News > 2009 Parish Life Notes > 09.08.30 Parish Life

 Sunday School Registration Starts Today

Starting this Sunday and the following two weeks, registration for Sunday School will take place in the Trendell Lounge during the coffee hour. Please come and confirm or update your child(ren)’s information. Every child must be registered. For more information please contact Bettina or Lisa at ext 27.

Library

Reminder! The Anglican Agenda books are on sale in the Trendell Lounge Today.

 Kitchen Help Needed for Kickstart!

Hello adults of St. John’s! We are looking for some volunteers to help out in the kitchen during the youth conference at the end of this week, for Kickstart. If you are interested, or for more information, please contact Julie Moser.

We Want You... No, You! – Sunday School

September 13th – Sunday School Starts and Sunday School teachers are needed.

If you meet these qualifications and are interested, please email Krista Friebel.

• Do you have a desire to serve the family of St. John’s?
• Can you show up at the church for 8:45 or 10:30?
• Can you read a 1 to 2 page lesson in advance of Sunday?
• Are you open to learning from Children?

Then you are qualified!!!!! 

Lost and Found

Umbrellas: There is a table outside the Library with all the lost umbrellas that have been collected over the year. Unclaimed umbrellas will be donated. This table will come down this week, please claim your items today.

Service Times

Reminder! We will be returning to three morning services on September 13th. Service times will be returning to 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 11:00 am, and 6:30 pm

Volunteers Needed

Office: We are in need of office volunteers for the fall. We need people to help stuff the service sheets, clean the pews and give general office help.

Sanctuary Guild: The Sanctuary Guild is in desperate need of more volunteers to help set up for Holy Communion and keep the chancel in order.

If you can help with any of these important ministry opportunities please contact the Joanne McKinnon in the office, ext 15.

Acts for All! – Parish Day of Teaching

On Saturday, Sept. 12 from 9 am until 3:00 pm, plan to come to a day of teaching by David Short on the book of ACTS. David will give us an overview of ACTS, the big themes and also some tools to help us in our studies throughout the term. These teaching days fill up early and there is limited seating! Pre-registration is required. There is a cost of $15, which includes a lovely lunch. There will be a registration table in the Trendell Lounge both this Sunday and next after the Morning and Evening services. For more information email or call Jan at the church office.

 LIVEWORD Women’s Conference - Pride and Prejudice ~The Surprising Message of Jonah

Ladies, mark your calendars now and register for the women’s conference on Saturday October 17. We invite you and women from churches throughout the Lower Mainland to attend a day of Bible teaching and great music, as three speakers (Bev Greenwood, Lesley Bentley, and Polly Long) teach from Jonah and Matthew. Brochures will be available soon. For more details visit the website (www.stjohnsvancouver.org), under ‘Special Events’ or contact Jan Hobbis at the church office, ext. 28 or email.

Living Waters

Who is this ministry for? It is for anyone, young or old, who wants to experience healing in their life and grow closer to God. Below is a testimony of a young man in his 20’s who recently graduated from Regent.

“Growing up in a small sheltered town in the American mid-west with a Christian family that loved me did not protect me from the harshness of my peers at school. As a result of the rejection experienced through the teasing and bullying by my male peers I developed a deep sense that I was less than a man, was cut off from the world of men, and as a result later developed an attraction towards those who embodied the masculinity I craved. After struggling for years in silence with deep fear and self-hatred God began to meet me through the ministry of Living Waters in Vancouver, healing me of my shame and self-hatred through his love and truth.”

Find out more about this ministry by picking up the summer issue of the Living Waters Newsletter in the North Chapel. Email or call the Living Waters office at lwc@livingwaterscanada.org or 604-301-1470 if you wish to apply to for the 24 week fall program, which is held at 10th Avenue Alliance Church. Space is limited. The 8 week introductory program is held at St. John’s next February. Many members of St. John’s have been blessed by Living Waters. One of those, Manya Egerton, is happy to answer questions (in confidence) at 604-261-7785 or email.

Parish Family News

Condolences
Please continue to keep Ron Baldwin’s family (his wife Rita, and their children Norman, Leslie, and Barbara and their families) in your prayers as they prepare for his Memorial service which will be held here on September 10th, at 1:30 pm. Ron died on August 20th. He was a veteran of WW II - a member of the Royal Canadian Navy, serving on the ships which transported our troops across the dangerous North Atlantic to serve in the war zones in Europe. Ron and Rita were married for 63 years.

Condolences.
Please keep Grace and Ray McCarthy and their family in your prayers. Their beloved son, Calvin, died on Wednesday, August 26th. His Service will be held here in September. More details to follow next Sunday.

Flowers
The flowers on the Credence table are given from the garden of Peter Krueger with thanksgiving to God: Psalm 52:9 “I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of the saints.”

A Letter from the Buans
Dear St. John’s,
Thank you so much for the splendid funeral held at the church on August 25 for Ben Buan. St. John’s has been our spiritual home for 30 years and it felt so wonderful for Ben to be put to rest in this place. During the years of his illness Ben was constantly aware of the faithful prayers of this congregation holding him up and strengthening him in every way. We are so grateful for those prayers and the constancy of St. John’s standing for orthodox faith and eternal life.

Thank You. Nancy, Caley, and Aidan Buan

Community News

One Week Housing Needed. Regent College is looking for friendly Vancouverites to provide up to one week of free housing for incoming students while they search for permanent housing in August. Meals are not expected (but welcome nonetheless!). This is also a great solution for people going out of town and in need of a house-sitter. For more information, please call Cheryl at 604.221.3355, or email. Thank you!

Bring Life to the Killing Fields

Last month a girl, staying with her grandmother, attended a kids program at a centre in her neighbourhood. There she met and developed a relationship with a visiting pastor and ended up confiding in him. Her father was coming soon from another town to pick her up and take her back to her parent’s business, a brothel, where she would be employed. She did not want to return. The visiting ministry team and pastor prayed intensely and sought out possibilities to help her. No solution had come to fruition before the kids program ended and the team returned home. Subsequently, the pastor found out that the girl was still in her grandmother’s care because her grandmother had stood up to her father and would not allow him to take her back. What a miracle! The girl is still at risk, and the situation still needs prayer, but for now she is safe.

This girl’s story is a direct result of God using Ratanak Foundation and a short term missions team to redeem his creation. The girl’s protection and hope of release is from the power of Christ through the prayers and service of a Toronto pastor and missions team.

Today, Steve Friebel, as a St. John’s representative, will be traveling for two weeks in Cambodia with Brian McConaghy, Director of Ratanak Foundation. Steve will be gathering information to enable us to better pray for Ratanak’s work and to assess how St. John’s can best partner in mission and ministry with Ratanak.

Please pray:

• that Steve would be able to process and absorb the culture and a lot of information in his short visit;
• that God would give him discernment in identifying opportunities for service for St. John’s members, be they retired or single people, families or youth;
• for the young girl in the story; and
• for Ratanak, specifically, for God’s provision and protection of staff in the area of stress and burnout, for wise use of limited resources, and for God’s kingdom to move forward.

As I was writing this, Brian McConaghy received an email and the girl in the story is now in a safe place. She is in a community of Christians, getting help and healing and pursuing her new relationship with Jesus. Praise and thanks be to God.

Joanne Lawrie