Newsletter #16
Welcome to Stewardship Newsletter # 16, September2021.
This edition will feature PWRDF and the walk/ ride we do every year to raise funds.
This year our team – “The Divine Dashers” – will again be part of the “Ride for Refuge” and our designated charity, of course, PWRDF. The ultimate beneficiary of funds will be the “Solar Suitcases” project in Mozambique. What is that? Well, it’s also called “A Light for Every Birth”.
The solar suitcase is an ingenious way to harness solar power using a portable unit which can go anywhere. The power is used to provide light if a birth happens at night (which they so often do!) or power other devices such as cell phones and fetal dopplers.
The alternative often was that the health care providers attending a birth had to use their cell phone flashlights to provide illumination! Please follow this link to find out more:https://pwrdf.org/solarsuitcases2021 PWRDF aims to raise $300,000 for 50 suitcases. $100,000 will hopefully be raised before September 31st to take advantage of a 1 to 1 matching grant ($200,000 in all) and another $100,000 is the goal to be raised from the Ride for Refuge.
You can contribute either way – direct to https://pwrdf.org for the matching grant (it comes up on the home page and they are 75% of the way there!) before the deadline or support the Divine Dashers in their walk/ ride. If you would like to join us, contact me, Janet Coghlan, or phone the church office: 604 463 5733.
If you want to contribute to the walk:
a) link is: http://ride.w-ith.me/Divinedashers or
b) sign up on a sponsorship form at the church (see Joan Ogrodnick if you can’t find it!) or
c) just put some money in the box next to the poster display in the lounge. Easy!
Contributions over $20 will get a tax receipt but we’ll need details.
PWRDF has also been awarded a matching grant from the Government for aid to Haiti. The earthquake last month followed by Tropical Storm Grace has resulted in more than 2,000 deaths. Approximately 60% of the population is affected, with thousands of homes damaged or destroyed. PWRDF is working with ACT Alliance which is distributing emergency supplies in conjunction with ongoing needs assessment and planning. To donate, go to the home page https://pwrdf.org and scroll down to find the information.
On another note, work at the church is progressing and some of the new windows are in. Thanks to Andrew Wray and Wayne Scott for clearing out the bushes around the back, which were obstructing the work, and today I spotted Lawrence Ogrodnick painting the metal patio furniture and railings! Thanks also to the “elves” who cleaned the fridge and freezer!
Don’t forget that we have an Open house coming up on Saturday 11th from 11 until 2. Take a look at what’s happening around the church and enjoy a BBQ lunch courtesy of the “Welcome Back” committee. Meet old and new friends before the first in-person service in the Sanctuary on September 12th.
Do you have a favourite picture of the Church or an activity involving church members? If so, please send them to us. We hope to have a calendar made specially for St. John’s this year, but ideas are needed. You can use the church email: sjdmapleridge@gmail.com or stjmr@shaw.ca. Let’s make it colourful and unique!
REMINDER: Office Hours are now Thursday and Friday 9-5. Reverend Laurel is available for appointments Tuesday, Wednesday morning and Thursday.
A movie was shot at the church in August. If you get a chance to see “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” #11, a beautifully decorated St. John’s will figure prominently.
The “Covering up the Cracks” campaign is progressing well. Update to be given soon! If you wish to contribute, a cheque, cash, or e-transfer stipulating “for Major Repairs” will be gratefully accepted.
A Collect written for PWRDF: Almighty God who sent Your Son into the world to live and die for us, give us eyes to see the world’s needs, ears to hear its cries for help, hearts to care and hands to reach out that we may obey His commandment to love our neighbours and further Your kingdom here on earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. – Mrs. Grace Haldenby
Here is another recipe from the PWRDF cookbook “Sharing Food” by Zaida Bastos:
Bean and Cabbage Stew
A staple dish throughout Africa.
Ingredients 500g dried beans (e.g., kidney or pinto)
1 medium sized cabbage
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp peanut powder (you can grind roasted peanuts)
A few cloves
Water
Salt
Pepper
Method
Soak the beans overnight. Thoroughly wash them the next day and put them in a large pot with cold water, half of the onion, 1 clove of garlic, 1 bay leaf and the cloves. Cook all at medium heat for one hour or until very soft. Cut the cabbage and the carrot into small pieces and chop the tomatoes, the remaining onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a separate pan. Add the garlic and the onion until they are light golden brown. Add the tomatoes and the bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes. Season with paprika, salt and pepper. Add the cabbage, carrot and one cup of vegetable broth. Let this cook for 10 mins. Add the beans to the cabbage and mix everything together. Add a bit of the liquid from beans to the stew and the peanut powder. Mix it all well. Let it cook for another 10 mins. It is ready to serve!