Hi First Friends!

 I couldn't resist sharing these gnomes with you. (You can visit them in person. They belong to the folks in one of the town homes facing William St. between Park and Caroline.)

They make me think of making summer plans - time to relax and time to play! What else do you want to spend time doing? How about leaving some time to be surprised by tiny miracles each day?!

This is our last Friday Letter until September-  we've flown the coop to relax, play, dream and be surprised!

Enjoy summer!

Lynne Blake- Dickson

Sunday June 26^th – Rev. Harry Disher

At 10:30 am – Theme:  “How Does God Rule”

To join the service online CLICK HERE

Click the button to see what is happening with Worship and Pastoral Care this summer 

For July and August, the office will be open:

Monday to Thursday  9:00 am  – 2:00 pm

Closed Fridays

Weeders and Waterers are Welcome to spend some time this summer, helping our tasty vegetables and herbs grow. Don't forget to encourage passers by to pick some for themselves! You are welcome too!

Here comes summer! For many of us, it’s a time when we get to wind down, head to the cottage, or go camping, or travelling. Does God take holidays? Many might answer, “No.”  And yet, “on the seventh day, God rested from all God’s labours.”  There is something valuable about taking time out, Sabbath time. It can be time to revitalize one’s own energies, time to enjoy recreative activities and the company of family and friends, and time to refresh one’s spirit. Enjoy!

Read more by clicking the button below.

Thank you to everyone for helping to make the Garage Sale on May 13^th and 14^th such a success.

Although we had fewer customers than previous sales, $2906 was made.

This amount was divided in half and shared with First’s General Fund. Some items are still to be sold.

Click below to read about the history of rummage sales at First United

Trillium Book Award and City of Toronto Book Award finalist; Edmund White Debut Fiction Award finalist; A Globe 100, National Post and Quill and Quire Best Book of the Year

Scarborough is a low-income, culturally diverse neighbourhood east of Toronto, the fourth largest city in North America; like many inner-city communities, it suffers under the weight of poverty, drugs, crime, and urban blight. Scarborough the novel employs a multitude of voices to tell the story of a tight-knit neighbourhood under fire

We won’t be meeting in July and August. The next time will be Wednesday, September 21 from 10:00 to 11:00 am. New members welcome. Zoom link will be available on the website. See you then.

Summer Clothing on the Fence and Little Libraries at First United

Click on the button below to read more!

Information about Silver Lake Camp and a U.S. Student Looking for Housing in Waterloo

Click the button for more info

Further to my message in worship on Sunday, there are two videos worth watching, on the topic of decolonization and reconciliation. The more we learn about our past, the better able we are to plan the future.

YouTube - Nikki Sanchez - Decolonization is for Everyone - TEDxSFU – CLICK HERE

YouTube  - Kevin Lamoureux - Truth and Reconciliation - TEDxUniversityofWinnipeg – CLICK HERE

 Shirley Irish on behalf of the Justice Team.

We will be hosting Artisans at First at First United again this year on Saturday, October 15^th, 2022 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.

This is a market of handcrafted items, no commercially-prepared items.

Vendor spaces come in a range of sizes/prices.  We welcome a wide range of items.

If you wish to have a space to sell your creations, or if you know someone who wishes to have a space, please contact Joan Westcott at handatfirst@gmail.com

United Church Women will be hosting a bake sale table at the Artisan event  in October. When you are busy making jam or pickles this summer, please consider donating a jar or two to our table...

Thank you from UCW Exec!

June's board meeting was packed with before summer break items!

Click Below to read what happened

 Did you know that First will be renting out space for part of the summer to a STEM Day Camp for kids 5-13? (STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering Math)

Today's interesting tidbit!

Thank you to all who have supported the Summer Blooms initiative. At the end of May the total raised is $3,680 and we’ll keep taking donations until the end of June. This makes the dive into the lean summer months a great deal easier.

Again, many thanks!

Click below for updated financial info

You can get your offering to the church office in several ways:

  You can use PAR, or

  E transfer to firstunitedchurch@rogers.com, or

  Website donation to www.firstunitedchurch.ca, or

  Send a cheque to First United Church, 16 William St. West, Waterloo ON N2L1J3, or

  Drop a cheque into the mailbox located at the Entrance on William St. side.

**Just a reminder- credit card companies have a fee of around 3-5%. If you wish the church to get the full amount, then please add that % to your contribution. **

The Friday Letter will resume in September. It will be produced every two weeks. In the table below are the dates for the Friday Letter. We are also including the dates when we would like to receive articles for these letters.

NOTE:  Please do not submit articles in a poster format, in a ‘pdf’ format or too many graphics as they do not copy to the Friday Letter or can be opened. Thank you.