Thursday, March 25, 2010                 

1) "Christian Militancy in an Age of Decline"

A special Lenten lecture series is being 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 final lecture will be:

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!

A number of members of St. Andrew's were able to be present last Friday when Rev. Will Ingram was the guest lecturer.  His thesis was that one of the great gifts that would be lost without Christianity is the Bible.  To read the text of his lecture, please click here.

2) SAGA Meeting - Friday, March 26th

"Best Buy/Worst Buy" will be the topic of discussion at the March meeting.  Like a child in a candy store, we want to buy everything in sight.  Some purchases we use and enjoy for many years and some never get used, not even once.  Please bring two items from home:  one that you consider your best buy and the other your worst buy.  If the item is too big to bring, take a picture of it.

Pot luck dinner starts at 6:30 p.m., and the program starts at 7:30 in the Great Hall.  Everyone is welcome.  Bring a friend!

3) Ordination of Elder - Graeme Hepburn

During the worship service on Sunday morning, we will be celebrating the ordination of Graeme Hepburn as a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in Canada and his induction to the Session of St. Andrew's Church.

4)  Sunday Forum - March 28

On Sunday the Hon. the Rev. Dr. David MacDonald will lead a forum on "What are the Possibilities for Hope after Copenhagen?"  Dr. MacDonald attended the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.  Everyone is welcome.

5)  Schedule of Services:  Holy Week and Easter

        Sunday, March 28            10:30 a.m.     Palm Sunday worship service

        Monday, March 29           Noon            Holy Week Noon Meditation & light lunch

        Tuesday, March 30          Noon             Holy Week Noon Meditation & light lunch

        Wednesday, March 31    Noon             Holy Week Noon Meditation & light lunch

        Thursday, April 1            12:15 p.m.     Chancel Communion

        Thursday, April 1            6:00 p.m.       Maundy Thursday worship service (communion)

        Friday, April 2                  10:30 a.m.     Good Friday worship service

        Sunday, April 4                10:30 a.m.     Easter worship service

6)  News from Out of the Cold: 

Joe-Anne Roberts, our faithful Out of the Cold scribe reports:

I'm sitting here, with my hands on the keyboard, wondering what to say about last night!  Mike Upton wanted to know if there was a full moon.  I'm sorry, Mike, but the full moon is next week.

I could start with the menu and I will.  We served:  Vegetable Beef Soup, the Main was Chicken Pot Pie; the Vegetarian was Burritos with refried beans, onions and grated cheese, Salad was Mango salad.  Dessert - lemon pudding stirred with whipped cream and fresh strawberries on top. 

We served 293 guests.  Since the max the room will hold is 135 (including the hall) this means the tables were turned over twice and in some cases three times.

It was a very stressful night.  People challenging the fact that they had been banned, staff being called liars, one wanting to complain, while people were coming and going, so they couldn't receive full attention and left in a huff, another guest, who had an orange, decided to throw it across the room (fortunately it didn't splat on the wall).  It is all small stuff that can normally be dealt with but when it comes at you all at once it strains your resources.

With all that said, there was the good side:  "Thank you, and God Bless."  "The burritos were wonderful, and I really enjoyed the Mango salad." Richard said, "I appreciate it, it was a damn good meal."  Another guest, "Can I give you some advice?  You should be open every day." (Ha) And one guest who simply said, "Matthew 25" and then added "I was hungry and you fed me".  And that makes the above paragraph worth suffering through.

The night was also not without humour.  Joy, one of our guests, lost a tennis bracelet and came up and asked if anyone had turned in a diamond bracelet.  We all looked at her in utter astonishment, and she started to giggle, assuring us she had lost one, but it was rhinestone.

One of our volunteers asked to be escorted to the subway, as the week before she had been accosted on the street, by a guest, and she was nervous about leaving alone.  So ladies, follow her example.  If you are leaving alone ask for an escort to your car, the streetcar, or the subway.

No news from the boutique tonight.  They have asked, however, if you could go through your cupboards, or talk to your friends, as we are getting very low on everything in the way of clothing.

Three more weeks.  Again, I remind you to let Joan know if you will not be there on Easter Monday, April 5th.

7)  Congregational Photo Directory - for pickup

Sunday will be the final day to pick up your copy of the wonderful new congregational photo directory.  If you have not yet picked up your copy, please arrange to get it on Sunday to help reduce the cost of mailing.  Thank you!

8)  Presbyterians Sharing... - KENYA

Our gifts to Presbyterians Sharing support Margaret Evans as she works with the Shauri Yako Youth Support Centre in Nyeri, Kenya, a program supported with grants from Presbyterian World Service & Development. As their Youth Program Coordinator, Margaret counsels and trains street youth in life skills; teaches and leads bible studies; and organizes educational activities such as art, music,  drawing, sports and outdoor expeditions. She also helps the centre organize HIV voluntary counselling and testing events and provide home-based care for people living with HIV. Let us pray for Margaret as she works to make a difference in the lives of young people in Kenya.

9)  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!