June 22, 2022
Hello everyone – good to connect after a week of not being able to do so. I was recovering from pneumonia last week and was not able to give you an update of what is happening around St. Andrew’s
Today is a great day – we are celebrating the life of a long time member here at St. Andrew’s and even though death is hard, the life, witness and service of Christina Weylie gives us lots to celebrate. Her family has gathered, friends of the family are here along with Christina’s St. Andrew’s family and many public servants who worked with Christina during her 26 years as a member of Kitchener council. The service begins at 11 am and will be live streamed. Please pray for the family as they gather. You can access the live stream here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6WZ8I6ge8w
This morning there is still a buzz around the church about the very wonderful farewell BBQ last night for our overnight guests – here are the notes from the Working Centre Staff about last night – “The BBQ was really nice. Had a really good turn out. Community members are happy to hear there is a new space … It was honestly such a feel good night. Maybe folk are at ease knowing about a new location. Maybe it was the BBQ or maybe it was a bit of both.”
Thursday night is the last night our guests will be here at the church. On Friday night the new emergency shelter at the former Edith MacIntosh Child Care Centre. A warm thank you to our partners – both the Region of Waterloo and the Working Centre for this ministry opportunity that has been such a big part of our physical building since the beginning of December. A warm thank you to all the people of the congregation for support, patience and understanding throughout this endeavour.
Work to restore the lower level of the church back to the way it was begins in earnest on Friday.
This weekend Camp K staff will be using Iona Hall for their training purposes.
The session is called to meet on Monday, June 27 at pm for a Zoom meeting. Three items are on the agenda
Renovation of the chapel area
Possible creation of a Group of 5 within the congregation to sponsor Feridah’s family as refugees. They are presently living in Turkey. Please contact the office if your are willing in any way to support this refugee initiative. I know a number of people are already involved in the work of bringing the Mother and brother of Nahle Hasum, the Syrian refugee family St. Andrew's supported, to come to Canada. Ferdiah’s family is a completely different initiative. We cannot work through the Presbyterian Church in Canada this year because they have already completed their quota. Hence the attempt to create a Group of 5. Session will want to know if there is interest to do this, so please let the office know.
Possible movement away from Church Watch and our online member picture directory to a new more inclusive and user friendly soft ware program called ‘The Planning Centre’. It does what both Church Watch and the online picture directory does and much more.
Please keep the session in our prayers this week.
Anishnabeg Outreach are going to hold a sports program here at the church in Iona Hall over the summer on Thursdays. AO is a potential partner for St. Andrew’s in our work of reconciliation and decolonization and this simple step enables us to get to know each other a little bit. Hopefully in the fall we can engage with AO more effectively.
Yesterday was national Indigenous Recognition Day here in Canada. It is a day recognizing and celebrating the cultures and contributions of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Indigenous peoples here on Turtle Island. As a celebration I would like to share with you a teaching I heard from the Oji-Cree many years ago. It is ‘mamow sha way gi kay win’. Roughly translated it means ‘giving and receiving with no expectation of return’. It is a beautiful concept. It is beyond generosity – it reflects the deep connection we have to each other and the shared responsibility we have one another’s well being. It is defining humanity not in terms of individuals but in terms of our relationships one to the one. To me it is a teaching that helps me to understand more clearly what Jesus says when he teaches us to love one another as God has loved us.
Take good care everyone and have a wonderful day
Marty