Communiqué
2023 Issue 4
Mòrar's Musings: What was Jesus Thinking?

Usually in our houses, there is a theme to our approach to money, wealth, resources, what we "have". What is the theme of your house?

Generosity? Frugality? Wastefulness? Desperation?

If we think of the Bible as a library for the House of God, and were to catalogue it by subject matter, more than one sixth of it would be catalogued under economics. Some of the most surprising advice comes from the Parable of the Dishonest Manager. Luke 16.1-13 http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=247390715

This isn’t a true story; it’s a parable, a story that points to a deep truth, and its shock value has a purpose.

A boss decides his employee has been misusing his funds and threatens to fire him. What does the employee do? He thinks to himself, "if I’m going to be unemployed, I’ll need to rely on the kindness of others." So he goes around reducing the debts of people who owe his boss money.

And the boss rewards him!

Really, Jesus? What were you thinking?

But his boss commends him: "You ripped me off but you know how power and money work for good."

We all know of people who are constantly establishing patronage, working office politics, making deals, earning favours -- we don’t usually like them.

But this fellow is rewarded because he had acted shrewdly to generate good will.

Be shrewd.

Beware of your naivete. Be very very careful -- beware of the destructive power of wealth.

Be wise about how you play the game -- use money, don't let it rule you. Use your possessions for God's purposes.

What Jesus’ followers could learn from the “children of this age” has to do with “making friends for themselves” so that those new friends might “welcome them into the eternal homes” (16:9).

And that’s part of what you do as a church. For as long as you have been here, you have supported a place and a community of faith that now give you safety, comfort when you gather, care and prayer when you need it, challenge when you languish. You worship together, eat together, play together, grow together spiritually, even walk together. Together you become better people and do greater things than you could alone.

There is a Filipino phrase, utang na loob, which literally translates to "thank you" but really means, an “inner debt of gratitude,” and perhaps captures something of what Jesus is getting at here -- a debt rooted in the mutual benefit of friends. 

Jesus suggests that it is possible to manage possessions and money shrewdly in ways that can lead us into a closer relationship with one another, and in doing so, a closer relationship with God.

Practise making decisions that are faith-filled, God directed, and that serve others.

How we use the resources at our disposal in this life -- especially in tight circumstances -- matters. It is no coincidence that the people of the poorest province in Canada make the highest per capita charitable donations. They understand that the welfare of others is, in the long run, their own welfare..

What rules your heart?

If you serve wealth for its own sake, you will fail. But if you serve God and shrewdly use what you have for God's purposes, you will enjoy the blessings of life with God.

There's a bit of the Dishonest Manager in all of us. Jesus tells us today that he sees right through us – and loves us dearly anyway.

When we’re trying to manage the economy of our houses, be shrewd, but be generous:

Practise making decisions that are faith-filled, and God-directed.

Know that God rules your heart.

And when we can’t do it with all the generosity and grace we strive for, the Good News is: just like the dishonest manager, we are forgiven.

Blessings,
Mòrar
Thanks
Thanks to:

  • All who read scripture at services in April
  • All who volunteered to host coffee on Sunday mornings
  • Rev. Kathi and Sylvia Arnold for planning and organizing the Easter and Holy Week services
  • All who donated towards the Easter flowers. 
  • Tim Hayes for organizing and leading the Striders’ walk
  • Cathy Scattergood, Cathy Kiteley, and Nancy Blackport for organizing the Women and Heart Health event
  • Sandy Hayes and Membership Development and Care for planning, organizing, and hosting the Earth Day event
  • Brian Takayesu for leading worship when Rev. Mòrar was away
  • Larry van Goozen for restarting the Bunch for Lunch activity
  • Sylvia Arnold for office coverage when Tina was on vacation
Life at EMUC
Easter

Easter was celebrated in-person and via Zoom. This was Rev. Kathi's last service before starting her sabbatical.
Striders

Thanks to Tim Hayes, the Striders restarted their hikes on April 16. The group visited the waterfront in Oakville.
Earth Day at EMUC!

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star…

On April 22 sixteen people came out to the Earth Day evening event to enjoy the movie Earth and each other’s company. Unfortunately, heavy cloud cover prevented us from putting the telescope and binoculars to use after the movie, but Tim Hayes informed us and demonstrated the use of an app called Star Tracker. Try it!! You’ll like it. Thanks to all who made this event possible.

Submitted by Membership Development & Care
Women for Women

On April 28, twenty-five women gathered at EMUC to listen to Pam Pogue, RN (retired), talk about Women's Heart Health. After a brief overview of the structure of the heart, Pam gave some statistics relating to the incidence and increase of heart disease among women worldwide, followed by descriptions of the most common types of heart disease and which ones are more common in women (e.g., spontaneous coronary artery dissection and Takotsubo or stress-induced cardiomyopathy). While many symptoms of a heart attack are similar for men and women, women may report a few unique symptoms, such as extreme fatigue. Many symptoms are quite vague and need to be considered all together.

We were all interested in the risk factors such as earlier menopause, smoking, drinking, diabetes, and certain complications of pregnancy. This led to a discussion of how to reduce our risk of heart disease. While there are some factors which can't be changed (e.g., age, family history), we can change some lifestyle factors. These include becoming more active (30 minutes per day, if possible), eating a variety of healthy foods which are low in saturated and trans fats, managing stress (looking after ourselves first so that we can then be there for others), not smoking, limiting alcohol, and getting regular check ups.
We had many questions for Pam and discussions continued after the presentation while we enjoyed some heart healthy snacks.

Thanks to Pam and to everyone who came out and who helped out to make this event a big success.

Women for Women is still looking for a new co-coordinator. If you are interested in getting involved, please contact Sandy Hayes or Nancy Blackport. Thanks.

Submitted by Cathy Scattergood
Inspire Committee Update

Are you curious about what has transpired since our recent Café Sunday in March when members of the congregation enjoyed lunch and brainstormed creative ideas? Our purpose was to think about ideas on how to reach out to our community and promote their involvement in the life and work of EMUC. You may have noticed; we seem to be bursting with ideas! Although not a full list, here is a snapshot of activities we have accomplished or have in the works.

  • Resurgence of Vesper Services - our first service was nothing short of wonderful!
  • Partnering with a school that has an outstanding music program - Watch for this in the fall of 2023
  • Continuing to host movie nights - tell your neighbours!
  • Plans to host an author night - mark your calendar for June 3rd, 3 to 5 and bring a friend!
  • Earth Day events - was a great evening even if the stars did not cooperate
  • Boot/Book/Bake (BBB) sale - June 24 - read all about it in the Communiqué
  • EMUC garden clean up - Saturday May 6th
  • Monthly day time Zoom get together - watch for announcements and invite a friend

A huge thank you to all those who have been part of creating ideas, participating, or supporting from the background. Your energy and enthusiasm is fantastic. Let’s continue to shine brightly.

Submitted by the Inspire Committee
Notice re the M&P Committee

The Ministry and Personnel (M&P) Committee acts under the guidelines of The Manual of The United Church of Canada. The committee functions around three roles, which are the consultative and supportive role, the healthy relationships role, and the supervisory role. We provide resources and support for the staff and the community of faith with respect to any issue affecting staff of our church, including ministry personnel and lay employees. The committee works to build positive and trusting relationships between staff and members and adherents of the community of faith. If members of the community of faith have praise or concerns about staff, both ministry personnel and lay employees, these can be shared in signed correspondence with the committee. The issues will be considered confidentially by the M&P Committee, who will recommend action. Erin Mills United Church is blessed with staff who are committed to their work and we are thankful for this work in our community of faith.

Presently serving on the committee are:
Chair – Nancy Blackport 
(ministrypersonnel@emuc.ca)
Cathy Scattergood
Heather Santamaria
Janet Morrison
Coyotes and Avian Flu

Mississauga Animal Control Service needs your help. Avian Flu is killing many of our backyard birds and those migrating back to Canada for the summer. One suggestion offered by the Mississauga Animal Control Service is to take down your bird feeders. Avian Flu just loves a large number of birds, regardless of species, flocking together under a feeder. The close contact of one sick bird infects the rest. Similarly feeding the ducks, geese, and swans needs to be stopped. These waterfowl also congregate from time to time and one infected bird infects the rest resulting in many deaths. Please consider what you can do to help control Avian Flu. It isn't just on poultry farms. 

Coyotes have become such a serious problem the Animal Control Service now has a law charging people caught feeding coyotes with a heavy fine of $1,000.00. The same law includes people who do not ensure their compost is out of reach. Open compost piles are not allowed, and everyone should ensure their green bins are closed tightly. $1,000.00 is a lot of money and an indication of how serious the coyote situation has become.

The weather is turning warmer and there is a lot of wildlife out there to watch. Enjoy the warmer seasons and pray the Avian Flu situation improves. Like other viruses it will run its course; but, let’s pray we don't lose too much of our beautiful wildlife.

Submitted by Mary Anna Williams 
Upcoming Events
Circle of Friends on Zoom

At our Café Sunday discussions, our members on Zoom requested the return of Circle of Friends. This will be on Zoom so our friends can spend some time together just chatting and reconnecting separate from the short time before and after church services. Our meetings are set up for the second Wednesday of May, and June, from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. The Zoom link will be published in the Friday Message, prior to the Wednesday meeting date.

If you have any friends or neighbours who are housebound and would like to join us for some informal conversation and fellowship, please invite them to join us by sharing the Zoom link.

Looking forward to getting together on May 10 at 1:00 p.m.

Submitted by Patti King, your coordinator for this exciting return of Circle of Friends.
Movie Nights

Movie Nights are planned for May, and June. Come and enjoy some good family time.

Saturday, May 13 – Turning Red

Friday, June 16 – A Wrinkle in Time

Doors open at 7 p.m.; movie starts at 7:30 p.m.

Free will donations will be gratefully accepted.

Share this information with family and friends!
EMUC Striders’ Outing

The next Striders hike will take place on Sunday, May 14, and will be on the Culham Trail, going from Streetsville to Meadowvale. Striders will leave the church at 11:45 a.m. and return around 2:30 p.m.  

EMUC Striders will carpool to River Grove Community Centre, which will serve as the central hub for the north and south segments for the planned hike.  
Guest Author Book Talk
*Save the Date*

Please plan to join us on Saturday, June 3 from 3-5 p.m. when we welcome Charles Hayter, MD for a special book talk on his book, Cancer Confidential. In Cancer Confidential, Dr. Hayter pulls back the curtain on his life as a radiation oncologist and his journey to live authentically as a gay man. The book will be sold at the event.

We are planning to offer this event both in-person and on zoom, so please mark it in your calendars and watch for more details in the month to come.
Ontario Male Chorus Concert

Sunday, June 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Erin Mills United Church – Please join us for an evening of music, followed by light refreshments. Freewill offering accepted. This chorus practices at Erin Mills United Church throughout the year and have had concerts here in past years. You won’t want to miss them!  
News Release: Mark your calendar for the
 “BBB” Sale 
Boot-Book-Bake Sale on June 24, 8 a.m.-12 noon

 If you’re British, you will know what a “Boot Sale” is. It is a sale of goods from the boot of your car (British for trunk). They generally take place in a field or parking lot. At EMUC, we’ve had a long history of holding garage sales. This year we are having a Boot/Trunk sale in the church parking lot, and it is sure to be a fun time for one and all. 

As with garage sales, we invite you to start putting aside gently used items. If you would like to sell your bric-a-brac, please email Mike Ogilvie at donations@emuc.ca or call the office at 905-820-9466 ext. 23. We ask sellers to arrive at EMUC church parking between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. with your trunk overflowing. It’s that simple. At 8:00 a.m., the sale starts. There is $20 rental fee, and any donations to the church from your sales will receive a charitable tax receipt.

Alongside the boot sale, we will be holding our annual book and bake sale.

Mark your calendar and be sure to spread the word to your neighbours, friends, and community. Tell them they can also reserve a spot to sell their stuff, or they can show up on June 24 to shop ‘till they drop. Flyers are available in the narthex of the church.

Let’s plan to have a great day with laughter, fun, music - and most of all, a community spirit. 

Submitted by the 2023 BBB team.
BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!

The Book Sale is back! YAY! So clean out your old books (and make room to buy more) for the EMUC Trunk Sale on Saturday, June 24. Once again, to minimize leftover books (read as labour-intensive, back-breaking clean-up), we are being picky about what we will accept. Please refer to the following list of ‘will takes’ and ‘will not takes’ when sorting your books for us. All books must be in good (to great) condition and fairly current, please.

WILL TAKE: Mostly adult fiction, biographies/memoirs, self-help, recipes, parenting, how-to, sports, hobbies. 

WILL NOT TAKE:  Text books, business, science, politics, philosophy, history, technology, coffee table, magazines, encyclopedias, collections (i.e., Reader’s Digest).

DROP OFF TIMES will happen the week before the sale and will be announced in later messages. Mark your calendars to attend with a friend or three, and stay tuned for further information. Questions: Contact Sandy Hayes: 905-820-4437 or sandyhayes88@gmail.com.
BBB (Bake) Sale

There will be a bake sale on June 24 at the Boot-Books-Bake Sale. We are calling all bakers to put on their chef's hats and aprons to help. All baking is welcome. More information will follow closer to the date.
There will also be a refreshment stand to sell beverages and snacks. If you can help with baking and/or selling that day, please inform Barbara Jennings.
*New Children’s Program*

Attention all families with children! We are excited to offer a new opportunity for children to become involved in our worship services. Our EMU club space has been reopened and children are invited to join us for quiet activities during our services.  

Children will be invited to join us once a month in the conference room to learn a song, discuss the lyrics, and rehearse. During the offering portion of the service, the children will return to the sanctuary to sing along with Theresa Morris and Joanne Hines, who will accompany the chorus on their ukuleles. 

We are hoping to have our first “choir” in May! Whether we have one chorister or 20, we are hoping to have some enthusiastic children join us for this new, exciting opportunity to shine in front of the congregation.

Please speak to Theresa or Joanne for more information on this new program!