Friday January 21st , 2022

 

Hi First Friends!

 

Over the past few weeks our "cup" has been overflowing with donations of cozy hats, mitts, gloves, socks, scarves, and neck warmers. They couldn't have come at a better time with beautiful snowy days, chilly winds and frigid temperatures. 

New and gently used items are so appreciated as is wool to knit items. There are two collection bins- one on our porch(210 Stanley Dr., Waterloo) and the other just inside- under the bench at the back door by our church parking lot.

Let our hearts overflow with gratitude as we are able to share with folks in need.

 

Lynne

             

 

 

IN-PERSON SERVICES SUSPENSION AT FIRST

 

The reason for this suspension is to assure the well being of attendees from catching the air-born COVID virus. It was a difficult decision for the board knowing how important Christmas services and opportunities to gather in-person are to many members. However, the new surge of the virulent virus needed to be heeded. 

All services will be available online.  Please CLICK HERE to join a service.

 

 

WORSHIP THIS WEEK

 

Sunday January 23rd , 2022  -  Rev. Rose Ann Vita

At 9:45 to 10:15 am – ‘Joys & Sorrows’  

To join this time of prayer before the service please CLICK HERE

At 10:30 am  -  Worship - Theme ‘Jesus, Compassion and Politics’

To join the service please CLICK HERE

At 4:00 pm - Happy Hour Church with Communion

To join this time of sharing please CLICK HERE

 

 

                         

WORDS FROM THE PART-TIME MINISTER OF WORSHIP AND PASTORAL CARE

SUNDAY WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

            Sunday, January 23, 2022, from 9:45 to 10:15 ~ Joys & Sorrows (CLICK HERE)

Presently our worship services are being prerecorded during the week so if events occur (such as the January 15 Tsunami) they are not included in the Prayers of the People. In addition, because our online services are a public, outreach venture, personal prayer requests are not included. If you would be interested in a quiet, prayerful half hour before this Sunday's service, pop onto Zoom.

            January 23, 2022, at 10:30 ~ Sunday Worship (CLICK HERE)

The theme for this Sunday comes from the upcoming session of Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (see below) and the scripture, Luke 4:14-20. The sermon, Jesus, Compassion & Politics, explores that for Jesus "compassion was the central quality of God and the central moral quality of a life centered in God. (p. 82)" What about you? Where does compassion resonate in your life? What motivates you to participate in shaping your city/country?

Notes: (1) Bulletin: the bulletin is available on our webpage with the prayers, readings, and words of the hymns. (2) Children's Time: this week is a reading from the book, Tale of Two Beasts. Invite your young ones to come.]

            January 23, 2022, at 4 PM ~ Happy Hour Church with Communion (CLICK HERE)

We'll look at Acts 8:26-40, the baptizing of the Ethiopian Eunuch, to stir up conversation for our interactive sermon. There is so much to uncover in this passage. And no prior Bible knowledge is required. Not even a Bible --- just come! [Reminder: If you would like to receive communion, have comparable elements for bread and wine/juice handy.]

 

MEETING JESUS AGAIN FOR THE FIRST TIME

Every other Wednesday at 1 PM on Zoom. ~ Next session February 2 (CLICK HERE)

 Every other week we'll meet for 45 minutes to explore the themes in Marcus Borg's book, Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time: The Historical Jesus and the Heart of Contemporary Faith. This format offers us the opportunity to explore how our childhood images of Jesus may, or may not, have changed throughout our lifetimes. This is a safe space to share not only glimpses of our own faith journey but to be supportive and caring to those who are part of the circle. Come with an open mind, no other preparation is needed. Hope to meet you again for the first time. Rose Ann

 

BYE BYE BIRTHDAYS!

Birthday Celebration Gatherings have come to a happy end. These were opportunities for me to meet you during my first year with you. I have truly enjoyed the various stories that were shared. Thank you! Now it is time for me to begin my leaving well transition. In the spring there will be opportunities for you to engage in the Good Goodbye process, such as "Tea with Me."

 

FISHING TIPS 2.0 ~ How Curiosity Transformed a Community of Faith

Join author the Rev. Dr. John Pentland on Wednesday, January 26 at 3:00 PM, when he'll be talking about his book Fishing Tips, and discussing how his ideas on curiosity and congregational growth have evolved throughout the pandemic. This event will be livestreamed on the United Church Facebook page (CLICK HERE) and available on Zoom (CLICK HERE).

 

BUILDING BETTER HABITS

This month there are resources available to help you break unwanted habits, take good care of yourself, build new habits, and maximize resilience. Check it out: (CLICK HERE) If needed, the password is "wellness".

 

VIRTUAL AND TELEPHONE VISITS

I am working from home during the Omicron Surge

Please feel free to call me if you would like to talk. Know that I enjoy our conversations and connections and you are welcome to call with or without a pastoral care need.

 

Remember you are blessed to be a blessing!

The Rev. Rose Ann Vita

(647-763-0101 and rose.ann.vita2@gmail.com)

 

        

VALENTINE DINNER FEBRUARY 12, 2022

 

First United Church & DeliWorks Invite You to Join Us and share the LOVE

 

First’s Fabulous Food Fundraiser

 

 Rustic French Valentine Menu

 Brioche Roll with Butter

Salade César

(Caesar Salad)

Patisserie au Citron avec Baies Fraîche

(Lemon Square with Fresh Berries)

 

Entrée Options       

Coq au Vin Blanc

(Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms & Onions in White Wine Sauce)

With Garlic Herbed Mashed Potatoes

OR

Pacific Salmon

With Winter Vegetables and Herbed Couscous

 

Price per person $26.00.  No need to add more for tax or tip as you would in a restaurant.

First United Church is partnering again with DeliWorks for a safe drive-through pick-up dinner to help support the ongoing work of First United Church.


The meals come neatly packaged with instructions. All orders must be prepaid and there is a limit, so order early; you don’t want to be disappointed.

 

To order please call:            Pauline Williams 519 884-8357
                                             Muriel Omand-Naylor 519-746-2566


NOTE:  Final date for orders is 8:00 pm Sunday February 6, 2022


Please make cheques payable to First On Stage and drop them in the church mail slot or mail to 16 William St. W., Waterloo, ON N2L 1J3. You can also pay First on Stage by

e-transfer using the email: tastyatfirst@gmail.com
Pick up on Saturday February 12 is behind the restaurant DeliWorks on Spetz St., near Frederick and Weber. If you need help to get your payment in or make your pick-up, please let us know when you place your order, and we will assist you. Please be prepared to choose a 5 minute time slot for pick-up beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Thanks for joining us and enjoy your meal!!! 


Muriel 

 

 

BOARD REPORT

 

Your church board had its first meeting of 2022 via Zoom on January 11th with a focused agenda of two items we felt were the most urgent, namely the progress of intentional interim ministry and the 2022 budget. 

 

Regular reports from committees were circulated prior to the meeting to ensure all knew what is going on. 

 

The first item was the budget and much discussion ensued which resulted in the Board approved a motion to recommend to the congregation a budget with a reduced staff at the end of May when the Reverend Rose Ann Vita leaves us which still results in a deficit based on the givings to the end of November. Finance will also include comparison figures as if staffing remained at current levels. Finance is requesting $30,000 from the millennium fund administered by the Trustees to reduce the 2021 deficit to be sure we can pay staff in April and May. 

 

The second item, intentional interim ministry also resulted in much discussion. Progress is being made on preparing for the Asset Mapping of First United Church workshop looking at our strengths and weaknesses and ultimately resulting in a focus that all can get behind. There was discussion to start preparing the Living Faith Profile required for a ministerial call in parallel to shorten the timeline as much as possible and perhaps be able to have a minister in place in the fall. 

 

Many things still need to be accomplished, least of which is being able to show that First United can afford to call a minister! Finances have been slipping during the Covid pandemic and will impact what we can do. 

 

Everyone's active involvement is needed if First United is to flourish!

 

 

Rick Heemskerk

Interim Board Chair

 

BOOK CLUB

 

Our next Book Club date to get together is Saturday, February 19. Our book is 'The Book of Longings' written by Sue Monk Kidd. 

"Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, 'The Book of Longings' is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her."

All are welcome to join the gathering and discussion!

 

Lynne

 

 

TRANSITION TEAM

 

THIS BOLD HOUSE – ASSET MAPPING WORKSHOPS

DATE: Sunday Feb. 6th - Time: 11:45 am – 1:15 pm and

DATE: Thursday Feb. 10th - Time: 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm

(Details will be posted on website)

What will we do exactly when we do Asset Mapping?

What signs have you seen lately of God’s grace in the world?

Remember, too, that the church is the people, and the people are the church. Our congregation has assets. As an individual, you have assets. Your individual assets are part of the mix. In asset mapping, we talk about both congregational and individual assets, equally and together.

Basically, we’ll do three things:

  1. Recognize Our Assets.Look at our cup as half-full. Identify many of our congregation’s assets and strengths.

God has given us all gifts, that we can call strengths or assets. We start by recognizing and listing these assets. Look at our half-full cup. 

Think about the five types of assets that you have:

List of Basic Assets

  • Physical Assets
  • What are two or three physical assets of our congregation?
  • What are other physical assets of our congregation that you would not have thought of at first? Think creatively! Be specific.

Individual Assets

  • What are one or two things you can do with your hands?
  • What is something no one in church knows you care about?
  • Name a few talents and skills of other people in your group.

Associations

  • What groups of people do you connect with in your communities? They can be inside or outside of the congregation.

Institutions

  • What institutions have something in common with our congregation?

Economic Assets

  • What does our congregation spend money on?

BE SPECIFIC – For Example - Not “the building” but “100 seats in the sanctuary.”

BE CREATIVE -The most useful assets are often the weirdest or funniest ones.

 

Next in the process

  1. Connect the Dots.Link some of these assets together to brainstorm actions that you can take to get things done.
  2. Vote with Your Feet.We’ll choose the action that you would most like to take part in.

 

Your input is important! This will help us determine where we go next in our congregation’s ministry.

 

Thank you from your Transition Team,

Cathie, Greg, Shirley, Mary Joan, Harry, Debora, and Carol Stephenson (Regional Representative)

 

BETTER RELATIONS WITH INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE WITH JUSTICE

 

For people who are wondering how to work for better relations with Indigenous Peoples, or to understand how to combat climate change with justice for all, here are some suggestions for book groups to join. This list has been compiled by Nancy Dykstra, and she has lots of other ideas for events to attend, videos to watch. If interested in either of these topics, contact Nancy at nancydykstra@gmail.com and ask to be put on the mailing list for her monthly newsletter 'Living into Right Relations.' Talk to me about how to get involved.

 

Shirley Irish

  1. Unsettling the Settler Within, by Paulette Regan,  who served as Director of Research for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Book description: In a thorough, well-researched and compelling manner, Regan documents Canadian myths about peacemaking settler superiority, myths that were constructed by the distortion and obliteration of Indigenous contributions, strengths and gifts. She invites settlers to undertake their own “unsettling” to gain a more truthful, just understanding of Canada’s history and present structural racism/ injustice.

Contact Melissa Miller melissa.a.miller2020@gmail.com to join and to find out about dates, times, and ordering the book. 

 

  1. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act  by Bob Joseph. Joseph is the founder and president of Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., an Indigenous relations firm. This accessible book grew out of his Working Effectively with Indigenous Peoples Blog series. It is a very accessible look at this foundational piece of legislation that has embedded systemic discrimination, prejudice and racism against First Nations Peoples in our country. 

Contact Nancy Dykstra nancydykstra@gmail.com to join and to find out about dates, times, and ordering the book. Exact dates will be worked out with people who join. We will likely meet 4 or 5 times.

 

  1. Starting Jan 20, a free 8-week book study of Seth Klein’s brilliant book - “A Good War” - engaging key Indigenous & settler leaders/activists in conversation about the paths of decarbonization & decolonization.  Moderated by Steve Heinrichs and hosted by Mennonite Church Canada. The study's goals are to grow in understanding and be given real ideas as to how we can collectively act for the systemic change we need.  Everyone’s welcome!  Register here.  Thank you, Henriette Thompson.

 

 

CHOIR AUXILIARY – NOON HOUR CONCERTS

Given the present shutdown by the Ontario Gov't effective until January 26th, our January 18th and 25th concerts have had to be cancelled. Hopefully this shutdown will lessen the case numbers such that we can resume in February. Please continue to monitor this website under EVENTS for further updates.

Looking forward to seeing you soon and wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Sharon Gowland, Concert Co-ordinator

 

WORSHIP IN THE COMING WEEKS

 

Sunday January 30th, 2022 – Rev. Harry Disher

At 10:30 am – Take Courage

Sunday February 6th, 2022 –  Rev. Harry Disher

At 10:30 – Theme ‘Catching

 

You can always view the weekly service by going to the webpage each Sunday morning, or you can see previous live streams at firstunitedchurch.ca/live.

If you would be interested in leading a worship service or in participating in some way please let me know at gregjcase@gmail.com.

 

For Pastoral Care needs please email the church (office@firstunitedchurch.ca).  For our Minister of Pastoral Care call Rose Ann Vita 647-763-0101 (cell) or rose.ann.vita2@gmail.com (email).

 

Interested in Membership? Or in knowing more about the United Church of Canada? Just contact Rev. Harry Disher (revharryd@gmail.com) or Rev. Rose Ann Vita (rose.ann.vita2@gmail.com). They will be happy to find a time to have a conversation with you.

 

WAYS TO DONATE TO FIRST UNITED

You can get your offering to the church office in several ways:

  • You can use PAR, or
  • E transfer to firstunitedchurch@rogers.com, or
  • Website donation to www.firstunitedchurch.ca, or
  • Send a cheque to First United Church, 16 William St. West, Waterloo ON N2L1J3, or
  • Drop a cheque into the mailbox located at the Entrance on William St. side.

 

**Just a reminder- credit card companies have a fee of around 3-5%. If you wish the church to get the full amount, then please add that % to your contribution. **

 

STEWARDSHIP/FINANCE

 

Please find the preliminary figures for 2021.  We are still waiting for a couple of numbers that need to be included for this year but these figures are close.  We are happy that our budgeting came so close to the actual which bodes well for what we are presenting for 2022.

Thank You!

Nancy Lennox

 

 

Month of December

December YTD

YTD Prior Year

General Fund Local

$28,314.62

$208,049.41

$207,148.78

Wage Subsidy Grants

0.00

9,815.18

30,690.14

Other Operations

20,827.08

105,953.69

97,398.92

Mission & Outreach

8,234.25

48,754.37

48,877.00

Total Income

$57,375.95

$372,572.65

$384,114.84

Salaries & Benefits

24,883.29

284,794.61

234,028.68

Other Expenses

4,625.49

97,878.75

96,093.01

Mission & Outreach

8,234.25

48,754.37

48,877.00

Total Expenses

$37,743.03

$431,427.73

               378,998.69

Excess Income/Expenses

$19,632.92

$(58,855.08)

$5,116.15

Capital Income

  5,725.84

168,160.10

53,186.24

Capital Expenses

54.02

160,372.67

58,879.26

Capital Excess Income/Expenses

$5,671.82

$7,787.43

$(5,693.02)

 

 

FRIDAY LETTER

The Friday Letter will continue but will not be produced every Friday.  It will be produced every two weeks.  In the table below are the dates for the Friday Letter.  We are also including the dates when we would like to receive articles for these letters.

DATE OF THE LETTER

DEADLINE FOR ARTICLES TO BE SUBMITTED

Friday February 4th, 2022

Tuesday February 1st, 2022 - end of day

Friday February 18th, 2022

Tuesday February 15th, 2022 - end of day

Friday March 4th, 2022

Tuesday March 2nd, 2022 - end of day

 

NOTE:  Please send Word documents only for contributions to the Friday Letter.

 

 

Together We Stand, but Apart