Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
As we continue to make our way through the early days of June, we are also making our way towards a celebration. On Sunday, June 10th The United Church of Canada is celebrating 93 years of union! Just under a century ago, churches from different denominations had a vision: a church united in worship to God and service to brothers and sisters here in Canada. We are the spiritual and faithful children of those inspired people, and now we are the ones on the edge of something new.
As you read in last week’s email, Remit 1 will reshape the church from a 4 Court system to a 3 Council system. This was voted on by your elected Board along with several other Remits. Both in celebration of 93 years and for the information of the wider St. Paul’s United community, we are sharing some information about those remits. This week we are looking at Remit 2: Elimination of Transfer and Settlement.
The work of the Transfer and Settlement has been to: 1) “transfer” members of ministry from one Conference to another, work carried out by the General Council Transfer Committee, and 2) “settlement” matching members of ministry with those United churches that have chosen settlement. For a long time, Settlement was mandatory immediately following Ordination or Commissioning, but since 2011 this has become optional. Because of this change, fewer ministry personnel and United churches are choosing settlement. Remit 2 proposed the elimination of Transfer and Settlement, and your elected Board agreed with the Remit. For more information, I encourage you to have a look at the Remit 2 Study Guide (https://7f8159c42d5f64d63d1b-dec189f157202212a76b23fc4d185c40.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/remit-02-study-guide-transfer-settlement.pdf).
Continuing on with the theme of celebration, along with June 10th marking 93 years of The United Church of Canada, it is also the day of our worship and picnic in the park! We will gather in Wilmot park at the gazebo near the splash pad at 10:30 am for worship followed by a picnic at the Stepping Stones center just a short walk away. The service will be intergenerational in nature, so parents bring your kids, kids bring your grandparents, and if you can’t do either, bring a friend as we give praise to God for the year we have had and for the summer months of worship ahead of us.
In last week’s eNews you saw that the St. Paul’s youth were holding their own “Master Chef” competition. The winner of this first cook off was Gracelyn Godin. Congratulations Gracelyn!
If you were in church this past Sunday, someone probably handed you a paper man on a popsicle stick. This is Flat Jesus, and our hope is that you take him with you through the summer. As you are taking pictures to capture memories, we invite you to include Flat Jesus in some of those pictures. Take him to the beach, the cottage, a restaurant, bowling, really anywhere you are making the most of the summer, Jesus can be right there with you! We also hope that you send those pictures to flatjesus.stpauls@gmail.com. In September, we will have a slideshow of all the places that you went with Flat Jesus.
Looking into the rest of the month of June, there are still lots of opportunities to worship both on Sunday morning and beyond. In particular we want to invite you to be a part of our worship services in the retirement homes here in Fredericton. On Thursday, June 14th we will be in Governor Hall at Shannex at 10:30 for worship. Voices to join the song and other musical talents are welcome. The same goes for our service on Thursday, June 21st at Windsor Court. This service is at 10 AM. Please mark your calendars and consider how you might support the reaching out of our community of faith.
Don’t forget that June 24th is the last Sunday that we are worshipping at St. Paul’s until August. However, we hope to see as many of you as possible as we share in worship and praise of God with our brothers and sisters at Wilmot United Church on the corner of King and Carlton Streets starting on July 1st, Canada Day! What better way to celebrate both the unity of Canada AND that of the United Church than with the combined worship that we call Downtown United?
As we make our way to the 93rd anniversary of The United Church of Canada, let us pray for the church and the work that God has called us to.
Shepherding God, you have called to your people since the dawn of creation, and in this time you call to us to continue to be a uniting and united people. Encourage and empower the work that we do to support and engage one another. Move in and through us to spread the Good News of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Remind us that his was a ministry of love, and that when we reach out in his name, we are embracing your children in that same love. May we continue to be people of vision and hope. This we pray in the strong name of Christ. AMEN
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Richard & Rev. Michelle
Also the bulletin for this Sunday’s worship in the park can be downloaded home.