Spirit West United Church
  • Home
    • About Us >
      • Welcome Message
      • What to Expect
      • Our Core Values
      • Minister
      • People
      • Children and Youth
      • Our Beliefs
  • Contact Us
  • Blog
  • Prayers
  • Calendar
  • Activities
    • Announcements >
      • Wider Church
    • Activities for Adults
    • Music
    • Education and Faith Formation
  • Outreach
  • Pictures
  • Rentals
  • Map
  • Links
  • Donate
  • Day Care

May 17, 2015 - Easter 7 - Ascension Sunday

5/14/2015

0 Comments

 
Happy Ascension Day!

(By the way, there is a lot of new info in this eMessage, so be sure to read to the end)

 Today is Ascension Day.  This is a very ancient feast/holy day of the Christian church. It isn’t seen much in many of the churches of the Reformed tradition, who wanted to emphasize Sunday as the day of special observance and tried to reduce the number of holy days and saints days in the calendar.  In addition, Ascension Day always falls on a Thursday, because it is calculated as the fortieth day after the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter) based on Acts 1:3.  However, as Wikipedia (that font of all wisdom) says, “some Christian denominations have moved the observance to the following Sunday.”  That is what I am doing for this Sunday.  So what is Ascension?  In the opening verses of the Book of the Acts of Apostles, the writer describes the last days of Jesus’ earthly appearances after the Resurrection.  Jesus promises his followers they will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.  And then Acts 1:8 says, “When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”  This is the Ascension, the “going up.”  This is the last that the disciples or anyone else sees of the earthly Jesus.

 The readings for Sunday are Acts 1: 1-11and Luke 24: 44-53.  In both the Children’s time and in the Sermon I will look at the question, “Where is Jesus?”

SECOND EARTHQUAKE IN NEPAL

There has been another devastating earthquake with after shocks in Nepal.  In response to this tragedy, the United Church of Canada has established a Nepal Earthquake Relief fund. Your donation to Nepal Earthquake Relief will be applied directly to support relief, rehabilitation, and restoration efforts in the country. Here’s how you can donate:

·        Online via the United Church of Canada’s  secure donation page.
·        Phone 416-231-5931 ext. 3050 or toll-free 1-800-268-3781 ext. 3050 and use your Visa or MasterCard.
·        Send a cheque, money order, or Visa or MasterCard information with donation amount to:

o   The United Church of Canada
Philanthropy Unit—Emergency Response
3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 300
Toronto, ON M8X 2Y4
Please be sure to note “Emergency Response—Nepal Earthquake Relief” on the face of your cheque.


For more information on the United Church’s response go to http://www.united-church.ca/communications/news/response/150427

And please keep the people of Nepal and the relief workers in your prayers.

 ANNUAL PLANT SALE
The Annual Spirit West Plant Sale will be happening this weekend May 15-16. Please share this news with all your gardening friends. See the poster on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SpirtWestUnitedChurch or on our Website http://spiritwestuc.weebly.com . There are still opportunities to help out, there are sign-up sheets by the church office.

MEN’S BREAKFAST
This Saturday at 8:00 am in the Lower Hall is Men’s Breakfast.  Any man associated with Spirit West (and his friends) are welcome.  The food is always great, and so is the fellowship. 

 MESSY CHURCH
We have another Messy Church coming up on Saturday, June 20.  I would like to have a brief meeting after Church on Sunday in the Lounge with all those interested in organizing, or being a part of, this Messy Church.  The basic purpose of the meeting will be to confirm the theme, and to see what resources, human and otherwise that we will need.

Church Membership
I would like to start a membership program for those who wish to join the United Church, and this congregation in particular.  If you are interested, or just have questions, please give me a call.

PRAYER SHAWL MINISTRY
For many years, Lou Punko coordinated the supply of Prayer Shawls for a Prayer Shawl Ministry from this Church.  For those of you unfamiliar with Prayer Shawl Ministries, it is a program where hand knit shawls are given to people in hospital, with the prayers of the church.  The shawl provides a tangible reminder of the church’s and God’s presence with the person in hospital.  This program continues with Shannon and I both having given out prayer shawls recently.  However, with Lou’s passing, the coordination of the supply of prayer shawls has been lost, and our basket is getting low.  If you are a knitter and would like to contribute to this ministry or if you would like to be our “supply coordinator,” please talk to me.

Spirit West Prayer Chain
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.

WEBSITE!
Check out our 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

(Rev.) Larry K. Wright, CD, BA, MDiv
Minister
Spirit West United Church
780-481-1406
Spiritwest.minister@telus.net
Spiritwest.org


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.