Support for Ukraine
We are stronger together, and what affects one of us affects all of us. These two truths have become even more apparent as the invasion of Ukraine continues to cost precious lives and rapidly create a humanitarian crisis. The United Nations reports that millions of people living in the Ukraine, displaced from their homes, are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. Many have lost friends, loved ones, and property; struggle to meet their basic needs; and face an uncertain future.
In the face of this growing crisis, communities of faith around the world are taking action to offer support. Spanning 127 countries, the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance is the world’s largest network of Protestant and Orthodox churches and agencies, and our United Church is a partner.
Your generosity through Mission & Service has long supported ACT’s humanitarian relief and advocacy efforts. Right now, your ongoing support through Mission & Service as well as special emergency gifts are helping to provide immediate help of shelter, clean water, food, and medical attention. But looking ahead, the impacts of war in Ukraine are affecting food security for regions that depend on its agricultural production, including in some areas where global partners are responding.
The New Humanitarian news site reports that Yemen imports half of its wheat from Ukraine and Russia, 22 percent of corn imported to Spain comes from Ukraine, and Lebanon relies on Ukraine for up to 60 percent of its wheat and has only about a month’s worth of reserves.
“Conflict is one of the main reasons that hunger is rising in the world, and Ukraine represents a stark example of how that happens,” states Musu Taylor-Lewis, Canadian Foodgrains Bank director of resources and public engagement, in an interview.
United Church Moderator Richard Bott condemned the invasion in a statement released in early March stating that the act of aggression contravenes the Charter of the United Nations and represents a serious violation of international law. “We call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities and to undertake action to restore peace,” he writes, urging the church to hold the people of Ukraine in prayer and “explore whether there is a Ukrainian Catholic church, Ukrainian Orthodox church, or Ukrainian community centre close to you to whom you might write a letter of concern and solidarity or extend solidarity to people of Ukrainian descent in your community.”
On behalf of Erin Mills United, the Inspire team delivered a bouquet of flowers and a card expressing support to our neighbours at the Ivan Franko Home, a residence for Ukrainian seniors.
Thank you for all the ways you express compassion and care and for faithfully supporting Mission & Service. By acting together, we can be there as a worldwide church community when and where it matters most.
Blessings, Kathi
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From the Chair of the Leadership Circle
Easter Greetings
I am looking forward to celebrating our Easter services in church for the first time in two years. The church has always been a place where we can gather to find hope and renewal. This year we are celebrating being 30 years in our building. It is a time to remember what an important role EMUC played in the lives of many as they raised their families in Erin Mills. Through our Inspire initiative we are reaching out to our community to continue to provide spiritual hope, healing, and fellowship. This is an essential part of our mission and I encourage you all to get involved. Let us hope that the worst of the pandemic is behind us and that we can move ahead with enjoying and building our church.
Our Leadership Circle now has some new faces. I am sure you will all join me in thanking the following people who worked diligently in their focus circle areas: Paul Merit, Chair; Ian Love, Building and Property; and Sandra Witterick, Community Life. The new Leadership members are Tim Hayes, Building and Property and Cathy Kiteley, Member at Large. Lorraine Moore has taken on Community Life in addition to her role as Secretary of the Leadership Circle. I am now the chair replacing Paul.
Your financial contributions are vital to sustaining our church and our outreach to the wider community. I invite you to prayerfully consider making a special donation to EMUC during this Easter season. You can donate by PAR or by mail. You can also donate on line by going to our website www.emuc.ca and using the secure link to “Donate to our Mission” or by e-transfer to emucdonations@outlook.com naming it Easter giving.
May the Spirit of Easter fill your hearts with joy and gladness and give you a reason to hold on even when times are tough. Happy Easter.
Kathy Andres
Chair, Leadership Circle
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Thanks to:
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The new members of the LC (Kathy Andres, Cathy Kiteley, Lorraine Moore, Tim Hayes) for taking on new leadership roles,
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Debby Sturgeon, who suggested EMUC send a card of support to residents of Ivan Franko Homes, the Ukrainian seniors’ residence south of our church, Karen Colwell for making and donating a lovely photo card with a sunflower — the national flower of Ukraine, and Cindy Young for co-ordinating and delivering the bouquet,
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The Affirm Working group who organized and led the PIE worship,
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All the readers at the Sunday services in March,
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Sylvia Arnold and the Broadcast Team, for their flexibility around church re-opening.
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Update from the LC:
EMUC is re-opening for in-person Services and Events as of April 3
EMUC has chosen to use more conservative measures to reduce risk given the demographics in church. Thank you everyone for your patience and continued support as we navigate our way back to in-person church. We are happy to announce that Sunday church services will be in person as well as live streaming on zoom beginning Sunday April 3, 2022.
What you need to know
- Those vaccinated with at least 2 vaccines are welcome to worship in person
- Those only partially vaccinated or not vaccinated are welcome to use the church service zoom link
- Masks are mandatory during the time you are in the church (please use a fresh mask)
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Please complete your self assessment prior to coming to church. An e-link to self screening will be in the bulletin and the EMUC website https://COVID-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/. A paper copy of the self assessment will be available at the church
- You will be asked for proof of vaccination on arrival at the church
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Please do not attend church if you or anyone in your family are symptomatic or have tested positive within the past 10 days
- Congregants will be asked to not attend an “in person” church event for 10 days following any close contact exposure.
- We will continue to social distance, and for now there will be no eating or drinking in the church
- We do welcome gentle singing of hymns
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EMUC receives Thanks from Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council
Imagine my surprise when Barb Jennings showed me a letter… parts of which are enclosed…
“This year has once again brought unprecedented challenges and changes; we wanted to thank you for enabling the 284th Mississauga Guide Unit and 52nd Mississauga Brownie Unit to meet, when regulations allowed, at or outside your facility. We look forward to continuing our partnership in the future.
In the coming weeks, Girl Guides of Canada, Ontario Council, will be sending funds to your facility in recognition of our partnership.”
These two units have felt safe and secure in the arms of Erin Mills United Church. This allowed the leaders to focus on what is important — providing quality programming to the girls, encouraging them to grow to become independent, thoughtful, responsible and creative citizens — and they DID!
This year these two units have provided (or rather, encouraged the girls to participate in...) activities that included putting up tents and making bedrolls, personal vision boards, snow globes, macrame, skyping a scientist and engaging with astronomers on line and in person, building constellations with toothpicks and marshmallows, doing wood working, origami, cooking on line, making ice cream, science experiments, relay races, first aid, designing playgrounds for the handicapped, coping with the numerous changes caused by Covid and much much more.
Although it does not express it enough, both units say a BIG THANK YOU for this outreach.
This generosity of spirit adds to my feeling of pride to be a member of Erin Mills and the fact that Girl Guides has acknowledged this with a donation adds to my pride in being a Guider.
Twit Twoo
Heather Nutbeem
Brown Owl
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FAQ’s around Becoming Affirming
As the Affirm working group continues to develop and work on educating the congregation around the issues that affect the LGBTQIA+ and Two-spirited communities, we have begun to receive questions from some of you. This makes us VERY excited because questions lead to discussions and awareness. We’ve decided, with the permission of the folks asking the questions, to publish a few interesting ones that we have recently received. We would like to encourage anyone with questions to send them our way and we will do our best to answer them. If you have a question, it is very likely that many others are curious about the same thing, so ask away! We’d love to hear from you!
Question - Why do people put pronouns (e.g., she/her) on their Zoom screens?
Thank you for the question. I’m not sure I will be able to clearly explain it but, for me, as a cisgendered person (being a person whose gender identity corresponds with the sex that I had at birth and identify as) it’s out of respect for someone who may not identify the way I assume they would by their appearance. So, I put my preferred pronouns “she/her” and that allows others to feel comfortable putting their preferred pronouns which may be “they/them” if they identify as non-binary. Using your pronouns after your name helps to normalize doing so, so that non-binary people and sometimes a person who is transitioning (e.g., someone who is a trans male transitioning from a female to male body) are not the only ones doing it. This leads to them feeling more included.
Here’s a more official answer:
"Adding pronouns in Zoom is important because it automatically lets others know how to refer to you. For trans and gender non-conforming folks (e.g., non-binary), it is so common to be misgendered (accidentally or on purpose) and putting pronouns in their bio lets others know that these are the pronouns they are to use when referring to them, without verbalizing it. It is equally as important for cisgender people to put their pronouns next to their Zoom name because it shows a level of respect for trans and gender non-conforming people, and it suggests that this is a safe space for all gender identities to be honoured. It is also important because we simply can’t assume pronouns based on appearance, and our binary ideas of what a “man” and “woman” are.”
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What Does It Really Mean to Get Involved with an Inspire Idea?
Inspire — A Strong Start
As Patti King conveyed at our AGM, Inspire is a way of living and breathing our purpose, our passion, our faith, and our mission. It means having a dream about EMUC becoming a brighter and more connected presence in our greater community and having the greater community be more connected to EMUC. Inspire is the way to make that dream come true!
Inspire comes to life when all of us — you, me, the person next to / behind / or in front of us — get involved in a real way. The Inspire Committee envisions members of our congregation and others coming up with ideas and bringing them to life. Inspire should never feel burdensome or overwhelming, which is why we think having small teams who come together for each Inspire initiative would ensure that tasks are divvied up, making the project more fun and easier to manage.
Where Can My Talents Best Be Used?
“Ideas” People
If you are an “ideas” kind of person, then your involvement may be generating Inspire ideas. What are you passionate about? What ideas do you have that include or involve our community? Consider ideas that resonate with EMUC’s values of spiritual living, friendship, reaching out, and caring. Your idea can be big or small, a
one-time project or something that could become an annual event or part of our programming. When you have an idea, talk it up with a few folks to get their views on it. Perhaps they would be interested in being part of a team to bring the idea to life. Submit your idea using the easy Inspire Application Form (available in the office or on the website). If you have learned of people who would like to lead or co-lead, or just be involved in your idea, please include that information, too.
Helping Hands
We need helping hands, too, so if you love helping and working with others, but dreaming up ideas is not your thing, then consider submitting your name to the Inspire Committee. We will let you know when a new Inspire initiative is looking for help. As the projects arise, we will have more details about the specific kinds of help we need.
Maybe you have other commitments already, but still want to contribute. Or you simply prefer working “in the background” on tasks as needed. We need you, too! Just offer what you can, when you can. We are sure there will be “odd jobs” (e.g., making phone calls, photocopying). The point being, there is room for all of us to work together.
What Does Inspire Need Right Now?
Inspire is launching an outdoor library open to our community…with a book house that sits close to the sidewalk where folks passing by can help themselves to a book. A huge thank you to Karen Colwell for taking on the construction of the library and to Mike Ogilvie for overseeing the book house once it is up and going. But there is still more help needed: We are planning a launch for our library. We need people to help plan the launch and advertise it. If you would like to help, please let the Inspire committee know.
- Restoring the garden under the sign
Work is being done to gather quotes for this project so that we can move forward with its restoration. If this type of project interests you, let the Inspire committee know.
An inspire idea about helping a homeless shelter led to a contact with a youth shelter that is in need of kitchen supplies and other items for the youth who use their facility. This project needs a lead (or co-leaders), and help with requesting, gathering, and delivering donations.
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More Inspire ideas are coming to life with the plans for the church building’s 30- year celebration. Want to get involved? Please let us know, so we can ask about your availability when we have more details.
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The Inspire Committee is seeking additional members. We are a small but energetic committee. We can do more if we have one or two more people on board. Are you a visionary who sees possibilities, who loves to float around ideas, and who brings enthusiasm to the table? We need you. Speak to any of the Inspire Committee members if you are interested.
From The Inspire Committee
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Pacific Salmon vs Mother Nature
Mother Nature is full of surprises. We all know the story of the Pacific salmon, have seen many documentaries showing their final journey to their birthplace to spawn and die. The pictures are very dramatic. During the salmon’s drive upstream, their bodies turn colour and shape as they swim their last journey. I discovered the salmon do not eat once they leave the ocean. So, the strongest reach the beds, Mother Nature’s way of ensuring only the strongest produce the next generation. Endless studies have been made trying to find ways to stop the decline of the six species of Pacific salmon. Other studies have proven the salmon are a keystone species because of their relationship to their surrounding environment including the indigenous cultures.
In early November, 2018, a 125-metre-high cliff fell into the Fraser River in a remote area, creating a four-metre-high waterfall with a long stretch of churning rapids downstream. The landslide was north of Lillooet, approximately 1/3 of the way up the Fraser. The sockeye were the first to reach the barrier, signaling a problem to the researchers upstream. But because of the remoteness it took some time to discover the problem, which became known as the Big Bar landslide.
During the salmon run of 2019, the first run after the landslide, a collaborative effort of first nations, DFO (Fisheries and Oceans Canada) and the BC government worked to transport the salmon over the falls. People and helicopters were used to catch the fish to be released on the far side of the barrier. Regrettably their efforts failed because the salmon were too weak to continue their swim. Hoping to achieve a better outcome for the 2020 run a natural like ‘fish way’ system and a water cannon system were tried to move the fish over the barrier, again with poor results. In 2021, year three, the idea was to use water wheels which would scoop up the fish for transporting by truck to the other side. Then Mother Nature stepped in. She can be fickle, can’t she? The B.C. interior experienced a devastating drought that exceeded all past records. The heat wave caused such a drought the level of the Fraser River dropped substantially over the Big Bar waterfall and an estimated 79,000 salmon were able to jump over the barrier and reach the end of their journey to spawn for a future generation of Pacific salmon. A happy ending for that year’s run. I wonder what will be the story this year. I pray it is a happy one too.
Condensed from Jan/February 2022 Canadian Geographic article entitled “Unsurmountable” by Kate Helmore. Submitted by Mary Anna Williams
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EXCITING NEWSFLASH FOR GARDENERS AND READERS!
YES! The perennial plant sale and book sale are back! Mark your calendars and save Saturday, May 14.
WHAT WE NEED:
1. Plants, plants, plants... and flower pots and planters, too. Please label EACH plant by name and colour of the bloom on EACH pot. Drop off labelled plants on Friday, May 13 at the church between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
2. Books, books, books... ones in GOOD (to GREAT) condition, relatively newish (e.g., published in 2000 and later). What we would love to have: adult and children's fiction and SOME nonfiction genres. Yes to cook books, self-help, sports, biographies, for example. NO to encyclopedias, text books, coffee table books, magazines. And, NO WAY to water-logged, musty, smelly books of any age. (Sorry! We need to limit back-breaking clean up afterwards.)
3. Helpers the day of.
Stay tuned for further information about drop-offs, timing, etc. in the Friday Messages.
Questions and to offer help?? Contact Mary Anna Williams (plant lady; 905 820 5305) and Sandy Hayes (book lady; 905 820 4437).
COME OUT AND SUPPORT THIS FUNDRAISING EVENT!!
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Celebrating 30 Years in Our Church Home
As we moved into spring, this was the time plans would be underway for the annual garage sale in May. It has always been a wonderful opportunity to meet many people in the community and catch up with neighbours, while we upcycled and raised some funds! There are the early birds lining up at the door, eager to get the first look at the incredible treasures in toys, children’s clothing, books, plants, baking, jewelry, housewares, furniture and so much more! And of course, it takes many hands and many hours of preparation, organizing the donations and getting ready for the big day!
The last garage sale was in 2019, and while we won’t have the time to get one up and running this year, Sandy Hayes and Mary Anna Williams have offered to take on a book and plant sale on May 14, to engage our community once again. More details from them in this Communiqué.
Recently I heard from Joanne (Wood) Lebold, who had been active at EMUC and moved away over six years ago. Joanne still gets the Friday Message, and when she heard we were celebrating 30 years in the building, she wanted to share her photos and happy memories of the many garage sales she helped to organize. These photos are from the 2013 garage sale and you will see some familiar faces and those we have lost.
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Memories and suggestions for celebrations are coming in. I have heard from a few people so far including Laura Macro and Shirley Haslam, and they have some great suggestions that we can use that will help us appreciate all the building has provided as our church home for 30 years. Mora Cairns has written a lovely poem that will be shared in one of our celebrations, and Kai Marks has shared a very personal and moving story of coming to the “church on the corner” for the very first time.
What are your memories? Please share your favourites, with pictures if you have them! You can reach me at hjbunting@rogers.com
And what are your hopes for the next 30 years for our church home? Is there an idea or project that you would like to explore with Inspire? Please get in touch with one of the Inspire group.
Together, let’s celebrate today and set our vision for the next 30 years!
With gratitude,
Heather Bunting
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ABOUT ERIN MILLS UNITED CHURCH
EMUC's Vision is to be a thriving Spirit-filled congregation;
diverse, inclusive, and engaged with the community
and creation.
The Mission of EMUC is to offer opportunities for all persons
to experience the love of God through Jesus Christ.
Newsletter Editor: Janet Morrison Layout: Barbara Jennings
Proof-reader: Cindy Young
3010 The Collegeway
Mississauga, L5L4X9
905-820-9466
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