This Sunday
What does it take for us to believe that God’s grace is sufficient,– even more than enough? How can we learn to let go of our anxiety?
Here are the readings we’ll hear in this week’s service:
- Ephesians 3:14-21 (Paul’s prayer for the church)
As the Christian message spread from Judea into the Roman empire, one of the first problems the early church faced was the influence of ancient Greek beliefs. One movement (Gnosticism) claimed that knowing Jesus gave a person secret insights into the mysteries of the gods. The Letter to the Ephesians was written to address this issue.
- John 6:1-21 (Two authoritative miracles)
This week’s Gospel lesson begins a series of readings about bread, from John Chapter 6, centring around the saying of Jesus:
“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
Bread is a universal staple, but comes in many different forms. As a summer project, explore bread recipes from around the world. In baking, sharing and eating these breads, may we remember that Jesus is the Bread of Life.
I look forward to seeing you on the Coffee Hour Zoom. Remember to use the new link provided below.
Stuart
THERE WILL BE A ZOOM COFFEE HOUR (this is the Link for July and August)
Join Zoom Coffee on Sunday at 11:30
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87519998529?pwd=L1FUVVpsYlhmbi93Vko5dEFDQW9Idz09
Meeting ID: 875 1999 8529
Passcode: 009662
The plan is that this is a no-host gathering. Anyone with the meeting ID and Passcode can join. If there are any problems, please let Norma know on Monday.
FROM THE PASTORAL SEARCH COMMITTEE
The Pastoral Search Committee has worked diligently to complete all the required documentation for Spirit West on Church Hub. Church Hub is the central information sharing site for the United Church of Canada, and access is restricted. But now with the approval of the Northern Spirit Regional Council Executive, the position for minister at Spirit West United Church is now being advertised on Church Hub. This information is available to any minister who is looking, and the names of ministers who are looking are now available to the Spirit West Search Committee. The search is on!
SPIRIT WEST WORSHIP VIDEOS
Greeters
You may have gotten (or will get) a call from Diane H. our “Greeter Co-ordinator,” asking you if you would record a greeting for our Sunday Worship videos. If at all possible, please say yes. Recorded greetings should be sent to our “Recording technician” (Paul W.) at [email protected] or you can come into the church and we will record your greeting. Video greetings need to be sent in or recorded by the Friday before “your” Sunday.
Scripture Readers
Using the list of those who have volunteered to be Scripture readers, I have sent out a schedule of readers for July 18 to September 26. If you have read scripture for one of the worship videos, you will be on the schedule and will have received a copy. Please confirm with me as soon as possible that you are available to do your reading. Readings can be recorded well in advance of the date required. Your reading can also be recorded at the church between 3:30 and 4:30 on Thursday afternoons.
Sharing our Celebrations
In this time when it is important for us to look for signs of hope and joy, opportunity is being given for you to share your celebrations (birthdays, anniversaries, new grandchildren etc) with the wider community. If you have a celebration you want to share please email [email protected] or phone the church. (must be sent in before noon on Thursday for inclusion on the Sunday) During the opening section or our Worship Video, we will announce celebrations that have been shared with us.
Spirit West Prayer Chain
Prayer is important. We know that people still face challenges and difficulties not related to Covid-19, and we cannot forget them. Our Prayer Chain will continue to be active. Dave S has agreed to send out the request for prayers to the Prayer Chain group. He will do this as his schedule permits which may not be every Tuesday as in the past.
If you have a prayer request, please send it to [email protected]. These requests will be shared regularly with the prayer chain and will form part of the Prayers of the People in our Sunday Worship videos.
Please remember to have people removed from the prayer chain if the prayers are no longer needed. Our chain is quite lengthy at present so we will cleanse the list in a month’s time and start to repopulate it from scratch
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 now accept donations by eTransfer. The contact name for the eTransfer is Spirit West United Church, and the email address is [email protected] . If you include a security question with your eTransfer, please notify Norma at the church office by phone or email. And remember that if you are not on PAR(Pre-Authorized Remittance), you can also mail in cheques to the church office (Spirit West United Church, 7003 – 199 St. Edmonton, AB T5T 3A8, include your envelope number if you have one.) The church office is open and you can drop off your offering/donation in the offering plate just inside the front doors. You can also donate online, see below…
ANOTHER WAY TO CONTRIBUTE FINANCIALLY TO SPIRIT WEST DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC
You are stuck home, Spirit West is not holding services, you are not on PAR, but you want to make a financial contribution to the work of Spirit West, because the church has bills to pay even when we are not gathering on Sunday. Check 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
CHURCH OFFICE
The Spirit West Church office remains open.
Office hours
- Stuart => 9:30am to 2:30pm, Tuesday and Thursday
- Norma => Noon to 5:00pm, Monday to Thursday
Thank you,
Norma Balcombe
Office Administrator
Spirit West United Church
7003 - 199st.NW Edmonton, AB T5T 3A8
phone: (780) 481-1406
email: [email protected]
website: www.spiritwest.org