Voting in Verdun
Last week, I gave some general information about how to get on the voting list for the municipal elections coming up on November 6 and 7. This week I thought I’d look at how voting will play out in Verdun. Hopefully some of this information will be useful even to those who live elsewhere.
During the week of October 25, everyone who is on the electors list should receive a reminder card in the mail. This card will show all the names of candidates in your district, as well as dates and locations of advance polls and election day polls. This information is already available on the Elections Montreal website.
For instance, if you live in the Desmarchais-Crawford section of Verdun (most of mainland Verdun, from Rielle all the way to the end of Crawford Park) you will vote for five candidates: City mayor, borough mayor, a city councillor and two borough councillors. Ten* candidates are running for mayor of Montreal.
There are three candidates for Verdun Mayor: Marie-Andrée Mauger, for Projet Montreal; Jayoti Nanda for Mouvement Montreal, and Antoine Richard for Ensemble Montreal. Marie-Andrée (pictured right) has been a borough councillor here for eight years. As city councillor, we will be choosing between Eric (Balou) Chartrand for Ensemble Montreal; Sterling Downey (incumbent) for Projet Montreal; and Nathe Perrone for Mouvement Montreal.
Luc Gagnon decided not to run again for Borough councillor, and with Marier-Andrée vying for the mayor’s office, we have two new faces running for borough council with Projet Montreal: Kaïla A. Munro and Benoit Gratton. Ensemble Montreal is also running two candidates: Natacha Louis and Lili-Anne Bergeron; Mouvement Montreal is putting forth only one candidate, Jonathan Reinglas, and there is one independent candidate for borough councillor: Rosalie Belanger-Rioux.
*Regardless of where you live in Montreal, you will be presented with the following options as
City Mayor:
- Beverly Bernardo, Independent
- Denis Coderre, Ensemble Montreal
- Jean Duval, Independent
- Balarama Holness, Mouvement Montreal
- Fang Hu, Independent
- Wilder Jules, Independent
- Luc Menard, Montreal 2021
- Dimitri Mourkes, Independent
- Valerie Plante, Projet Montreal
- Gilbert Thibodeau, Action Montreal
If you are unable to get out to vote, you can submit a request to vote by mail by calling 514 872-VOTE (8683). You must apply before October 27th.
To be allowed to vote by mail you must meet one of the following criteria:
Living in a public long-term care home or a registered private seniors’ residence
Unable to leave your home due to health conditions
Staying in a rehabilitation centre or hospital
Self-isolating in accordance with public health directives
Have symptoms of COVID-19, or a diagnosis of COVID-19
A Message from Sarah: Oct. 24, 2021
Music Sunday
A feast for the ears (and eyes!) this Sunday, as we welcome
Amy Barratt and Howard Welburn as special musical guests.
Yes, you all know Amy very, very well, but she always does
something special on ‘special’ occasions. Howard has been to
the church a few times, which makes him a repeat treat!
Dennis Brown will man the ship (you should ask him about his
ship) and I will do my best to keep up with everybody.
Come!
Order of service: October 24, 2021
Beryl's Blog: Taste and See
A Reflection on Psalm 34
This past Sunday I read the 23rd Psalm at a celebration of life. Words of comfort and hope.
It got me to thinking about the Psalms; we read them every Sunday as part or the lectionary cycle of readings. But, for so many of us, the words are extremely old and written in times and places which are very different from our own. And, let’s be honest – some passages contain words of violence that are difficult to hear and hard to understand.
This Sunday, the lectionary suggests Psalm 34. This Psalm was written by King David but do we know the reasoning or the history behind its writing?
David wrote this psalm after a battle with Abimelech. Now, David knew his fair share of pain and suffering. Some of it was unjustly done to him, some was the result of his own foolish choices. Either way, suffering is no fun.
There is something interesting that stands out in this Psalm; “Taste and see that the Lord is Good”. David is inviting the reader to taste the Lord. That is a very graphic image because it goes so much deeper than simply understanding with the mind, but it is ingesting with all the senses. It brings to mind the celebration of Communion and the words “eat his flesh and drink his blood”. When we celebrate Holy Communion, we are invited to make God a part of our inner being, to be fused with our DNA…and it is good.
I like the words “the Lord is good” for good does not mean easy. As we all can attest, life is not easy. But, for people of faith, sometimes the goodness of the Lord is sweetest when storms of life are most bitter.
For those who are unable to join worship on Sunday, I quote here under the words of Psalm 34, verses 1-8, which will be read responsively from More Voices:
I will bless God at all times,
God’s praise will continually be in my mouth.
My soul will glory in God, the humble will hear and be glad.
O, magnify God with me,
Let us exalt God’s name together.
I sought God, who answered me, and freed me from all my fears.
Look to the Most High, and let your light shine,
and your faces will not be shamed.
This poor soul cried out and God heard,
and saved me from all my troubles.
Your angel, O God, keeps guard over those who fear you and delivers them.
Taste and see that our God is good.
Happy are those who take refuge in God.
Fear God, you are the saints,
for those who fear God lack nothing.
One more point of interest in this Psalm. David notes that the angel of the Lord is present with those who fear God, and God delivers them. This use of the word "fear" translated implies deep respect and reverence, not terror. This statement is David's personal testimony.
At SouthWest United, we are not unfamiliar with thoughts of God’s goodness. Worship has often opened with the words “God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good”.
Let’s celebrate that goodness in prayer:
Lord, we do indeed praise you for all your goodness and blessings and for all that you do for us each and every day. Help us to be truly thankful and to bear witness to these blessings in our lives and in the words of the Psalms. Amen
Pastor Beryl, DLM
October 17, 2021 SouthWest Service
Order of service, October 17, 2021
Pastor Beryl's Blog: Christ, the Servant
This Sunday, October 17th, we will be reflecting on the Gospel of Mark, and the words of Jesus who said:
“Whoever wishes to be first must be slave of all. For the son of man came not to be served but to serve.”
If ever there was a time for service it is now. The world is in crisis with climate change which is barreling out of control.
We are still in the throes of a pandemic which refuses to be brought under control.
Our own country has just come through an election which saw little change, other than paying lip service to promises which have yet to be honored.
As an aging congregation there seems to be little we can physically do to serve and bring about a better place in our own worlds.
All of this seems so overwhelming, but, believe it or not, there is joy in joining Jesus in giving our life without expecting anything in return.
Young moms do it every day - they serve those who can’t (and sometimes won’t) serve themselves. They wipe bottoms, runny noses, food encrusted faces – all out of love and devotion. And, sometimes, without a partner to carry the load.
Young dads take jobs that are not rewarding and, sometimes, with no future, so that their families will have a roof over their heads and food on the table, access to education and extra-curricular activities to build strong bodies as well as strong minds. They work overtime and sometimes two jobs. And, there are those dads who find themselves supporting two families.
Grandparents, having finally retired, are often required to once again take on the responsibilities of child rearing when the lives of their married children fall apart. They give not only of their hands and their time, but of the finances which they hoped would see them through to a time of relaxation, free from anxiety and fear.
And this generation finds itself having to take physical and financial responsibility for their own aging parents who are facing illness, uncertain futures and dwindling resources.
Not service on a global scale, but service in light of Jesus’ own words.
As I reflect on the role of servant, I am reminded of The Servant Song. It goes:
Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant too
We are pilgrims on a journey
Fellow travelers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load
I will hold the Christ-light for you
In the nighttime of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you
Speak the peace you long to hear
I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we’ve seen this journey through
When we sing to God in heaven
We will find such harmony
Born of all we’ve known together
Of Christ’s love and agony
Will you let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant too
Perhaps the words of this song are the only reward we may ever experience. But I hold hope that what we do in secret, without complaint or expectation, Creator God knows, and that will be its own reward.
In peace
Pastor Beryl, DLM
Municipal Elections November 2021
On November 6 and 7, (yes, voting will take place over two days, from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.) voters will elect the mayor of Montréal (who is also the mayor of the Ville-Marie borough), the borough mayors, the city councillors and the borough councillors. Not sure how it all works? Here are some of the basics. Check out some useful links below as well.
By now, all households should have received a piece of mail called a Notice of Entry, or Avis d’inscription. It was most likely addressed “to the occupant” but if you look closely, one or more names appear in the upper right corner.
If your name is there, you are on the list of electors for your address, and all you have to do is watch for a reminder card in the mail and go where it tells you to on Election day or early voting days.
If your name is not there, you have until October 18th (Monday!) to visit the Board of Review in your borough. They are open noon to 7pm weekdays and noon to 6pm in the weekend. You will need to present two pieces of ID that show, between them, your name and date of birth, and your current address. For instance, a Mediare card plus a utility bill should do the trick.
This information is on the Elections Montreal site as well. Here are the Board of Review locations for a few boroughs:
Lasalle: 55 Dupras (borough hall)
Verdun: 630 4th Avenue (basement)
Ile-des-Soeurs: 260 Elgar
Sud-ouest: 3615 Notre-Dame West.
NDG: 5651 Sherbrooke West
If you are unable to get out to vote, you can submit a request to vote by mail by calling 514 872-VOTE (8683), or online at elections.montreal.ca. You must apply before October 27th.
To be allowed to vote by mail you must meet one of the following criteria:
Living in a public long-term care home or a registered private seniors’ residence
Unable to leave their homes due to health conditions
Staying in a rehabilitation centre or hospital
Self-isolating in accordance with public health directives
Have symptoms of COVID-19, or a diagnosis of COVID-19
If you need transportation to get to your polling place, often the major parties have volunteers standing by to give lifts. I have not seen any announcement about this yet, but you can call and ask them:
Projet Montreal: 514 390-0792
Ensemble Montreal: 514 903-1207
Mouvement Montreal : I could not find a phone number but here is an email address: info@mouvementmtl.com
Advance polls take place on October 30th and 31st. The reminder card will tell you where to go to vote on the various dates.
CBC news: Who am I voting for? How many people am I voting for? It's all covered right here
CTV news: Montreal Municipal Election: Are you registered to vote? Read
All Saints Memorial: An Invitation
Please join us…
Annual All Saints Memorial Celebration
Sunday, October 31, 2021
SouthWest United Church
Dear Friends
Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (MEV)
Just as Jesus named the blessed ones, in our annual day of remembrance on October 31st, we too will recall and give thanks for those who, in life, blessed us and have now gone before us.
As our annual celebration of All Saints approaches, you are warmly invited to join us in our All Saints Memorial Tribute.
As you know, SouthWest does not solicit payment for funerals but, rather, receives offerings “in loving memory” of those who have gone before us. All gifts given to the fund are gratefully acknowledged and a receipt is given for tax purposes.
Memorial gifts received before October 29th will be acknowledged during the service. If you wish, you can e-mail or call the office to confirm your participation.
We hope that you can join us and look forward to seeing you on October 31st at 10:00 a.m.
Beryl Barraclough Dennis Brown,
Pastor Clerk of Session
“Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?” - Terry Pratchett