Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
Since our last e-news went out, many of us were shocked by the sudden and tragic death of so many young people in Saskatchewan and have continued to be rocked as further information was reviled about miss-identifying one of the victims and the death of another who had been in hospital. For many in our community it is not just the loss of this team, but has surfaced memories of the loss of the Bathurst crash ten years ago. As we walk into the shock and grief of this past week we turn to God, maybe you have words to express what you are feeling, maybe you are struggling with questions, or maybe you sit in silence overwhelmed. Regardless of your response, God has been with you and with all who have been affected by the accident. God has been crying at the loss of life, cringing in pain with those in hospital, providing strength for those who are saying goodbye. God working through all the first responders, hospital staff and community members who responded to the needs of others and in the determination of the survivors as they adjust to the aftermath of accident and their injuries. Through it all God is present with us all and is made known in each prayer and in the ways that we care for each other. So as each of us responds in our own way, let us be open to God’s love for us and God’s love working in us to shine a light in the darkness of this tragedy.
Spring here at St. Paul’s is going to bring some new life and opportunities, so mark your calendars now!
This Monday April 16th Spirit Sisters will be gathering at 7:00 in the ladies parlour, having finished the bullseye book, it was suggested that we might discuss the mail-out received from the givings team or have some time to explore what is on our hearts. Do you want to be a spirit sister, come check us out.
You are invited to join us in the ministry of worship for those in care and nursing homes. The next upcoming services will be April 17th at Pine Grove @ 10:30am and April 19th at Windsor court @ 10am.
Youth group will be gathering on Friday April 20th we will be continuing to work on our youth service and exploring what it is like to be a refugee, as this is the outreach they have decided to support.
St. Paul’s is hosting a Spaghetti supper on Sunday, April 22nd at 5:30 pm. Come and enjoy spaghetti with meat or vegetarian sauce, Caesar salad, garlic bread and brownies with ice cream for dessert. Please come with yourself, your church friends, and friends from the wider community. All are welcome! Free will offering will be collected at the door.
The UCW spring rally is being held in Fredericton this year on April 28th. If you are interested in gathering with other women from across the Maritimes contact Donna for more information
On April 29th the youth group will be leading our worship service at 10:30 am. They have been working hard to get everything together. Come and join them as we worship together.
St Paul’s supports the campus ministry at UNB, the chaplaincy is having its AGM on April 30th, if you are interested in attending contact Rev. Michelle for more details.
As you can see April is turning out to be a full month. On top of all these activities we have started the Called to be the Church…Loving our Neighbours program. This past week you should have received in the mail a package from our giving team. If you didn’t receive this package please talk with a member of
the giving team, Blaine Irving, Ron Naugler and Jen Petryshen or Rev. Michelle to get your name added to the distribution list and receive a package. For everyone who has already received the package, we ask that you take time to read the information and pray over it. Thank you ahead of time on behalf of the giving team.
Which brings us to this week’s worship, our focus scripture this week is Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus separates the sheep from the goats and reminds us all that what we do or don’t do for the least of these is treated like if we had taken these actions against Jesus himself. Join us as we look at how we engage Jesus missional call to love our neighbours in his name.
God, who is known in the touch of our neighbour and in the smile of a stranger, come to our hearts yet again and guide us to where we are called to reflect your love into our hurting world. Guide us to the people and places that are ours to speak hope and peace into and may we continue to grow together in your promises and care. Amen
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Michelle and Rev. Richard
The bulletin is also available for download from here.