Here is some important information to keep handy for all of the upcoming Holy Week and Easter services.
Holy Week & Easter Services
A gesture of support for our neighbours no matter where they may have come from.
In recent times it has become all too common, it seems, for people who have recently arrived in Canada as immigrants or as refugees -- especially from certain parts of this world -- to be targeted with behaviour that is less than welcoming and loving.
At St Andrew's we wanted to do something to counteract this disturbing trend. We read this passage of scripture on Sunday:
To affirm this important and Biblical truth, the Session of St. Andrews decided to erect a sign that proclaims it in three languages: French, English and Arabic. The third language is Arabic because speakers of that language make up a group that is often targeted in subtle and not-so-subtle ways these days. Before we put up the sign we took a picture to demonstrate our solidarity with our neighbours.
And here is the sign later this morning installed in front of the church building:
If you would like to find out more about these signs and their history in nearby communities, follow this link:
CBC News article about the signs.
Continue reading »
At St Andrew's we wanted to do something to counteract this disturbing trend. We read this passage of scripture on Sunday:
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:33,34)This passage reminds us that God cares how we treat people who are outsiders or marginalized for any reason. When we go through a time when there is a large number of immigrants or refugees, it will inevitably create some stresses and strains but that should never make us forget the need to treat our neighbours with love and respect, no matter where they come from.
To affirm this important and Biblical truth, the Session of St. Andrews decided to erect a sign that proclaims it in three languages: French, English and Arabic. The third language is Arabic because speakers of that language make up a group that is often targeted in subtle and not-so-subtle ways these days. Before we put up the sign we took a picture to demonstrate our solidarity with our neighbours.
And here is the sign later this morning installed in front of the church building:
If you would like to find out more about these signs and their history in nearby communities, follow this link:
CBC News article about the signs.
Second Sunday in Lent
On the second Sunday of Lent (March 12), we will be celebrating the presence of our God together at St. Andrew's Hespeler. Join us and you will be part of some things that matter:
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- A few weeks ago, we did a bit of an excercise on selecting worship music according to a blended worship approach. As a result of this, one congregational member "won" the opportunity to choose a hymn to sing at a future service. We will sing that hymn this week and you have to come if you want to find out what it is.
- It is a blessing to have Heather Robertson share her musical gifts with us this week. She will sing "Wade in the Water" and also help us to learn our "Hymn of the Month." Here is an online version of "Wade in the Water" to give you an idea of what to look forward to.
- We will be doing something together to stand in solidarity with our neighbours who have come from other nations and places. Won't give you any more details right now, but you are going to want to be part of it!
- Rev. Scott McAndless continues to teach us about the sins we struggle with and the victory Christ offers. This week: Fear.
The community comes together to celebrate around the Lord’s Table
This Sunday, the congregation of St. Andrew's Hespeler Presbyterian will come together to celebrate communion, our most important sacrament and a sign of the living presence of the risen Christ among us and within us. Join us for this and for other special parts of our community life:
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- Rev. Scott McAndless will continue his series of sermons by focusing on the story of Zacchaeus and what it teaches us about the lure of greed and the work of transformation that Jesus would seek to perform in us.
- David, Randy and Corey will be celebrating the grace of God as they sing "All Because of God’s Amazing Grace" by Stephen R. Adams
- Our adult choir will sing "Prayer of St. Francis" by Peter A. Togni
- Please help us give a warm welcome Paul Tavares. Paul is in the middle of his “90 Nights in the Cold” campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness to and eliminate homelessness. Paul has generously donated some of the items donated to him to our site of the Cambridge Self-Help Food Bank and Hope Clothing. Paul will be available to talk with at coffee. This is a great time to offer him encouragement and find out how you can help out, too!
- The "Holy Sherlocks" will share with us the results of their fund raising and bake sale for mission
- This is also the first Sunday in Lent, the season when we begin our thoughtful and reflective journey towards the cross and all that it represents. The Sunday School will begin their special Lenten focus on the gardens of the Bible and will share some of what they are doing with us.
Special Announcement from Session
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| A meeting of the Clerks |
The Session would like to announce that Rob Hodgson (the cheerful looking person on the right) will be stepping down as Clerk of Session following this month’s meeting. Rob has served as our Clerk of Session for over seven years. We especially appreciate how he has carried out his duties with an enormous amount of grace, kindness and love. He has always been responsive, respectful and eager to understand people’s concerns. We are very thankful for all he has done to lift us all up as a session and as a congregation.
Rob will continue to serve as an elder on the session and has not ruled out returning to the position again in the future!
Bill Pettit (the equally cheerful gentleman on the left) will step into the role of Clerk and we certainly thank him for sharing his wisdom in this way and for his willingness to serve.
Pancake Supper
Last evening the Youth and friends hosted a great Pancake Supper!
We served over 200 pancakes and had a lot of fun in the process.
Thank you, to EVERYONE, who helped. Without you we could not have done so well.
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| One of our chefs! |
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| The best servers! |
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| Our kitchen staff! |
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| Some of our youth and leaders. |
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| Our great hostesses! |
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| Some of our guests ... |
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| and more guests! |
Annual Meeting Sunday and Much Much More!
On Sunday, February 26, the people of St. Andrews Hespeler will gather, as we always do to worship, praise and celebrate God's presence among us. This week is special, however, for a number of reasons.
On this coming Sunday please join us for:
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On this coming Sunday please join us for:
- The continuation of Rev. Scott McAndless' series looking at how Jesus invites us as individuals on the journey towards wholeness. This week's sermon will be "Joseph: A Journey from Envy to Balance."
- Margaret McKenzie-Leighton will share her gifts with us by singing, "Hear my Prayer." Words by W. Bartholomew, Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy,
- "Joyful Sound" (our men's group) will sing an arrangement of the traditional spiritual, "Go, Tell It on the Mountain" by Donald Moore.
- Last week learned (or re-learned) a wonderful contemporary/ version of a familiar hymn called "Amazing Grace / My Chains are Gone." We'll sing this one again while it is still fresh.
- We will share some of the responses to last week's "Blended worship" survey and announce the winner.
- After worship we will join together downstairs for a pot luck lunch. All are welcome!
- After lunch we will celebrate everything that God did among us in 2016 (and pass a few necessary motions) at our Annual Congregational meeting.
Please make sure you join us this Sunday and that you pick up your Lenten Newsletter if you don't have one yet.
Bake Sale
For the past few weeks our Holy Sherlocks Sunday School class has been planning a Bake Sale. This Bake Sale was planned to participate in PWS&D's newest Sunday School Challenge, Farming for the Future in Malawi and Guatemala.
The children decided to use $400 from their pop can gatherings and add to the Bake Sale proceeds. Well this morning they did such a great job (thank you to everyone who baked and purchased the baked goods, too!), they will be able to send over $750.00 for the Farming for the Future PWS&D Sunday School Challenge.
Way to go Holy Sherlocks. You are awesome!
Sunday School, February 19th
In Sunday School this morning, we heard the parable of the Great Banquet, had time to play together and put the finishing touches on the Bake Sale.
What are those milk bags for?
Today we had a special guest here to teach us how to weave milk bag mats.
Milk bag mats go to countries like Malawi and Haiti for people to sleep on. By our standards this would not be appealing, but many people sleep on dirt floors in Malawi and Haiti. The good things about these milk bag mats are that the bugs don't like them (so people don't sleep with bugs), they wash easily and dry quickly and they last a long time.
Thanks, Henk, for helping us out today!
If you are interested, please stop by Tuesday (tomorrow) about 10:30 am as we will be finishing up our 2nd mat.
