Office Hours for January 30 to February 5, 2023
Norma => Mon & Wed => noon to 5pm
Tues & Thurs – 9am to 2pm
Eli => Eli will be working Sunday to Thursday this week. They will be taking some Fridays off as Study leave this winter to do an online course on adaptive leadership. They are happy to discuss both the course itself and the impact on working days.
Greetings
Sunday, January 29, 2023 – Fourth after Epiphany
Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts folks – winter is coming back.
This week we get to have a lot of fun looking at Jesus’ teachings together with the wisdom of our children as we examine the beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-12. Maybe you memorized these sayings as a child, maybe you had to go look up the funny churchy word I just used – hey, maybe both.
The Sermon on the Mount is where Jesus lays out his vision, his platform if you will for his challenging and renewing way to see the world. The nine beatitudes (blessing statements) start off this message – and they go against conventional wisdom in his day and ours.
Jesus says we are blessed when we spiritually poor – in fact, two groups of people in these blessing statements – spiritually poor and the persecuted - belong to the kingdom of heaven (or the kingdom of heaven belongs to them).
The meek will inherit the earth – not the mighty, not the highest bidder from the most powerful corporation, but the meek.
Not only does God’s vision of the world challenge ideas like “might makes right” but also ideas about being religious enough. God blesses us when we feel the least holy, when we are at the end of our ropes (as the Message version of the Bible says.
Jesus’ teachings are not created newly by him for this sermon. We can see the same spirit in the passage from Micah – What does God require of us but to hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness), to love mercy, and to walk humbly.
Our intergenerational exercise will give you the opportunity to choose up to three of the beatitudes and talk about it with some guiding questions with whoever comes to your table – kids, teens, adults, or elders.
You will get a ‘Passport’ where you can add your beatitudes and your responses to them. This exercise will replace the children’s time and the sermon. The church will be set up with nine tables, one for each beatitude.
Most of all, have fun and connect deeply. That is what we are about as a church – deeper connections.
(Rev) Eli Carter-Morgan (they/them)
Spirit West United Church
Proud to share the land through Treaty 6
Faith Exploration - Explore big questions – What do we mean when we say God, Who was/is Jesus and how does he matter? What is the Bible and how should it influence us? What are your big questions? The Study Group open to anyone wherever you are on your faith journey. This can lead to Confirmation or Re-Affirmation of faith. Sign-up sheets are available at the back of the sanctuary or contact the office (spiritw@telus.net, 780-481-1406),
DATES TO REMEMBER:
LEADERS FOR Jan 29
LEADERS FOR Feb 5
WOMEN’S GROUP LUNCH AND ANNUAL MEETING TBD
The annual Women’s Group Valentine Lunch and AGM is being planned now. More information will be coming soon!
CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS – Feb 26 and Mar 12
There will be a Congregational Budget Meeting following the Service on Sun, Feb 26. At this time we will review and approve the 2023 budget for Spirit West. Then there will be a Congregation Meeting following the Service on Sun, Mar 12 to review, through the Annual Reports, the mission and ministry of the Spirit West in 2022. We will also make such decisions as will determine our vision for the Congregation in 2023. You attendance and input at both these meetings is greatly desired.
BOTTLES FOR THE MORTGAGE - The bottle collection has been ongoing through the pandemic. Since 2019 to date you have contributed a total of $1,946.85 towards paying down the mortgage. Thanks for your continued support.
I NEED A GOOD HOME
The ficus (weeping fig) tree in our lounge is not doing well. It doesn’t get enough sunlight there. The tree is over 5” tall. If you are able to give it a good home, please feel free to come and take it.
YouTube Videos Worship Services – January 29 – also, in person worship service
To watch online, you will need to go to YouTube and google “Spirit West United Church”. This action will bring you to the Spirit West United Church YouTube page.
SPIRIT WEST PRAYER CHAIN
Prayer is important. We know that people face challenges and difficulties and we cannot forget them. Our Prayer Chain continues to be active. If you have a prayer request, please send it to spiritwest.prayerchain@gmail.com. These requests will be shared regularly with the prayer chain and may form part of the Prayers of the People in our Sunday Worship.
Please remember to have people removed from the prayer chain if the prayers are no longer needed.
YOUR BOTTLES FOR THE CHURCH
You may have bottles piling up for recycling. You can bring them to the church (or you can call for pick up). If you want to bring your bottles (and any other recyclable beverage containers) in during our office hours and put them directly in the Bottle Shed (by the garage), give us a call, and we can have the shed open for you. All money raised from the return of bottles goes towards paying down the principal and interest on our mortgage.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
SPIRIT WEST ONLINE!
Website: www.spiritwest.org
Facebook: Spirit West United Church and Friends of Spirit West Outreach
Instagram: spiritwestyeg
YouTube: Spirt West United Church, Edmonton
Thank you,
Norma Balcombe
Office Administrator
Spirit West United Church
7003 - 199st.NW Edmonton, AB T5T 3A8
phone: (780) 481-1406
email: spiritw@telus.net
website: www.spiritwest.org
lick here to edit.
Norma => Mon & Wed => noon to 5pm
Tues & Thurs – 9am to 2pm
Eli => Eli will be working Sunday to Thursday this week. They will be taking some Fridays off as Study leave this winter to do an online course on adaptive leadership. They are happy to discuss both the course itself and the impact on working days.
- Please let Eli know if there is anyone you think they should call or visit.
- Eli is trying to get to know members of the congregation and they would love to meet with you in your homes, their office, or a favourite coffee shop. They are hoping to meet with a few people each week.
- Are you interested in exploring faith questions? Sign-up sheet available on the table at the back of the sanctuary. Sessions will be some time after church on Sundays
Greetings
Sunday, January 29, 2023 – Fourth after Epiphany
Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts folks – winter is coming back.
This week we get to have a lot of fun looking at Jesus’ teachings together with the wisdom of our children as we examine the beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-12. Maybe you memorized these sayings as a child, maybe you had to go look up the funny churchy word I just used – hey, maybe both.
The Sermon on the Mount is where Jesus lays out his vision, his platform if you will for his challenging and renewing way to see the world. The nine beatitudes (blessing statements) start off this message – and they go against conventional wisdom in his day and ours.
Jesus says we are blessed when we spiritually poor – in fact, two groups of people in these blessing statements – spiritually poor and the persecuted - belong to the kingdom of heaven (or the kingdom of heaven belongs to them).
The meek will inherit the earth – not the mighty, not the highest bidder from the most powerful corporation, but the meek.
Not only does God’s vision of the world challenge ideas like “might makes right” but also ideas about being religious enough. God blesses us when we feel the least holy, when we are at the end of our ropes (as the Message version of the Bible says.
Jesus’ teachings are not created newly by him for this sermon. We can see the same spirit in the passage from Micah – What does God require of us but to hunger and thirst for justice (righteousness), to love mercy, and to walk humbly.
Our intergenerational exercise will give you the opportunity to choose up to three of the beatitudes and talk about it with some guiding questions with whoever comes to your table – kids, teens, adults, or elders.
You will get a ‘Passport’ where you can add your beatitudes and your responses to them. This exercise will replace the children’s time and the sermon. The church will be set up with nine tables, one for each beatitude.
Most of all, have fun and connect deeply. That is what we are about as a church – deeper connections.
(Rev) Eli Carter-Morgan (they/them)
Spirit West United Church
Proud to share the land through Treaty 6
Faith Exploration - Explore big questions – What do we mean when we say God, Who was/is Jesus and how does he matter? What is the Bible and how should it influence us? What are your big questions? The Study Group open to anyone wherever you are on your faith journey. This can lead to Confirmation or Re-Affirmation of faith. Sign-up sheets are available at the back of the sanctuary or contact the office (spiritw@telus.net, 780-481-1406),
DATES TO REMEMBER:
- Annual Congregational Budget Meeting – Feb 26 after the worship service
- Annual Congregational Meeting – Mar 12 after the worship service
LEADERS FOR Jan 29
- Hospitality Team – Ludlow – Diane, Norma, Bruce & Carol
- Scripture Reader – Colleen F
- Projectionist – Norma B
LEADERS FOR Feb 5
- Hospitality Team – Doyle – Daphne & Don, Tony
- Scripture Reader – Diane L
- Projectionist – Norma B
WOMEN’S GROUP LUNCH AND ANNUAL MEETING TBD
The annual Women’s Group Valentine Lunch and AGM is being planned now. More information will be coming soon!
CONGREGATIONAL MEETINGS – Feb 26 and Mar 12
There will be a Congregational Budget Meeting following the Service on Sun, Feb 26. At this time we will review and approve the 2023 budget for Spirit West. Then there will be a Congregation Meeting following the Service on Sun, Mar 12 to review, through the Annual Reports, the mission and ministry of the Spirit West in 2022. We will also make such decisions as will determine our vision for the Congregation in 2023. You attendance and input at both these meetings is greatly desired.
BOTTLES FOR THE MORTGAGE - The bottle collection has been ongoing through the pandemic. Since 2019 to date you have contributed a total of $1,946.85 towards paying down the mortgage. Thanks for your continued support.
I NEED A GOOD HOME
The ficus (weeping fig) tree in our lounge is not doing well. It doesn’t get enough sunlight there. The tree is over 5” tall. If you are able to give it a good home, please feel free to come and take it.
YouTube Videos Worship Services – January 29 – also, in person worship service
To watch online, you will need to go to YouTube and google “Spirit West United Church”. This action will bring you to the Spirit West United Church YouTube page.
SPIRIT WEST PRAYER CHAIN
Prayer is important. We know that people face challenges and difficulties and we cannot forget them. Our Prayer Chain continues to be active. If you have a prayer request, please send it to spiritwest.prayerchain@gmail.com. These requests will be shared regularly with the prayer chain and may form part of the Prayers of the People in our Sunday Worship.
Please remember to have people removed from the prayer chain if the prayers are no longer needed.
YOUR BOTTLES FOR THE CHURCH
You may have bottles piling up for recycling. You can bring them to the church (or you can call for pick up). If you want to bring your bottles (and any other recyclable beverage containers) in during our office hours and put them directly in the Bottle Shed (by the garage), give us a call, and we can have the shed open for you. All money raised from the return of bottles goes towards paying down the principal and interest on our mortgage.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
- We can accept donations by eTransfer. The contact name for the eTransfer is Spirit West United Church, and the email address is spiritw@telus.net . If you include a security question with your eTransfer, please notify Norma at the church office by phone or email of the answer.
- And remember that if you are not on PAR(Pre-Authorized Remittance) or even if you are , you can mail in cheques to the church office (Spirit West United Church, 7003 – 199 St. NW Edmonton, AB T5T 3A8, include your envelope number if you have one.)
- You can drop off your offering/donation in the offering plate just inside the front doors or place it in the mailbox.
- You can also donate online by checking out the online donation option on our website spiritwest.org and click on the Donate tab in the navigation bar.
SPIRIT WEST ONLINE!
Website: www.spiritwest.org
Facebook: Spirit West United Church and Friends of Spirit West Outreach
Instagram: spiritwestyeg
YouTube: Spirt West United Church, Edmonton
Thank you,
Norma Balcombe
Office Administrator
Spirit West United Church
7003 - 199st.NW Edmonton, AB T5T 3A8
phone: (780) 481-1406
email: spiritw@telus.net
website: www.spiritwest.org
lick here to edit.
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