News Blog

Meet your new COS Bill Pettit

Posted by on Thursday, March 9th, 2017 in Clerk of Session


Session has formally approved the Clerk of Session Mr. Bill Pettit.

Thank you to everyone (especially Bill) on the confirmation of the new Clerk of Session for St. Andrews Hespeler. I have enjoyed being your Clerk and know that Bill is a terrific choice. Once again, thank you for your support and patience with me as COS.

sorry about the resolution of the photo above - but I think the blurry haze makes both of us seem younger and smooths out the wrinkles..... 
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Zacchaeus: A journey from greed to wisdom

Posted by on Sunday, March 5th, 2017 in Minister

Hespeler, 5 March, 2017 © Scott McAndless – Lent 1
Luke 19:1-10, Hebrews 13:1-6, Psalm 112
Z
acchaeus was entirely comfortable in that tree. That is one thing that we fail to understand about Zacchaeus in his story in the Gospel of Luke. It says in the gospel that he climbed the tree because he wanted to see Jesus and he was very short – was a wee little man – and was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to see Jesus among the crowds that had gathered in Jericho to see him. And , sure, that was true enough as far as it went, but it fails to take into account the fact that, as far as Zacchaeus was concerned, from the branches of a tree was the perfect vantage point for the kind of encounter with Jesus that he wanted.
      Zacchaeus was, you see, a certain type of a person. He was what you might call an observer of life. He had an insatiable desire to perceive and study and understand whatever he could to the best of his ability. As such he had a very long attention span – could sit and observe the world for hours and never waver in his attentiveness. And so, when he heard that someone as unique and interesting as Jesus of Nazareth was passing through Jericho, of course he was going to arrange to observe him.
      And the tree was perfect for him because it allowed him to see everything. The fact that he had to run ahead and wait for Jesus to pass that way was no problem for him as he never lost patience waiting to observe something interesting. But there was another reason why the tree was so ideal. Zacchaeus was an observer but he was a detached observer. He didn’t want to be down there interacting with what was happening. As a matter of fact, he never really felt comfortable in a crowd situation like that where people might touch him or invade his personal space. No, it was just better to observe from a neutral vantage point. The tree was ideal.

      And there are people like that, like Zacchaeus, aren’t there? I’ll bet you have known some. They are the great observers of life but they often take a lot of persuasion to go beyond watching and thinking about what they see and actually engage with the world. They are often brilliant, often the very first to come up with new ways of seeing things. But it is often easier for them to observe and think and collect experiences than it is for them to do something with what they learn.
      There are also some other traits that are found in such people. Often they are people who are looking for some security in their lives more than anything. This is often because, at some point in their early development, they have gone through a time when they strongly feared that their basic needs were in danger of not being met. They weren’t assured that the food, shelter, clothing, affection or belonging would be there for them. This means that they do not feel entirely safe in this world and so they tend to withdraw from close contact, they hesitate to trust too much and are strongly protective of their personal spaces. They become content to merely observe the world and store up whatever knowledge of the world they discover.
      This same sense of insecurity also compels them to store up possessions as a kind of insurance against whatever may happen or go wrong in life. They keep everything and hesitate to throw anything out because it all means something to them and, as they always say, “You never know when you might need it.”
      If this particular kind of person has one big problem, therefore, it is avarice. Their root sin is greed. I am not necessarily talking about that in terms of them being stingy with money, though that can be part of it. They are stingy with many things: their knowledge and understanding, their space, their emotions and thoughts. They share none of it easily. And sometimes that can certainly also mean that they are greedy with money.
      I would suggest to you that Zacchaeus in this story in Luke’s Gospel is a perfect example of the kind of person that I am talking about here. Not only is he someone who clearly prefers to take an objective vantage point in order to observe and find out things and someone who would rather not mingle with the crowd, he is also described as being very rich and having many possessions, some of which he obtained by defrauding people. I don’t think that it is a big stretch to say that Zacchaeus likely had some issues with greed as well.
      So Zacchaeus is a good example of this sort of person, but chances are that you have known such a person yourself. They are wonderful people who have been able to bring much good into this world through their ability to observe and understand. But they, like all people have certain things that they struggle with. In this case, those things seem to be intimacy and greed. The question is what can be done to help such people?
      The traditional Christian answer to that question, by the way, has been to blame and to shame. We just tell people that they are wrong to be greedy and to store up possessions. We tell people that they should share with others more freely even if that is hard for them. This has been the traditional moralistic approach of the church to effecting ethical change in people’s lives in general. But I am not sure how successful that strategy has been in really helping people to change. We need a new strategy.
      So I would like us to climb up in our own sycamore tree and objectively observe what Jesus does for Zacchaeus in this story. It is quite clear that, when Zacchaeus meets Jesus, it does make a difference. He is a man transformed by the time Jesus leaves town. So what is Jesus’ secret and is it possible that Jesus’ approach may be just the kind of thing that people like Zacchaeus need to reach the fullness of who they were always meant to be?
      It is interesting to note that Jesus’ approach is not to attack Zacchaeus over his greed or tendency to store up personal possessions. Jesus does target something else – he targets Zacchaeus’ tendency to isolate himself in order to observe. Jesus comes to the place where Zacchaeus has set himself up in his nice safe tree and looks right up at what he thought was his perfect hiding place and says, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.”
      Do you realize what that feels like for someone like Zacchaeus? Jesus has just invited himself into Zacchaeus’ personal space, his sanctum and the place where he keeps all of the possessions that make him feel safe. Jesus just barges in, and invites himself into all of this. It must have made Zacchaeus feel very vulnerable and off his guard. But Jesus also knew that there was no way that Zacchaeus could refuse and that the discomfort was necessary. Zacchaeus would always opt for protection and safety unless the issue was forced. Jesus needed to get in.
      But once Jesus had broken through Zacchaeus’ layers of protection, something amazing happened. Something almost unprecedented in all the ministry of Jesus. We are not told the whole story and we kind of have to fill in the details. It says that Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus, which likely means that he brought him into his private space, fed him and put him up for the night or even for a few nights. Luke sort of jumps over that part of the story and only reports on the reaction that the time Jesus spent with him provoked in the town: “All who saw it began to grumble and said, ‘He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.’” All of that part of the story gets skipped, nevertheless, it seems clear that Jesus must have spent at least some time when he had Zacchaeus’ undivided attention.
      And what did Jesus do with that time? Well, that’s obvious. He did what he always did – he talked to him about the kingdom of God. He probably told him stories and parables to explain what the kingdom was like and, when Zacchaeus asked him what someone had to do in order to be part of that kingdom, Jesus probably said something like what he said to other people in similar circumstances: “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21)
      And Jesus, generally speaking, didn’t have a lot of success in asking that kind of level of response to the kingdom of God from people. When he said it to a rich, young ruler, for example, the young man just turned and walked away in shock, unable to even grasp what Jesus was saying.
      But here is where we see what is special and unique about Zacchaeus. Remember that Zacchaeus was an observer – someone who had incredible focus and was always ready to learn from whatever he observed. He was someone who was always ready to absorb new knowledge like a sponge. He now applied those talents to observing this Jesus who stood before him. And the result was that Zacchaeus was able to absorb what Jesus was really trying to say probably better than any other individual in the gospel story.
      In other words, Zacchaeus got the message of Jesus better than anybody else I can think of in the entire gospel story. He indicates that by saying to Jesus, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” Those are the words of someone who has understood what the kingdom of God is actually about better than all the priests, all the disciples and all the scribes you can find in the entire Bible. Zacchaeus got the message that they all missed.
      And so the wonderful gift of these extraordinary people who are like Zacchaeus is this: they can observe and absorb truth from what they observe to a degree that eludes most of us. Once you break through to them and get past the protections that they have ringed themselves with, you find a person who is able to listen, pay heed and absorb like few others can. We live in an age when the art of listening often seems all but forgotten. What a marvel a person like Zacchaeus is in such a world.
      We live in a world filled with greed, driven by greed and often destroyed by greed. Of course, our God doesn’t love greed and what it can do to people. But God is compassionate and willing to understand us. He doesn’t just condemn the sin, he seeks to heal the underlying problem. That is why, in the Letter to the Hebrews, the message of God is not merely, “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.”God is always willing to speak to our heart and remind us why we don’t have to seek security by storing up an abundance of things. And so the writer of the Hebrews goes on: “for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.’”
      God comes to you as you are, understands what drives you and is committed enough to break through your defences and speak to your heart. We see Jesus doing that very thing for Zacchaeus; he will do it for all of us. If only we could all be as ready as Zacchaeus was to really attend to what God has to say to us.
     
#140CharacterSermon Zacchaeus: detached observer who stored possessions to protect himself. Amazing to watch Jesus break through all that.
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The community comes together to celebrate around the Lord’s Table

Posted by on Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 in News

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:


  • 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.
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Special Announcement from Session

Posted by on Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 in News

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.


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Pancake Supper

Posted by on Wednesday, March 1st, 2017 in News

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.


One of our chefs!

The best servers!

Our kitchen staff!

Some of our youth and leaders.

Our great hostesses!

Some of our guests ...

and more guests!


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GOOD NEWS from Session

Posted by on Monday, February 27th, 2017 in Clerk of Session

   In 2009 Rev. Jeff  Veenstra inquired if I would replace the retiring Clerk of Session. I can't remember why I did not attend Session the next time after that, but he informed me that it was unanimous and I was the new Clerk.  That's when I realized I had no idea what that really meant. Time passes and I realize I have no idea what I will do without being Clerk of Session. I am confident that if God can lead me to something he will also lead me through it. So I say so long, definitely not goodbye and expectantly await what my next adventure in life will be. Its been great being your Clerk!


 I'd like to announce that Bill Pettit will be the next Clerk of Session and I know you will treat him well like you always have for me.  You are in good hands.   

     p.s. Meat pie sales will be renewed in April - talk to you soon!
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The Annual General Meeting February 26, 2017

Posted by on Monday, February 27th, 2017 in Clerk of Session

THE 161st ANNUAL CONGREGATIONAL MEETING
 ST. ANDREW’S HESPELER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH


Sunday, February 26, 2017

Reverend McAndless constituted the meeting with a prayer, followed by a hymn sung by all.

Rev. Scott McAndless welcomes the congregation and opened the meeting.

Steve Marsh was introduced as the M.C. for the annual meeting. Rob Hodgson was introduced as secretary of the annual meeting.

Ray Godin moved and  Karen Nixon seconded that Steve Marsh and Rob Hodgson be approved as M.C. and Secretary accordingly. CARRIED.

Allison Cann moved and  Peter Moyer seconded that the minutes of the 160th annual meeting of St. Andrew’s Hespeler Presbyterian Church held on February 28, 2016, be adopted as with one correction. Page 5 of the 2016 Annual Report - “Cynthia MacDonald moved that 2015 budget, should read 2016 budget.  CARRIED.

Rob Hodgson presented the report of the Kirk Session for 2016.

The congregation heard from representatives of church committees and groups about celebration achievements in 2016, special services, as well as valuable support that individuals/volunteers provided. Presentations were provided by:

·         Music & Worship – Mary Forbes – M&W  and Corey Cotter Linforth - Music
·         Fellowship Video – Thank You
·         Mission and Outreach – Peter Moyer and Elaine McLean -co/chairs
·         Beth McIntosh Group – n/a
·         Athalie Read Group – n/a
·         Operations –  Vern Platt – overview & Thank You
·         Christian Education – Video
·         Hespeler Place of New Hope – Karen Kincaid  overview
·         Report on Financial Review _ Vern Platt [acknowledgment of Vern Platt and Patrice Wappler]  financial oversight
·         Finance Committee Report

Bob Neath moved and  Joanne Waugh seconded that the Finance Committee's Report for 2016 including the General Fund, Capital Purchase Fund, Hope Clothing, Christian Education Fund, Organ Fund, F.A.S.T. Fund, Mission Fund, Presbyterian Sharing, Endowments Fund and other funds be adopted as written and printed in the 161st Annual Report. CARRIED.

·         Budget 2017 – Ray Godin
The 2017 Budget was presented at a separate financial meeting that was held on February 22, 2017. Ray Godin provided an overview of the Finance Committee Report for those people who were not able to attend the financial meeting.

Vern Platt moved and Carol Jones seconded that the 2017 Budget be adopted as presented in the Annual Report. CARRIED.

·         Presbyterians Sharing - Video
Don Paddock moved and Bill Pettit seconded that the Congregation accept, but not guarantee the allocation of $18,200 as our fair share of Presbyterian Sharing for 2017. Inclusive of the proviso that periodic audits throughout 2017 be entertained.  CARRIED.

·         Appointment of Trustees for 2017

Vern Platt expressed appreciation on behalf of the congregation to the Trustees who have served in 2016 including Gary Stewart, Bill Winser and Glen Nixon.

Vern Platt moved and  Patrice Wappler seconded that as a congregation, we accept Gary Stewart, Bill Winser and Glen Nixon, being members in full communion of the congregation, as Trustees of St. Andrews’s Hespeler Presbyterian congregation in 2017, to hold office until successors have been selected to replace them, to hold the property of the congregation, and to borrow money upon instruction of the congregation. CARRIED.

·         Appointment for 2017 financial review
Joanne Waugh moved and Perter Moyer seconded that Vern Platt and Patrice Wappler be appointed to conduct a review of the financial records of the congregation and to report to the 162nd Annual Meeting.  Carried

·         Other Business
Rob Hodgson - expressed sincere appreciation for Ray Godin dedicated service to the church. Further, Rob expressed sincere thanks to Jane Neath, who came on board in 2015 to work closely with the Office Administrator, Treasurer, and Bookkeeper.

·         A request to post the list of Deacons/Elders assigned to Districts be available a.s.a.p.
·         No other business was brought forward.
·         Memorial for those who have passed since the last annual meeting
Reverend McAndless read the list of names of those loved ones who passed away since the last annual meeting.

·         Adjourn
Karen Kincaid moved that the 161st Annual Meeting be adjourned.

The Prayer and Benediction was pronounced by Reverend McAndless. 
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Joseph: A journey from envy to balance

Posted by on Sunday, February 26th, 2017 in Minister

Hespeler, 26 February, 2017 © Scott McAndless
Genesis 37:1-11, Genesis 45:1-8, 1 Peter 2:1-10
D
ifferent people are driven by different things on their path through this life. I think we all recognize that. Some people are driven by ambition or pride. Others are motivated by greed or envy or lust. But there are some people for whom all of that really means very little. There is really only one thing that matters to them: that they are unique and special.
      Now, I realize that we are all, in our own ways, special. We are all individuals who have a unique makeup of habits, traits and interests. So, in a way, these people aren’t any more unique than anyone else. It is more a matter of how such people want to be seen and treated. They want everyone to see and notice how unique they are. They need to stand out from the crowd in some significant way.
      If you want to compliment such a person – I mean, give them a compliment that will actually mean something to them – do not bother saying things like, “You look nice,” or “You did a great job.” They will hardly hear compliments like that. But if you say to them, “Wow, I’ve never seen anybody pull off a look quite like that before,” or “I didn’t even think that anyone could do that like you did it,” they will likely go away very happy and remember you fondly.

      There are not necessarily a high proportion of such people in any given group because most groups can only tolerate so many people who grab all of the attention. But I imagine that you have known some. When they are around, after all, you can hardly help but notice them. They are brightly dressed, doing something weird and probably making a lot of noise doing it.
      The great Biblical example of such a person is the patriarch Joseph, the son of Jacob. Throughout his long story, as told in the Book of Genesis, Joseph goes through many ups and downs. He goes from favoured son to slave to prisoner to prince. But at every point in his story, both in times of good fortune and of bad, you can always say one thing about him: he somehow always manages to stand out and get noticed.
      There are probably some people here who are like Joseph. There are others who may have a Joseph in their life or in their family. And there are still others who have a little bit of Joseph in them. I think I have a little bit. Somewhere deep down in­side, I do struggle with that desire to be recognized to be special and unique and I certainly have done some things in my life to get noticed for being different (and, no, I am not going to tell you what they were right now.) So I think it is worthwhile spending some time talking about Joseph and his incredible journey. God did something in his life – brought about a maturity in him over time that we should pay heed to and aspire to.
      We first meet Joseph as a very young man. He is one of the youngest children of his father but he is also his father’s favourite. And right away Joseph stands out as special and unique. Now, it may seem at first that this is not something that Joseph wants for himself but that it is rather something that his father does to him. After all, it is his father who gives him the rather unique coat. In some ancient manuscripts is described as having fancy sleeves while in others to be made of many colours, but clearly, however it had been made, it definitely stood out from the ordinary.
      But that was dad’s idea, not Joseph’s. Maybe that is how it all started with Jacob treating his son as special, but at some point Joseph clearly internalised that message. We see it coming out in his dreams. Joseph’s dreams are not hard to interpret at all. Unlike some of the other dreams in Joseph’s story that take a real expert to interpret them, the meaning of his dreams are immediately obvious to everyone. Joseph is having dreams that mark him as being extraordinarily special and unique – so much so that everyone else is bowing down before him.
      I know that dreams mean a great deal in this story of Joseph. They are generally understood as being key indicators of future events. These dreams of Joseph do indeed predict the future events of the story as, before the end of it, Joseph will be a powerful ruler in Egypt and the members of his family will literally bow down before him. But I don’t think that it is a stretch to say that these dreams are also an indication of Joseph’s internal psychology. They are about how he is coming to see himself.
      But even as Joseph begins to understand himself and what really matters to him, we realize that there is a negative side to being like him. It inspires envy in the people around him. His brothers start to hate him and even his father, who loves him, becomes concerned. Envy is, in fact, the big issue that people like Joseph will run into. They easily inspire it in others who can quickly get tired of them always stealing the spotlight.
      But the really deep secret of the Josephs is that they tend to struggle with envy within their own soul. You can maybe understand why. The problem with wanting to be different and unique is that there is always the potential that there is somebody else out there who has something that you haven’t. And so Josephs are constantly on the watch for anybody who might just be getting too much attention or praise. The deep, dark secret of the Josephs is that, even as they suffer as victims of envy (which Joseph certainly does) they may harbour more of it in their heart than anybody else. Envy is, in fact, the sin that lies at the heart of a Joseph and, if redemption is not found for that sin, they will never be the person that God created them to be.
      The entire story of Joseph, therefore, is the story of how God worked in Joseph’s life to bring about redemption, renewal and change. In the beginning, Joseph is an unredeemed Joseph. We see that in the way that he deals with his dreams. He is driven by envy of his brothers (who are all bigger and more important culturally than him) to boast of the contents of his dreams. And of course, his brothers are all very wrong in how they respond to this boasting. They plot to kill him and then tone down their response to merely selling him off into slavery! We, of course, condemn them for what they do. But at the same time, if Joseph had dealt with his envy differently, maybe they wouldn’t have reacted as they did.
      Now the work that God did in Joseph’s life took many steps. I cannot do his story justice in a brief summary and you really do need to read his story for yourself. It is one of the most accessible stories in the entire Bible – it almost reads like an ancient novel – so I would definitely suggest that you take the time to read it in Genesis 37-46.
      There are many ups and downs as Joseph deals with slavery (during which he stands out among all the other slaves in the household and ends up running it) and then becomes a prisoner (during which he stands out from the others in the prison population and ends up running the prison) and then becomes the Pharaoh’s advisor (where he stands out from all of the other advisors and ends up running the country). There is obviously a very clear pattern in all of this. God may be at work in Joseph’s life and taking him through some very serious ups and downs but God clearly isn’t taking away anything that makes Joseph special and unique and very much in the habit of standing out in any crowd. God, I believe, is not at all interested in taking away the things that make you uniquely you.
      But, at the same time, God is working on Joseph’s life and working, in particular on that venomous envy that coils at the root of Joseph’s life. We discover this near the end of the story when the dream that Joseph had at the beginning is finally fulfilled and Joseph, ruler in Egypt, reveals himself to his brothers and they bow down before him. This is Joseph’s moment of triumph – that moment we all hope for when we get to say, “I told you so.”
      But surprisingly, and seemingly uncharacteristically, Joseph doesn’t do that. Here is what Joseph says to his brothers at this key moment: “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
      Compare that to the way that Joseph described his dreams to his brothers at the beginning of the story. Back then it was all about “me” and how everyone would give attention to “me.” Now when he speaks about everything that has happened and even as everyone is actually giving all of that attention to him, he is not at all interested in revelling in that attention. God has given a new perspective. Now Joseph is able to see and speak of God’s presence and God’s action in and through everything that has happened to him.
      Now, of course, what Joseph says does not exclude consideration of himself and his part in everything that has taken place. He says, “God sent me before you to preserve life.” He recognizes, to a certain extent that he had unique talents and insights and abilities that meant that he was maybe even the only person who could have played a part in what God’s intentions were. Joseph is still special and he still knows it. This is such an important part of his personality that God is not interested in taking it away from him.
      But what Joseph has gained is an incredible insight into how he, in his uniqueness, can be an essential part of what it is that God is doing in the world. This allows him to give all glory and praise to God when he sees God working in and through his life.
      This is, in fact, the special gift that a mature and redeemed Joseph – a mature person who is motivated by that need to be unique – can offer to the church and to the world. When they finally get to that point in their life when God has worked on them enough to purge away their envy, they are uniquely able to see where they can fit in with God’s plan. Unfortunately a lot of us (who are not like Joseph) can miss that and wander through life with no clear vision of how we can be a part of what it is that God is doing in the world. The incredibly valuable gift that the Josephs give us is a new vision of how each one of us can be an essential part of the work of God’s kingdom on earth. And honestly, if we don’t have that, we will never reach our full potential as the church in this world.
      What are some practical applications of Joseph’s story therefore? Well, first of all, it can teach us, when we come across people like Joseph (people who seem to have this deep need to be recognized and valued for being unique) in life or in the church, we can value them for who they are and for the insight they can give us. And if, as must be the case for some of us, you recognize some of Joseph’s traits in you, it can teach you to be open to allow God to work on the envy that may very well be hidden deep in your life so that you may become truly open to see how you can work together with God to see transformation for good in this world.
     

140CharacterSermon Joseph was unique & stood out. He struggled with envy. God redeemed him & showed he could be part of what God was doing.

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Annual Meeting Sunday and Much Much More!

Posted by on Thursday, February 23rd, 2017 in News

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:


  • 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.


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