From Rev. Milo One Sunday during the summer when I was offering pulpit supply to Central, a lovely woman came and spoke to me. She said, I hear you are retired! Well that is a shame. It turns out that comment was from the voice of a prophet. Out of retirement I have come and enjoying myself entirely as I offer my ministry gifts to Central United Church. I love to preach and be with people. I enjoy sharing concerns with people in my office, over the phone or through email. I am privileged to work with dedicated staff and volunteers. Right now, we are busy planning for the Season of Advent. We have a great service planned for November 27 called Hanging of the Greens. Everyone will gather together for this worship as the children present the symbols of the Advent season and adult readers share the meaning. December 4th, the children will present their White Gift service and we will celebrate the baptism of two little boys. The Choir Cantata will be the major musical offering for Christmas Eve service. Decorating for the Advent and Christmas season, preparing and enjoying seasonal music, remembering through our outreach those in need, sharing our wealth through the giving of gifts, and acknowledging through reflection and compassion those for whom this season is not a joyful time. We are a people who live the call of Jesus Christ with justice, love and compassion. Into the Season of Advent we go.. Message from the Chair Before coming to Central I lived at Crandall, Manitoba and attended church there. Crandall s church building was constructed in 1900. The Methodists and Presbyterians both worshipped there. In 1925 they amalgamated to become part of the United Church of Canada. In the 1920s and 30s, the congregation was so large that they had to put chairs in the aisles. The pews alone could squeeze in 100 people. When I was going to school in the 1950s, Crandall s church was strong like Central used to be. We had an average weekly congregation of 45 plus a choir of 15 beautiful voices. For the next 30 years Crandall s congregation declined in numbers as the town died. By 1990 I was chairman of the official board. We were part of a two point pastoral charge that included Oak River. We had an ordained minister and Crandall paid 25% of his salary. At this time, we had an average Sunday attendance of only 9. Our choir was down to 4 members and we called them our quartet. As the 1990 s progressed, our choir became 3 and we called them our trio. Then they became 2 and yes... we called them our duet. Average attendance stayed constant for 10 years. The question is, How did Crandall last 10 years with such a small membership? It was because of people just like you. There was no place to retire in Crandall so retirees went to
Hamiota, Virden and Brandon to live out their lives. These retirees sent sizable donations to Crandall Church every fall. The church would not have survived the last 10 years without these people. I asked them Why do you continue to support Crandall church when you are supporting churches in your new community? I got answers like Crandall church is still home., I got married in that building., My children were baptized there. and so on. During the last decade of the 20th century, people sending the cheques eventually died or just plain got tired. The church in Crandall, like Central is now, was facing a money crisis that was becoming more serious each passing year. The church ran out of people to donate, so, in 1999 we ceased to be a part of the United Church of Canada. It was devastating for us all. Following this separation, Crandall had regular Sunday services as a community church for one more year. We wanted the dear old building to host church services for a hundred years. We hired the likes of Pastor Gibb, and John Shaw to conduct our services. The last service was during July of 2000.The Brandon Sun sent out a reporter/photographer to cover this milestone. Aline and I were among the overflow crowd sitting outside listening to the last service. The service came to an end. People shuffled out. It was at this point, the choir stood and sang Precious Memories. I was on the board at Crandall when it closed. I don t want the same to happen here at Central and I am sure you don t either. Brian Johnston Chair Coming Events through Advent The choir is busy practicing for the Christmas Cantata which will take place at the Christmas Eve service. We welcome new singers at any time but this is especially a wonderful time to join. If you can only be there for a short time we would still love to have you. We start at 9 am on Sunday mornings, work on Sunday's work, warm up with hymns, practice the anthem and about 9:30 start practicing the cantata. Please come and join us especially for the Christmas season. Call Mary at 204-573-9144 for further information or to sign on. Remember we are called to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. November 26 Decorate for Advent/Christmas season November 26 Ben Karuhije s Ordination Service at 5:00 November 27 Advent 1 An introduction to Advent through a service called Hanging the Greens December 1 - Budgets in to church office December 1 Tree of Memories Brockie-Donovan December 4 Advent 2 - White Gift service, Baptism December 11 Advent 3 December 18 Advent 4 December 24th Christmas Eve Candlelighting Service 7p.m Cantata Joy December 25th - No Service January 1st regular service with Colleen Gareau
Social Outreach Projects The social outreach committee would like to share some information about a unique program we at Central support, during the Christmas season - Angel Tree Christmas. It is a program of Prison Fellowship Canada that connects church communities with families of inmates through the delivery of a Christmas gift on behalf of the incarcerated parent. This brings children the joy of receiving a gift, but more importantly it tells them that their mom or dad is thinking about them at Christmas time. For inmates, the program allows them to experience the love of god as well as a level of community support during a time marked with guilt and loneliness. Strengthening family ties is also an important factor in reducing their probability of reoffending when released. In 2015, Angel Tree Christmas provided gifts to over 2200 children! Inmates from 55 institutions throughout Canada signed up for the program, wrote a personalized note to their children, and a gift was purchased and delivered, on their behalf, by a volunteer. This program is very popular at Brandon Correctional Centre and true to our motto, "a church with a heart in the heart of the city," volunteers from Central United purchase gifts for ten children each year. Samaritan House Ministries Safe & Warm Shelter, located within the Samaritan House Ministries Resource Centre in the heart of downtown Brandon, is the city s only emergency cold-weather homeless shelter, open from November to March. The shelter now has the capacity for 20 clients each night and provides a hot meal, a warm bed, security guards for safety, and support workers to connect clients with the resources they need. In 2015-2016, the shelter provided 67 men and women with 571 safe nights, away from violence and extreme weather. The Safe & Warm Shelter appreciates all donations of warm weather gear socks, gloves, toques, long underwear, boots, and coats. Financial donations also ensure that funding for security and upgrades remains in place. If you would like to tour the shelter or learn more about this important initiative, please contact us at 204-726-0758. The Central United Social Outreach committee sets aside money in their budget each year for the Shelter. Christian Education Updates Central Café is a new Youth class being held every Sunday morning in conjunction with the Sunday School programming. Over hot chocolate Youth will explore ideas, play games and create awesome art work. It is a place where Youth can learn and grow in faith. The Youth will also have numerous opportunities to share their gifts of music, drama, and power points with the congregation. The class is led by Julia and Bryan Schettler. All youth are encouraged to attend. Any questions or suggestions are very welcome. Email Julia at jschett@mts.net Our church Library is in the process of being overhauled. We have wonderful volunteers working to discard many of the older unused and outdated books and make room for many new books that were recently donated. We also have new computer program system that makes searching and checking out books much easier. Books can be checked out for up to four weeks. We have a great selection of both fiction and non-fiction - books on religion, grieving and ministerial teachings and learning s. Come on in and CHECK OUT the progress, and all the changes our volunteers have made in the Library. If you are not familiar with where the library is, it is on the east side of the sanctuary and is accessible through the back of the sanctuary or through the office. Vacation Bible School was held at Central United Church from August 15 August 18 5:30 8:00 p.m. The theme for this year was Cave
Quest...Following Jesus, the Light of the World and was thoroughly enjoyed by the participants, leaders, and adult helpers. We have been very busy this fall season. On October 30th, they paraded through the Sanctuary wearing their Halloween costumes, following a party put on by C.E. Committee. We also challenged the Church board to match a $100.00 donation towards the Monster Mash, which they accepted. The Sunday school families will be participating in Advent readings this year. Our next event is the Hanging of the Greens on November 27th with the youth helping out throughout the service. The following Sunday is our annual White Gift service on December 4th with a practice on December 3rd from 1-3 p.m. With a registration of 47 youth, each evening began with a hearty supper to prepare for the journey through the caves. The group then moved into a Sing and Play session which included the bible verse of the day, videos and songs. Once completed, participants then broke into three groups and rotated through Bible Stories, Games, and Imagination Station. All then relaxed in Sanctuary where the Kidvid Cinema took place, focusing on youth in different parts of the world teaching how following Jesus has helped them in their lives. The evening was complete with a group gathering back into the Auditorium to once again go over songs and discuss the God Sightings they had seen throughout the day. On December 11th the youth will be celebrating Baby Jesus birthday by sharing a special gift with the congregation. December 18th, we will have regular Sunday School classes before we break for the Christmas and New Years season. We will resume classes on January 15th where we will begin to learn about the New Testament and using our newly purchased Smart Board to help with the learning of God in a new and interactive way. Many thanks to the congregation of Central United for sponsoring this event, as well as the Christian Education Committee for their dedication in planning, decorating, cooking, and teaching throughout the four-evening event. Also thanks to the volunteers from TNC The Next Chapter - for giving of their time in the kitchen to ensure that our participants and leaders were well fed. We are looking forward to hosting another Vacation Bible School during the summer of 2017.
ber-supported, stable core funding that these partners receive. Everyone will find something in Gifts with Vision worth sharing with the special people in their lives. Gifts are available in a range of dollar amounts, as well as for many areas of need (hunger, shelter, education, health, safety, mobility, and more). We all have people on our Christmas list that we never quite know what gift to get. Or maybe you want your gift to have more meaning and impact this year- because helping the forgotten people in God s world just feels wonderful! Effect Hope(formerly known as the Leprosy Mission Canada) offers Our Catalogue with a Purpose, with the perfect gift for everyone in your life. There's no wrapping and it's always the perfect size. Our gifts help children, parents and grandparents who are suffering from diseases that disable and impoverish. Plus, let us know who the gift is for and we'll send you a printable Gift Card- just email Andrea Onley at aonley@effecthope.org or call 1-888-537-7679. If you would like to support The United Church of Canada they have developed this giving catalogue, Gifts with Vision, in response to member requests to be able to give gifts to relatives, friends, and loved ones that are in direct support of the church's Mission & Service partners across Canada and around the world. If you are seeking inspiring new gift ideas or perhaps would rather not give family and friends the same old clothes/toys/chocolates, Gifts with Vision presents a new way to celebrate special occasions. Give a gift that can help change people's lives! Gift funding raised for partners through the catalogue will be over and above the regular mem- The Catalogue is available online at https://www.giftswithvision.ca/ Tri Church Lawn Bowling One day in August, Sheila Taylor of Central came up with a novel idea. Her idea was to have a Tri Church afternoon of lawn bowling at Stanley Park. Stanley Park Lawn Bowling Club was anxious to donate their facilities for the 3 churches to use. After Sheila had the club s blessing, she solicited the support of Judy Olmstead of Knox and Vivian Privat of Trinity. The three ladies promoted the idea to the three congregations. The suggestion resulted in minimal interest from all three churches. The three ladies were not discouraged, so they put signup sheets on display for the church members to use. Judy was pleasantly surprised by the large number of Knox members who intended to play. The question was, would they turn up. On Sunday afternoon on September 11th, Judy, Sheila and Vivian arrived an hour ahead of the 2:00 p.m. start time. They had prepared cold and hot drinks and set out the homemade muffins that they brought. Florence Klatt of Knox also brought muffins. The girls were anxious as they waited for the players to arrive. They need not have worried, as it soon became apparent that there was going to be a sizable crowd. After a short crash course of the game, teams
were drawn up and play began. Following an hour of fun and revelry, the games concluded. No one knows who won or lost, or even cared about the outcome. Directly after play, everyone retired to the club house for refreshments. There was no shortage of conversation and laughter. A silver collection resulted in excess of $100.00 being donated to the bowling club. There were 38 bowlers and 2 spectators who participated in the event. Chris Jaska of Central thanked the four ladies who organized the event and donated the lunch. Brian Johnston, President of Stanley Park Lawn Bowling Club, asked those in attendance if they were having a good time and if they wanted to play again next year. There was a resounding yes to both questions. Around The Church In Pictures Our annual Remembrance Day service was held on November 6th, followed by the Poppy luncheon. In the photo above, June Clark, Jeannette Holm and Ross Mitchell took part in the service by reading the names who served and died in World War I and II from Central.
We have been fortunate in having Ben Karuhije, from the Saturday evening Sons and Daughters Worship service, join us on Sunday mornings when Rev. Milo Spooner Craig is not available. Pictured above is The Sons and Daughters Worship Band. Members of the UCW meet in October. The UCW meet the second Wednesday of the month and are always looking for new members.