Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.                                                – 1 John 4:7

Kindred in Christ,

Even as we continue to be cautious in the midst of the pandemic, we are also making strides to reestablish our practices as a community of faith. Along with maintaining a safe hybrid-worship experience from Sunday to Sunday, we are also looking forward to the Advent season and the shape of special services that we have lined up. Keep an eye on the eNews in the coming weeks for a schedule of those services.

Though there are a number of things to look forward to in the months ahead, there are some significant celebrations, milestones, and remembrances in the next few weeks. Continue reading below to get an idea of what’s coming up, but also be sure to read to the end as there are some special announcements.

Worship this Week: Walk through the word with Rev. Brian as we are reminded of our call, not just to love  God, but to love – deeply – one another.

Worship over the next few weeks: As we move past the halfway point of October, we have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks when it comes to worship and guest preachers. 

 

  • October 25th: We welcome back Rev. Brian MacDonald who is filling in as Rev. Richard is away on his last week of vacation.
  • November 1st: This is a big one, because it is Anniversary Sunday! On November 1st we as a church celebrate 188 years together in worship and faith exploration. As a special treat, the youth group from the 80’s will also be marking the day with a reunion of sorts. Worship leadership will be in the hands of those former youth group members, and the guest preacher is Rev. Ivan Gregan, a once youth group leader during that time. Come and celebrate who we were, who we are, and who we will be!
  • November 8th: We gather on this day to remember. This will be our Remembrance Sunday Service, and we welcome back Rev. Brian one more time this year, as Rev. Richard takes his last week of Continuing Education.

 

 

There is so much to celebrate, take stock of, and give thanks for, and over the next month, we will have ample opportunity to do just that!

Worship In-Person or by Zoom: We continue to live into a hybrid worship where we have seats available for those who would like to worship in-person, but will continue to offer streamed worship through Zoom. However you join us, we are glad to have you!.

  • The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85811548808
  • The password for this meeting room is: 200188
  • For those who would prefer to call in the number is: 1 647 558 0588 then use the Meeting ID: 858 1154 8808, and then enter the passcode 200188 when prompted

Community of Faith Profile: With Rev. Richard leaving at the end of this year, it is time to look at our Community of Faith Profile. This is something like the Joint Needs Assessment Reports from a few years ago, but where a JNAC is about finding a minister, writing a Faith Profile gets us to put to paper who we are as followers of Christ. It allows us to articulate how we serve and what we are passionate about. This process will begin soon, but it cannot begin until we have at least 6 people willing to do this important work. The Regional body of Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters will appoint a representative to walk with us through the work, but it is our work. So far we have 5 volunteers: Derrick Grant, Roger Miller, Ann Krause, Blaine Irving, and Erin Hayes. We need at least 1 more person for this project, and ideally a mix of perspectives would be great (age, gender, new member, long-time member). And if you feel like you haven’t been at St. Paul’s long enough to help here, we want you to know that your voice is welcome – and important –  in this process as well. Right now, we are just waiting to hear from the region about a representative they are to appoint.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Rev. Richard at rev.bowley@outlook.com. This work we do together will help to shape St. Paul’s in the years ahead!

Sunday School On Hold: We received a recommendation from the Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters Region to refrain from having in-person Sunday School until later October/early November.  Although disappointing, we look forward to the time we can host our young people again! Until then, stay tuned for Christian Education home learning options for your family!

Clergy Appreciation Month: October is clergy appreciation month! Find some time this month to let the ministers in your life (current and past) know how much they mean to you.

Message From Our Fundscrip Team

 

NOW AVAILABLE:  FundScrip, Canada’s most successful Gift Card Fundraiser. For several weeks, we have mentioned this fundraising program in the weekly newsletter. Now we are ready to roll! The process is simple. You purchase gift cards through the church office to cover all your shopping needs . . . groceries, gas, hardware, restaurants, etc. Cards from over 200 retailers are available in different denominations from $5 at Starbucks to $1000 at Home Hardware. Each purchase automatically includes a donation to St. Paul’s calculated as a percentage of the card’s value. There is no cost to you for this donation. You receive the full face value of every card you purchase. To print an order form, click this link: http://www.stpaulsunited.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/stpauls-order.pdf or pick one up from Eric in the church office. Your card order must be pre-paid, by cash or cheque. We would like to place our first order by mid-November. Please complete your order form, deliver it to Eric and pay by Monday, November 9. The cards will arrive in just a few days. We will call you when they arrive so you can pick them up. Our volunteers are also available to deliver them to you if you are not venturing out these days.

 

For more information on St. Paul`s FundScrip program, click https://group.fundscrip.com/en/TBDBR2/ministry

 

This will be an on-going fundraiser at St. Paul`s so you can order and re-order cards anytime. We will be placing orders every month and will let you know the exact date in the Enews. Please submit your order form and payment before the selected dates. We hope it will become your new way to shop!

 

Gift cards make wonderful gifts for children, grandchildren, friends, colleagues, birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, tokens of appreciation. You could even donate a gift card to St. Paul`s Pantry and get a tax receipt! The program is open to everyone; please share this information with family and friends. Shopping is fundraising!

Rental Opportunity

Downtown Office Space for rent   – $500.00 per month

  • 224 York Street – 270 square feet
  • Heat, lights,
  • Elevator
  • Security alarm system
  • Washrooms
  • Parking for one vehicle
  • Walking distance to restaurants, banks, government offices.

 

Telephone 458-1183

As we welcome Rev. Brian to lead us in worship this week, we will hear of the importance of love in our relationships with one another, with creation, with God. We are called to live lives of love and support as we journey together on the road of faith.

Let us lift one another up as we make our way to worship. Let us pray as we reorient ourselves – our lives – towards God.

Help us, O God, to love ourselves in spite of our insecurities.                                          Encourage us, O God, to love others, especially those we find hard to love.                          Inspire us, 0 God, to love you even when we can’t always feel you, even when we can’t always hear you.                                                                                                                           Guide us, 0 God, to be people overflowing with love, we pray. AMEN

 

Yours in Christ

Rev. Richard Bowley