October 17th Enews

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament!  Praise Him for His mighty deeds; praise Him according to His surpassing greatness!   -Psalm 150:1-2

Kindred in Christ,
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. But what about when we do not feel we are surrounded by blessings, what about when things are not going our way, or when we are lonely, struggling and feeling lost. Praising the Lord in these moments might be harder, but so important. Why? Because in these challenging moments, offering praise to God reminds us we are not alone. Praise reminds us that God had our backs, that God will work within the negative situations for our good. Praising God, helps us not to get stuck in the challenge but move on to the abundance God desires for each and everyone of us. Praising God is easy when your life is full of blessings…the thank you prayers flow easily. But when times are tough a prayer just acknowledging God is God and asking God for guidance or blessing is enough.

This week I thank God for so many people! For the commitment of the small band of worship committee members who have been involved in discussion around communion, and you might have noticed last time that we were using the reusable communion glasses to minimize the impact on the world, we also switched to 100% of our communion bread being gluten free to make the sacrament as inclusive as possible..What great decisions made by these faithful people. I am thankful to Helen who has pushed to have our physical building more accessible and for the financial contribution that has allowed that work to be done, if you haven’t noticed both the main sanctuary entrance and the Charlotte street doors have automatic door openers. I am thankful for Sharon, Alexis and the choir for the work that they have put in to the memorial hymn sing this Sunday at 10:30am, without you this event would flop. I am also thankful for the amazing opportunities to participate and engage with our congregation.

• We are a gifted and blessed congregation, come celebrate our anniversary with us at our Anniversary “Time, Talent and Treasure Supper and Auction” on November 3rd. Silent auction will start after morning worship in Fraser Memorial Hall and carry on through dinner. Join us starting at 5pm for our free will offering anniversary spaghetti dinner with salad and dessert and celebrate the impact in our community over the last 187 years. So the other question is what Talent, Treasure or Time from your blessings could you put up for auction? Your famous pie? Help with yard-work or garden? a loaf of fresh baked bread? A night of babysitting? tickets to a play? A painting? The options are unlimited. Let Kelly know what you are offering today kelmurandco@gmail.com

•  Worship is one of our primary practices, and a time when the body of Christ comes together to praise God. However sometimes it is hard to get to service, but don’t let that stop you because we are Streaming our worship, the current Zoom link is: https://zoom.us/j/373853139 If you can’t be with us in person, this is the next best thing.

•  NEW OFFICE EMAIL: With Cathy’s retirement, we have had to make a few changes in our office. One of them is the church email that we use for things like eNews and other important messages. It is also something you use to get in touch with us, to tell us how we can pray for you, let us know when you or others are sick, recovering, and in need of a visit, or if you have an announcement for the wider community. The new church email for all of that work is: stpaulsoffice224@gmail.com  Be sure to update your contacts so that we don’t miss anything from you.

• The New Coffee Hour Schedule has been posted: As a community of faith, we work together to create spaces of fellowship and faith sharing. One of the ways we do that is during Coffee and Conversation Following worship each week. Each committee or group takes a turn to serve coffee and tea, and to bring in some snacks. The new schedule for Fall 2019 can be found on the fridge in the kitchen or in the church office.

•  Brown Bag lunch program continues to be a large ministry. We are in need of protein that have pop-top cans (tuna ham chicken). Lunches are handed out when the office is open. This Program provides much needed nourishment to the hungry.

• These are the Pantry’s most needed items: soups (no tomato), canned meat for sandwiches, granola bars, juice boxes, fruit and pudding cups, large juice, canned fruit, cheez whiz, cereals, household cleaners, laundry detergent, paper towels, soda crackers, cookies, ketchup, peanut butter.

•  St Paul’s has very exciting news, we now have power push button doors, at the Charlotte street entrance and middle outside door at the front of the church. Great news for everyone especially those with accessibility issues.

This weeks lectionary reading is 2 Samuel 5:1-5; 6:1-5 and Psalm 150. We jump from Ruth last week to her great grandson David. Our reading on Sunday is going to be only a small part of this reading, but this weeks story is important. In it we hear about how David moves from a shepherd to king. We also hear how he brought the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. David Danced, the people Danced, they sung, and played music. The joy that they expressed was not contained.   This is a model for us as we worship God and as we give thanks for God’s presence with us. This Sunday we will be praying and singing at our memorial hymn sing. Remembering the gift that our loved ones were to us, We remember the joy they brought and love they shared. We also remember, as we do each Sunday that God is with us. We praise God even in the face of death because of God’s presence and promises. This Sunday will be no different. We hope that you will join us as we sing out in remembrance.
As the rain threatens to fall on us today and the winds blow, may you stay warm, dry and safe and we will see you on Sunday!

Let us pray,
Holy and loving God,
You call us to notice the blessings around us.
The big and the small.
Help us to express our joy,
to go before you singing our praise for the ways that you show up in our lives.
Help us to dance with exuberance, sing loudly of your good deeds and be unashamed.
For it is in our celebration of your presence that we are made whole,
we find peace and connect with your love.
Help us to be bold witnesses of these gifts you so freely give.
This we pray in Christ’s strong name.  Amen