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 > 08.06.29 Parish Life
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Jun 29, 2008
Dear Friends,
Contrary to popular belief, summer is upon us at last! And although at the time of writing this note the weather could be at best described as “dismal, dreary and disappointing”, the anticipation of a great summer and the hope of promised warmth looms ahead of us. The past year has been a blessed one for the youth ministry. Leaders, volunteers, and young people have seen God working in and through our ministry as the gospel was preached and the message of God’s salvation was evident in the lives of those present.
It is very exciting to be able to see the working of God’s Holy Spirit come to fruition in the lives and actions of our young people. This harvest is both exciting and encouraging, and should leave us all praising and thanking God.
Summer is often a time when youth groups slow down, when youth ministers take much needed breaks, and a more casual program is introduced. As a result many youth find this a spiritually dry time of year as they are left thirsting for spiritual nourishment so that their faith might continue to grow. With this in mind, the youth ministry at St. John’s will be stepping up our program this summer, offering events almost every day of the week and every week of the summer so that our youth will learn to cultivate their relationships with God and with each other and grow over the summer.
To achieve our goal, the Youth Ministry will be offering events, trips and conferences throughout July and August. We will be focusing on enjoying God’s presence, God’s people and God’s creation together. One of the ways we plan to achieve this is through serving alongside pastoral care ministries and much more. Also, we will be having a grade 12 houseboating trip June 28-July 3 and a summer camp August 10-14. Please keep us in your prayers as we look to faithfully equip our young people to better serve and love God while they serve as lights in the world. More details and information are available at stjohnsvancouver.org or on our summer poster located at the exits to the church or at the church office.
It is both a great joy and a real privilege for Spencer Bentley and I to head up this summer program, and our prayer is that God will continue to use this church over the summer months to be good soil for God’s message in a dry and despondent city.
Chris Ley
Parish Announcements
Flowers. The flowers on the Credence Table are given to the glory of God on behalf of Thanh Vu and Terry Penner who were married here yesterday.
Parish Prayer meeting July 8th. Please note that because of Canada Day, the Parish Prayer meeting will take place at 7:30pm on July 8th in the Trendell Lounge.
Library. A big vote of thanks to those dear people who have returned books to the library, some of which were long overdue and others not. To everyone else if you find a book that you have had for ages don’t be at all concerned. Just return it to the orange box in the library. We are always happy to be able to re-shelve books.
Memo from Dr. Jim Packer. Dr. Packer has written a memo entitled: 1 Corinthians 6 and Legal proceedings regarding properties maintained, occupied and used for ministry by ANiC congregations. It is available today on the tables in the Narthex (Granville Street entrance) and North Chapel.
Summer Nursery. The nursery and toddler’s room programs will be informal and parent run for the duration of the summer. Parents will be responsible for the supervision and care of their children from week to week, along with some assistance from the youth.
Society, Sex and Holy Scripture: How Do We Live and Witness in Our World Today? Come to the Trendell Lounge on July 15th at 7:30 pm and meet Robert Gagnon, a New Testament scholar specializing in Pauline literature and Biblical ethics. We will have an informal time of questions and answers. Many of us at St. John’s have heard Robert and have found him a very engaging and winsome speaker. If you want answers to the very practical problems of living out your faith in our sexually charged society, this is an evening for you! Professor Gagnon is giving a course at Regent College from July 14 - 25 (1:15 pm to 3:45 pm) entitled The Bible, Homosexuality and Sexual Ethics. Check out his web site at http://www.robgagnon.net.
Position Vacant, Birth to Three Ministry. St. John’s Shaughnessy is looking for someone who has a passion for serving children from birth to three years of age and supporting the families of these children in bringing up their children in Christ. The position is for 10 hours a week, starting as early as July, but definitely by September 1st, 2008. Enquiries by email: employment@sjvan.org
Enquiries by mail:
St. John’s Shaughnessy
Attn: Employment
1490 Nanton Avenue
Vancouver, BC V6H 2E2
Summer Youth Activities
CTC (Grades 7-9) and Senior Youth (Grades 10-12) are finished for the year. However, there are a number of activities happening every week throughout the summer. See the "SUMMER" page in the Youth net section of the St. John’s website for details.
Ekklesia (young adults) will continue to meet through July.
Anglican News
GAFCON. It is possible to download a copy of one of the key documents for the Global Anglican Future Conference, “The Way, the Truth and the Life” from the GAFCON website. If you don’t have internet access, but would like a copy please call Nancy at ext 15 in the church office. The GAFCON final statement can be viewed here or a copy can be obtained from the church office.
Summer and Fall
Summer Reading. Some years ago a godly clergyman urged his flock to read biographies of notable Christians, including missionaries, without regard to where or when they lived. We too can learn much and enrich our lives by these readings. In our library is a collection of biographies and you are encouraged to spend some of your summer time with these saints of past and present. You will be fascinated, amazed and blessed.
A Look at Luke! As we look forward to studying Luke together this Fall, we are planning a parish day of teaching, led by our own David Short, on September 13. This day is a wonderful way to help prepare us for the sermon series, for Sunday school and for small groups. We will have Bible studies available if your group would like to study Luke along with the sermon series. Save the day now.
