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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Join us for Communion this coming Sunday, July 5th! If you’d like to receive communion at the same time as a bunch of other RCMUC folks, bring your bread and cup along when you log into YouTube at 10:00 AM Sunday morning, and we will receive the sacrament “together”… or log in later on, when it’s convenient to you, and still have your bread & cup handy.
The service will include a lovely rendition of Michael W. Smith’s Contemporary Christian classic, “Thy Word.”
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Friday, July 3, 2020
FOR THIS WEEK'S WORSHIP
The scripture for this
Sunday, July 5th is Psalm 119: 105-112
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Progress Report
- Thank you to everyone who completed the “reopening questionnaire” to help us determine your willingness to adapt our worship practices in a number of possible ways. The results will be discussed at Worship Committee next week.
- The Building/Heritage Committee continues to assemble preliminary financial projections for the various building options that have been considered. These will be presented to RCMUC Council next week, along with some thoughts on focusing our efforts on the most pressing matters related to “reopening the building” in coming weeks, in light of safe public health practices.
- As you have likely seen the past couple of weeks, part of the YouTube service has been recorded in the empty Sanctuary. In addition to giving viewers a glimpse of our familiar worship space, it also gives an opportunity for us to become more familiar with the AV equipment we will need to use once we are back in the sanctuary in-person. This sometimes results in things like the less-than-stellar sound quality of last Sunday's sermon - sorry about that! This week we will test out our lapel/headset "lavaliere" microphone in an attempt to improve our sound clarity. Please bear with us, as we continue on this “learning curve.”
- On Sunday, July 12th, we’ll have another “Zoom Coffee & Conversation” time after Sunday worship.
- On Sundays, July 19th and July 26th, Rev. Michael Ward will be leading our YouTube services as Greg takes a two-week break.
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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 email
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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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.
click here~
for a presentation on how we live the third statement of our mission – "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).
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Last Wednesday night, on Canada Day, we wrapped up our every-night-at-7:00 bell ringing. We will continue to ring the Church bell on Sunday night…. and 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, in appreciation of medical personnel and others providing essential services in the ongoing pandemic.
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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.
Our next Zoom gathering for Care Contact phoners will be Tuesday, July 7th at 10:00 AM
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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 events going again, outdoors with safe distancing, so Wednesday night it's Yoga, and on Tuesday July 21 it will be book club. Many other young adult events are going on, check
http://cyancanmore.ca/ or
https://www.facebook.com/canmorecyan/ more details.
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 did receive some encouraging news from Canada Immigration this week and offer a big thank-you to Karen Fraser, Cam McMann, and the BVSRP “arrivals” team for submitting updated plans with the powers-that-be. We do not yet have an arrival timeline and understand that much depends on the conditions in Malaysia and the International Organization for Migration’s ability to facilitate travel. We continue to look forward to welcoming Dana and Wa’ill into the Canmore community. If specific needs arise, we will communicate these to you via this Newsletter.
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.
Updates on two United Church gatherings
As you may recall, two national United Church gatherings were scheduled for Calgary in 2020 and 2021. One is going ahead as an online event, and the other one is postponed by a year.
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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
I have great faith that experts and researchers will find cures, and ultimately a vaccine, for this latest physical affliction we are suffering. Great minds have always pulled our species out of harm’s way, allowing us to soon forget the biological disaster and subsequent consequences while avoiding personal responsibility. The sickness I worry about is one of the soul. The current epidemic is a vicious othering, a mean-spirited rabidity whose treatment will come not from scientists but from people of faith in all denominations and strata of church hierarchy. It will take faith to heal the hatred which has been unleashed in the world and we as church(es) must lead the way.
A friend of mine was the Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Oakland, California, a historic, inner-city synagogue when the riots broke out on April 29th, 1992, after four police officers were acquitted in Los Angeles of the beating of Rodney King. Violent protests and riots broke out in major cities across the United States, but driving home that night he found the City of Oakland to be virtually deserted, dark and quiet like a ghost town. While Los Angeles to the south and San Francisco just across the Bay were on fire, Oakland was eerily quiet. How could it be? He learned the answer the very next day. It had to do with Oakland’s community of churches. Oakland has a strong community of faith and the churches and ministers hold great sway. Sensitive to the potential for chaos and violence, the mayor and city council members reached out to the church leaders and encouraged them to open their doors that night and the nights to follow. That night the streets were dark and quiet, but the churches were bright and full. And, in the days to follow, positive changes were enacted, spearheaded by their community of faith. Like the churches of Oakland, we must throw open our doors and provide a place of safe sanctuary for all, albeit virtually for the time being. White Canadians are beginning to grasp the racial sins we have committed; we must make amends by figuratively opening the doors of our churches and our hearts. It will serve as an important lesson: if we can do that in this time of closure, we can learn to do it into the future. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” Do not stand idly by while your neighbour bleeds: I am Adonai-Leviticus 19:16.
A look at Buddhism and Blackness, this video shows how to use Buddhist spiritual teachings not just to soothe us as individuals, but to tackle broader inequality, especially racial inequality.
Post-Canada Day thoughts: As Christian Canadians we must start to untangle the threads of country and faith, where do we belong in each sphere?
click here~
What does our Citizenship Oath say about this conflation?
How can we apply these terms to open ourselves as church?
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In our "virtual" world...every day is Sunday!
Thanks to friends at St. Michael's for the sentiment.
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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
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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