Who we are:
St John's Vancouver Anglican Church, Vancouver is a community of Christians dedicated to the exposition and teaching of the Word of God, to the spreading of the good news of the Gospel at home and abroad, and to the application of God's purpose in our own lives and families.
News > 2008 Parish Life Notes > 08.04.27 Parish Life
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April 27, 2008
Dear Friends,
It’s been quite a week and we are a very fortunate congregation. Here are four obvious reasons:
1. Today we welcome the Primate of the Southern Cone, the Most Rev. Gregory Venables as our preacher in the morning services. The province of the Southern Cone includes Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, and more recently the Diocese of San Joaquin in California and the Anglican Network in Canada—which makes Archbishop Venables our primate. We are thankful to God for Archbishop Venables and our brothers and sisters in the Southern Cone, for their protection, and for their courage and witness to the gospel at great personal expense. Welcome Archbishop Greg.
2. Today we welcome our own Bishop Donald Harvey of the Anglican Network in Canada, who has kindly agreed to ordain Jim Salladin at our evening service at 6:30PM. We are very fortunate that God has brought Jim and Amber to serve the gospel among us, and tonight Jim will be ordained, along with Randy Forrester (from ACiC) and Ken Deeks.
3. This week the Rev. Rico Tice from All Souls Langham Place in London is with us for a series of events designed for guests. Rico is the author of the Christianity Explored books and DVDs and is a brilliant, persuasive and passionate communicator of the unsearchable riches of Christ. There are cards at the doors and still time to be part of these events.
4. Above all we rejoice that our names are written in the book of life.
David Short
Parish Announcements
Flowers. The flowers are given in celebration of God’s love for us and in thankfulness for those ordained today in answer to Christ’s call.
Prayer Chain. Crises (loss of work, accidental injury, death in the family, or illness) often come upon us unexpectedly. St. John’s has a prayer chain; the members would be glad to pray for you or your family/friends in your time of need. Please phone the church office to be put in touch with the prayer chain. If you have questions, please speak to Edie Rittinger (ext 24) or Ruth Matheson (ext 12).
Keeping Company with God – a Service of Prayer: Monday April 28, 7:30 - 8:30 pm in the South Chapel. Feeling weary and heavy laden? Come join this “quiet” service, which includes periods of silence, personal and corporate prayer, a reflection on a passage from the Psalms, and music.
Lunchtime Bible Study (12:00 – 1:15 pm). A lunchtime Bible study at the church will be meeting this Tuesday in Room 100, led by Olav Slaymaker. The series is entitled Jesus’ use of the Old Testament. All are welcome to come and bring a bag lunch if you wish. For more information call or email Jan at the church at ext 28 or Jan@sjvan.org.
St. John’s Seniors Tea. St. John’s Seniors monthly tea will be held on Tuesday April 29th at 1:30 pm in the Trendell Lounge. Edie Rittinger will tell us about her recent trip to Afghanistan. Come and bring a friend for tea and fellowship.
If you need a ride please call the church office.
Baptism. The next Baptism services will be held May 25th at the 9:00 and 11:00 am services. The Baptism preparation class will be held May 22 at 7:00 pm and is required attendance for parents and all available godparents. For more information on Baptism, please call Diane at 604.731.4966 ext 19.
Summer for Children at St. John’s. This summer, the plan is to have a number of events for children to enjoy with other children in their grade at St. John’s. The purpose of these events is for children to have fun while strengthening their relationships with their brothers and sisters at St. John’s. Interested in helping to plan an event? Please contact Ruth Flannigan at ruthf@stjohnsshaughnessy.org or call the church office at 604.731.4966 ext 27. There will be no summer Bible camp this summer.
Artizo. You are invited to the Artizo Graduation of David Abels, David Robinson and James Wittenberg on Monday, May 5th from 7:30 – 9:00 pm at St. John’s. These men have been part of the ministry at St. John’s for the last two years as Artizo Interns. Come and celebrate the completion of the Artizo program with them. Please RSVP by May 1. Leave a message at 604.731.4966 ext 21 or email eric.artizo@shaw.ca with the subject line being ‘Artizo Grad’.
Prayer Needed. Wondering how you can pray for Heather Bellamy in Afghanistan? Please pick up this week’s update from the Trendell Lounge during coffee hour this morning.
Special Events. Don’t forget to put these dates in your calendar and pray about who you might invite:
May – Rico Tice mission
1 – Stumbling over Happiness (women's brunch)
2 – How to Get Ahead (business lunch)
2 – YouthSURGE
3 – Two Men, Two Destinies (men's breakfast)
3 – God at the pub (Koerner's Pub)
4 – A Fresh Start (morning services)
4 – Satisfying Sex (evening service)
14 – Discovering Christ term starts
See our Rico Tice special event page on this website for full details.
Discovering Christ presents 'Christianity Explored'. A course for the curious, a place to ask questions. The Christianity Explored course meets every Wednesday night at 7:00 pm in the Trendell Lounge for a meal, short presentation (by Rico Tice on video) and discussion. The course runs for seven weeks and is designed for those who are curious about Christianity or are new to the Christian faith. Christianity Explored provides a warm, pressure-free environment to explore questions of faith and life. Please register by sending email to dc@sjvan.org or by phoning the church office 604.731.4966 ext 25. The next course begins May 21. More details are provided on this website here.
Discovering Christ presents 'Taste and See'. If you are curious about Christianity but are not sure if you can commit to the Christianity Explored course, we will have a short ‘Taste and See’ event where you can get a feel for the Discovering Christ programs, on May 14th in the Trendell Lounge. This is a great place to ask some of your big questions about Christianity, participate in a discussion and enjoy a good meal. Please register by phoning the church office at 604.731.4966 ext 25 or sending email to dc@sjvan.org. Please note that the courses are free, but a small donation is requested to help cover the cost of the meal.
Anglican News
Anglican Network in Canada National Conference
Compelled by Christ’s Love
The report and photos of the conference "Compelled by Christ's Love", can be found on the Anglican Network in Canada website at http://www.anglicannetwork.ca/conference_0408_report_2.htm.
DVDs of the conference can be ordered.
Community News
Clergy Family from Singapore. The Rev. Lewis Lew is planning to come to Vancouver during his sabbatical to take a few courses at Regent College. His wife and 3 children (ages 9, 11, and 13) will be coming with him. They need free or reasonably priced accommodation while they’re here in Vancouver. They will be here from May 1-20 and June 14-16. If you know of any accommodation, please contact Rev. Stephen Leung at swhleung@shaw.ca or 604.872.1884.
