News > 2009 Parish Life Notes > 09.03.01 Parish Life

Prayer Meeting – Monday March 2nd, at 7:30 pm – Mission Focus: Ratanak

“There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christian people so much as our prayer life. Everything we do in the Christian life is easier than prayer.” (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Sermon on the Mount, Part 2, p 46). Dear friends, you are invited to join us at the parish prayer meeting on Monday, March 2, for two reasons: first, that you may be encouraged in your praying for St. John’s ministries as well as for those ministries that are beyond our walls; and secondly, to encourage fellow pray-ers. Give it a try; you may just want to come back and make it a monthly habit for 2009. Brian McConaghy will be our mission speaker.

Mehran Update

Please pray for Mehran. A decision has been made on his case and he will told what that decision is on Tuesday at 2:00 pm. Pray that God will give Mehran peace as he waits and that the decision will allow him to stay in Canada.

Interested in being in a Small Group Bible Study?

North Van – if you live in or around North Van and would like to be in a small group, the group that meets
there would love you to join them.
Langley – we are thinking of starting a small group in the Langley area. If you live out that way and would like
more information about either group, please see Jan Hobbis in the Narthex after the 9 or 11 am service or call her at the church ext. 28 or email jan for further details.

Flowers

If anyone is interested in having flowers placed on the credence table, please contact Edith Winters for information at 604.322.6474

Office Volunteer Needed

We have had many people respond to the need for office volunteers. Thank you! We still have one opening on Thursday mornings for a receptionist from 9 am to 1 pm. If you can help please contact Krista at the church office ext 19.

Baptisms

Our next morning baptism service will be on April 19th. If you are interested please phone Krista in the office ext 19.

Living Waters

Living Waters at St. John’s – There are 24 participants (evenly divided between men and women) in the 8-week introductory program of Living Waters (called Cross Current) this year. Several of the 9 people on the team are from St. John’s. Week 4 of 8 has just been completed and participants have been receptive and open. Daniel Komori, the coordinator of the program has 2 specific prayer requests:

1) There are quite a few participants who have quite a deep need of healing (most of whom are aware of how deep those needs are). Please pray that they would be able to meet Jesus in those deep places, and that they wouldn’t get overwhelmed when facing those areas of their lives. Also pray that they would have the grace to be able to see their journey as just that … a journey, and not to get impatient or angry when things don’t change quickly.

2) There are many leaders who will be teaching for the first time, including three from St. John’s. Please pray for their preparation:

» Feb 19 – How Jesus Bears Our Wounds
» Feb 26 – Becoming Secure in the Father’s Love
» Mar 5 – Loving Others
» Mar 12 – Beyond Brokenness

All those involved in Cross Current would really value your prayers. As we read in our Parish Life Notes last week, “the essence of sin is not (primarily) the violation of laws but a wrecked relationship with God, one another, and the whole created order”. Please pray that God will use this program to bring healing and restore relationships, with himself and others.

Accommodation needed for the Martins

Note: If you mentioned the following need to someone named John, who has a place for rent, please contact Ruth Matheson, Ext 12. He left a message, but his phone number was not clear.
• Rev. Sean Martin, his wife Natalie, and two young daughters (3 years old and newborn), are planning to move to Vancouver on April 1st. Sean is an ordained Anglican minister and has been doing university ministry as well as working with a church plant in Dublin for the past few years. They are moving to Vancouver for Sean to work with the Navigators at UBC and in addition he will be helping out at St. John’s. They would like to live within cycling distance of UBC, so preferably on the West side. Do you know of a 3 to 4 bedroom house or apartment that they might rent? If so, please phone Ruth M.

‘Voice and Violin’ ~ a wonderful evening of classical music

Please plan to come to a benefit concert for ‘Genesis’, featuring violinist Karen Foster, with guest artist, soprano, Jane Corrall. They will be featuring the works of composers Elgar, Vaughan Williams, Sibelius, Grieg and Poulenc. The concert will be held on March 16, at 7:30 pm in the church, with admission by donation.

Divorce Care

Divorce Care begins on Monday, Apr 6 at 7:00 pm and will be held on a twice-weekly basis, concluding on May 21. If you or anyone you know is experiencing the pain of divorce or separation, this program is proven to be most helpful in moving towards recovery. For more information please contact Edie Rittinger or 604.731.4966 ext 24.

St. John’s Women’s Retreat

Ladies, mark your calendars! Our annual women’s retreat this year will be at Loon Lake Educational Centre on the weekend of Apr 24-26. The theme for the weekend is ‘From Fear to Joy ~ Meeting with the Risen Christ ~ 3 talks on Luke 24’. Plan to come and be wonderfully fed both spiritually and bodily, and for great fun and fellowship with other women of St. John’s. There will be two different options for accommodation this year, for those who may like a little more privacy. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer to help organize this event, please contact Darrell Thomas at 604.269.9011 or email Darrell

Discovering Christ presents Christianity Explored

The Christianity Explored course meets on Wednesday nights at 7:00 pm in the Church Hall for a wonderful home cooked meal, short presentation and discussion. The course runs for 7 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. It’s informal, fun and you can choose to be silent or say whatever you want. No question is too hostile or basic and no knowledge of faith is expected!

If you have any questions or wish to register please email Aaron or phone Aaron at the church office, 604.731.4966 ext 22.

Employment opportunity

If you are interested in applying for or want to encourage someone to apply for the following position, please look at the full description. Applicants can email their resume and cover letter.

Ministry Support Coordinator – The ministry support coordinator will have three primary responsibilities: Support Ministry Staff, Event Coordination, donor Administration & Communication.

Dear Friends,

It is less than a year until Vancouver hosts the XXI Winter Olympic Games. The games are a first for Vancouver and will see the first use of an NHL sized rink for the hockey games at GM place (home of the Canucks). VANOC estimates that over 500,000 people will visit Vancouver for the games, which makes February and March next year a unique moment of opportunity for Christians in the lower mainland.

More Than Gold (MTG) is the name given to the network of churches coordinating the Christian community’s involvement for the 2010 games. I had the pleasure of meeting with Bob Kraemer, along with Vic Pauls and Aaron Roberts from St. John’s this last week. Bob is the Director of Operations for MTG and brings tremendous experience and Christian maturity to the participation of the churches in the lower mainland. MTG is a gift to us as followers of Jesus because it is committed to moving forward in service, witness and unity for the sake of the gospel. It offers a number of ways for Christians and churches to be involved in serving during the Olympics—you can visit their site (http://morethangold.
ca/) to see some of the 9 options now available.

I have a number of friends who were deeply involved in the combined churches’ participation in the Sydney Olympics, and they all tell me that by far the most effective and useful contribution by the churches was hosting family members of athletes who compete in the games. This option is available to us in Vancouver and it means opening a room in our homes for the time of the Games and driving the athlete’s family members to a central transport hub. I know a number of you are very interested in how we can make the most of this opportunity and I would like to create a small working group to help co-ordinate our involvement. Vic Pauls and Aaron Roberts are our church representatives, but if you are interested in helping, would you be so kind as to give me your name and we will begin.
David.
- - -
Message from the Treasurer - ANiC St. John’s Project

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel and for your financial generosity towards our ministries here at St. John’s. At our annual meeting, we voted for a budget increase and an increase in our givings of 8.6% over last year. Your donations to the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC) - St. John’s Project assures that your donations will be utilized only for St. John’s ministries and in accordance with our approved 2009 budget.

To ensure that your donations are appropriately applied and receipted by ANiC - St. John’s Project, please ensure that you are using your ANiC - St. John’s Project envelopes (to order envelopes contact the church office) and please make your cheques payable to ANiC - ST. JOHN’S PROJECT.

If you have any questions concerning the envelopes or your offerings, please contact the church office or Christine Klukas, Treasurer for ANiC - St. John’s Project through the church office at 604-731-4966.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Christine Klukas
Treasurer - ANiC - St. John’s Project