The Grapevine - Irp-cdn.multiscreensite

The GrapevineThe congregational newsletter of Fifty United Church, Winona, ONMinister’s thoughts: I wonder what thefirst leaders of the church felt on theDay of Pentecost when everything theyhad planned for their gatheringsuddenly dissolved into chaos? (Yes,that is the title.)Planning the liturgy for this Sunday’sPentecost worship was a bit of a nightmare.Or an episode of the Keystone Kops. Or aninstance of divine creation – of God’s Spiritbreath brooding and moving over the faceof chaos, unseen while graciously bringingall things to good order. Or maybe all threeof the above.It began with an idea to incorporatesomething new and unfamiliar – an openingimage that came from somewhere outsidethe usual sources of our worship – from theThursday morning Fifty Quilt Club, in fact.Then there was the commitment to makethe liturgy all-generational, meaningful forall ages. And to include communion. Anddo it all under the banner of a PentecostSpirit theme.Sound chaotic enough?What a swirling sea of ideas andcommitments. Not unlike normal life for alot of us a lot of the time. Not unlikechurch and any committee or Council orsmall-group meeting whenever we try tothink about or do something new.But then add to this the chaos of moderncommunication – or maybe non- or miscommunication. In the absence of aworship committee to sit down face-to-faceJune 2017and work all the pieces into somethingcoherent and meaningful, Karen andCadence and Brynna and I (Karen for themusic, Cadence for communionpreparation, Brynna for whether the Sundayschool would or would not be in worship,and me for whatever I do) assumed that ournormal casual email keep-in-touchapproach would work as well as it usuallydoes.Wrong.With so many new ideas, approaches andwrinkles to be considered, our normalcommunication channels proved highlyinadequate as suggestions were made, planswere altered, minds were changed, Iespecially got very tangled up in my ownhead, and decisions were made and unmadeand re-made again in ways that our usualway of staying in touch just wasn’t equippedto handle.We did end up with a liturgy. We got therewith minimal upset because of our respectfor, and trust in one another in spite of theconfusion.And I guess, come Sunday morning, we’llfind out whether to see this past week as anightmare, an episode of Keystone Kops, oran instance of wonderfully gracious divinecreation gathering all our chaos into goodorder beyond our immediate knowing orunderstanding. Or maybe all three of theabove. Because God does work inmysterious ways.

Just like normal life for a lot of us a lot ofthe time. And like church and ourcommittees, council and small groups anytime we try to think about or do somethingnew. As long as we are held together bybasic trust in, and respect for one another,and a shared openness to God’s Spiritbreath working in, through, above andbeyond us all.So come dressed that day in somethingrepresentative of any decade of Canada’s (andWinona’s) past 150 years.Weather permitting, the strawberry social partof the morning will be on the church’s frontlawn.WORSHIP AT FIFTY:Easing into summer,when the living is easy and worship that’s just as easy on the soulPlease Note: Through June we begin worshipat 10:30 am; from July 2 to Sept 3 we beginworship at 10:00 am, and there are children’sactivities available every Sunday.June 4 – All-ages Pentecost communionSpirit Lifter Update: Ready to RiseBy David FurrySpirit Lifter has a schedule, and it isSeptember.June 11 – Church Union SundayJune 18 – Worship and Sunday schoolgraduationJune 25 – Brief all-ages worship and an oldfashioned sesquicentennial strawberry social(on the front lawn, weather permitting)July 2 – Canada Day worship(yes, the first week of 10 am start)July 9 – Sept 3 – Summer worship(ahhh yes, an oasis for the soul)STRAWBERRY SOCIALIsn’t a strawberry social a little old-fashioned?Exactly!!But it’s one of those berry blasts from the pastthat never grows old. And this year we areenjoying one as a church on Sunday, June 25after a brief (yes, brief) worship service.It’s partly just for fun but also one little wayof celebrating the small-community side ofCanada’s 150 years as a nation.After an even-longer-than-expected processto get the building permit from HamiltonCity Hall, including some additions to thedesign to meet extensive fire and safetyrequirements, we have arranged aSeptember 1 start date for construction atthe church, with completion expected a fewweeks after that.This new date will avoid conflict with VBSfrom July 3-7, and peach peeling and piefilling cooking August 21-24 – two veryimportant events at our church through thesummer.Happily, New Horizons for Seniors hasextended our 25,000 grant to September 21,so we can still use that grant as well as the 5,000 Church Modernization Grant fromthe United Church of Canada to help coverthe cost.Unhappily, due to design additions requiredby the City of Hamilton, the cost for the lifthas increased from the original estimate of 85,000 (HST included) to 120,000 (HSTincluded).

Church Council at the beginning of theproject authorized use the Fifty Future Fund– the purpose of which is to pay for projectsand initiatives to help grow the church, tocover the balance of the cost, and theincreased cost will pretty well exhaust theFund (currently sitting at about 86,000)unless other sources of funding are found.Currently a few thousand dollars have beendonated to the Spirit Lifter Fund toaugment the grants we have received, butthat still leaves a balance roughly equal tothe full value of the Fifty Future Fund.Council would like to maintain some of theFifty Future Fund for future church-growingprojects, however, so they are gathering aSpirit-Lifter Fundraising Committee toexplore other sources of funding, with thegoal of raising at least 10,000 (although 30,000, about the amount of the increasedcost, would be wonderful, wouldn’t it?!!) bythe end of 2017 when we will close the SpiritLifter Fund.HERO CENTRAL Summer Day Camp"It's that time of year again! The wonderfulyoung adults of the Hamilton Presbyteryare coming to Fifty United for our annualSummer Day Camp (previously known asVBS)!Join us at "Hero Central" where you can"discover your strength in God"! Dates areJuly 3rd - 7th from 8:30 am to 11:45 am forchildren aged 5 (in 2017) to 11. Plus thereare volunteer opportunities for youngpeople aged 12-15. Registration is free, buta good will donation to help cover costs isgreatly appreciated. Join us for games,crafts, music, fun and more!Registration forms can be found on theChurch's website, in the Narthex, or askBrynna Toogood-Segrave!"We are aware that in the past when specialappeals have been made in thecongregation, we are more than ready tosupport the special project but the responseunfortunately has often been at the expenseof regular offerings to the General Fund.Because we cannot afford (we really cannotafford!) any further downtrends in regularoffering, the fund-raising committee willfocus especially on potential supporters ofthe lift beyond our regular givers.But at the same time, if this project is oneyou have been wanting and waiting tosupport in addition to your regular offering,special donations to the Spirit Lifter Fundare deeply appreciated and most gratefullyreceived! The lift installation will include aspecial plaque commemorating individualgifts of support at the 500-999, 1000-2999, 3000-4999 and 5000-and-above levels,plus all institutional gifts of support.Going up, anyone?Louai, Israa, Sham, and Zain havesafely arrived in Canada!!On May 12th the Assad family left Lebanon at4:00 in the morning to fly to FrankfurtGermany and then on to Canada arriving atPearson Airport late afternoon the same day.Even after 12 hours travel with two smallchildren, they were full of smiles for the peoplemeeting them at the airport, and they expressedmany "thank yous" on arriving at their newhome in Grimsby where a meal andcomfortable beds awaited them.Over the last 3 weeks the family has been busywith numerous appointments with ServiceCanada, Service Ontario, their new FamilyDoctor, and Nelles school where 4-yr-old Shamwill be attending Junior Kindergarten in

September. There have been numerous formsand documents to fill out and direct to variousgovernment departments. The parents have hadtheir English language skills assessed and Louai(the Dad) has started daily English instruction.Israa is understandably reluctant to separatefrom the children, so is taking some Englishinstruction on-line. She is also attending theOntario Early Years Centre in Grimsby withSham and Zain so they are meeting otherparents and children in the area. They havetaken tours of the grocery stores in Grimsby,and been to the Samir Market in Stoney Creekthat sells Halal meats. Also they have beenintroduced to a Muslim family from Beamsvillewho is reaching out to the family and has beendriving Louai to Friday Prayer at the StCatharine's mosque every week.All in all, it has been a very busy time for theAssad family!! They are extremely positive,delightful people who are eager to learn aboutCanada and life here. Obviously they arefacing a tremendous number of adjustments,but so far they are embracing these, and theyconstantly express gratitude for all that has been- and is being - done for them. The sponsoringcommittee, volunteers, and the family are alllearning and moving ahead together now. Theyear ahead will undoubtedly involvechallenging times and rewarding times. Pleasekeep everyone involved in your prayers!!INTERESTING NOTES:Something special to mark the 50thanniversary – our signature 9 inch pies willbe embossed with a “50” on top – the “0”being in the shape of a peach. The UnitedChurch Observer is running an article onFifty’s peach pies. Look for it in the summeredition of The Observer (July/August).THE WEEK OF THE FESTIVAL: 50th ANNIVERSARY WINONA PEACHFESTIVAL – August 25, 26, 27.Once again it is time to start thinking of ourmajor fundraiser for the year. The peachjam and jelly are made, and the pastry ismixed, rolled and in the freezer. Soon wewill be hulling strawberries for the Men’sClub sundaes. After that, it is rest-up timefor our busiest week in late August. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday andThursday August 21, 22, 23 and 24th:Peach peeling from 8:00 a.m. until noonon the four mornings. Bring a peelingknife and 2 bowls. An apron is a goodidea. We ask everyone to wear a hat orhair net. Disposable hats are supplied atthe church.Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday andThursday afternoons, the pie fillingwill be prepared and cooked at theChurch using the peaches peeled eachmorning.Wednesday – Wes and his crew load,deliver and set up the booth in the park.Wednesday, Thursday and Fridayp.m. – We load the cooked peaches andpastry and take them to Fiesta MallFortinos where we fill, bake, cool andbox the pies.Friday morning – supplies are taken tothe park - jam, drinks, cookbooks, tablesetc.Saturday morning - Crew at the parkat 7:30 to unload pies and stock thebooth.Man the booths from Friday at 4:00p.m. until Sunday at 6:00 p.m.Monday - dismantle the booth andreturn it to VanDuzer’s barn. Cleanpeach containers and return to storage.FINANCES: Nancy Au commits herweekend to looking after our finances, aswell as assisting in the booths. Thank youNancy!