Newsletter #37
Welcome to Newsletter #37 (Sept 2024)
The last edition was so full of news that we skipped the regular feature on “Ministries”. So, this time we will start with that. Next in the series is:
Greeters and Sidespersons
This is a ministry that is very much part of your first experience at St John’s or any church. Sometimes the jobs of Greeter and Sidesperson are separate, but at St. John’s, as in many other places, they are combined.
Here is one definition: “A Sidesperson, ……… is responsible for greeting members of the congregation, overseeing seating arrangements in church, making the congregation queue for communion at the altar in an orderly way, and for taking the collection.” (Wikipedia). I don’t know about seating arrangements – we usually seat ourselves – but it may be true for special services, such as Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals. (NB – our Sidespersons also count the numbers of attendees and communicants for Vestry records)
That’s a summary of duties, but the role is so much more!
As one website states: “If people do not feel welcomed, they can quickly feel like it doesn’t matter if they are there; “No one cares anyway.” The church greeter team plays a vital role in helping make a great first impression!”
Joan Ogrodnick has been doing this job for longer than she cares to remember!
Her outgoing personality is well suited to the challenge of making everyone feel welcome. As she says:
“I like to meet people and make them feel part of the family.” Her advice for new Greeters/ Sidespersons is to be “pleasant and polite”. Welcoming is the most important aspect of the job for her.
Thank you, Joan, for doing just that!
If you are interested in this ministry, anyone on the team can answer your questions, or you may speak to one of the wardens.
But - not the recommended approach!......
UKRAINE UPDATE
By the time you receive this, Reverend Paul will have left on his journey to Ukraine. We wish him “Godspeed” and a successful mission.
To date, we have raised $2,836.60 from donations at coffee hour and some generous extra cheques, even from outside the church! Well done St. John’s!
All this will help to pay for the medical equipment etc. that Paul has gathered together. We look forward to hearing more on his return.
PWRDF WILD RIDE
PWRDF is running the WILD RIDE again this year and hopes to raise $65,000 to support refugees and internally displaced persons in various countries throughout the world. It's also in celebration of their 65th year! It runs until October 14th, and you can learn more about it here: https://pwrdf.org/take-the-wild-ride-65-for-65-challenge/
You can register your own fundraiser or support an existing team.
The "Divine Dashers" are doing a 5km walk along the Fraser River in Pitt Meadows on Saturday September 28th at 10 am. St. Laurence Coquitlam also plans to join us again this year. We have cooperated on the walk for several years as part of the "Wild Ride". Please come if you are able!
You can sponsor the Divine Dashers at: https://www.canadahelps.org/s/6q7ZHH online or add your name to the sponsor list in the lounge.
For more details or to join us, please contact me or Joan. I am not putting email addresses in the newsletter, but all the contacts will be listed on the lectern in the Lounge.
If you prefer to ride, there is also a bike ride of about 18 km along the Pitt Meadows dykes on Sept 28th. Contact is George Coghlan.
Finally, we are also knitting toques and making "ditty bags" for the Mission to Seafarers.
You can help or sponsor this activity too. I have patterns! We plan to "kill 2 birds with one stone", helping two deserving causes at once! Sponsors donations will go to PWRDF and the products to the Seafarers. We might even be able to fill some of the “Ditty Bags”! (Think toiletries, snacks, chocolate etc.)
Why support refugees and displaced persons? The PWRDF website says: “In 2024 alone, over 100 million people will be displaced or stateless. They will be forced to flee their homes, jobs and families, leaving behind everything they've ever known. Refugees often embark on dangerous journeys in pursuit of safety. But with your help, we can make a difference.
Register to participate in the Wild Ride today!”
Although not strictly speaking part of the Wild ride, Holy Spirit in Whonnock are organizing a walkathon - "Romp Around Rolley". Rolley Lake that is! The date is Saturday September 21st at 10 am and they are raising funds for the Anglican Hospital in Gaza, which is still operating amid incredible hardships, including being bombed and evacuated at least twice. You can read more at www.pwrdf.org . The contact person is Deborah Sproule one of the Wardens at Holy Spirit, and we can give you her email address.
A Parishioner shared with me a little book of “Table Graces” from our neighbour, St. George’s in Maple Ridge.
Here are some selections:
“Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let this food to us be blessed. Amen”
“God, we thank you for this food
For rest and home and all things good
For wind and rain and sun above
But most of all for those we love. Amen”
“Heavenly Father, Blessed Lord Jesus,
We thank you for this food in its abundance.
We ask that you would bless our home
And guide us through the rest of this day.
In Jesus’ name. Amen”