Friday May 28, 2021

Dear Friends,

We've all been looking for "things" to help ease our days. Way back last July I wrote about how quotations have been helpful to me and I challenged folks to send in their own favourite quote or poem. This week I remembered that both Cathie and Mike had kindly shared some of their favourites in our Friday letter. May they be blessings to you!

From Mike –

" You have to stir the pot, otherwise the soup burns and you have to throw it out."

 " The ultimate goal of it all is to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth."

From Cathie –

" Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being. Each of us owes the deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this inner light." - Dr. Albert Schweitzer 

Lynne

 

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY

Sunday May 30, 2021 – Rev. Harry Disher – “Papa Mia”

To join the service “Live” stream please click here.

Please join us for coffee and conversation after the service – click here.

 

WEEKLY WORDS FROM THE PART-TIME MINISTER OF WORSHIP AND PASTORAL CARE

Graveside Service for Michael Savage

This week there was a simple graveside service for Michael Savage attended by Cathie and his sons, Neil and Matthew. Once we are able to be back together, there will be a Celebration of Life service for all to attend.

 

Interested in Membership? Or knowing more about the United Church? Just contact Rev. Harry Disher (revharryd@gmail.com) or me and we will find time to have a conversation together.

 

Shape-Shifters

Today I found this lovely thought by Diane Ackerman, an American poet, essayist, and naturalist known for her wide-ranging curiosity and poetic explorations of the natural world. Let me share it with you:

Who would deduce the dragonfly from the larva?

the iris from the bulb, the lawyer from the infant? . . .

We are all shape-shifters and magical reinventors.

Life is really a plural noun, a caravan of ourselves.

I am curious to find out how you shifted your shape during this pandemic!

Blessings, the Rev. Rose Ann Vita

If you want to chat with a minister, I am just a phone call or email away.

(647-763-0101 & rose.ann.vita2@gmail.com)

RENEWAL OF BROADVIEW MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTION

Broadview Magazine (previously the Observer): It’s time to renew or start your subscription. Get 11 issues of the award-winning United Church Broadview for just $25. Please contact the office by phone or email if you would like to subscribe. Cheques should be made payable to First United Church, with “Broadview” on the memo line. Deadline is May 31st .

 

 

BOOK CLUB


The Book Club will be meeting again on Saturday, June 26 at 9:00 am. The next book selection is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.

Wordsworth has received the books and they are kept with a First United Church label. Please call the store to pay for a copy (with 20% off) before you pick it up at their back door in the laneway.

Greg Case

 

 

SMALL GROUPS COMING ALIVE

 

Book Study

One of our “Conversations That Matter” offerings this spring will be a book study led by Rev. Disher on Brian McLaren’s “Faith After Doubt”. We will read and reflect on one chapter or so at a time for five weeks. Zoom discussion and sharing sessions will take place on Thursday afternoons from 1:30 – 3:00 P.M. June 3 and 10, OR Monday evenings from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. June 7 and 14.

Please pre-register with Rev. Disher via email: revharryd@gmail.com or by phone: (519)-860-9198. If you do not already have the book, Wordsworth Books on King St. in Waterloo has ordered some copies.

Harry

 

 

Let’s Talk About It - Broadview Magazine Discussion Group

Next session is Wednesday, June16 at 10 am on Zoom. We'll be talking about articles in the June issue.

Please join us. Further information is available here on the church website or by contacting Walt at waltbrooker@gmail.com.

Walt

 

 

 

OUR CHURCH FENCE COMMUNITY CONNECTION

With warmer weather come new needs! 

At the suggestion of a thoughtful church member of ours and a reminder from a thankful recipient of winter weight socks, I've decided to begin collecting socks, ball caps and sun hats for all ages. They can be new or gently used and washed.

We'll have a rubbermaid container on our front porch (210 Stanley Dr., Waterloo) for donations. 

They will be packaged and hung on the church fences.

Everyone deserves to have some protection from the sun and socks to wear!

Thanks for your generosity in advance!

Lynne

 

BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN FOR MARILLAC PLACE

Marillac Place provides expectant and new mothers with shelter and the material and emotional support they require for their own and their babies' health. Moms are encouraged to continue their education and are taught the life skills they need to raise their children.

Please give to Marillac Place so that Moms and their babies have a better chance of a rich and stable life. You can click the link to arrange a single or monthly payment. Or mail a cheque directly to Marillac House.

Marillac Place, 109 Young St. Kitchener Ontario, N2H 4Z2

https://marillacplace.ca/donate

 

Marilyn Gerriets on behalf of the Outreach Committee

 

 

WORSHIP IN COMING WEEKS

Sunday June 6, 2021 - United Church Anniversary Service – all four United Churches in Waterloo – hosted by First United. 

Guest Speak: Adele Halliday, National Staff for Anti-Racism and Equity

Sunday June 13, 2021 – Rev. Harry Disher – “The Way Beyond”

If you would be interested in leading a worship service or in participating in some way please let me know at gregjcase@gmail.com.



For Pastoral Careneeds please email the church (office@firstunitedchurch.ca). For our Minister of Pastoral Care call Rose Ann Vita 647-763-0101 (cell) or rose.ann.vita2@gmail.com (email).

 

May 13, 2021

Dear Friends and KWOG Members,

Time and Tides keep rolling past as our sponsorship families continue to wait in precarious circumstances for resettlement to Canada. Their families here feel desperate for reunion with them as months and years of separation play havoc with the mental health of all. The Covid shut down of the refugee process here in Canada has only added to the long wait and the list of fears that plague our sponsorship families, including the growing racism against Syrians in the Middle Eastern countries to which they have escaped, the revoking of their work permits and the rights to education for their children, and the growing threat of their deportation by these governments back to Syria. We all know there are no longer homes for them in Syria and that as Sunni people, they would be subjected to the Shia rejime in Syria that considers them to be deserters. Imprisonment, torture, and/or death are the realities that would await them back in Syria. In many cases where refugees return, they simply disappear, leaving their extended families with nothing but the probablity of their deaths. We can all be thankful that our donors are currently providing a monthly allowance for each of our families that at least is helping them to maintain themselves as they wait.

As the lifting of Covid restrictions draws nearer, the Canadian Council of Refugees has launched a campaign of letter writing to our government to encourage the reopening of the resettlemen process. By attachment is the letter we are sending in this regard to our three Kitchener and Waterloo MP 's, as well as to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. If you feel moved to send a letter of your own, here is the link with the information that will help you: https://ccrweb.ca/en/advocate-restarting-resettlement

In the meantime your care and support is highly appreciated. Here's hoping you have all managed and kept healthy through the strange times that characterize this past year. As the arrivals of our sponsorship families draw closer, we can begin to prepare ourselves for welcoming and helping these families to find new life as Canadians.

For KWOG,

James W. Welch

Elizabeth Eberhart-Moffat

 

COMMUNITY

 

Free Concert - Sunday May 30th at 3 pm.

Wendy Wagler, one of our popular Noon Hour Concert Musicians, will once again be performing Deep Blue on the KW Chamber Orchestra livestream concert at www.kwchamberorchestra.ca.

If you missed her trio's Noon Hour Concert this past spring, Deep Blue imitates whale songs and conversations and is totally mesmerizing. Composer Ian Clark.

Sharon Gowland

 

Outdoor Day Camp in Waterloo Region


Silver Lake Mennonite Camp (www.slmc.ca): Are you looking for an outdoor day camp in Waterloo Region? Silver Lake Mennonite Camp, a summer camp with 60 years of experience in camp, is running outdoor day camps in Kitchener and Waterloo this summer! Campers can sign up for a week of camp filled with nature exploration, fun crafts and games, spiritual discovery, and opportunities to connect with each other. Qualified Silver Lake staff will lead activities, ensuring that your campers stay safe and have a blast this summer! Payment will only be taken once it’s likely camps can run, so you can sign up without penalty if COVID-19 prevents operation. Camps will follow all COVID-19 guidelines.

Ages 5-15. $235+tax. Visit our website for more information and to register. Locations: First Mennonite Church, First Hmong Mennonite Church, Waterloo North Mennonite Church. 

 

Affordable Housing Challenge

Join Non-profit Menno Homes, the charity Parents for Community Living and St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church for final fundraising push for a 48-unit affordable housing project!

Tenants will begin moving into their new homes in the building at Bridgeport Rd. E. and Lancaster St.in late June. The building will include 40 one bedroom and 8 two-bedroom units, a community hub, and community kitchen and worship space for the St. Paul's congregation (on whose property the housing is built).

June 12 – Menno Homes Out-Spok’n XI for Affordable Housing bike-a-thon.

A virtual event to raise funds for a very real need. Hikers, recreational bikers, and avid cyclists will be choosing their own routes this year. Construction is nearing completion at 544 Bridgeport Rd. Kitchener and your support is making it possible. Contact Dan Driedger at 226-476-2535 or ddriedger@mennohomes.com for more details, or visit www.mennohomes.com

 

 

   

Together We Stand, but Apart

  

“Driveway chalk art!”