News > 2009 Parish Life Notes > 09.09.06 Parish Life

Sunday School Registration Continues

For the next 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, returning or new, must be registered. For more information please contact Bettina or Lisa at ext 27.

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

Do you love Jesus and have a desire to serve the family of St. John’s? Are you open to learning from children? On Sep 13 Sunday School resumes and Sunday School teachers are needed. If you are interested, please email krista.

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 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. Please register by emailing dc@sjvan.org or by phoning the church office on 604 731 4966 ext 22. The next course begins Oct 7.

Service Times

Reminder! We will be returning to three morning services on Sep 13. 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 provide 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.

Church of the Ascension, Langley

Many of us know Bishop Ronald Ferris who retired early to Langley, joined the Anglican Network in Canada, and helped us enormously in the recent trial. For some time a group of believers has been meeting in Langley praying and planning to plant a new Anglican Church there. It’s a great joy to announce that their first gathering for corporate worship will be on Sep 13 at 11:00 am in the George Preston Recreation Centre, 20699 42nd Avenue Langley. From Sep 27, they will be meeting weekly. We will be praying for them (“Church of the Ascension”) and wish them God’s blessing. If you have friends or family in the Langley area, you should let them know.

Acts for All! – Parish Day of Teaching

On Saturday, Sep. 12 from 9:00 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 today after the Morning and Evening services. For more information call Jan at the church office, ext. 28 or email jan.

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 Oct 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 our women's conference page or contact Jan Hobbis at the church office, ext. 28 or via email.

Women at Ten – a Bible study group for women of all ages and stages – with childcare available.

The group begins with its start-up brunch on Thursday, Sep 17 at 10:00 am in the Trendell Lounge. If you wish to register for Bible study this year, please attend the brunch or contact Jan Hobbis at the church office. We will be studying the book of Acts and we warmly invite newcomers to join us. If you are a returning member, please come early with a contribution to the table, willing hands to help with the set up, and a smiling face to welcome newcomers.
Enquiries to Jan Hobbis in the church office ext 28.

Central Focus – Bible study

Central Focus is looking forward to the coming year of study in the book of Acts. We will begin the term on Sep 15 at 7:15 pm in the Trendell Lounge. CF is a small group Bible study that meets centrally throughout the year. Newcomers are very welcome. For more information call or email Jan at the church office (ext. 28).

Parish Prayer Meeting – Tuesday, September 8 in the Trendell Lounge

Our monthly parish prayer meeting is for everyone who considers himself or herself to be a member of St. John’s. It would be a great blessing if you would come. You would be blessed and encouraged in your praying for St. John’s ministries as well as for those ministries that are beyond our walls. And you would bless your fellow brothers and sisters in the faith by your presence and your prayers. Give it a try!

Living Waters – Who is this ministry for?

Living Waters is for anyone, young or old, who wants to experience God’s healing in the painful places in their life and grow closer to Him. Below is a testimony from a woman in her late 60’s (last week’s testimony was from a young man in his 20’s).
“I will be forever thankful for the Living Waters Program. It changed my life. My parents split up when I was 21 months old. My mother suffered from mental illness. I was brought up by a good Christian foster mother. However, as a young adult I experienced many struggles which lessened somewhat as I grew older. Even still, I was caught in the grip of an unhealthy addiction. Through the course material, lectures and small group sharing, I was finally able to understand the reasons for my brokenness and by God’s grace am now able to live in the freedom that God intended. Words cannot express how “Living Waters” has impacted my life!”
The fall (24 week program) program is starting at the end of September, so email or call the Living Waters office at lwc@livingwaterscanada.org or 604.301.1470 now if you wish to attend. Space is limited. Manya Egerton is happy to answer questions (in confidence) at 604.261.7785 or email.

Learner’s Exchange – Adult Christian Education

Learners’ Exchange talks begin Sunday, Sep 13, 9:00 am in Room 100. Please join us from 8:30 am – 9:00 am for coffee/tea and goodies that will fill at least the void of a missed breakfast. The talks, we hope, will fill some spiritual voids too! Enquiries: Contact Bill Chandler, at 604.987.5445.

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 Sep 10, at 1:30 pm. Ron died on Aug 20. 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, Aug 26. His service will be held here on Friday, Sep 11 at 11:00 am.

Dear Friends,

Welcome to St. John’s and a special welcome to those who are visiting us on this Labour Day weekend. Just as this is a transition week for many who are returning to school, it is also a time of transition for us at St. John’s. We are preparing to study the book of Acts in many of our home Bible studies, Evening Service studies, Women at 10 studies on Thursday mornings, and Central Focus studies Tuesday evenings. “Kick start” a youth weekend at the church kicked off the Fall program for our thriving youth ministry. Preparations for the Fall Bach Cantata on Sep 27, followed by our introduction to faith in Jesus called Discovering Christ, will continue in earnest. Our Sunday School will resume next Sunday, teaching the living Word of God to children of all ages. Beginning next Sunday, Learner’s Exchange will reconvene teaching adults many aspect of our Christian faith each Sunday morning at 9:00 am. And finally a sermon series on the book of Acts will begin at all our services next week.

As Christians, the way we are meant to prepare for anything important in our life is to pray, read God’s word, and meet with our brothers and sisters in Christ. This week we can do this as a whole congregation on two occasions:

• First, on Tuesday evening at 7:30 pm Sep 8, we will meet to hear what God is doing in, and through, our church and to pray together for His work at St. John’s. Please join us for this important gathering in the Trendell Lounge.

• Secondly, on Saturday Sep 12 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm David Short will take us through the book of Acts, exploring its themes and its purposes. This is the biggest gathering of the year outside our services at St. John’s and will be an exciting introduction to Acts. Please sign up for this in the Trendell Lounge after the 10:00 am service or by phoning the church office tomorrow.

Lastly, our marriage mentors, who are led by Anne and Paul Thomas, will be commissioned at the 10:00 am service this morning. Marriage mentors are husband and wife teams in our parish who meet with other couples who are preparing to get married at St. John’s. They meet together in the mentors’ homes six times before the wedding and once several months after the wedding. In each two hour session, the couples talk through many different aspects of marriage relationships. This is the most important aspect of our marriage preparation programme at St. John’s. All the couples, including the mentors, have found this ministry of great value in their marriage. I would encourage you to pray for these couples who are involved in this wonderful ministry.

The marriage mentors are Lloyd and Sandy Harmel, Chris and Linette Hindley, John and Rose Kavanagh, Rick and Julie Marzolf, Chris and Barbara Pain, Jim and Amber Salladin, Paul and Anne Thomas.

As you go through the long weekend and the week to come, may you know the blessings of Jesus with joy and thanksgiving.

Warmly,

Dan Gifford