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About EMUC
Vision:
EMUC is a thriving Spirit-filled congregation: Diverse, inclusive,and engaged with the community and creation
Mission:
The mission of Erin Mills United Church is to offer opportunities for all persons to experience the love of God through Jesus Christ.
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Welcome to EMUC's weekly message.
We are in the season of the church year called 'Ordinary Time' or 'The Season After Pentecost'. Green is the colour for the season.
Summer is going by quickly. Before long school will start and regular church activities will begin again. Look for upcoming events and activities for the fall. Plan to make EMUC a part of your fall and winter schedules.
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Inspiration at the Olympics
As an avid recreational swimmer, I always look forward to watching the swimming races at the Olympics. Over the past week, I've marvelled at the speed and athletic prowess of many of the swimmers, particularly Michael Phelps who has won 26 Olympic Medals over his career. And last night I cheered as 16-year-old Canadian Penny Oleksiak tied for gold in the 100-metre freestyle, giving her a total of four medals - the most won by a Canadian at a summer Olympics.
I can't imagine the hours of training and the years of discipline that go into preparing an athlete for those few minutes of competition in the pool. The journey to the Olympics is not for the faint of heart. This truth really resonated with me, when I heard the story of the Syrian swimmer, Yusra Mardini, one of the members of 'Team Refugee' at the Olympics.
This first Olympic Refugee team is represented by athletes from South Sudan, Syria, Congo and Ethiopia who are competing in track and field, swimming and judo. Some like Mardini, who now lives in Germany, are refugees who have found asylum in a new country; others like the South Sudanese runners Yiech Pur Biel, James Nyang Chiengjiek, Anjelina Nada Lohalith, Rose Nathike Lokonyen and Paulo Amotun Lokoro have been living in Kakuma, the massive refugee camp in northwestern Kenya.
Daughter of a swim coach, Mardini has been swimming since she was three. After her family home in Damascus was destroyed in the Syrian war, Mardini and her sister Sarah decided to flee Syria in August 2015. After arriving in Turkey, they along with 18 other migrants set out in a rubber dinghy across the Aegean Sea to Lesbos. When the motor failed and the dinghy started taking on water, Mardini and her sister, along with two others, plunged into the sea and swam beside the boat, pushing and pulling it for over three hours until they reached the shore. It was through their collective efforts that all the passengers arrived safely. From there the sisters began a 1,000 mile journey from Greece to Macedonia, to Serbia to Hungary, to Austria, finally arriving in Germany.
Once settled in Berlin, Mardini resumed her training as a competitive swimmer. Although Mardini didn't achieve medal status in her races, she says, 'I want to have all the refugees proud of me. It would show that even if we had a tough journey, we can achieve something. We want to show everyone that we can do anything. Good athletes. Good people.'
In the letter to the Hebrews, the author writes: 'Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.' (Hebrews 12:1). Sardini and other refugees know what it means to persevere - racing to freedom, seeking to 'lay aside the weight' of the war and terror that has engulfed them along with the sin of the conflicts that have erupted in such terrible violence. By their example, they inspire us to run with perseverance whatever journey lies before us - whether they be personal journeys of seeking meaning and purpose in our lives or the journeys where together we persevere in seeking to free and liberate those who are weighed down by injustice, or poverty, sickness, or oppression.
Peace, Kathy Toivanen
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Update from the Joint Search Committee
The Join Search Committee (JSC) has received about a dozen applications from people seeking to be EMUC's new minister. These applications were reviewed and reduced to a smaller list of candidates whom the JSC interviewed. Some of these candidates have been chosen for the second phase and the JSC will be visiting the churches of these candidates to hear them lead a worship service. The position is still open for new applications.
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Kathy Toivanen's Retirement Celebrations
Sunday September 18th at 10 am: Celebration Worship Service
with EMUC families (current and past), family, colleagues and friends.
Friday September 23rd at 6 pm: Retirement Dinner Party
with EMUC families and special guests. The dinner party costs
$50 per guest, payable by cash or by cheque to EMUC (mark your cheque with 'Retirement Dinner'). Tickets are available each Sunday after service from Laura Macro or Barbara Jennings or in the office during the week.
Please purchase tickets by August 15th.
Space is limited so please make your payment as soon as possible. If you are in need of
bursary support to attend this event, please speak to Barbara.
Gift Donations:
A number of gifts for Kathy from the congregation have been commissioned. Gifts will be presented to her at the Celebration Worship Service in September. If you wish to donate to these gifts, there is a gift donation box at the back of the church in which you may place your cash or cheque. Make cheques payable to EMUC and indicate it as 'gift donation'.
Alternatively you may give your donation to Laura Macro or Barbara Jennings.
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Spirit Garden
Plants Needed!
Since May, the gardening group has been working on a new garden on the north side of the church. A walkway of stones has been made surrounded by the garden. The garden has been prepared and will be ready for planting in September. Suggested plants are Asters, Black-eyed Susan, Daisies, Lavender, Yarrow, Salvia, Coneflower, Blanket Flower, Mallow and some 3 - 4 foot clumping grasses. If you have any of these perennials in your garden which could be divided and contributed to this new garden, please contact Ann Bone (905-274-4467) or leave a message for Ann at the church office. Be part of this Spirit Garden!
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This Week at EMUC
Copy for the August edition of the Communique is due today. Please email your electronic articles and announcements to janet.morrison@sympatico.ca
The June edition of the
C
ommunique along with other archived editions are available on the website
www.emuc.ca. Paper copies are available at the church.
Sunday August 14 at 10 am:
Kathy Toivanen has returned from vacation and will be leading worship.
Sermon:
'Competition and Covenant'
Come in casual comfortable attire during the summer Sundays.
Wednesday at 6:45 pm: Worship with prayers and communion
Sunday August 21 at 10 am: Worship with the sermon theme: 'Bent out of Shape'
Effective July 4 - September 2, the office hours are as follows
Monday: 1 pm - 4:30 pm.
Tuesday: Thursday 9 am - 4:30 pm.
Friday: 9 am - 1 pm.
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Upcoming Events
Greening Sacred Spaces is holding a Garden Tour and Harvesting Workshop on Tuesday August 16th at 7 pm at the Erin Mills Church Campus.
This is a free event. For more information and to register
Click here.
AED At EMUC
AEDs (automated external defibrillators) are recommended by the Canadian Red Cross. In the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, the general survival rate is 7%. The Heart and Stroke Foundation states AED use within the first three minutes increases survival rates by up to 75%. The Membership and Pastoral Care Committee along with the Health and Safety Committee have an AED installed at EMUC. It is on the wall in the main foyer between the office and the centre front doors. All EMUC folk and users of the church building are asked to become acquainted with the instructions for using the AED. Please go to this link and watch the short video. Watching the video will increase your comfort level using the equipment and may help you to save someone's life.
Refugee Sponsorship: Important Update June 24th
The Shalhawy family was interviewed at the Canadian embassy in Khartoum, Sudan on July 20; an important step in the process to bring them to Canada. The North West Constituent Group has been working with Sven Spengemann's office (MP for Mississauga-Erindale) to expedite the application process for this family.
Life is very difficult for them as they wait in Sudan. Severe financial difficulties as well as racial discrimination are making everyday life a challenge for them. Through free-will donations which are not part of the funds raised by the Constituent Group, we have managed to send $500 to this family each month to help them. We will continue to do this until they arrive in Canada.
At this point, over $62,000 has been raised by the constituent congregations of Streetsville, Erin Mills and Erindale United along with support from Eden United; more than enough to meet the financial sponsorship requirements. When their arrival date is determined, we will be asking for donations of clothing and furnishings. We wish to thank all of you who have come forward with offers of furnishings and we wish to thank you for holding on to these furnishings for so long. We realize that some people have needed to let their furnishings go as the time lapse was too long.
For more information, please contact any member of our Refugee Sponsorship Task Group: Dianne Hope, Hermine Bingham, Muriel Hamdani, Catharine Watts, Debby Sturgeon and Lorraine Brignall.
The Deacon's Cupboard
The Deacon's Cupboard reopened on August 3rd after its summer break in July. Canned fish or meat would be welcomed as donations. Volunteer drivers are required to help with the transportation of food from the Mississauga Food Bank to the cupboard.
Involvement would normally be once every 4/5 weeks. If interested, or to obtain more information, contact Mike Ogilvie 905-820-2387 or oglivia@sympatico.ca
The cupboard is also looking for a doctor or nurse to help out at as a back- up when a nurse isn't able to be present on their designated week. Contact Belinda Morrow at 905-828-2095.
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Contact Us:
Peter Kiteley, Office Administrator
office@emuc.ca
Erin Mills United Church |
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