News > 2010 Parish Life Notes > 10.02.28 Parish Life

Parish Prayer - Monday, March 1, 7:30 pm

Please come and join with others to pray for God’s guidance in this crucial time in the life of our parish. We will sing hymns, have a short homily, and pray in smaller groups.

Sidespeople Coffee and Dessert

We invite all those associated with the Greeting Ministry – team leaders, sidesmen/women and anyone who may be interested in joining the ministry – to an evening of coffee and dessert, fellowship, appreciation and discussion on Wednesday, March 10 at 7:30 pm in the Trendell Lounge. For information about this event or the Greeting Ministry, please contact Neil Stopforth at 604-536-7477 or spdbrd(at)telus(dot)net.

Baptism Services – Sunday, March 14

Are you interested in baptism, for you, or your child? Our next baptism services are scheduled for Sunday, March 14 at either the 9:00 am or 11:00 am service. The application deadline for baptism is Monday, March 1. For more information please contact Krista at the church office by email or phone at 604.731.4966 ext 19.

Prayer Book Society of Canada, Vancouver Chapter

The AGM will be held on Tuesday, March 30 at 7 pm in Room 100 of St. John’s Church Hall. Prior to the meeting, you are invited to attend Evensong at 5:30, followed by dinner at 6:15 ($8 by donation). If you plan to come for dinner, please RSVP to Norah Johnston, Chairman, 604.224.8986. For more information, please pick up a sheet from the tables in the Narthex or North Chapel.

Accommodation for the Rev. Dr. Sam Chan and his family – Urgent Request

As mentioned in previous notices, Dr. Chan and his wife and two sons (ages 2 and 6 months) are coming to Vancouver on study leave from April 24 to June 25 to study at Regent. Sam is a medical doctor and a professor of theology, ethics, and preaching at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Australia. He has visited and preached at St. John’s in the past. He is highly regarded by David Short and Dan Gifford and Dan would be happy to give him a reference, if need be. If you know of some accommodation for them, please contact Ruth Matheson, 604.731-4966, Ext 12.

2010 Budget Passed:

On February 9th Vestry approved a budget for 2010 showing a 1% increase in offertory giving over 2009.
This money does not include legal fees.

                        2010 Budget                2009 Actual
Revenue             $1,949,118                 $1,943,419
Expense             $1,934,118                 $1,877,749
Excess (Deficit)   $15,000                      $65,670

Legal Update

In late January the leadership from all parishes (St. John’s, St. Matthews, Church of the Good Shepherd, and St. Matthias & St. Luke) impacted by Justice Kelleher’s Judgment, met. It was clear that pursuing the appeal is the direction we felt led in, this was after the individual parish discernment processes. We have communicated to our lawyers and they are now dealing with the paper work needed to continue the appeal. We do not have a court date yet, but expect one in very late spring or early summer. We will let you know as soon as we have a date. Please pray for Geoff Cowper and Stanley Martin as they prepare the appeal on behalf of our parish and the others.

The financial commitment of the appeal process for the B.C. Court of Appeal is $300,000.  To participate in this, please make cheques payable to the ANiC Legal Fund.  There are yellow pledge forms available at the church exits for those who would like to express their financial commitment and intent  but are unable to give to the Legal Fund until later this year.

Ratanak/St John’s support team

A team of 4 from St. John’s (Jan Hobbis, Chris Pain, Karol Boschung and Graham Meakins) will be in Cambodia from March 13th to March 28th. They will be joining 6 others from Canada and Australia to complete work on “The Sanctuary” a building in Svay Pak, Cambodia. The building will become a ministry centre for this community. If you want to be a part of the “home team” that supports them in prayer and follows their activities there is an information meeting on March 8th at Fairview Presbyterian (corner of Fir and W. 11th Ave) at 7 pm.

Parish Family News

Condolences
Please keep Brian and Ann Barker in your prayers. Brian’s father, Tom, passed away on Monday, February 22 here in Vancouver after a lengthy battle with cancer. Please also pray for Brian’s mother, Marion, his sisters, Wendy and Linda, his Uncle Jim and his Aunt Lynn (Tom’s older brother and sister). There will be a service at a later date.

Community News

Benefit Concert for Genesis Vancouver:
Saturday, March 6 at 8pm (doors at 7pm)
Featuring Adam Thomas and the Mike Allen Quartet with special guests.
An evening of Vancouver’s finest jazz to support the women and children of Genesis Vancouver (www.genesisvancouver.com) $25 by donation at the door, first come basis. For more information visit: www.genesisvancouver.com/news.htm. Reserve tickets by email: tickets(at)genesisvancouver(dot)com. Invitations are available today in the Narthex and chapel door.

God’s Loving Touch Renewal Conference
March 19 and 20
You are invited to this conference hosted by St. Andrew’s, Delta (Anglican Network in Canada).  It will be held at Cedar Park Church, 5300 44th Avenue, Ladner, B. C.  The speakers will be Bishop Malcolm Harding and Archdeacon Paul Crossland, rector of two ANiC parishes in Manitoba – one in Brandon and the other in Dauphin. There is a brochure posted on the bulletin board in the church hall.  For more information or to register: phone – 604.943.8727; email – godslovingtouchconference(at)gmail(dot)com.

Dear friends,

Whenever groups of believers come together to determine those things which have great value to them, whether it be as an organization or as individuals, prayer always takes the top priority. And yet, in practicality, prayer frequently is the most difficult part of our spiritual lives. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt; we wonder if God really hears us; and we allow Satan to tell us that our prayers don’t make a difference in the lives of those we pray for.

Right now, in our own community, we have dear friends who are suffering from serious illness. We feel powerless to know how to help them – we are unable to fully express to them how deeply concerned we are for them. This is when we need to be reminded that the greatest gift we can give them is our prayers.

In order to help us overcome all the impediments and doubts which I have mentioned above, I have asked Gail Stevenson’s permission to share with you the letter she wrote to me earlier this week. She writes:

“Ken and I are being fed daily through the power of prayer, and this is not an emotion, it is a fact. Prayer is like the cushion of comfort and strength the Lord gives one, and it is given through the prayerful working out of His people. That, of course, is rather bland, but it is often the very thing that allows us to rest to be strong; to be still to go forward; and to know so we will be known . I would say to the congregation of St. John’s that if we stop praying, then we stop living, and this Parish above all others needs to be seen upon its knees. This should not always need to be clergy driven so much as congregationally empowered. We as a people should want to just sit with the Lord and listen. Maybe we should come into the Church and start with a simple evening of evensong, and allow prayer to flow from that. However we go forward – we simply need to pray! I need to do this every day, not because of the goodness of myself, but because of the great goodness of God”.

As leaders at St. John’s, the work of the clergy and staff is to encourage the congregation to pray, and to provide the framework of opportunities to come together in prayer. But the work of prayer will be done by you, the individual members of Christ’s body who take encouragement from Gail’s letter today, and decide to be counted among those who can be found on their knees, both listening and talking to this God of great goodness, who loves us and hears us as we pray.

Warmly,
Edie Rittinger