Blast From the Past

Did anybody here attend Crawford Park United in the 50s or 60s? For that matter, other churches probably used these bible story comic books to catch the attention of children and teens as well. Diane Norwood found these and more in her attic on Fayolle and shared them with local historian Ro Ghandhi, who shared them with us.

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Often, these comic books also included activity pages inside. I found this one to be fairly challenging. Were kids smarter back in the day??

Let me know how you do.

Amy

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Blog: Reopening Churches 101

As many people have questions, we thought it might be useful to take a closer look at the Regional Council motion that was passed on June 18th concerning re-opening.

The motion, drafted by P. Bisset and R. Sheffer, was sparked by the announcement by the Government of Quebec to authorize reopening of Places of Worship to a capacity of 50% of the building (up to a maximum of 50 people) starting June 22, 2020. *

As you know, our sanctuary’s capacity is about 120, and our attendance at Sunday worship is usually below 50 people. So no problem, right? Let’s go back to church!

Slow down, Sparky.

The motion goes on to say that,

based on our ongoing concern for spread of the COVID virus, we must provide a safe reopening of our church buildings so that the physical, psychological and spiritual health of all individuals, church members and those from our communities using our buildings, is sustained;

and that,

the Conseil régional Nakonha:ka Regional Council Executive recommends the following: a. Communities of Faith are expected to post and circulate the information and resources pertaining to safely reopening Communities of Faith during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis and continue to provide information as developments require;

We are doing that with this Blog post and in other formats as well. Also,

b. [The Nakonha:ka Executive] Strongly recommend that Communities of Faith gradually reopen their buildings for Phase 1 activity for a period of time in order to familiarize the community with the processes of reopening prior to moving to Phase 2 and the reopening of the building for public worship no earlier than Labour Day Weekend.

For an explanation of the difference between Phase 1 and Phase 2, see the table below. We have been in the Pre-opening Phase and are just moving into Phase I, including the drafting of our Community of Faith (COF) Plan for Re-opening.

Though it may be disheartening to hear that we may not be back before September, do not think this means we will be sitting on our hands until then. The reason for the delay in opening is to make sure everything is done with the utmost care. The last thing we at SouthWest want is for an elderly member who has been self-isolating for months, to come back to church and catch the virus.

Here is the remainder of the motion:

c. [The Nakonha:ka Executive] expects that every Community of Faith prepare a Phase 1 plan for reopening their buildings and a Phase 2 plan for reopening their buildings for worship based on the document Conseil regional Nakonha:ka Regional Council- Reopening Protocols and Guidelines for Communities of Faith dated June 12, 2020 and submit their plan to the Task Group (bruse@united-church.ca) two weeks prior to their proposed opening date; d. Expects that every Community of Faith ensure that tenants have prepared an occupancy plan based on government guidelines specific to their sector of activity. If tenants use common space within the building they must follow the rules established by your Community of Faith. It is also expected that tenant agreements will be updated to reflect these changes. Other community groups using the facilities without rental agreements must be made familiar with your local rules; e. Expects that Communities of Faith who have already authorized daycares, essential services, food banks and summer camps to use space in the buildings, that they advise the Task Group and prepare and submit a Phase 1&2 plan as soon as possible; f. Requests that Communities of Faith provide a budget estimate for the additional monthly costs that will be incurred for protective equipment and cleaning services during this period.

*Sections in italics are direct quotes from the motion.

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*Sections in italics are direct quotes from the motion.

Memory Lane

We received a donation this week in memory of Joan Potvin. The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it. I asked Dennis Brown and he supplied the following reminiscence and photo:

“Joan Potvin was a friend of ours. She died of a brain tumor that took over 2 years from diagnosis to the end. In her youth she was a national level swimmer and in later years a golfer and curler. In fact Joan Potvin was the first female president of the Lachine curling club. I was asked by Doug her husband , a professor of mathematics at Loyola, to say a few words at her viewing. The room was filled with Lachine curling members. I followed a prayer by the Archbishop of Montreal with a reading from  Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 . I spent the next several months being referred to as "The Rev." on the ice.
Joan was a lovely lady.

PS. The picture is Joan at Lachine Curling Club where she and a team catered my daughter Carolyn's wedding reception.”

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Joan Potvin passed away in June 2005. Rev. David married Joan’s son Allan to Dawn Svoronos in 2012.

Amy

 

Community news

Having heard that there were cases of Covid-19 at the Champlain Hospital, Pastor Beryl had been trying for some time to get in touch with Pamela, our inside ministry liaison there. Beryl finally heard from her last week and was sorry to learn that Pamela had herself been ill with the coronavirus but is finally feeling stronger. Pamela also reported that Phyllis and Anne had been infected but were both now in a “green” or recovery zone. Pamela is anxious to see SouthWest folk again.

Lil Jones reports that there are only two Covid cases remaining at the Floralies LaSalle, after reaching a height of 96! Lil herself has remained well – just bored and in need of a haircut, she says. The Floralies is allowing family caregivers in, and is now allowing residents to go outside and meet visitors as long as social distancing is maintained.

I called Shirley Robinson to find out how things were going at the Cavalier LaSalle, and was sorry to learn that she is back in hospital! The wound from her heart surgery became infected so she is back getting pumped full of antibiotics and will have to undergo a second surgery. Typical Shirley, when the plastic surgeon came by to discuss the procedure, she asked him if he could throw in a free facelift while he was at it. We love you Shirley and we pray for a swift end to all your troubles.

This week I also spoke to Doris Smith, who has been pretty much confined to her apartment since March. Luckily, given the last week, she has an air conditioner. She also has a son and daughter-in-law who live downstairs, so they have done all her errands for her. She says she misses SouthWest and is eager to be back at church.

Amy

When will we be back at church?

As you have surely heard, the Quebec government said that places of worship could open as of June 22nd. The United Church of Canada and Nakonha:ka Regional Council are advising caution. If you are interested in knowing more, below are links to the most recent Nakonha:ka newsletter, and to the Regional Council website with many resources addressing the reopening of United churches.

If we were to go back now, our services would be very different than what we are used to. Family members who live together may sit together, but everyone else must keep a distance of 6 feet: no hand shaking and certainly no hugging! Instrumental music and one singer would be allowed, but no group hymn singing. The church hall would be off limits except to use the bathroom, and that means no coffee time after the service.

We are all anxious to go back but are hoping if we wait, some of these restrictions can be lifted so that we can experience a worship service that’s more like what we’re used to.


Worship service June 28, 2020

This Sunday, June 28th the Scripture Reading is: Matthew 10: 40-42. Here it is, from the NRSV:

40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

The video link below will be live Sunday morning.

New Testament 101: Romans

Paul wrote this letter to introduce himself and his message to the church at Rome.  He had never been to this important city, although he knew the names of many Christians there and hoped to visit them soon (15:22-16:21).  Paul tells them that he is an apostle, chosen to preach the good news (1:1).  The message he proclaims “is God’s powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles (1:16)

Paul reminds his readers “All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory” (3:23. But how can we be made acceptable to God?  That is the main question that Paul answers in this letter. He begins by showing how everyone has failed to do what God requires.  The Jews have not obeyed the Law of Moses, and the Gentiles have refused even to think about God, although God has spoken to them in many different ways (1:18-3:20).

 Now we see how God does make us acceptable to him
He accepts people only because they have faith in Jesus Christ
God treats us much better than we deserve,
and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.  (3: 21a-24)

God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life so that we would
be made acceptable to God.  (4:25)

A Quick Look At This Letter

1.    Paul and his message of Good News (1: 1-17)
2.    Everyone is guilty (1: 18-3: 20)
3.    God’s way of accepting people (3: 21-4:25)
4.    A new life for God’s people (5: 1-8)
5.    What about the people of Israel? (9: 1-11)
6.    How to live the new life of Love (12: 1-5, 13)
7.    Paul’s plans and personal greetings (15: 14-16) 

N.B.  On a personal note, I do not like the word sin.  It conjures up images of childhood when an Anglican minister, red in the face, and thumping the pulpit, demanded that we sinners repent.  It was terrifying to watch.  It is a word which Paul uses often and, for me, is synonymous with wickedness, iniquity, depravity, immorality, debauchery and evil. I prefer to use the words “brokenness”.   

Beryl

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