SERVICES AND GATHERINGS THIS WEEK
SUNDAY (the 26th of June) – Regular Sunday Service at 10.00 a.m. The Reverend Carol Overing will be presiding and preaching at this service. If you are unable to attend, the service is live streamed. Links to the service and order of service are on our website stjamesdundas.ca and our Facebook page.
WEDNESDAY – COMPLINE - Compline is a short service of night prayer. The heart of Compline is the recitation of several psalms. There is a short reading from scripture, intercession, and time for reflection. It is a beautiful way to close out an active day. Compline is offered by St. James’ through Facebook as a way to bring the community together. If you cannot join live, the service is available afterwards on St. James’ Facebook channel.
IMPORTANT NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE
We received correspondence from the Diocese this week regarding the COVID-19 status. The message has been edited but the key elements are included for your perusal. If you have questions, please contact any of the wardens – Barry, Gillian, Terese, or Robert – or The Reverend Canon Peter Davison or The Reverend Carol Overing.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY – particularly poignant this year…..TODAY!!!!!!
Whoever, wherever, whenever: everyone has the right to seek safety. That's the core message for this year's World Refugee Day today. This day is set aside to honour the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict and/or persecution. It's also a good occasion to help build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.
According to information from the United Nations Refugee Agency, by the end of 2020 at least 84.2 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes due to human conflict. Among them are over 26 million refugees, having crossed an international border.
Despite the challenges of the pandemic, in the past year our diocese submitted applications for 24 refugees and welcomed 51 newcomers to Canada. Our diocese is also a member of the Canadian Council for Refugees a national organization committed to the rights and protection of refugees and other vulnerable migrants in Canada and around the world and to the settlement of refugees and immigrants in Canada.
MISSION FOR SEAFARERS
Men! If you are having a spring clean this month and have gently worn clothing that needs a new home, please consider donating to the Mission for Seafarers. 90% of everything we need and consume travels by ship but the men (and a few women) who take on this lonely and often dangerous work are forgotten heroes. St James Outreach has taken on this as a new project and hope that you can support us. New socks, hats etc. also much appreciated along with personal items. Thanks to everyone who has left donations. Next Saturday (June 26th) will be the last day to drop of clothing at this time.. The items will be delivered very soon along with a card from St. James wishing the Seafarers God Speed.
COMING EVENTS
Driveway paving! This Thursday, June 23rd, weather permitting, the church parking lot will not be available. New lines will be painted for the disabled and regular parking spots and arrows will be painted to clearly show that the parking lot and driveway are one-way from Melville to Victoria. The intent of the one-way arrows is to reduce the number of cars cutting through the lot both ways sometimes at high speed. This Making It Happen project will improve the accessibility, organization, and general safety of the parking lot. A special thanks to the parishioners who donated to the cost of this very important project.
Next week – June 27 – July 1 … we will be “hosting” a film crew in the Dundas Room, the parking lot, and, in the Parish Administrator’s office. Although there are not many planned activities for this week (which includes a holiday AND, Nyle will be away), we ask for your cooperation to allow this rental to operate as effectively as possible. Robert Morrow is the warden on duty that week (for emergencies).
EfM – Did you see all those smiling faces on June 5th when we celebrated the graduation of new EfM participants? No, you didn’t … because they had masks on! But, their shining eyes revealed those covered-up smiles. Now is the time to register for the 2022-2023 Education for Ministry (EfM) program year. Please speak to Peter Davison or Carleon H., so you can be registered, and materials ordered for the September 12th start. The program is open to adults from other Christian denominations as well as Anglicans. It encourages us to apply our faith to all areas of life, and, is described by many as transformative."
HOLIDAY HOUSE TOUR – LESS THAN SIX MONTHS FROM NOW … and, the countdown is on!
Saturday, December 3rd, St. James will host our 46th Annual Holiday House Tour. The date is set and an energetic team is in place to deliver a wonderful holiday event for our community. What we don't have are enough fabulous houses for the tour. We are looking for Dundas homeowners who are willing to open their houses to over 600 guests for a good cause - the ministries of St. James. House Tour guests enjoy homes that may be historical in nature, unique in design or decor, and decorated for Christmas. Are you thinking of having your house on the tour? Do you have a friend or neighbour who may be interested in opening their home? If so, please contact Gillian Hendry at gillian.hendry35@gmail.com or the church office. We will be in touch and follow up with any leads that you may provide.
The Holiday House Tour is the major fundraiser for St James and everyone's participation is needed to make sure that it is successful. It is also a great opportunity to welcome people into our church and experience St. James' hospitality. Please be in touch with Gillian (available via the office 905-627-1424) if you are interested in helping out with the many tasks leading up to the big day. We would love your help.
MISSIONAL MOMENT
We are getting ready for the fall implementation of the Mission Action Plan. Please note the process outlined below.
Mission Action Plan Process Guide
HEADS UP! In the early fall, we will be going through a process called a “Mission Action Plan”. The process is easy, well documented for the “users”, and has excellent facilitation at the parish level and assistance from the Diocesan level. Six members of the parish have been involved in the process and five have taken courses with the Niagara School for Missional Leadership. We have had several articles in the weekly e-blasts outlining the processes involved.
Being in a transition, we are setting up tentative dates for the four gatherings … so, please make a note of these dates in your calendars; the first three are 60-minutes in length and will follow a regular Sunday service. [surprise, surprise – there will be FOOD]. You will be asked to indicate IN ADVANCE the meetings that you will attend.
Dates of significance
August 21 A member of the Missional Initiative Team will do the homily; if you cannot attend that day, we highly recommend that you view the service on-line.
September 7 An evening ZOOM meeting ( 7 – 8 pm.) for those of you who would like more information. This will be with Canon Christyn Perkons. Christyn will present for 30 minutes, leading us through the process and then there will be 30 minutes for questions.
OK … this date is not set, but, will occur sometime before we actually get underway – there will be a one-hour conversation involving parish leaders including those who were in the courses, just to cover the bases and make sure that all is in place to make the implementation smooth and successful.
September 18, 25 and October 2 – three sequential gatherings, each with some preparation in advance and each with a specific focus …
September 18 Faith Formation/Discipleship
September 25 Reshaping Parish Culture to Enable Ministry
October 2 Fullness of Life in our neighbourhood
October 16 Note that we have skipped over Thanksgiving and we will use this Sunday to Prioritize our Mission Action Plan, choosing which parts of the missional plan we will engage. This will not make much sense to you unless you have been involved in some or all of the previous three sessions.
The Diocese has a nice little introductory video …. Go to “bing.com videos” and type in Niagara and up it will come – about 4 minutes long.
ALL SAINTS DECLARED FIRST DIOCESAN MISSION
Bishop Susan Bell, at the request of the parish and with Synod Council's approval, has designated All Saints, Hamilton to be a diocesan mission, effective June 1. The new status comes as the people of All Saints begin trailblazing a new model for missional ministry as they prepare to move into a new, fully accessible, and multi-purpose ministry space located on the ground floor of a 24-storey condominium development at the site of their former church.
"I rejoice that God is calling the people of All Saints, to a new chapter in their missional witness at the corner of King and Queen streets and in the surrounding neighbourhoods in Hamilton," said Bishop Bell.
Canon Mike Deed has been appointed as missioner to guide this important work in collaboration with the All Saints, Hamilton Mission Advisory Board. This is the first designation made under Canon 4.9, which was passed by Synod in 2019.
LEPROSY MISSION OF CANADA.
As many of you already know, every year St. James sends our collected stamps to the Leprosy Mission of Canada; this organization in turn sells them to dealers to raise funds to help Leprosy patients in the developing world. We recently received a letter of thanks from this agency and here is an excerpt from that letter.
"We continue to be encouraged by the enthusiastic response from stamp contributors, due in part, to an extraordinary amount of stamps received from people such as the members of your church. Our goal is to raise $6,000 in 2022, which will allow us to bring the cure to 60 leprosy patients. Through medical treatment, as well as education and rehabilitation, you are helping to restore dignity and courage to those who have suffered far too long"
We will continue collecting stamps ALL THROUGH THE YEAR and the total package will be sent at the end of the calendar year (taking advantage of Christmas card stamps).
Please note that donated stamps should have a border of at least 1/4" around them.
Diana S. will continue to trim, organize and mail these stamps.
A SMILE OR TWO… or more …. FOR THE DAY
Some wonderful seniors’ one-liners ….
I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes... so she hugged me.
The officer pulled me over and said, "You drinking?" I said, "You buying?" We just laughed and laughed. ... I need bail money.
Day 12 without chocolate. Lost hearing in my left eye.
Wi-fi went down for five minutes, so I had to talk to my family. They seem like nice people.
I don't care who dies in a movie, as long as the dog lives.
THINK! (It's not illegal.... YET)
And, one more little story ….
A horse walks into a bar and orders a pint of beer.
The bartender says “You’re in here pretty often. Do you think you might be an alcoholic?”
The horse replies, “I don’t think I am” … and vanishes from existence.
You see…this joke is about Descartes’ famous philosophy of “I think, therefore I am” … but to explain that part before the rest of the joke would be putting Descartes before the horse.
AND… A REFLECTION …. FOR THE WEEK
W. Roger Angell was an American essayist who recently passed away at the age of 101. He was a regular contributor to The New Yorker and was its chief fiction editor for years. He loved baseball. This little snippet is achingly sweet. It generated many marriage proposals following the passing of his wife in 2010.
Getting old is the second-biggest surprise of my life, but the first, by a mile, is our unceasing need for deep attachment and intimate love. We oldies yearn daily and hourly for conversation and a renewed domesticity, for company at the movies or while visiting a museum, for someone close by in the car when coming home at night.
I believe that everyone in the world wants to be with someone else tonight, together in the dark, with the sweet warmth of a hip or foot or a bare expanse of shoulder within reach. Those of us who have lost that, whatever our age, never lose the longing: just look at our faces. If it returns, we seize upon it avidly, stunned and altered again.