Announcements for August 28th

Service at the Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home.

Wednesday, August 31st – 10:30 a.m.

 Everyone welcome to join in the Service.

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ST. MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENT

Sept. 20th – St. Mark’s Congregational Board Meeting 
6:30 p.m. Executive,
7:00 p.m. Committees
8:00 p.m. Combined Board

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ST. DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

Appreciation is extended to all who supported the Quilt Show and Sale. It was a very successful event with visitors from New Zealand, Israel, Antwerp Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, California, Maine USA and B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec.

UCW will be meeting on Saturday, September 10th at the home of Cathy MacLean at 2 p.m.

September 18th – Official Board meeting following Worship.

Inverness County Refugee Resettlement Committee Bulletin

News Flash from Inverness County Welcomes 
  Refugee Committee

Our long awaited Iraqi refugee family is finally cleared all requirements to come to Canada. The tentative date for their arrival from Syria is September 12th. Unfortunately, our original family did not work out but the new family consists of Dad (43), Mom (35) 2 sons (13 and 11) and one daughter, (4). The husband has worked in interior design and as a bus driver. The wife has a technical degree certificate and speaks some English. The Inverness County Welcomes Refugee Committee has rented an apartment over the Post Office in Port Hood which will be very central for all their requirements.

To prepare for the coming of our family we are looking for the basic necessities to help them begin their new life in Canada and make them feel at home. We rely on the kind generosity of our church congregations to assist us in the setup. From St. Mark’s and St. David’s we are looking for the following:

tea towels  *  dish cloths  *  dish rack  *  drain board dish * detergent  *  cookie sheets  *  cake pans
cutlery (8 place settings)  *  serving spoons  * oven mitts  * iron  *  toilet plunger   *  trivets  *  bread knife  * toilet tissue  * kettle (stove top type)  *  vegetable brush   * vegetable peeler  *  bath soap  * measuring spoons   serving bowls  *  teapot  *   large olive oil   *  welcome door mat  *  measuring cups  *  finger nail brush  *  pizza pans  *  large jar Kalamata olives  *  salt and pepper shakers * bath mat

If you could donate any of these items, please call Camille Chapman at 787-2610 or email at crchapman@ns.sympatico.ca. Thank you all so much!

               

The Season of Creation at St. Mark's and St. David's

Celebrating the Season of Creation

By Norm Habel

Our aim in The Season of Creation is a joint celebration in which we not only give thanks for creation but also celebrate with creation. Our goal is a mutual ministry in which we are not only called to serve and sustain life, but recognize how creation serves and sustains life.

The Season of Creation is an exciting new season of the church year, a season that is now being celebrated in a number of countries around the world. Around the year 2000, the Season of Creation was being de­veloped in Australia, especially through the Uniting Church. At the very same time, a parallel sea­son called the Time of Creation was being developed in Europe by the ECEN (European Chris­tian Environmental Network). Without knowledge of each other’s work, both groups chose September as the appropriate time for celebrating with creation, following a Greek Orthodox tradition of declaring September 1 the Day of Creation and St. Francis of Assisi Day, October 4, as a fitting closure.

Why a Season of Creation? There is a growing concern in Christian communities about the ecological crisis and the way we have been treating Earth. One of the most effective ways to focus this concern, we believe, is through worship. By concentrating our worship on God’s creation and wor­shipping with creation, we are more like to find ways to heal rather than exploit our planet.

Our aim in The Season of Creation is a joint celebration in which we not only give thanks for creation but also celebrate with creation. Our goal is a mutual ministry in which we are not only called to serve and sustain life, but recognize how creation serves and sustains life. Our vision is to celebrate Christ as personal redeemer and also as the cosmic power at work renewing and healing a suffering creation.

How best might we celebrate the Season of Creation? Traditional ways of naming the Sundays of a season did not seem appropriate in the face of our ecological crisis. So it was decided to name the Sundays in terms that immediately evoked a connection with creation. We chose titles such as Forest Sunday, River Sunday, Ocean Sunday, and Cosmos Sunday. Worshippers around the world are free to modify or expand the Sundays with names that fit their creation contexts. It is great to invite artists to transform the place of worship into a forest, a river, or the ocean.

A set of readings for the Season of Creation has been prepared for the proposed three-year lectionary cycle, corresponding to the liturgical sequence of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Each set of readings has a focus not only on the domain of creation given in the title of that Sunday but also on the spiritual agent or impulse involved in the continuing process of creation, namely, the Spirit in creation, the Word in creation, and Wisdom in creation.

Especially important for any Bible study, reflection, or preaching from the readings for a given Sunday is a willingness to read texts from the perspective of Earth, whether that be a domain or living creatures of Earth. We have in the past, only read from the perspective of humans or God. But as Earth beings we are invited to read with a sensitivity to Earth or our Earth kin and seek to hear their voices in the text.

The Season of Creation is an opportunity to grow in faith, not only as servants of Christ but also as children of Earth. Through worship in this season we can also reorient our faith so that we unite with Earth and our kin on Earth in praising the Creator, discerning the presence of the cosmic Christ, and being genuine partners of the Spirit who groans with creation and renews all life on our planet.

Norman Habel is Professorial Fellow at Flinders University, actively involved in social justice and ecojustice issues, initiator of The Earth Bible Series and Season of Creation (www.seasonofcreation.com), editor of Exploring Ecological Hermeneutics and author of An Inconvenient Text.


Seasons of the Spirit™ SeasonsFUSION Season of Creation • Pentecost 2 2011 Copyright © Wood Lake Publishing Inc. 2011

We'll be focusing on the Season of Creation throughout the Sundays of September, beginning with Forest Sunday on September 4th. Speak to Nan if you would like to help prepare for one of the Sundays of the season.

Pictures from the Quilt Show and Sale at St. David's

Port Hastings
August 10th to Wednesday, August 17th.
Hosted by the Strait Area Quilters
and the Ocean Wave Quilt Society of Cape Breton
Absolutely beautiful! Thanks to everyone involved in putting on the show and sale--another great success!

Announcements

Wednesday, August 31st – 10:30 a.m. – Service at the Port Hawkesbury Nursing Home. Everyone welcome to join in the Service.

ST. MARK’S ANNOUNCEMENT

Sept. 20th – St. Mark’s Congregational Board Meeting
6:30 p.m. Executive
7:00 p.m. Committees
8:00 p.m. Combined Board


ST. DAVID’S ANNOUNCEMENTS

September 18th – Official Board meeting following Worship.

St. David's Quilt Patch Makes a Statement at Maritime Conference

Sisters, Julia MacKinnon and Margie Proctor, show off their handiwork. They designed and made this quilt patch on behalf of St. David's congregation for the Maritime Conference held in Sackville in May.

One of the symbols used this year during one of the worship services was a 'patch work quilt' assembled from all of the two foot squares sent by congregations. Each congregation was asked to to depict one of the following: your church as it was in the past, as it is now or how you see yourself in the future.This was an attempt to tell the story of our churches and our faith. 

St. David's was chosen to depict 'the present' and the following was presented along with the quilt patch.
St. David’s Church, Port Hastings

We Have This Ministry:
          of wonderful music,
          of children participating and really feeling a part of the church,
          of sharing and helping the less fortunate,
          of caring for each other,
          of being a welcoming church.
Members are indebted to Julia and Margie for the fantastic job they did on our behalf. Well done and many thanks.

Baptism, July 31st, 2011

The Baptism of Iris Nettie Hicks

daughter of Ryan and Krista (Hood) Hicks, Kitchener, Ontario 
Born July 1st, 2010 
Baptized at St. David's United Church, 
Port Hastings on July 31st, 2011.

Quilting at the Causeway

Quilting at the Causeway

The Sixth Annual

St. David’s United Church

Port Hastings
Wednesday, August 10th to Wednesday, August 17th
Daily 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Hosted by the Strait Area Quilters
and the Ocean Wave Quilt Society of Cape Breton

Announcements August 5th

ANNOUNCEMENTS

St. Mark’s United Church, Port Hawkesbury and St. David's United Church, Port Hastings extend an invitation to a “Meet & Greet” brunch luncheon at St. Mark's hall on Sunday, August 14th from 11a.m. – 1 p.m., to meet our new minister Nan and her husband Bruce Corrigan. There will be a “free will” offering accepted with the proceeds going to *famine relief in East Africa. Cheques can be made out to St. Mark's or St. David's United Church with a notation "Emergency Response - Horn of Africa". Anyone wishing to get an income tax receipt, should put their donation in an envelope with their name and address on it. If you plan to attend this luncheon, please call Ruth MacRae at 625-2424 by August 10th, so we will know how much food to prepare. Everyone is invited to an “Open House” at the manse across the parking lot following the luncheon. 

  *Famine Relief in East Africa The United Church of Canada is deeply concerned about the emergency situation right now affecting several countries in the Horn of Africa—Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, and the Karamoja region of Uganda. Our hearts go out to the millions of people affected by what our regional partners there say is the worst drought to hit the region in 60 years. Donations to “Emergency Response-Horn of Africa” can be made online by going to http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/response/110715 or by submitting donations through our local churches.

Emergency Response--Horn of Africa

Emergency Response--Horn of Africa

The United Church of Canada is deeply concerned about the emergency situation right now affecting several countries in the Horn of Africa—Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, and the Karamoja region of Uganda. On July 20, 2011, the United Church launched an appeal in response to this crisis and is currently inviting donations. Our hearts go out to the millions of people affected by what our regional partners there say is the worst drought to hit the region in 60 years.

The United Church is immediately responding with a commitment of $50,000 to the humanitarian relief work of ACT Alliance and partners such as the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and the Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC), who work through their member churches to respond to the immediate needs of people affected. The church's initial rapid commitment of $50,000 to this crisis has been possible thanks to the United Church's Emergency Response Fund, which retains 15 percent of emergency donations to provide the capacity to rapidly respond to emergencies as they occur.

In addition to this financial commitment, the church welcomes its members to join in prayer and support. Donations to “Emergency Response-Horn of Africa” can be made online to the United Church’s national website at www.united-church.ca or by submitting donations through our local churches. Please be sure to note "Emergency Response - Horn of Africa" on the face of your cheque. Please provide your support today. All donations will be applied directly to support United Church partners in this work.

Together, we carry out the work of our United Church. Make a difference! Join the partnership! Support the Horn of Africa special appeal and the work of the Mission and Service Fund today.

Meet and Greet Nan & Bruce Corrigan

St. Mark’s United Church, Port Hawkesbury and St. David's United Church, Port Hastings held a “Meet and Greet” brunch luncheon at St. Mark's hall on Sunday, August 14th from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m., to meet our new minister Nan and her husband Bruce Corrigan.
 

There was be a “free will” offering accepted with the proceeds going to famine relief in East Africa. Cheques were made out to St. Mark's or St. David's United Church with a notation "Emergency Response - Horn of Africa". Income tax receipts were given for donations if requested.