Wednesday March 11, 2009

"Today, you will be with me in paradise"

 Our guest speaker for TODAY's Lenten meditation will be Peter Ma, from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Markham.  The theme of our meditations is “Seven Last Words” spoken by our Lord. 

The service will begin with a short organ recital at 12:00 pm; the speaker will begin at 12:15, and everyone is invited to join together in the Board Room for sandwiches and coffee after the meditation.

1) "The Seven Last Words" - 2009 Lenten Midweek Meditation Series

Please join us on Wednesdays at noon, during the season of Lent, for our annual Lenten meditation series.  The series will involve a series of guest speakers, each of whom will focus on one of the seven last words or phrases uttered by Christ on the cross.  Each week -- from February 25 - April 1 -- the noontime meditations will begin with a short organ recital at 12:00 pm, the speakers will lead us in their reflections from 12:15 - 12:45 pm, and a light sandwich lunch will follow. 

Today's speaker will be Peter Ma, who was recently inducted as the Senior Minister at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Markham.  His topic will be "“Today you will be with me in paradise”.

Next week's speaker will be the Rev. Dr. James Czegledi, recently the Associate Secretary for Worship and Evangelism, the Presbyterian Church in Canada.  The topic will be "Woman, behold your son".

Copies of the book "Seven Last Words", by Timothy Radcliffe, are available for purchase at the church.  The cost is $16.00.

2) Congregational Forum - "Managing Transitions" -- March 22, 2009

The March congregational forum will address the topic of 'Managing Transitions', and will be led by Blair Agnew.  During these times of economic upheaval, as well as in many other times in our lives, we are confronted with the challenge of making transitions in our lives.  Come and share your thoughts, experiences and reflections together with other members of the church community.

3) "John Calvin: A Giant from Geneva" -- Spring Supper Seminar Series

The year 2009 marks the 500th Anniversary of the birth of John Calvin.  This anniversary offers us an interesting opportunity to ponder the relevance of Calvin's theology on the modern church. 

We are pleased that the Rev. Dr. Victor Shepherd, who is a Presbyterian minister, the Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, and a recent guest during the 2008 Advent series at St. Andrew's, will be leading us in these reflections. 

Online registrations will be available soon.

4) Junior Choir Rehearsals 

The junior choir plans to participate in our worship service on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10^th.  Rehearsals will be held this Sunday (March 8), and on March 22, 29, April 19, 26 and May 3.  The choir meets at approximately 12 noon in the sanctuary for about 20 min.  The choir welcomes new members.  For more information, please contact Ruth Darling.

5) Pants Needed for Out of the Cold

Please note that the 'Out of the Cold' programme is in need of men's pants.  If you have new or used pants that could be donated, please bring them to the church on Sunday for the use of our guests.

6) One Underground Parking Space Available

Douglas Pearson would like to inform everyone that there is 1 parking space in the condo garage that are available for monthly rent.  For more information, please contact him at dpearson@standrewstoronto.org

7) Nursery Caregivers Urgently Needed!

Our nursery is growing.  St. Andrew's now has between 4 and 7 beautiful babies and wonderful toddlers on any given Sunday and, following "Leading with Care" rules, requires 2 caregivers every week.  If you enjoy the company of babies and toddlers and would be interested in spending an hour or so (on a rotational basis) reading stories, playing games, etc, please contact Barbara Sargent at barbara.a.sargent@ca.ey.com or telephone Barbara at 905.420-3100.

Your help is appreciated!

8) Online Donations

We are pleased to announce that donations to the Church, and to ministries such as the 'Out of the Cold' programme, can be made online.  To learn more, please click on the button below!

9) An Online Journal from Bangkok, Thailand -- the Global Ecumenical Conference on Justice for Dalits

Next week, Rev. Ingram will be travelling to Bangkok, Thailand, in order to participate in an ecumenical conference concerning the churches' response to the Dalit issue (often known as the 'untouchables') in India and Southeast Asia.  Churches in that region have invited representatives from the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches to meet together to raise the profile of this troubling and historic issue.   An online journal from previous World Council of Churches meetings, as well as daily updates from next week's conference, can be found at www.standrewstoronto.org/wcc