This Sunday is Good Shepherd Sunday, and the readings point to an image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and of course to us as the sheep. Now as I have mentioned before, being described as a sheep is not really that complimentary. Unless you have had a close encounter with a sheep, the image you may have of this animal is one of fluffy cuteness. Wrong, lambs may be cute to look at, but sheep are not nice animals. They have a reputation for being not very bright, and easily led astray. They also do not smell nice. Being a shepherd is hard work. Being a good shepherd is probably even harder. We’ll look at what it means to be a sheep from the biblical point of view, and how that relates to how we behave in our world today. We will also look at where the Shepherd is trying to lead us.
The readings for Sunday are Isaiah 53: 1-11, and John 10: 11-18. With the children I am going to talk about “Sheep.” The Sermon title is, unfortunately not very original, “The Good Shepherd.”
FAMILY FUN NIGHT
Come enjoy games, fun and food. On Saturday, May 9th from 7-9 pm we are hosting our 2nd Family Fun Night for the whole community. Bring your family, friends, neighbours, anyone you can find. Bring your appetite too!
ANNUAL PLANT SALE
The Annual Spirit West Plant Sale will be happening May 15-16. Please share this news with all your gardening friends. There are still opportunities to help out, there are sign-up sheets by the church office..
The Spirit West Benevolent Fund
At the Board Meeting last night, the Spirit West Benevolent Fund was formally established. The actual guidelines for the Fund are to be established and published by the Benevolent Fund Committee which is made up of the Minister, Board Chair and Treasurer. The basics of the Fund are as follows. The Fund will be used to provide short term financial assistance to members and adherents of Spirit West United Church who find themselves is financial difficulty because of unforeseen circumstances. It is expected that the amounts paid out in each circumstance will not be large. Members and adherents of Spirit West United Church may bring a situation of need to the attention of the Fund Committee through one of its members. In the interest of maintaining the privacy of those who may benefit from the Fund, the people who make recommendations will not be informed of the Fund Committee’s decisions. The Benevolent Fund is now one of Spirit West’s designated funds. Monies contributed to it will only be used for the designated purpose. Contributions to the fund can be made by cash or cheque. Cash should be in an envelope marked, or containing a note, with the donators name, church envelope number (if applicable) and the designation “Benevolent Fund.” Cheques are payable to “Spirit West United Church,” with “Benevolent Fund” on the Memo line. Other methods of contributing, such as a “donation box/basket” or special offering may be available in the future. Any attempt to indicate that you want your donation to the Benevolent Fund to go to a particular person will be ignored. The final decisions on disbursements from this Fund are made by the Fund Committee. A report of the disbursements from this fund, without names, will be part of the Annual Financial Report prepared by the treasurer.
Spirit West Prayer Chain
We have a new Prayer Chain Co-ordinator, Shannon F. The Spirit West Prayer Chain is 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 Shannon F. at 780-481-5262, Marian T. at 780-487-2851 or Bonnie C. at 780-444-2230.
NEW WEBSITE!
Check out our New Website at www.spiritwest.org . Thanks to our Webmaster: Bonnie S.
Office hours
- Monday to Friday 9:30 – 2:30
- Norma => 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday to Thursday
- Larry => 9:30 am to 2:30 pm, Tuesday to Friday
Remember to check us our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SpirtWestUnitedChurch
See you Sunday,
Larry