May 25, 2014 - Easter 6 with Special Congregational Meeting

Greetings,

I am putting  the information for the eMessage in the order in which the events are happening.  So I start with the Special Congregation Meeting which will be held after the Service on Sunday, May 25.

Sunday Worship

This Sunday is interesting for me because of an association I have with one of the readings, Acts 17: 22-31, about the Altar to an Unknown God.  There is a marvelous painting called He was Despised and Rejected of Men by Sigismund Goetze,  that hangs in the Chapel of Victoria College in Toronto (where I  did my undergrad).  The painting, set in Edwardian England, illustrates Christ bound to the Altar to an Unknown God surrounded by a great crowd of people who, with one exception, seem completely unaware of Christ in their midst. I requested and received a  digital copy of this painting from the college to use on Sunday.   I am going to look at what Paul says about this Altar.  I think I will also ask the question, “Why is God unknown?”  I might also venture into the area of “I’m spiritual but not religious.”  I found a great quote about this: “Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn't interest me. There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff, or heaven forbid, disagree with you. Where life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig deeply into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself.” 

The Readings are Acts 17: 22-31 and John 14: 15-21.  The Sermon title is “The Unknown God.”

 Special Congregational Meeting

The Mortgage on our Church Building is up for renewal on June 1, 2014.  The group within our church that is responsible for issues like the mortgage is the Board of Trustees.  We tend not to hear much about this group, since their focus is on the church’s real property and major capital expenditure.  So, often the Board of Trustees is forgotten, until they are needed.  It has been discovered that we are in a situation where the membership of our Board of Trustees is out of date.  We need to update this Board.  However, because it represents the congregation, the membership of the Board of Trustees can only be decided at a Congregational Meeting, it’s not something the Church Board can decide.  Therefore, the Board of Spirit West United Church is calling for a Special Congregational Meeting of the Church to be held on Sunday, May 25 in the Church Sanctuary immediately following the morning service for the purpose of determining the Membership of the Board of Trustees.

Messy Church

Mark your calendars!   Messy Church is on Saturday, May 31 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm.  Remember, Messy Church includes stories, games, crafts (some messy) and dinner for the whole family.  Our theme this time is Creation – God’s Wondrous World!  Share this with your friends and neighbours as well! 

Ante Meridiem Concert

The Ante Meridiem Choir with the Spirit West United Church Choir as guests will sing in concert on Sunday, June 1 at 7:30 pm.

Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the door.  Contact the Spirit West office for tickets.

Spirit West Prayer Chain

Spirit West has a Prayer Chain, a group of people who have committed to continue our prayers of concern from Sunday through the week.  To be part of this ministry, email your request to spiritwest.prayerchain@gmail.com .  You may also email a request for prayer to the same email address.  If you would prefer to talk to someone, you can call Marian Tannahill at 780-487-2851 or Bonnie Cannam at 780-444-2230.

  Dates to Remember    (Y) Youth of Edmonton United Event

Ø  Sun, May 25, 10:30 am – Sunday Service followed by Special Congregational Meeting.
Ø  Sat, May 31, 4:00 to 6:00 pm – Messy Church
Ø  Sun, Jun 1, 10:30 am – Sunday Service with Communion
Ø  Sun, Jun 1, 7:30 pm – Ante Meridiem Concert

 This Week in the cycle of prayer of Edmonton Presbytery we pray for

Ø   UC Moderator, General Council members and Staff

Office Hours

Ø  Norma => 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday to Thursday
Ø  Larry => 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, Tuesday to Friday

See you Sunday

 

 Larry

(Rev.) Larry K. Wright, CD, BA, MDiv

Minister
Spirit West United Church
780-481-1406
Spiritwest.minister@telus.net

Spiritwest.org