“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:21-22
Epiphany blessings kindred in Christ,
Welcome to the first e-news of 2020, are you ready for an amazing year here at St. Paul’s? There will be many opportunities to engage with us this year and I do hope you will join us. As we kick off this New Year we will be having a pot-luck this Sunday – and have some large calendars out for you to write down any committee activities you already know are happening. We hope that everyone will join us as we come together as the awesome community that we are, and do one of the things Jesus did with so many – sharing a meal. We don’t think much about it but breaking bread together is an important faith practice.
If you are on social media, twitter and Facebook, you will have noticed a series of posts on making it personal. It will give you an opportunity to engage in a spiritual practice to deepen your faith and align our actions as we start the New Year. I hope you will take part in the activities. If you are not on social media and would like a paper copy of the daily activities please check in with the office.
If you missed worship last Sunday you may not have heard, but Mike and I announced that we are pregnant and expecting our second child in mid June. Want to know what else is happening around the church check out the items below…
Board Meeting January 14th 6:30pm—conference room
Christian Education January 16th 12pm –Mary Staples home
Worship January 19th After coffee—quilters parlor
Reflective Bible Study and Prayer Group Sundays at 9:15 am in the office. Tammy Landry is hosting. Come enjoy the scripture! Stick around and pray afterwards in the wonderful prayer group. Absolutely all welcome!
Broadview (Observer) Subscriptions if you would like your subscription renewed or start one for 2020 please come see Eric in the office. Thank you
St Paul’s Yarn Ministry meets on the third Wednesday of each month. Please let Jen Petryshen know if you would like to attend.
Money counters/Tellers needed. Training provided previous money handling experience is an asset, please let Eric in the office know thank you very much.
Rev. Rose-Hannah Gaskin’s Retirement Celebration – Sunday January 12 We will celebrate Rev Rose-Hannah, her years of Ministry and wish her well as she enters retirement, on Sunday January 12, 2020 following our 11 am worship service in the sanctuary. This is a significant time in a minister’s life – the end of not only Rose-Hannah’s time at Wilmot but an end to the “calling” and “covenant” she has made with every pastoral charge she has worked with since her ordination. Rose-Hannah began her ministry at Wilmot on July 3 2010. We are very grateful for the many gifts and skills she has shared with our congregation and the wider United Church over the past 10 years. Please join us … Remarks & Presentations will be held following worship service. Then we will have a time of fellowship & opportunity for people to speak with Rose-Hannah over a sandwich lunch & sweets in the church hall. All welcome.
The quote above ends our scripture reading this week (Mark 2:1-22). This little parable speaks to me about being intentional about what we do. If we just do what we think is needed without consideration, we can cause more issues then we started with. God helps us to re-imagine solutions to our problems, and when we put God first in our decision making often unexpected blessings flow. When we are looking at the problems that face us, reflecting on them through the eyes of faith often open up possibilities and attitudes that we haven’t thought about before. As a faith community as we approach the work we do together, may we continue to reflect with God’s Spirit and be open to the joys and blessings that will flow from our serving Christ this year.
As we head towards the weekend let us pray,
God we come to you this New Year seeking your will and way, help us to be open to your call to us.
Give us strength and creativity to deal with the challenges that we face in our lives, community and world. Remind us to celebrate the joys in our lives and the challenges we overcome, that we can continue to be grateful for your presence with us. This we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Michelle