Friday June 18, 2021

Hi, First Summer Folk!

Our last Friday Letter before July is next Friday, June 25th.

It's time for Joanne MacPhail, Sheena Curwood and me to take a summer break from putting the Friday Letter together each week! However, we thought you might miss the news, the pictures and the reflections so there will be a letter on July 23 and August 20. If you have anything you want to be part of either of these letters, please send it to lynneblakedickson@gmail.com, adding which letter it needs to go in.

A bouquet of gratitude to all who carefully and caringly write articles and messages to keep us all up to date and to give us new opportunities to be involved in. We wouldn't have a letter without them.

Many thanks to all the readers who take the time to read the Fri. Letters. We do appreciate hearing from you. Maybe you'd enjoy being involved in some way! It takes all of us- we're a team!

Although you may not always see Faith, Love, Community, Inclusion, Care and more stamped in bold letters across the contents of each message, dig carefully and you might be surprised what you discover. 

Lynne

PS - Next week we'll send out info about all the summer church services and how to connect.

 

WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY

 

Sunday, June 20 at 10:30 AM ~ Father's Day and Indigenous Sunday Worship (Click Here) (Followed by Coffee Time) 

Our worship service will include

  • A remembrance of the men who have died 2019 - 2021
  • The Seven Sacred Teachings of the Grandfathers; and 
  • Guest song and sacred fire keepers from Indigenous heritage.

Do invite family, friends, and children to this safe, sacred circle.

 

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

 

Sacred Song-Keeper Kelly Laurila who will be bringing us a song to commemorate the 215 children on Sunday is a teacher of reconciliation and implications for settlers. See her video (Click Here).

 

June Birthday Celebration ~ Tuesday, June 29 at 7 PM (Click Here) Calling all those born in June, "Come and share one of your birthday stories!" This time is fun and friendly! Have a June birthday, let me know!

 

Wednesdays, July 14 to Sept 1 (11:30 to 12:45) (Click Here) We'll watch a video and discuss how we imagine our church and life will be moving forward. Come to one, come to all. All welcome!

Let's get Together! Starting July 13th, I will be in the office on Tuesdays. Let's make an appointment . . . I would love to meet you in person.

From July 5 to 12, I will be on a continuing education week: For pastoral emergencies contact Rev. Harry Disher (Mobile: 519-860-9198 / Email: revharryd@gmail.com).

All other times, I am just a phone call or email away. (Mobile: 647-763-0101 / Email: rose.ann.vita2@gmail.com)

Have a June Birthday? Please let me know.

 

The Rev. Rose Ann Vita

UCW SUMMER SALAD SUPPER WITH FRESH STRAWBERRIES

 

Don't MISS YOUR CHANCE!

Purchase a delicious dinner for $20! Last day to order - Sunday June 20!

Please support the UCW!

We're donating $215 from the proceeds to The Healing Fund of the United Church in recognition of the 215 children whose bodies were recently found at the residential school in Kamloops, BC.

Thanks for your support!

And now for the full story.....

Summer is here at last!! Please join the UCW in celebrating the happy news!!

 

Summer Salad Supper with Strawberries!!

 

Saturday, June 26, 2021

First United Church UCW is partnering with Deli Works for a safe drive-through pick-up dinner to help support the ongoing work of the UCW and also to support the restaurant which has been a great help to us.

We are offering a summer salad plate on a bed of leaf lettuce: Deviled egg; broccoli salad with red onion, bacon, raisins & cashews; redskin potato salad; classic four bean salad; slices of smoked turkey breast & black forest ham; dessert of strawberry shortcake and a separate container of locally grown fresh strawberries!! Sounds wonderful!!

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

  • Cost per package is $20.00 (tax incl.)
  • To place your order starting Monday June 7, please call - Lynda McDowell at 519-885-4534 or Muriel Omand-Naylor at 519-746-2566
  • Or email mbnaylor@rogers.com (before June 7)
  • Final date for orders is 8:00 pm, Sunday, June 20

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 June 26 is behind the restaurant Deli Works on Spetz St., near Frederick and Weber. We encourage shared pickups to reduce traffic at the location. 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!!!

 

REPORT FROM THE BOARD

At our Church Board meeting on June 8, we discussed what might need to be in place before we make decisions about the governance structure. The Board felt that the underlying needs of the congregation have to be understood. As a result, the Transition Team will review information that has been gathered from various discussions, conversations and reports, highlighting what the congregation has told us. They will be doing some additional work to help better connect the Board values and the values of our congregation.

We approved a job description for an Audio-Visual Co-ordinator as a part-time Staff position (15 hours per week). We agreed to hire Harold Arnett as that staff person. Timing is still being worked out.

We decided that during the summer months, there would be two Friday Letters- one on July 23 and one on August 20. If an important issue comes up that the congregation needs to know about more immediately, Sheena has offered to send out an email to everyone.

We will make a contribution of $215 to the United Church Healing Fund from our Outreach budget to give honour to the 215 children whose bodies were recently found at the residential school in Kamloops. BC.

Harry Disher

TIME TO PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAP!


Last year’s online auction was a great success, so we plan to have one this November
again. What might you be able to access as a donation for the auction? Even during
this pandemic, local businesses have been strongly supporting local fundraisers. So
perhaps you could ask for a donation from a local business you frequent – try to choose
one that you think others might not be asking. We know from experience that baking,
preserves, gift cards and handcrafted items bring active bidding. Then there are those
unique donations that really lead to many bids and rebids– so put on your thinking cap!
The more donations we have – the more funds we can raise.
More details to come in early fall.


Joan Westcott

 

HELP WANTED! SUNDAY TECH SUPPORT!!

We are hoping to find some people in our congregation who would be willing to help with Sunday morning worship.

  1. (Beginner & Intermediate Level) Managing the sound in the Sanctuary: Turning on and off mics during the service, setting the sound levels and catching any sound issues that arise.
  2. (Beginner & Intermediate Level) Managing the “service flow” that is being presented on a livestream and on the screens in the sanctuary, switching words for hymns and liturgy and changing “slides” that are being presented.
  3. (Advanced) Streaming and Production
  4. (Beginner & Intermediate) At home you can set up the slides for each Sunday’s service (you will need a computer)

Training will be provided for all of these roles. The hope is that we develop a roster of people who are able to take scheduled weeks.

If you are interested in learning production skills or curious about how things work and would like to help out, or simply know more, please contact Greg Case at gregjcase@gmail.com

There are also volunteers needed to help update the webpage and various “computer” tasks.

For High School Students this can be used towards your community volunteer hours

Thanks

Greg

 

SMALL GROUPS COMING ALIVE

Gardening

As told by two gardeners- 

Two raised garden boxes have been made (with free wood) by Jay Brooker and installed along Caroline beside our parking lot. Trusty installers were Jay Brooker, Jana and Rick Heemskerk. Soil was delivered and shovelled into the boxes this week. The next step will be planting veggie seeds! We know we're late for some crops so we're considering this to be an experimental year. 

What will be done with our crops? Possibilities- People walking by might pick something? Fridays at First might use some? All the folks who brought this project to life might want to make a salad? Folks of all ages can learn and taste and maybe make their own garden next year? The sky is the limit!

For now, weeding and watering will be needed.

Back to the church flower beds-

The extra soil was spread over the church flower beds and next came the mulch which is great for helping keep the weeds at bay and moisture in the soil. 

 Help over the summer needed for flower bed gardens and raised veggie garden boxes!

Watering, weeding and a few tender words from many will help the gardens grow!

If you could donate a few hours, please contact Jana by the end of the next week.

Shirley Irish and Jana Heemskerk

Let’s Talk About It - Broadview Magazine Discussion Group

We're going to meet on Wednesday, July 21 at 10:00 am to discuss the July/August issue of Broadview. We will not meet in August.

Please join us. Further information is available here on the church website or by contacting Walt at waltbrooker@gmail.com.

Walt

BOOK CLUB

 

The Book Club will be meeting again on Saturday, June 26 at 9:00 am. The next book selection is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.

To join via Zoom CLICK HERE

Greg Case

 

 

WORSHIP IN COMING WEEKS

Sunday, June 27 - Rev. Harry Disher- "My Little Glass of Wittenberg Beer"

Sunday, July 4 - Rev. Rose Ann Vita - "Hospitality"

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 Careneeds 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 at 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.

BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN FOR MARILLAC PLACE

You can make a positive difference in the lives of Moms and their babies by donating to Marillac Place. Make a cheque directly to Marillac Place, 109 Young St., Kitchener ON N24 4Z2 or click on link to arrange a single or monthly payment. Thanks for caring!

Marillac Place, 109 Young St. Kitchener Ontario, N2H 4Z2

https://marillacplace.ca/donate

 

Marilyn Gerriets on behalf of the Outreach Committee

 

 

The office will be closed on Tuesday, June 22nd for Vacation. Voice and email messages will not be monitored.

Together We Stand, but Apart