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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This Sunday's worship goes all the way back to the first chapter of Genesis: the God-connection of the earth
and all living beings.
Our "Green Initiative" group at RCMUC is looking at ways we can be more directly involved in caring for the earth.
Two websites with very practical suggestions are :
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Friday, June 12, 2020
FOR THIS WEEK'S WORSHIP
We had a good time at the online "Sunday coffee & conversation" last week, and based on feedback received will try it every second week. Next time: Sunday, June 21st, details in next week's Newsletter.
Scripture Lesson for
Sunday, June 14
is Genesis 1:1-2:3
click here~
Wednesday night Evensong at 7:15 pm
,
The final Evensong for the 2019-2020 Church year is this Wednesday at 7:15 PM, on Zoom. We look forward to Evensong's return for its twentieth year, in September!
Many thanks to Jan Tissandier, our Evensong coordinator, to Judy Archer, who stepped into the "Zoom host" role in March, and to all who have shared leadership this year. What a gift to the Church!!
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NEXT STEPS
Today, Alberta moves to Stage 2 of its "re-opening" plan. While there are new guidelines from the Alberta Government for places of worship (see link at
ralphconnor.ca
) the primary guidance from the Government of Alberta is this: "To best prevent the spread of COVID-19, places of worship are encouraged to continue hosting services and faith-based activities online or through creative mechanisms." We anticipate that this will be the case throughout stages 2 and 3... and... we also want to hear
your
hopes and needs as we consider our gradual steps toward resuming in-person activities.
Watch for a
questionnaire
to be distributed by email (or letter mail for those without email) in the next week.
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If you have a prayer concern to be shared in our Tuesday "Morning Prayer" or our Mon-Wed-Fri Healing Pathway Prayer Circle, please contact
Sue Nichols
403-678-7025
or
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.
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FUNDING OUR MISSION
a Message from your Stewardship Committee
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.
Thank you to everyone who has signed up for PAR (Pre-Authorized Remittance) - this is a great help in providing predictable income each month for RCMUC. A link to sign up for PAR is found at the bottom of this Newsletter.
We appreciate the additional donations that have been coming in since mid-March; contributions may be made by any of the following methods:
- An eTransfer is the easiest and quickest of all and without fees or nominal fees, sent to office@ralphconnor.ca
- the DONATE NOW button - found on the front page of the ralphconnor.ca website, and linked at the bottom of this page, is an easy way to help our cashflow stay healthy.
- A cheque in the mail will also be warmly received.
Donations will be assumed to be a donation to "general funds" unless otherwise indicated.
Thank you, all, for your continued support of the ministry of Ralph Connor Memorial United Church.
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RCMUC
"our building and our vision" update
a Message from your Building/Heritage Committee
On February 23, a well-attended workshop considered ways that the RCMUC building could most effectively support our ministry & mission in coming decades. The event facilitators promised a report back to the congregation...and then the pandemic was declared, three weeks after the workshop. We have not forgotten about our promise, so a progress report has now been
posted here~
The report contains a number of questions for all of us to think about, including one that has suddenly moved to the forefront:
"how will the COVID-19 pandemic affect aspects of our building plans moving forward, as well as any necessary accommodations right away (such as handwashing/sanitizing stations)
?"
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Our "Care Contact" phoners met on Wednesday morning by Zoom, to share their impressions and to check in with one another. 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.
If you need anything, please be in touch with your Care Contact, with the Church Office, or with Greg, and we will arrange a Care Courier to bring it to you.
If you are not on one of our contact lists and would like to be added, just send a note to Barb Profitt at
bprofitt@shaw.ca
and she will add you to a list.
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Ongoing Ministries
& Community Programs
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Children's Church
We hope that the children of RCMUC are finding ways to remain healthy and happy, and that the extra challenges of schoolwork-at-home are getting easier for families with the passage of time. If children would like to submit artwork that we could use in our Sunday online services, we would like that very much! We'd be happy to receive drawings of favourite things that you are doing these days...or things you look forward to doing again...or favourite animals that you see (from a safe distance!) when you are outside...or for Father's Day, a drawing of your Father or Grandfather doing something that you enjoy doing with them...whatever you'd like to send us! Please send to office@ralphconnor.ca - or drop it off in the mailbox at the side of the Church. Thank you!!
Canmore Young Adult Network - CYAN
How are young adults faring during the pandemic? CYAN recently undertook a survey to discover this, with an excellent reply rate - 185 respondents!
Some of the learnings:
- Only 10 out of 185 respondents had to leave the community (return to hometown/country);
- As the Town reopens, 22% of respondents will be looking for work;
- The top 5 events that CYAN's respondents said they want to attend are:
- Yoga (check out CYAN Canmore's Facebook page for Tara's weekly Wednesday Yoga)
- Trivia
- Mindfulness Practices
- Movie Screening
- Game Nights
Bow Valley Syria Refugee Project - BVSRP
The BVSRP remains in close contact with Dana and Wa'ill, who remain in Malaysia until international travel restrictions are lifted. We look forward to welcoming them into the Canmore community.
Community Food & Friends
Food & Friends is now serving TWO nights a week rather than just one, with meal delivery on Monday and Thursday. See their Facebook page for details and contact
foodandfriends2020@gmail.com if you would like to receive a meal or would like to volunteer as a driver. Many thanks to the Iron Goat restaurant for their ongoing partnership in this expanded venture.
Community Groups at RCMUC
The Alpine Voices Threshold Choir
jan.tissandier@gmail .com group has continued to gather online via Zoom.The "High Strung" Ukulele group had gathered online via Zoom, please email Donna or Marsh Kennedy
dmkennedy11@gmail.com if you'd like more information about the Ukulele group.
Other Initiatives
Rather than posting a comprehensive listing of websites and ongoing local initiatives in each week's newsletter, Go to
click here~
and you will have an abundance of information. If there are new initiatives that come to our attention - or substantial changes to ongoing programs - we will note those in the Newsletter.
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Opportunities for
Learning & Reflection
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Right Relations Opportunities in June
June 2020 is Indigenous Heritage Month! Each week, the RCMUC Newsletter will feature a fresh event listing for events coming up that week.
Sunday Seminar Series
Every Sunday in June at 2 PM, explore the foundations of the Indigenous Church in the United Church of Canada. On June 14, Former Moderator The Very Rev Stan McKay will present
Formation: Indigeneity in Christian Formation
. To register for this online event, contact
right.relations@hillhurstunited.com
Virtual Blanket Exercise
Everyone is invited to come explore the history of Treaty 7 and the United Church in Southern Alberta. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00 PM . Register by contacting
right.relations@hillhurstunited.com
University of Calgary Panel discussion
How have Indigenous communities navigated the COVID-19 crisis, and how can we use Indigenous ways of knowing to move forward together with strength and hope? Join U of C to honour National Indigenous Peoples Day with stories, reflections and discussion on the topic of Indigenous resilience.
Panelists:
- Marlene Poitras, Alberta Regional Chief, Assembly of First Nations
- Dr. Lindsay Crowshoe, University of Calgary, Cumming School of Medicine
- Ryan Robb, CEO, Stoney Nakoda Tribal Administration
Opening prayer and grounding remarks from Dr. Reg Crowshoe, UCalgary’s Elder in Residence
Moderated by UCalgary Chancellor, Deborah Yedlin
Date: Friday June 19, 2020 at 2 pm
Open Out
Rev. Bill Millar, RCMUC’s “Sabbatical Minister” in the spring of 2019, has continued to post podcasts.
De-shuttering worship 1:
A deep dive into worship with the other 90%!
Only a small % of the world's population are individualistic [western Europe, NA, etc.] Over 90% are collectivist - and their experience of all life, including worship, is profoundly different. In this episode Damber Khadka helps us understand what's happening in the hearts and minds of newcomers.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/917410/3994214
De-shuttering worship 2:
Ubunye, Ubuntu & Amandla
Our church has not yet fully engaged in opening out to welcome newcomers and racialized Canadians - but our hearts lean there. This episode draws on wisdom and experience from Canada and South Africa.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/917410/4087031
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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
We’re coming out of lock-down. We have lessons we’ve learned to carry into the future and past remembrances we must not forget. This is a time of transition and choice.
We hold onto Beauty and Faith. I am so proud that this world class shrine is here in Canmore and that after COVID, we will be able to visit and draw strength from its beauty and inspiration. The new Marian shrine church has been dedicated in Canmore.
We will continue to seek justice. Here are 10 documentaries that explore race, racism and policing in North America. We need reminders that Canadians are responsible for injustice as well. This film is included: nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up In August of 2016, Colten Boushie — a young Cree man from Red Pheasant First Nation — was shot by Gerald Stanley on Stanley's farm outside of Biggar, Sask. The subsequent trial raised questions about how racism plays a factor in Canada's legal system.
check link here
Lest We Forget, it wasn’t so long ago that all our families were landing at Pier 21….Monybany Minyang Dau immigrated to Canada in 1998. In this video interview with the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, he shares his experience with racism in Canada:
check link here
Today more than ever, we really need Inspiring Quotations from Mother Teresa. In times of turmoil, listen to saints for inspiration. Many people right now are questioning how they can help build a more just and equitable society.
check link here
Finally, Pay it forward, Be an ally, Uphold Christ’s family. Ways to Be an Ally, from Two Lifetimes of Learning. Two health-care academics — Asian and Indigenous — reflect on the pain of racism, while recognizing their own complicity.
check link here
Stay safe, stay healthy, keep smiling!
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OFFICE CONTACTS
The Church Offices are closed, but emails and phone messages will be retrieved Tuesday-Friday. 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
Music Director:
Tanya Sullivan
To print a
Preauthorized Remittance Form
To print a
Cheque Requisition 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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