Diners on the Food Network. 18. What is your secret talent? I m really good at using leftovers for stir-frying. 19. What are your words to live by? Corinthians 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 20. What is your favorite Mill Woods United Church memory? The children s sleepover we had when Nicole Imgrund was an intern minister here. It was great fun, but apparently I kept people awake with my snoring.

5 Sobey s Gift Card Fundraiser November 2 - FREE Little Green Thumbs gardening workshop. Children 6-13 are welcome to attend. 3-5 pm Preregister with the church office. November 5 - Prayer Shawl get-together, 1:30-3 pm. All knitters are invited to join us for an afternoon of knitting & fellowship. Every Tuesday evening TAI CHI classes run at the church, 7-9 pm. Information available at taoist.org/edmonton Every Wednesday evening YOGA classes run at the church, 5:30-7 pm. Contact Rose Bardoel at rose4u@shaw.ca for info Mary-Anne Janewski sells Sobey s gift cards as a fundraiser for the church. This is a great fundraiser because it costs you absolutely nothing - what you pay is what you get back! Here is how it works: You give a cheque/cash/ transfer for the amount of cards you want made out to Mary-Anne Janewski. You may use the order form on the envelopes at the back of the church. The order deadline is the first Sunday of each month. Mary-Anne writes a cheque for the total amount of all the orders received and gives it to Sobeys. The second Sunday of the month cards will be available for pick-up at church. The church receives a percentage from the cards sold. Upcoming deadlines are: Cut-off November 3 with cards available on November 10 Cut-off December 1 with cards available on December 8 We already know that in December we will be receiving a big order from a company that gives these cards to their employees for Christmas. This will boost us into the next percentage level, so let s try to take advantage and get a bigger benefit for our church. Here are some ideas why you might want to purchase these gift cards: To buy coffee/lunchroom supplies Care packages for kids or friends Christmas presents Ask your friends if they would like to buy any gift cards for themselves or gifts and include those in your order Gift cards as a baby gift for baby food, formula, diapers You can contact Mary-Anne Janewski at majicmom@hotmail.com or on her cell at or at home on Let s see if we can take advantage of this effortless fundraiser and push it over the top!

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