Thursday, March 11, 2010

Daylight Savings Time starts at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, 2010!  

On Saturday night, be sure to turn your clocks ahead 1 hour.

1) Annual Congregational Meeting - this Sunday

The Annual Congregational Meeting will be held in the Great Hall following the worship service on Sunday, March 14th.   A light lunch will be provided.  

Please bring your copy of the 2009 Annual Report & 2010 Budget with you.

2) An Amazing Piece of Art

Last year, the Rev. Zander Dunn was our anniversary speaker.  Recently, one of Zander's sons, Kirk -- who is an elder at Morningside-High Park Presbyterian Church in the west side of Toronto -- completed an incredible piece of art that explores some of the positive and negative sides of Christian history. 

The piece is a knitted version of a stained glass window.  Pictures of it, as well as a short video about the process of its creation, can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Bklfd0Zuw

It is a stunning work (and we are investigating whether we can arrange for an exhibit at St. Andrew's...)

3) Congregational Photo Directory - for pickup

Many people picked up their copy of the wonderful new Congregational Photo Directory on Sunday.  For those who were not able to pick it up last Sunday, please make sure to do so this week.

In order to minimize postage costs we will hold the rest of the directories and will make them available at Bide-a-Wee until Sunday March 28, after which we will mail them.

4) Hatha Yoga begins Friday, March 12th

This good weather can put a spring in your step, and by coming out for the new Hatha Yoga sessions your spring and stride could improve! 

Consider increasing your flexibility in a peaceful atmosphere on the second floor of St. Andrew's on Fridays from 1:00 - 2:10 p.m.  Classes start this Friday, March 12th, and go until April 30th (no class on March 26th or April 2nd).  Proceeds go to our Out of the Cold program.  The suggested donation is $10 per class, or "pay what you can".  Please call Victoria Campbell at 416-694-7155 or email her at connectiontovmc@hotmail.com for information and to let her know if you plan to attend.  Everyone is welcome to try a class or come and watch to see if this is something that you would like to do.

5) Lenten Noon Meditations - Wednesdays During Lent

Please make a special effort to join us next Wednesday at noon for the fourth of this year's noon Lenten Meditations.  During this Lenten Season we will reflect on the last 24 hours of Jesus' life, based on "24 Hours That Changed the World"  by Adam Hamilton. 

Next week -- on Wednesday March 17 -- our guest speaker will be the Rev. Reid Chudley from St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Hillsburgh,  who will discuss "The Trial before Pontius Pilate".

The service will begin at 12:00 with a short organ prelude; the worship will begin at 12:15; and a light luncheon will be offered following the service in the Board Room.  All are welcome. 

6)  Wine, Cheeses and Jesus - Thursday, March 18th

The next meeting of the Wine, Cheeses & Jesus fellowship group will be on Thursday, March 18th at 7:00p.m. in the second floor meeting room.  This month's speaker is Charles Diltz, who will present a slide show and will discuss "The importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls".  Everyone is welcome!

7)  "Christian Militancy in an Age of Decline" -- Fridays in March

A special Lenten lecture series will be held at Metropolitan United Church to ponder the question, "Is there something so vital in Christianity that its loss would diminish all people?  Is it time to fight for it?"

The lecturers will be:

March 12 - The Rev. Dr. Peter Holmes, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church

March 19 - The Rev. William Ingram, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church

March 26 - The Very Rev. Dr. Douglas Stoute, St. James' Cathedral (Anglican)

For more information, please visit www.metunited.org

The evening lectures will begin at 7:30 in the sanctuary of Metropolitan United Church, which is located at 56 Queen St. East. A question period and refreshments will follow.

All are welcome!

8)  Spring Supper Seminars - "Sunday Morning Words, Monday Morning World"

The 2010 Spring Supper Seminars will be held on Wednesdays, April 14th, 21st and 28th.  Our seminar leader will be the Rev. Dr. Emily Bisset (nee Rodgers) from Knox Presbyterian Church, Oshawa.  The topic will be Sunday Morning Words, Monday Morning World.   Sessions begin with supper starting at 5 p.m. and continue with lecture presentations from 6:00 - 7:15 p.m.   The cost is $30 per week (including supper) or $ 75 for the series of 3 seminars.  Detailed brochures will be distributed soon.  Registration is required if you wish to attend the suppers, and would be appreciated if you wish to attend only the lectures.  To register, go to www.standrewstoronto.org/REGISTRATION-FORM-2010.htm or contact Judy Neal in the church office (jneal@standrewstoronto.org or 416-593-5600 ext. 220.)

To receive email brochures and notices about special educational events at St. Andrew's, please subscribe by sending an email to us at education@standrewstoronto.org.  Please include your name in the body of your email in case it's not part of your email address.

9)  News from Out of the Cold:

Joe-Anne Roberts, in her regular weekly newsletter, reports that:

It was a very busy but relatively quiet evening last night with 255 guests coming for dinner.  We served:  Garden Green Soup, BBQ chicken with Baked Potato, Cole Slaw & green salad, Corn Bread.  The Vegetarian entrée was a Spinach Strata (which Robin told me was like a savory bread pudding.  Dessert was bananas in custard (which was VERY popular.

Along with the usual "thanks", "delicious" and "excellent" comments we

had a few comments of note.  Tony stopped on the way out, got right into my face and said, "Know what?  That dinner was good!"  Then smiling, left the building.  Liz said the chicken was excellent, but the banana custard was "the best".  Another guest simply commented, "that was a GOOD spread".  While Bernice, who is recovering from knee replacement surgery and hasn't been here for a while, said she was glad she came tonight because BBQ chicken is her favourite meal, and we do it so well.

Then there was dear Jesse, who arrived and said "I'm drunk, I'm high, and I'm happy."  He proved it by giggling his way through dinner.  One of our guests asked about the books.  Could he borrow one, and how long could he keep it?  We told him, as long as he needed and in fact he could keep it or return it when he finished reading it.  He was quite surprised and very pleased.  So keep your spare books coming.  They will go to a good home.

Apparently the boutique was quiet last night, but I am told we are getting low on soap, shampoo, and other toiletries.  So if you can spare some they would be gratefully received - especially you travellers who pick up those hotel shampoos and conditioners and then don't know what to do with them....well....we know where they can go!

One disturbing incident last night.  One of our female guests ignored our 15 minute warning that we were closing up, and waited until 9:00 pm to go into the washroom, where she spent the next 20 minutes.  We finally had to escort her from the building where she was told she would not be welcome back next week, because she abused the privileges afforded our guests.  The washroom incident was the latest incident of many where she has been rude, abusive and disrespectful to our staff. This has left us with no choice but to institute the ban.  However we will be providing her with a meal to go.

So, there we go...5 more weeks.  It's hard to believe the year is nearly over.

10)  Presbyterians Sharing... - CANADA: Presbytery of Oak Ridges

Our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing are helping St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Maple, Ontario reach out to the many people who call Vaughan home. The beautiful heritage building was built in 1862 by a congregation made up mostly of immigrants and their descendants. Today the church brings together people from many different countries, all sharing a common love for God. The congregation is warm and hospitable, reaching out to the community in many ways. Let us pray for St. Andrew’s as it shares the love of God within its community.

11)  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!