Greetings,
The Thursday eMessage is a day late. The power outage
yesterday in the area including the church played havoc with electronic
communications.
It looks like we are going to
be keeping our doors open for a few more years at least. The New
Ministries Development Committee (NMDC) of Edmonton Presbytery is going to
assist us with our recently increased mortgage payments at least for the next
three years. We already owe the Presbytery $300,000 from a loan five years
ago, but they are going to extend the interest and principle free terms (we pay
them nothing) also for three years. Part of the willingness of Presbytery
to support us is, I think, because of the openness with which our difficulties
and strengths were discussed with the representatives of the NMDC, and your
generous response to Gerry’s appeal. We are not out of the woods
completely, but the path is a little clearer, and our mortgage has been
renewed. Now we need to get down to being church, the people of God, sharing
the love of God in our world. Clarence (our Treasurer) and Fraser Hiltz
(one of our Trustees) will provide an update on Sunday.
Sunday Worship
This Sunday is Trinity
Sunday, or as it was originally called the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity.
The United Church has increased its usage of the Liturgical Calendar in
the last 30 years or so. Many ministers, including myself, use the
Revised Common Lectionary as the basis for the Sunday Service. The
readings of the Lectionary (a word meaning “list of readings”) are based on a
three year cycle in which the Sundays of the year revolve around the great
festivals that celebrate events in the life of Christ or the early
church. Think of Christmas and Easter, but also Transfiguration and
Pentecost. Trinity Sunday is a bit different because it commemorates a
doctrine rather than an event. Early on, the Church struggled to explain
its understanding of One God that seemed to involve three. Our language
does not seem adequate to describe the Divine. Some of you may have seen
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life. There is a scene in the chapel
of a boy’s school, where the chaplain prays, “O
Lord, ooooh, you are so big, so absolutely huge... .” The early church
Fathers (yes, they were men and are called the Church Fathers because they
began the development of what we know as Christian doctrine) came up with the
doctrine of the Trinity, one God in three persons, (the wording makes a little
more sense in Greek) which they named the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Now, how this doctrine became a
cause for celebration, that is, had its own Sunday in the calendar is not that
straight forward, but after Thomas Becket (1118–70) was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury on the Sunday after Pentecost (June 3, 1162), his first act was to ordain that the day of his
consecration should be held as a new festival in honour of the Holy Trinity.
This observance spread from Canterbury throughout the whole of western
Christendom. This Sunday is also Fathers’ Day in the secular
calendar. Since one of the Persons of the Trinity has been traditionally
named Father, there is a bit of a tie in there. Come and see if I manage
the connections.
The Readings
are 1 Corinthians 13: 11-13 and Matthew 28: 16-20. The Sermon title is
“Relationships”
Men’s
Breakfast
There will be a
Men’s Breakfast on Saturday morning, June 21 at 8:00 am in the Lower Hall. Each
man usually contributes $10 to cover the cost of the food and to build up the
Men’s Breakfast Maintenance Fund. All men are welcome to attend.
Women’s Group Supper
Meeting
The women of Spirit West are
gathering for a Supper Meeting on Monday, June 23 at 6:30 pm in the Lower
Hall. We will be ordering from Swiss Chalet. Tickets are $15.00 per person and will be available on Sunday at the church. All women welcome!
Garage Sale
Saturday, July 5, Spirit West
will be holding a Community Garage Sale. Book tables in advance for $25
or donate items to the Church Table. Donations for the Church Table will
be accepted starting now. All items except clothing are welcome.
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 T. at 780-487-2851
or Bonnie C. at 780-444-2230.
Dates
to Remember (Y) Youth of Edmonton United Event
Ø Sun, Jun 8, 10:30
am – Sunday Service and Family BBQ
Ø Sat, Jun 21, 8:00
am – Men’s Breakfast, Lower Hall
Ø Mon, Jun 23, 6:30
pm – Women’s Group Supper Meeting, Lower Hall
Ø Sat, July 5 - Community
Garage Sale
This
Week in the cycle of prayer of Edmonton Presbytery we pray
for
Ø Colleges: St. Stephen’s, Edmonton; St.
Andrew’s, Saskatoon; and the Vancouver School of Theology
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.miniser@telus.net
spiritwest.org
