St. Matthew’s United Church eBulletin Feb. 16, 2020
News
What's coming up at St. Matthew's (* see below for more information)
Tue. Feb. 18 Book Club, 2 pm *
Thu. Feb. 20 Bible study, come to the Sanctuary doors at noon
Sun. Feb. 23 - Worship service 10:30 am, Matthew Fraser, organ
- Pancake lunch, after church
Tue. Feb. 25 Shrove Tuesday
Sun. Mar. 1 First Sunday of Lent
Tue. Mar. 3 Potluck Church, 5:30 pm
Pancake Lunch Sun. Feb. 23
St. Matthew's has the best custom ever: The Sunday-Before-Shrove-Tuesday Pancake Lunch, prepared by members of the Board of Stewards and friends who have been inducted into Ken Moors' Order of St. Lawrence, patron saint of the poor and of chefs (Editor: Not necessarily of just poor chefs, or of non-wealthy chefs, although a career in the culinary arts isn't a pathway to riches for everyone – but I digress).
Come after church and enjoy a meal of pancakes and sausages, with lots of butter and maple syrup. A freewill donation will be received to cover costs.
Benevolent Fund
As is our custom on Communion Sundays, an offering was received for the Benevolent Fund on Feb. 16. This provides discretionary money for the church to respond to emergency needs – food, shelter, heat, etc. -- on a day-to-day basis.
One recent example from our Benevolent Fund file concerned a member of our congregation who unexpectedly found himself homeless over the Christmas period, and who faced great uncertainty about where he could turn, other than to emergency housing like Metro Turning Point. The Benevolent Fund provided assistance for room rental over the holiday season. His housing situation is now in the hands of experts who are helping him secure a stable housing situation.
Benevolent Fund donations are welcome at any time. Just mark your donation "Benevolent Fund" and leave it in the offering plate, and it will be credited to your annual givings to St. Matthew's.
Congratulations to…
Reverend Dr. Marjorie Lewis of our choir and congregation, recently appointed as University Chaplain for Acadia University. Her appointment is effective March 2.
From the Acadia press release:
"On behalf of the entire Acadia community, I want to welcome Rev. Dr. Lewis to our campus and our community," said Dr. Peter Ricketts, president and vice-chancellor of Acadia. "As Acadia’s next chaplain, she brings an enormous amount of experience gained in a career that has been truly international and ecumenical. She will be a great asset in supporting the spiritual and personal growth of Acadia’s increasingly diverse student body.” Dr. Ricketts also thanked the search committee for assisting with the extensive process.
“I am honoured to have been appointed Chaplain of Acadia University,” said Rev. Dr. Lewis. “The University’s historical and current commitment to providing educational opportunities for persons of all creeds and ethnicities is a commitment which I share. I look forward to serving members of the Acadia community as they explore sources of meaning, purpose, and hope through diverse faiths and spiritualities.”
Rev. Dr. Lewis holds a PhD from the University of Birmingham, a Master of Arts in Theology and Religious Studies from the Atlantic School of Theology, and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from the University of the West Indies. She also holds a diploma in Clinical Supervision from United Theological College of the West Indies and several accreditations in counselling and ministerial studies.
Most recently, she worked as a spiritual and religious care chaplain with the Nova Scotia Health Authority. She has also been teaching online courses about gender, church community development, and health programs. She has been exploring Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in Atlantic Canada and is a consultant to churches in continuing education for clergy and strategic planning.
Rev. Dr. Lewis worked as Acting Anglican Chaplain for the Diocese of Nova Scotia in various hospitals across Halifax. She also served as a Visiting Scholar at the Atlantic School of Theology and conducted action-oriented research on best practices in training ministers to provide exceptional counselling to diverse populations such as the LGBTQ and inter-faith communities.
She has had many international work and research experiences, including the United Reformed Church, Britain, the Jamaica Council of Churches, Oxfam, and the Caribbean Conference of Churches. And she has been a pastor of rural congregations and a high school teacher in Jamaica.
From 2010 to 2015, Rev. Dr. Lewis served as President of the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) in Kingston, Jamaica. From 2003 to 2010, she lectured in the Practical Theology Department at the United Theological College and provided spiritual direction for women in politics in Grenada and female church leaders in Jamaica.
In 2009 she was awarded a Fellowship as Womanist Scholar at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, which is a Christian Afrocentric ecumenical consortium that educates students committed to practicing justice and peace through a liberating and transforming spirituality to become leaders in the church and local/global communities.
Official Board meeting March 14
The Official Board is tentatively scheduled to meet on Sat. Mar. 14 at 10:30 am to have a fulsome discussion of the recommendations of the Property Assessment Report.
Thanks to …
Hilary Wellard for sponsoring Sunday's bulletin, in loving memory of her mother, Laura Wellard, who would have celebrated her 109th birthday on Feb. 18.
If you are interested in making a small donation to sponsor a bulletin in honor or in memory of someone special, contact the church office.
PowerPoint People awake!
We need people with PowerPoint skills at St. Matthew's. If you are interested in making PowerPoint additions for the display screens for Sunday services when Betsy is away, please see Matthew Fraser or Gayle Reiner. Having visuals, texts, and other material on the screens visible to the entire congregation has added much to Sunday services, but we will be losing our "Power Point Guy" to university after this summer.
In the Community
Organ Concert (Jazz, Classical and Contemporary Music)– Sat. Feb. 22 at 7 pm at St. Matthew's United Church. The pipe organ is often associated with Baroque music, like works by Bach. However, a much wider variety of music can be played on the organ! Hear many of those styles at a concert by Jean-Willy Kunz, Organist-in-residence of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Jean-Willy Kunz, on Feb. 22 at 7 pm at St. Matthew’s. The program consists of Saint-Saëns's humorous The Carnival of the Animals, a jazz improvisation in the style of Joey DeFrancesco, classical and contemporary works, and more. Tickets ($20) are available on www.eventbrite.ca
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Administrative Stuff
Church office: (902) 423-9209, stmatts@ns.sympatico.ca
Pastoral care: Rev. Betsy Hogan, (902) 423-9209, stmatts.betsy@ns.sympatico.ca
Sunday Worship: 10:30 am
Minister of Music: Wayne Rogers, (902) 429-1680, humber@ns.sympatico.ca
Student Organist: Matthew Fraser
On the web: www.stmatts.ns.ca
Ushering – Click this link to open the sign-up page
https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17186169
EarthSpiritAction Resources for Thinking About God's Green Earth: www.stmatts.ns.ca/about/earth-spirit-action-eco-team
Meeting Schedule 2020
Congregational Meeting May 3, 2020 (budget)
Session, Stewards Apr. 26
Official Board Mar. 14
Worship and Music Apr. 19
Regular Activities
Sunday Free Breakfast – Sundays 8:30 am
Thursday Noon Bible Study – Thursdays at 12 noon, come to the sanctuary doors
Choir Practices – Thursdays – Handbells 6:15 pm, Sanctuary choir 7:30 pm
Lunch Bunch community choir – Fridays at 12:15 pm
St. Matthew’s Book Club – Third Tuesday
Melville Heights Service – Third Sunday at 2 pm at Melville Heights retirement lodge
Potluck Church -- Tue. Mar. 3 at 5:30 pm, theme "Spring"
Enjoy St. Matthew’s United Church weekly bulletin. Contact the office to add your email or to unsubscribe: stmatts@ns.sympatico.ca or (902) 423-9209