Weekly Update

LENTEN MUSINGS …

From Leaning In, Letting Go: A Lenten Devotional, by Nicole Massie Martin

Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

-Matthew 6:1 

“I can’t have dessert; I’m fasting.”

 My friend was so pleased with her denial that I almost felt a tinge of guilt as I gobbled my chocolate cake.

As we left our time together that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about her comment and how it made me feel.

I was both happy and ashamed; inspired and embarrassed, all at the same time.

Should I have been fasting too? …

Public displays of righteousness often seem to have this effect.

They make the “righteous” feel good while simultaneously making the “unrighteous” feel bad.

However, Jesus was not interested in public works.

He told his disciples that those people get on earth exactly what they want: to be seen by people on earth.

But he wanted them to strive for something more than temporary satisfaction. Jesus wanted them to have a relationship with God in which their DOING came as a result of their being. 

He was less concerned about what they were doing and more concerned about why…

As we enter this season of Lent, Jesus reminds us that he is more concerned about why we lean in than he is about what we let go. 

We are invited to fast, serve, and pray not because we’ll be recognized by people, but because of our love for God.

When God is our audience, no one else has to know. 

So whether we choose to eat cake or deny it, whether celebrating in silence or with a loud song, God is most concerned with our motivation, not our activation.

When we have the right motives, the simple act of leaning in will be all the reward we need. 

Lord, help us to let go of outward piety and lean into your unfailing love. Let your presence be our pursuit and your pleasure our only reward.

ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP:

The Lenten season begins with a contemplative Ash Wednesday worship TONIGHT at 7:00 pm at Grace.

Let us enter into this holy season together.

EXPLORING OUR FAITH:

The next session will be held on Friday, February 24 at 11:00 am in the downstairs boardroom at Grace.

We will be discussing the “Perspective” piece, found on page 12-13 in the March 2023 issue of Broadview.

Everyone is welcome!

COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR WALK:

It’s almost time … for the Coldest Night of the Year Walk!

Team Grace will be walking in the citywide event THIS Saturday in support of the vital work of the Samaritan Centre.

To make a donation please log onto www.cnoy.org and search up “Team Grace”.

Let’s show our Grace United spirit and help our neighbours in need!

BOOK STUDY:

Join the Manitou Intentional Learning Community in a-three session study of the book Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity by Elizabeth M. Edman

Led by Peter Haddow, the sessions will take place on February 27th, March 6th and March 13th at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

To register and for more information including details of weekly readings, please go to Manitou Intentional Learning Community (manitoulearningcommunity.com) or email manitouintentionallearning@gmail.com

Participants are cordially invited to make a donation (suggestion $10) by etransfer to manitouintentionallearning@gmail.com.

Please note, the text is not available in Chapters stores. It can be purchased from Chapters online and from Amazon.ca. It is also available as an ebook. We recommend that you purchase the text promptly as there have been issues with availability.

LENTEN MINI-RETREAT

As we move through the holy season of Lent, an invitation to gather for an evening of retreat and reflection, Thursday, March 23 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm at Grace.

Looking forward to sharing this time together!

SPAGHETTI SUPPER

Bringing back a Grace tradition!

Our FABULOUS Spring Spaghetti Supper will be held on Saturday, April 1; (details to follow).

If you would be willing to help out, please be in touch with Carol McLean or Monique Kerr.

CARE PROJECT:

For the month of February, we will be continuing to support the vital work of the Minnow Lake Food Bank.  

The following is a list of items they are most urgently in need of:

Cookies

Soda crackers

Peanut butter (medium size)

Jam (medium size)

Kraft Dinner

Monetary gifts

By all accounts the food bank has seen a sharp increase in usership recently, due to rising food prices.

Let’s give generously, as we are able 😊

FROM OUR ENVELOP SECRETARY:

Your offerings are very important to the continued work of our church and are very appreciated. 

Unlike other non profit organizations, we don’t receive government support or grants to continue our operation. 

We rely on our congregation, fundraising events and hall rentals to pay the bills, including our ministers salary. 

With costs continuing to rise, your support is more important than ever.

You can help support the church financially by:

*Signing up for Preauthorized Payments – tax deductible receipt

*E-transfers to Laurie Aubertin (our Treasurer) – tax deductible receipt

*Having a box of envelopes with an assigned envelope number to put on the offering plate on Sundays – tax deductible receipt

*Our online payment option through Canada Helps (you can find the link on our Website or Facebook page). – tax deductible receipt

*Putting loose money on the offering plate on Sunday – no tax deductible receipt

The benefit of the first three options is a tax deductible receipt at the end of the year. 

Canada Helps donators will be issued a printable tax deductible receipt at the time of donation. 

Signing up for PAR will help our council budget for the coming year.

If you would like a box of envelopes with an assigned number, please speak with Linda Arseneau linda_arseneau@hotmail.com, the ushers, or simply drop a note on the offering plate requesting envelopes.

THIS WEEK’S LECTIONARY READINGS:

Genesis 2:15–17; 3:1–7

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Psalm 32 (VU p. 759)

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven.

Romans 5:12–19

Through one came death; through one came life.

Matthew 4:1–11

The temptation of Jesus.

“SOUL CARE” FOR LENT

Lent offers us an invitation to take better care of our souls.

Here are a few traditional and not so traditional spiritual disciplines that may help us to grow in the knowledge and love of God.

*Call old friends to catch up, and thank them for being in your life

*Listen to music that moves you

*Refrain from gossiping and saying unkind things about others

*Go on a news/media fast for a period of time to lesson your anxiety

*Take more naps

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Weekly Update

MUSINGS …

written by Vicki Kemper 

“Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbath years as long as it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest and enjoy its Sabbath years. As long as it lies desolate, it shall have the rest it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were living on it.” – Leviticus 26:34-35

The 26th chapter of Leviticus is no walk in the park.

Filled with commands, threats, and I-told-you-so’s, its message is nothing if not clear: If the people continue to reject God’s ways, there will be consequences.

Cue the plagues and pestilence, enemies and exile. 

And still there is good news to be found.  

Buried under all the divine heartbreak and anger, poking through the human fecklessness and folly, God’s tenderness toward creation is revealed.

Granted, it’s expressed as kind of a “so there!” toward the people, but it’s a happy day for the land nonetheless. 

After all my people have done to you, God says to the land, after all their nonstop exploitation and abuse, now you can rest.

They didn’t take care of you, but I will. 

God’s covenants are not about asserting divine power over people power.

They are, instead, about honoring and nurturing the interrelationship of all things. They are designed to empower all elements of creation to flourish in harmony with one another, which includes both giving and taking regular periods of rest.  

God’s plan promises deep, life-giving joy for the land, and God will accomplish it

with us or without us.   

Life-giving, rest-promising, land-loving God, for our own good you have told us how to live.

Forgive our sins against creation.

May we partner with you in restoring health to the planet and joy to the land. Amen.

STUDY AND DISCUSSION GROUP:

The next session of our once-a-month Wednesday evening Study and Discussion Group will be held TONIGHT at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

We will be focusing our conversation on the topic of “beauty”; guided by chapter fourteen in Diana Butler-Bass’s Christianity for the Rest of Us.

Hope you’ll log on for a thought-provoking and lively conversation!

ASH WEDNESDAY WORSHIP:

The Lenten season begins with a contemplative Ash Wednesday worship experience, NEXT Wednesday, February 22 at 7:00 pm at Grace.

Let us enter into this holy season together.

EXPLORING OUR FAITH:

The next session will be held on Friday, February 24 at 11:00 am in the downstairs boardroom at Grace.

We will be discussing the “Perspective” piece, found on page 12-13 in the March 2023 issue of Broadview.

Everyone is welcome!

COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR WALK:

It’s time once again to support the great outreach work of the Samaritan Centre, with the Coldest Night of the Year Walk!

Team Grace will be walking in the citywide event onSaturday, February 25 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at Science North.

Let’s show our Grace United spirit and help our neighbours in need!

BOOK STUDY:

Join the Manitou Intentional Learning Community in a-three session study of the book Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity by Elizabeth M. Edman

Led by Peter Haddow, the sessions will take place on February 27th, March 6th and March 13th at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

To register and for more information including details of weekly readings, please go to Manitou Intentional Learning Community (manitoulearningcommunity.com) or email manitouintentionallearning@gmail.com

Participants are cordially invited to make a donation (suggestion $10) by etransfer to manitouintentionallearning@gmail.com.

Please note, the text is not available in Chapters stores. It can be purchased from Chapters online and from Amazon.ca. It is also available as an ebook. We recommend that you purchase the text promptly as there have been issues with availability.

SPAGHETTI SUPPER

Bringing back a Grace tradition!

Our FABULOUS Spring Spaghetti Supper will be held on Saturday, April 1; (details to follow).

If you would be willing to help out, please be in touch with Carol McLean or Monique Kerr.

CARE PROJECT:

For the month of February, we will be continuing to support the vital work of the Minnow Lake Food Bank.  

The following is a list of items they are most urgently in need of:

Cookies

Soda crackers

Peanut butter (medium size)

Jam (medium size)

Kraft Dinner

Monetary gifts

By all accounts the food bank has seen a sharp increase in usership recently, due to rising food prices.

Let’s give generously, as we are able 😊

FROM OUR ENVELOP SECRETARY:

Your offerings are very important to the continued work of our church and are very appreciated. 

Unlike other non profit organizations, we don’t receive government support or grants to continue our operation. 

We rely on our congregation, fundraising events and hall rentals to pay the bills, including our ministers salary. 

With costs continuing to rise, your support is more important than ever.

You can help support the church financially by:

*Signing up for Preauthorized Payments – tax deductible receipt

*E-transfers to Laurie Aubertin (our Treasurer) – tax deductible receipt

*Having a box of envelopes with an assigned envelope number to put on the offering plate on Sundays – tax deductible receipt

*Our online payment option through Canada Helps (you can find the link on our Website or Facebook page). – tax deductible receipt

*Putting loose money on the offering plate on Sunday – no tax deductible receipt

The benefit of the first three options is a tax deductible receipt at the end of the year. 

Canada Helps donators will be issued a printable tax deductible receipt at the time of donation. 

Signing up for PAR will help our council budget for the coming year.

If you would like a box of envelopes with an assigned number, please speak with Linda Arseneau linda_arseneau@hotmail.com, the ushers, or simply drop a note on the offering plate requesting envelopes.

THIS WEEK’S LECTIONARY READINGS:

Exodus 24:12–18

God calls Moses up the mountain.

Psalm 2 (VU p. 725)

Serve God with holy fear.

2 Peter 1:16–21

The morning star rises in your hearts.

Matthew 17:1–9

Jesus transfigured on the mountain.

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Weekly Update

MUSINGS …

written by Mary Luti

Above all, love each other deeply… Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace. – 1 Peter 4:8-10

I know an old woman who worries about outliving her partner and most of her family and friends.

The grief of that anticipated loss messes with her sleep.

And the fear.

With them gone, who’ll look out for her?

She doesn’t want to die alone.

She confided all this to a friend.

His advice?

Join a church.

Church people will take care of you, he said.

You won’t be alone.

She was taken aback by how crass and self-interested his advice felt.

Hi, I’m Sally, I’m old and getting older. I’m joining your church so I won’t be alone.

What kind of reason is that?

If people knew she’d come hoping for a few visits and a casserole someday, wouldn’t they feel used?

She decided he must be kidding. He wasn’t.

I don’t know whether she’ll do it, but I hope so, because her friend is right. Anyone who’s ever been lucky enough to be part of a loving church knows it. To approach such a community for company and care isn’t selfish.

It’s giving that church a chance to be church.

Some Christians think that the church is most fully what Christ intends only when it’s publicly engaged in the struggle against the sinful systems of our unjust world.

But the world’s axis also tilts towards God’s dream whenever some random old woman (or anyone at all) comes to us to be accompanied and is met with open arms.

Join a church. They’ll take care of you.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITY:

The Manitou Intentional Learning Community is excited to present the workshop Rethink and Renew: Restarting Anti-poverty Initiatives in the Church. 

This event will explore the root causes of poverty, our responsibility to engage in anti-poverty work, and how churches can get involved in practical projects.

Guest speakers Rev. Glen Eagle, Rev. Pam Cullen and Rev. Michael Blair will lead the session to be held on Monday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

Register online at https://www.manitoulearningcommunity.com/.

MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION:

Our next Mindfulness and Meditation gathering will take place on Tuesday, February 7 at 7:30 pm via Zoom.

Everyone is invited to log on for a half hour retreat for body and soul!

HAVE A HEART DAY:

Have a Heart Day is a project of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.

Led by Dr. Cindy Blackstock, the Caring Society educates about and advocates for the rights of Indigenous kids across Canada.

NEXT Sunday, February 12 we will be celebrating Have a Heart Day with some special segments in worship, as well as some fun and meaningful activities during our fellowship time.

Plan to be there and to take part in this important initiative!

STUDY AND DISCUSSION GROUP:

The next session of our once-a-month Wednesday evening Study and Discussion Group will be held on Wednesday, February 15 at 7:00 pm via Zoom.

Hope you’ll log on for a thought-provoking and lively conversation!

COLDEST NIGHT OF THE YEAR WALK:

It’s time once again to support the great outreach work of the Samaritan Centre, with the Coldest Night of the Year Walk!

After two years of covid restrictions, this fantastic event is back in person on Saturday, February 25 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at Science North.

If you would like to join Team Grace, please be in touch with me (Rev. Erin).

Let’s show our Grace United spirit and help our neighbours in need!

CONFIRMATION AND PROFESSION OF FAITH:

I would be pleased to offer a preparation program for teenagers and adults wishing to prepare for Confirmation (for teens) or Profession of Faith (for adults) 😊

Please drop me a line expressing your interest, and I will make scheduling arrangements.

CARE PROJECT:

For the month of February, we will be continuing to support the vital work of the Minnow Lake Food Bank.  

The following is a list of items they are most urgently in need of:

Cookies

Soda crackers

Peanut butter (medium size)

Jam (medium size)

Kraft Dinner

Monetary gifts

By all accounts the food bank has seen a sharp increase in usership recently, due to rising food prices.

Let’s give generously, as we are able 😊

FROM OUR ENVELOP SECRETARY:

Your offerings are very important to the continued work of our church and are very appreciated. 

Unlike other non profit organizations, we don’t receive government support or grants to continue our operation. 

We rely on our congregation, fundraising events and hall rentals to pay the bills, including our ministers salary. 

With costs continuing to rise, your support is more important than ever.

You can help support the church financially by:

*Signing up for Preauthorized Payments – tax deductible receipt

*E-transfers to Laurie Aubertin (our Treasurer) – tax deductible receipt

*Having a box of envelopes with an assigned envelope number to put on the offering plate on Sundays – tax deductible receipt

*Our online payment option through Canada Helps (you can find the link on our Website or Facebook page). – tax deductible receipt

*Putting loose money on the offering plate on Sunday – no tax deductible receipt

The benefit of the first three options is a tax deductible receipt at the end of the year. 

Canada Helps donators will be issued a printable tax deductible receipt at the time of donation. 

Signing up for PAR will help our council budget for the coming year.

If you would like a box of envelopes with an assigned number, please speak with Linda Arseneau linda_arseneau@hotmail.com, the ushers, or simply drop a note on the offering plate requesting envelopes.

THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READINGS:

Isaiah 58:1–9a, (9b–12)

The fast that God chooses.

Psalm 112:1–9

Delight in God’s commandments.

1 Corinthians 2:1–12, (13–16)

Wisdom through God’s Spirit.

Matthew 5:13–20

You are salt; you are light.

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