SOME GOOD NEWS TO START THE WEEK
Ministry guidelines have been substantially revised by the Diocese and they may be revised even more in the next little while. These include ….
Capacity limits and most distancing requirements for worship services have been removed;
Some social and fundraising activities can resume;
Food and beverage protocols have been adjusted;
School and community expectations will be extended to children and youth ministry protocols;
Contract tracing requirements have been lifted;
The limits related to choir practices have been lifted.
Masks may be lowered briefly while reading, preaching or praying for more restrictions to be lifted.
SERVICES AND GATHERINGS THIS WEEK
SUNDAY (March 27th) – Mothering Sunday (Lent 4) A special Sunday with bountiful flowers and special cake. Do join us!
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 to bring the community together. If you cannot join live, the service is available afterwards on St. James’ Facebook channel.
THURSDAY - Our coffee hour occurs on Zoom at 10am. Join us to chat and enjoy one another’s company for an hour. Bring your own coffee! Contact the office before Thursday morning for the link
LENTEN SERVICES
For a schedule check out the Worship tab on this website's home page.
MISSIONAL MOMENT
Our newest addition to the Corporation Team, Barry Shimmons, has been taking two of the Missional courses offered by the Niagara School for Missional Leadership. These courses are over six-weeks and each is about 2 hours in length using the ZOOM format. From one of these courses, Barry offered the following summary.
What if a friend of yours asked you “What does your church do besides Sunday services?” What would your 30 second elevator speech be? Would you list off all the fundraising we do, the community meals served, bible studies etc,. or would you talk about all the Missional work we do that is outside the box?
What does our church do that is Missional? Yes, we do lots of fundraising which is very important and needed to help various ministries … but do you know what these ministries are?
This course helps our church family answer many of these questions but also opens our eyes to how much more we can do to reach out to those who are marginalized and realize that there is more to our church family than fundraising. How welcoming is our church? How do we reach out to our neighbours while still respecting their beliefs?
The actual Missional Action Plan is not a long process but the implementation of additional Missional work we want to undertake needs time to grow and flourish. It may also help us realize that our church family is very Missional but some areas need a bit of tweaking. With this course we realize that Gods work should not be contained within the church’s walls. We may come out of the Missional Action Plan process with more questions than answers. I think this course is highly effective as the process is asking our church family to think outside the box and step out of our comfort zone, re-imagine what our church family can do to be more than “we have been asked to do or imagine”.
NOTE The Diocese is offering a one-hour introduction to the Missional Action Plan on April 25th at 7.00 p.m. If you want to register go to niagaraanglican.ca and then “events”. There is no cost and the session lasts for 30 minutes with a further 30 minutes for questions.
YOUR SPECIAL LENTEN CALENDAR … WEEK FOUR
DAY
DATE
ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION
Tuesday
March 22
World Water Day. This year the focus is on Groundwater. Consider sending support to the Wellington Water Watchers.
Wednesday
March 23
Spring Cleaning – start the process and donate some clothing items to a charity shop or refugee program; books can go to your local Little Lending Library
Thursday
March 24
The days are (hopefully) getting warmer; keep a metal water bottle in the car or when you go out for walks
Friday
March 25
Purchase artisan bread in a paper bag rather than prepackaged sliced bread
Saturday
March 26
Earth Hour this evening from 8.30 – 9.30 p.m. Turn off your lights and unplug all electrical chargers.
Sunday
March 27
After church this Sunday … take a hike … or a walk … breathe the fresh air and give thanks for good health.
Monday
March 28
Meatless Monday. Scramble some eggs or make a healthy mushroom omelette for dinner. Smile at memories of the guy with the funny pants on the commercial
Tuesday
March 29
Check the refrigerator for leftovers and save wasting food. Consider making a donation to those in need of nourishment.
EASTER NOVELTIES
Items will be available for sale on Sunday after the service, on Thursdays between 9:30 to noon, from Strawberry Fields in Dundas, ordering as on the flyer.
SAVE THE DATE(S)
Tickets will be $25.00
