Ralph Connor Memorial
United Church
Weekly
Kindly submit your Newsletter items to office@ralphconnor.ca by Thursday at 11:00 AM
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On Sunday July 26th, our Honourary Associate Minister,
Rev. Michael Ward
will be leading our YouTube service (and providing emergency pastoral coverage) as Greg continues a two-week vacation.
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Friday, July 24, 2020
FOR THIS WEEK'S WORSHIP
The scripture for this
Sunday, July 26th
is Luke 11: 1-13 'The Not-for-Prime-Time Prayer'
click here~
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Welcome Wa'ill Tatari and Dana Ali to Canmore
The Bow Valley Syrian Refugee Project is thrilled to announce that our sponsored refugees, Wa'ill and Dana, have arrived safely in Canmore late on July 23, 2020. In keeping with Canada’s Mandatory Quarantine requirements, they will be isolating at their new suite for 14 days. Counting down 14 sleeps takes us to August 7th, when if no Covid-19 symptoms present, Wa'ill & Dana will be ready to meet in-person and begin to enjoy the beautiful Canadian Rockies.
Thank you to everyone who made or sourced handwritten “Welcome to Canmore greeting cards” so that delivery was made prior to their arrival. Thank you to the BVSRP team of volunteers who made this sponsorship happen. We are grateful for the donors who continue to generously support the project costs.
Should you wish to support the settlement costs, please donate to Ralph Connor Memorial United Church indicating that the donation is for the work of the Bow Valley Syrian Refugee Project (BVSRP). Thank you!
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f you have a prayer concern to be shared in our Tuesday "Morning Prayer" or our Mon-Wed-Fri Healing Pathway Prayer Circle, please email Val Goodrow at
v.goodrow@me.com
We request that the person gives consent to have their name mentioned in prayer as privacy/confidentiality is of utmost importance. We also would appreciate knowing when the situation changes and we can release them from our prayers or update the prayer to a changing need.
Note: For the next week we will not be having Tuesday "Morning Prayer."
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LIVING OUR MISSION
a Message from your Stewardship Committee
Ralph Connor Memorial United Church's Mission as a Church Community is:
• to nurture the spiritual exploration and growth of all our members and adherents;
• to be an intentionally inviting Christian community that seeks, welcomes and embraces new members;
• to reach out and become an agent for social justice in our neighborhood and in the global community.
A heartfelt thank you to RCMUC friends for your generosity during these challenging times. We continue to receive an outpouring of kindnesses and generosity, which helps us to pay our ongoing expenses and reach out to others in our community.
As always, donations may be made by letter mail, by eTransfer to
office@ralphconnor.ca
, or by the “donate now” button or by Pre-Authorized Remittance (links for “Donate Now” and PAR are found at the bottom of this Newsletter).
Each week for the next three weeks, we'll highlight one of the outreach ways that we "live out" this Mission that you so generously fund. Last week we highlighted theBow Valley Syrian Refugee Project. This week we'll highlight the Friends of CYAN.
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LIVING OUR MISSION
OUTREACH
Canmore Young Adults Network (CYAN) – Friends of CYAN
History:
2015: At the AGM, Marj Hughes asked if we could hire a youth/outreach worker to help us understand how we could reach young people.
2016: Council initiated the Youth and Young Adult committee who talked with other groups in the Community to devise a plan to research the needs of young adults in Canmore.
2017: The committee hired a summer community networker to answer the question: “What is it that youth and young adults really need and do not now have?”
- The community networker surveyed young adults and found they needed a network to make it easy for them to find resources in the community, find other young adults, organize events and to connect them with the community.
- By August, a meeting had been held with Young adults who would later form the Board for the Canmore Young Adults Network and CYAN was born.
2018: Tara Koenig was hired to plan and organize events, gather community support for CYAN and communicate with CYAN participants. Tara continues to do a great job in these roles.
Friends of CYAN
- The “Friends of CYAN” is a subcommittee of Council that works with CYAN to provide governance support to the CYAN Board.
- This committee has made successful funding applications on CYAN’s behalf. Ruben Nelson has been an invaluable source of knowledge and skill in this activity.
- Based on advice from “The Friends of CYAN”, RCMUC has provided support to CYAN by:
- Providing a conduit for tax deductible charitable donations.
- Providing continuing financial support to this mission as part of Ralph Connor’s annual Outreach Expense Budget.
- Providing space for CYAN’s monthly pasta dinners, many of which are attended by members of the “Friends of CYAN”.
- Managing banking and treasurer duties.
It’s all about energy and action:
Over the years, the energy and action for the Friends of CYAN has been provided by: Ruben Nelson, Ian Schofield, Paul Elfner, Carole Rowe, Mona McIntyre & Joy McMann
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Sunday night at 7:00 PM, we’ll continue ringing the Church bell in appreciation of medical personnel and others providing essential services in the ongoing pandemic. We encourage all Canmorites to continue to make joyous noise in your section of the Town of Canmore, at 7:00 PM any/every night.
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“ Because of the uncertainty of the Covid- 19, your golf committee has decided to cancel this year’s Nine and Dine golf tournament usually held in September.”
a Message from your Nine & Dine Host Joyce Chilcott
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An ongoing thank you to our "Care Contact" phoners and "Care Courier" errand/delivery team, for doing such wonderful outreach in keeping us connected to one another.
With the Alberta reopening strategy in phase 2 and the (occasionally) warmer weather, our Church community is getting “out and about” quite a bit more… and with that, these calls and emails from the Care Contacts will be less frequent. Thanks again Care Contact team! Stay in touch...next Care Contact team meeting will be Wednesday, September 2 @ 10 AM.
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Outdoor Concert at the Bow River Seniors Lodge
Community Story
On a stunning, sunny afternoon, June 8, artsPlace were honoured to bring our community together for a special moment of music-sharing, in partnership with the Bow River Senior Lodge. artsPlace team member Maria Gregorish writes about the experience.
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Ongoing Ministries
& Community Programs
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Canmore Young Adult Network - CYAN
If you're wondering who's in the back yard of the Church, chances are pretty good it's CYAN! Tara is working hard to get in-person evening events going again, outdoors with safe distancing, so Wednesday night it's mindfulness practice. Many other young adult events are going on, check
http://cyancanmore.ca/ or
https://www.facebook.com/canmorecyan/
for more details.
Bow Valley Syrian Refugee Project - BVSRP
Welcome to Canada Wa'ill Tatari and Dana Ali.
Community Food & Friends
Food & Friends is now serving TWO nights a week rather than just one, with meal delivery on Monday and Thursday. If you wish to receive a meal or are willing to deliver meals, please email
foodandfriends2020@gmail.com.
~Provide your name, phone number, address, and whether you are a single or a family and thus require more than one serving. Provide specific instructions for access if it is not a simple knock on the door.~
Note: Food & Friends will return to normal after Covid-19 reopening regulations permit.
Community artsPlace - Summer Camp
RCMUC has partnered with artsPlace to allow children ages 6-12 enrolled in their M-F Summer Camps between July 13-Aug 28 to use RCMUC backyard, weather permitting from 9:15 AM to 12 PM. artsPlace staff will escort 2 separate groups of 5 for an hour each of instructor-led games in RCMUC back yard only. For more information
check link here
about artsPlace summer children's programs.
Opportunities for Learning & Reflection
A popular event at artsPlace that is now available online, is the Shoe Project, headed up by Katharine Govier. In these presentations, immigrant women in the Bow Valley tell their stories of coming to Canada – featuring a particular pair of shoes that were involved in the journey. Stories from 2017 and 2019 are available online this month, at
click here~
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a Message from your Living Into Right Relations Committee
August 1 1834 was a landmark human rights victory for slaves in Canada
Passage of the Abolition of Slavery Act meant that no one could be enslaved in Canada again. This was a major turning point in the history of African peoples, and their descendants, who were colonized and enslaved under the rule of the British Empire. The buying, selling, and enslavement of Black and Indigenous people went on for about 200 years in our own country (beginning with the arrival of Olivier le Jeune in 1628 to New France and ending with the Slavery Abolition Act, August 1, 1834).
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Many thanks to Robin Slater for offering "Robin's Web" as a feature in our Newsletter, as part of our efforts to be a more broadly inclusive Community of Faith.
ROBIN'S WEB
CONNECTING DIVERSITY
“isms” travel in packs, the threads that weave between racism, Colonialism, ageism, ableism and sexism to name a few, are knotted and convoluted. It is impossible to tease out the solutions to one of these issues without attempting to alleviate the others. To see all of humanity as a system deserving of respect and love begins with education and understanding. Together we will be the change we want to see in the world. If we enlighten ourselves about differences and radical acceptance, we can learn to do better as individuals and as Church. By fostering a broader vision as congregants, our Affirming, Welcoming, Ecumenical commitment will transform into the future as RCMUC navigates a new reality while we all venture out of lock-down. The systemic changes required for the new normal will come from each of us personally and collectively.
From Michael Enright’s conversation with Pete Seeger framed in terms of the new normal: The way to change the world is not thru larger institutions but rather many small individual acts saying: “Treat each other decently”. "He sang for all audiences — rich, poor, black, white, young, old, communist, socialist — decade after decade because, as he liked to say, in the power of song 'there is hope for the world.'" (One song at a time)
click here~.
As Canadians of Faith, we already embrace a new world order and our cultural treasure, the NFB, documents our progress in: Highway to Heaven
click here~. This short symphonic documentary offers a glimpse into the unique religious co-existence found along No. 5 Road in Richmond, British Columbia. Accompanied by an acoustic tapestry of prayer, peer into many of the temples, mosques, and churches that call No. 5 home. In spite of a world struggling with religious violence and intolerance, filmmaker Sandra Ignagni has crafted a gentle portrait of a rare landscape that reveals unity despite the differences across these diverse cultural spaces.
One example of seeing the world as interconnected is evidenced by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra recording a loving tribute to front-line health care workers that features Juno-award winning musician Dan Mangan, and some of these professionals themselves. “I actually had no idea that hospital front line workers would be performing as well,” Mangan said “I was brought to tears to see these professionals just laying it down from operating rooms.” 20 health care workers and 30 orchestra members took part, watch for the bagpipes!
click here~
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OFFICE CONTACTS
The Church Offices are closed, but emails and phone messages will be retrieved Tuesday-Thursday. Note: You may still use letter mail via Canada Post, or drop mail off at the church side entrance. Mail is picked up and distributed weekly.
Administration
: Trish Campney
Minister: Rev. Greg Wooley
(away July 13-27)
Music Director:
Tanya Sullivan
To print a
Preauthorized Remittance Form
To make a donation to RCMUC through the
"Canada Helps"
organization
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Ralph Connor Memorial United Church
617 Main Street, Canmore, Alberta, T1W 2B1
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