Blog ..Blogue
News from SouthWest ..Des nouvelles du Sud-Ouest
It’s back! Cost at the door is $5, which gets you your first bingo card and a ticket for the (cash) door prize. Additional bingo cards can be bought for 50 cents. Doors open at 12:00, play begins at 1PM and refreshments are available (donations gratefully accepted). The fun wraps up by about 3:30.
SouthWest Bingo takes place the first Saturday of each month.
1445 rue Clemenceau, Verdun H4H 2R2
Our Reverse Advent Calendar food collection was a big success. The box was literally overflowing every week during Advent. Thank you all for your generosity, and thanks to Sandy MacKenzie, and George and Sue O’Reilly for picking up and delivering the non-perishables to Manna food bank. You all helped fill hungry bellies through the holidays and beyond.
As of February we will be re-starting our tradition of collecting food for Manna every first Sunday of the month. There are no specific guidelines at the moment; any non-perishable food items will be gratefully received on February 2nd.
During the five weeks of Lent (March 1st to March 29th) there will be a simple soup lunch offered after every Sunday service. We are hoping to have two choices of soup at each lunch, at least one of them meatless. That means Dorothy Brown is looking for up to ten cooks to commit to bringing a pot. Get in touch with Dorothy directly or through the office if you can contribute.
As you know, we ended up cancelling the service last Sunday due to weather. I sincerely hope no one made the trek to find the door locked! As we are in for snow this weekend there is a slight chance Pastor Beryl won’t make it, but I believe Dennis Brown is waiting in the wings if he’s needed. If service should be cancelled this week or any other, I will make a point of changing the message on the office voicemail to reflect that. Also, the little address books for 2020 will soon be out, and there’s talk of using them to create a phone chain for just these sorts of situations.
A friend has contacted the office to offer some bedroom furniture if anyone is in need. I don’t have any details about exactly what the pieces are but I can get more info if someone is interested. Chances are you will have to arrange pick-up yourself. Call Amy at the office. 514 768-6231.
Tempus fugit as they say; especially in the Church liturgical calendar.
Hopefully, by now, we have put away the Christmas decorations and, in spite of our best intention and solemn promises to our selves not to, we have eaten up the rest of the Christmas baking because we could not bear to see our hard labors go to waste.
It was barely three weeks ago that we celebrated the birth of Jesus in that animal shed in Bethlehem.
Two weeks ago, we travelled with the Magi to find Jesus who was thought to be about two years of age at that time.
And, one week ago, (had we not been deterred by freezing rain) we would have heard the story of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan River, almost immediately before beginning his public ministry at about 30 years of age. This coming Sunday, he will begin the calling of his disciples, starting with Andrew and Simon.
Time indeed does fly and in our own lives, things are not so different.
As we scurry towards Lent, we might find ourselves needing to rest a little, slow time down and reflect on where we might be heading in our personal lives.
This led me to thoughts about silence, or sacred silence. Silence needs to be understood in a larger way than simply a lack of audible noise. Whenever emptiness (or what seems like empty space or lack of sound) is embraced and allowed to become its own kind of fullness, we can experience sacred silence. It is in this place of silence that we are able to embrace the depth and the power of prayer - that space where we are free to encounter both peace and joy and to experience the divine.
For me, Jesus had the right idea when he said, adapted from Matthew 6: 6 The Message (MSG)
6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there, (in silence), as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense God’s grace.
From now until Lent, I wish you the blessings which can be found in the sounds of silence.
In peace,
Beryl
A Prayer for the People, Animals and Land of Australia, by United Church of Canada Moderator Richard Bott. Copied below, or read on the UCC website.
We pray for gentle rains,
and no wind;
we pray for cooling skies,
and water in abundance;
we pray for the burning land,
we pray for the four legged,
and the winged,
for the koala and the kangaroo,
and all of their neighbours;
we pray for the people who are trapped,
for the people who have lost their homes,
for the firefighters and the first responders,
for the exhausted and the tapped out,
we pray for Australia,
from east, to south, to west, to north,
and all the places in between.
In this world of changed and changing climate, God,
we ask that you would help us
to help those who are in immediate danger;
may we use what we have to help and to heal -
then call us to repent of all the ways
we continue to make this world
a place of death, rather than life.
Help us, O God... because we
don't seem to be able
to do it on our own.
In Christ's name,
on the wings of the Holy Spirit,
we pray.
Amen.
—A prayer in response to the Australia wildfires by the Right Rev. Richard Bott.
January 3, 2020
As I write this, it is mid-week, January 2020. That “not-so-eventful” time in the life of the church, that stretch of calm and introspection until we begin our next journey, Lent.
Some of us are already struggling with the resolutions we made but one short week ago: “to take better care of ourselves this year”. I am no exception.
As I sit looking out at the snow falling on the cedars, I realize, yet again, many of us may not make the goals we felt so confident about. So, perhaps, it might be a good time to set our sights on new goals. But this time, less about ourselves and more about what we can do to improve the lives of others.
I found myself drawn to those ancient words in Matthew 25: 35-40 (NRSV) which read:
‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ "
Today I would like to share with you a newer version of these same verses, written by Howard Thurman, from “The Work of Christmas”.
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.
Still cocooned in the darker, colder days of winter, awaiting the warmth and regrowth of spring, these words might be the focus we need to feed our souls and busy our hands as we too, carry on the work of Christmas past.
In peace,
Beryl
“My mother used to act in some of the stage productions that were put on in the church basement . She was very tall so often had the role of a man.”
So writes Elna Gravelle from British Columbia. Elna attended Verdun United Sunday School in the 1940s and her mother, Margaret Christensen, was very involved in the Women’s Missionary Society at that time.
If you saw our historical exhibit before Christmas, you may recall seeing a table cloth embroidered with names. It was the handiwork of Margaret Christensen and had been sent to us by Elna. According to her, the over 100 names painstakingly stitched onto it represent the members of the Louise Young Auxiliary, one of several women’s groups operating at VUC at the time. According to the booklet produced for VUC’s 50th anniversary in 1949, “the Women’s Missionary Society consists of a small number of faithful members, but the ‘Louise Young’ , an auxiliary consisting mostly of young married women is most vigorous and has a membership that fills the Church Parlour.’”
Elna and I have exchanged a few e-mails. Recently I sent her a page from the aforementioned booklet giving the program for a Missionary Evening held during a week of festivities for the 50th anniversary. Mrs. Christensen was in charge of organizing that evening. She led prayers and co-directed (and probably appeared in) a Pantomime.
Elna is sure that somewhere there is a photo of her mother in which Margaret is wearing a man’s black jacket and a mustache. I thought it might have been from the Young Adult Group’s revues of the late 1950s, from which we have many photos, but it seems those are too late. Elna now thinks it may date from those 1949 festivities. She hasn’t been able to find that one yet, but she did send us a photo of the Sunday School - looks like the youngest group - taken on the steps of 650 Woodland in 1946.
A few of the names in the 1949 program overlap with those on the cloth, though the cloth is probably from several years later: Ruth Hayden, Hilda Mantle, Vivian Auld, and more. I was interested to see that there were at least two Japanese families in the congregation in 1949. A Miss Muriko Uyeda sang a solo, and Mrs. Shimotakahara is listed as co-leader of the Mission Band.
Elna remembers Mrs. Shimotakahara, and says she was a survivor of an internment camp during the war. Those painful memories would have still been fresh in 1949. I hope being part of a church community was a comfort to that family.
The Sunday School picture is below, with some notes from Elna. If you recognize anyone, as always, please let me know!
I have also provided a link to a list of all the names embroidered on Mrs. Christensen’s cloth.
Amy
Elna Gravelle writes, “I am the sombre little girl in front of the very tall lady” (at the right of the door in the back row). Elna says the lady at centre in the back with curly hair and white hat is Vivian Auld. She also mentions that, “in the top row of children, in front of the lady holding the little girl, is a tall blond girl with a Dutch-like hat on. Her name was Joan Bennett and she figure skated.”
CORRECTION: In last week’s newsletter I identified the “tall lady” in the above photograph as Margaret Christensen. Her daughter set me straight, and sent this photo of her mother, brother and herself taken in Verdun in 1945.
The letter from Elna Gravelle to Ed Chaffey, as well as the photo of Louise Young were included in the exhibit, 120 Years of History, in November 2019.
Happy New Year, and welcome to the first Friday Newsletter of 2020!
Please watch the weather forecast for this weekend. If the roads are icy and dangerous on Sunday, the service will be cancelled. Check our Facebook page for updates.
There is no Bingo this month but it will return the first Saturday in February, which is February 1st.
There is an outreach service at the Floralies on Wednesday January 15th, and one at the Champlain hospital on Tuesday the 21st.
January 21st is a busy day with the Board of Stewards meeting at church at 1:30, and Church Council meeting that evening at 6:30.
Plans for a clean-up are in the works. The office will be contacting various people to find a time for this to happen. Anyone who would like to pitch in is welcome to contact the office.
A friend of SouthWest is looking for a short-term rental (2-3 months). Budget is limited so a quiet room rather than a full apartment is best. Open to various neighbourhoods, west end or south west preferred. If you know of anything, please contact the office.
Carol Smith
1947-2019
Peacefully and surrounded by family, Carol left this world on Saturday December
7th 2019 at the age of 71. She leaves to mourn her Husband of 54 wonderful years
Richard, her Children Stephen (Rita) and Tracey (Michael) as well as her
brothers Doni (Rose) and Wayne, her Precious grandchildren Cathleen, Michael,
Samantha, Kirsten, Ethan, Emily and her great grandchildren, Melissa, Shanon
Alexis, Tessanne, Hunter and Sienna, as well as dearly loved nieces and nephews
and so many friends.
She will be deeply missed and fondly remembered by all those whose lives she touched with her kindness, compassion and beautiful spirit.
Pastor Beryl will lead a celebration of Carol’s life at Actuel funeral home, 4500 Verdun Avenue, tonight, December 20th at 7PM.
