News > 2010 Parish Life Notes > 10.05.30 Parish Life

Confirmation

A Service of Confirmation and Re-affirmation will take place on Sunday, June 20 at 3:00 pm in the main sanctuary of Broadmoor Baptist Church (St. John’s Richmond uses the smaller sanctuary), 8140 Saunders Road, Richmond – one block north of Williams and one block east of No. 3 Road. Please make a note of this and plan to attend to encourage and support our fellow parishioners in this step of commitment to Christ that they are taking.

Christianity Explored

The Christianity Explored course currently meets on Thursday 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 contact Aaron by email or phone at 604.731.4966 ext 22. The course is free, but a small donation is asked to help cover the cost of the awesome food.

Keeping Company with God

Keeping Company with God-Monday, Jun 14 at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary. Whatever your need; a quiet time with God at the end of your day, a place to receive prayer support for personal concerns or a desire to hold up this congregation in prayer – this is a place of “prayer care.” The Jun 14 service is will be our last one before our summer break. We will not be meeting during the summer as we did last year.

Support for Men

Do you struggle with pornography or related issues? Have you tried to overcome this and asked God to help you, but, to your dismay, you keep falling back into it? You don’t need to struggle alone. Two men who have been there are willing to hear your story and walk with you towards hope and freedom. You can contact us by emailing supportformen@sjvan.org. All inquiries will be treated with utmost confidentiality.

Parish Family News

Condolences
We give thanks to God for the life of Ken Stevenson, who went to be with the Lord on May 24 after a short illness. Ken has been a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus for many years and involved at St. John’s as the rector’s warden (1982-1984), a member of the men’s Wednesday breakfast Bible study group, one of the founding directors of the Artizo Institute, and a member of many other church committees and Anglican Network in Canada committees. Ken’s witness as a man living his life as a follower of Jesus Christ has touched many people in the marketplace for many years. Please pray that God will comfort Gail, her children Evelyn (Mark), David (Grainne), Jake (Heather), and Anne, her 13 grandchildren, and other members of the extended family.

Condolences
We are deeply saddened by the news that Rhonda Glenn, the beloved wife of Rev. Ray David Glenn , Rector of St. George’s Church, Burlington , Ontario passed into the arms of Jesus on Wed, May 26. Rhonda leaves a 7 year old son Matthew. Please pray for Ray David, Matthew, and for Bishop Charlie Masters who is not only Ray David’s pastor, but is the former Rector of St. George’s. Please pray also for the congregation of St. George’s who will be deeply affected by this loss.

Community News

Regent College Prayer Retreat
Bruce and Carolyn Hindmarsh are leading this retreat. Cost is $28/person. Retreat is held at St. Helen’s Anglican Church, 4405 West 8th Avenue. To register phone: 604.221.3348 OR email: retreats(at)regent-college(dot)edu

Living Waters Book Sale
Donations for Living Waters Book Sale: Thinking of spring cleaning? We’d love your fiction, non fiction, CD’s and DVD’s (no textbooks, magazines, tapes or videos, please). A well labeled box for your contributions is provided next to the fireplace in the church library. If you have a large number of books, contact Living Waters (604-301-1470). The Book Sale will be held on Jun 19 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm at Tenth Avenue Alliance Church.

Genesis Garage Sale
In the transition of Genesis Vancouver coming under the umbrella of Servants Anonymous and closing office premises, there are many duplicate items for sale. Genesis is planning a large garage sale on June 5th between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm, at 250 East 15th Avenue.

Regent College Free Public Lectures – 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm
This Wednesday, June 2, Dr. Charles Ringma will be speak on “God’s Concern for the Poor: Liberation Theology’s Challenge to Evangelicals” 5800 University Boulevard

Dear Friends,

On behalf of St. John’s church family, I warmly welcome you to church today. A number of you have come because friends invited you to the 9:00 and 11:00 services. We are delighted that you have joined us and hope that the sermon and Bible readings give you food for thought.

The Bible frequently addresses the fact of human suffering and evil. It doesn’t tell us why it has to be part of our world, but it says God is far more powerful than any hardship, even more powerful than death. It tells us that Jesus came to rescue us in our sufferings by first entering into the depths of human pain when he lived on earth. His rising from the dead reveals that suffering and death do not have the last word, instead his power over these things is the last word. It reveals he is the living God who loves us and cares for us in our suffering and our death. He works all things together so that we can know God, not only now in our life on earth, but also, after our death, in a new life that is eternal. Jesus does this through the forgiveness of our sins obtained by his own suffering and death.

We at St. John’s are full of joy and gratitude because God reconciles us to himself through Jesus. We are constantly learning to trust Jesus for this gift. Our hope and prayer is that your own spiritual journey will include this trust in Jesus, so that you, too, will know the deep goodness of God in your own life.

Thank you for being with us today.

God bless you,

Dan Gifford