Newslinks: Winter 2014

Winter 2014

Connect with Us! 21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO

P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: [email protected] Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

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stjohnsarva.ca /stjohnsarva @saintjohnsarva

Rev. Wendy Mencel

Every once in a while, as Rector, when I am going

about my Sunday preparations before service, a

sudden surprise comes my way. From event

cancellations to new births and unexpected deaths,

one can never adequately prepare for what may be in

store any given week. The latest surprise however

– rather than being a potential source of stress – is

one I am truly excited about, further one that can

benefit us all.

A couple of weeks ago, as I was about to light the

altar candles, an individual approached me with a

challenge they wanted to propose to our

congregation; the challenge being to eliminate our

deficit which currently stands at $10,000. But that’s

not all...

The individual made the commitment to pledge up to half of the monies

themselves if we were willing to launch a congregation-wide campaign

throughout the month of December. Their desire to help eliminate our deficit

comes from a place of feeling blessed for all that they have been given in life

and a desire to give back to their parish.

And thus the idea for our MERRY GIVING TREE was born!

I love a challenge and I know you do too! So

beginning this month, your Christmas offerings

(to be enclosed in the special envelopes

attached to this newsletter) will exclusively go

towards the reduction of our deficit.

Dollar-for-dollar, our generous donor will match your offerings.

The True Meaning of Christmas: “Paying it Forward”

Annual Christmas Pageant

Sunday December 14th

10:30 am

Lessons & Carols

Sunday December 21st

10:30 am

Christmas Eve Service

Wednesday December 24th

7:30 pm

Christmas Day Service

Thursday December 25th

10:00 am

Beating the Winter Blues

Workshop

Wednesday January 28th

7:00 pm Facilitated by Dr. Ian Nicholson

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In Our Community

To signify each milestone of $100, we will place a “donation ornament” on our MERRY GIVING TREE.

I am reminded of the following Gospel passage from Matthew that speaks on the topic of money:

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (6:21)

We are incredibly blessed to be able to worship in such a lovely setting, be a beacon of hope to those in our

community who need to hear about the Good News of Jesus Christ, and minister to the needs of those who

gather here at St. Johns throughout the year.

Let us rejoice in the birth of the Savior who is Christ our Lord, and give thanks for our many blessings by

“paying it forward” with our MERRY GIVING TREE.

Many gather for our

Community Breakfasts!

Held the third Sunday of

every month.

Preparing for the

Coming of our Lord.

Enjoying a hot bowl of chili at our

November Bazaar.

Taking in the artistic talents of the

students of Medway Highschool.

Sean & Dawn Kim's

family

Showing our appreciation

to our MANY volunteers!

Winter 2014



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A FIVE STAR SUCCESS!

Debbie Scrooby

On the evening of Saturday October 25th, St John’s held a FIVE STAR DINNER event.

Vince Capitano (www.CapitanoCatering.ca), a student of Humber College prepared us a delicious

three course meal.

We had spring mix salad with julienne vegetables for a starter, followed by stuffed chicken

supreme and roasted vegetables and potatoes for the entree. Finally, for dessert, we were

treated with a delicious white chocolate maple tart and fresh fruit served with raspberry sauce.

A wonderful evening was enjoyed by all and $700 was raised towards the Taizé trip. We would

like to thank everyone who attended and a special thanks to Vince for our memorable meal.

STRESS-FREE LIVING

Dr. Ian Nicholson

On Tuesday, October 7th, I was fortunate enough to be able to present a workshop on STRESS & STRESS

MANAGEMENT to our parishioners. The discussion began by tackling the question, “What is stress?” The

answer to the question was, in part, that stress is a natural and necessary part of life...in

the right amount, of course. Problems arise when stress becomes high and continues

without any relief.

We then unravelled how stressful events can be affected by your appraisals of situations

and coping strategies. This led to further discussion on how your thinking affects your

reactions to the world and, if you can change some of your patterns of thinking, you can

change your reactions and therefore your stress level.

The importance of asking yourself the following questions when encountering stress was emphasized:

“Will this matter in 20 years?” OR “What would I tell a friend in this situation?”

Appreciating our MANY

volunteers! Showing appreciation to

our MANY volunteers!

http://www.capitanocatering.ca/

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We then had some fun in showing people how the brain works in reacting to the world and how it can make

mistakes that can cause problems or as Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote in 1863:

“Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear and you will see that the cursed thing

will come to mind every minute.”

The evening concluded with a review of what can be done to live a “sustaining” life and how that

needs to include, not only proper diet, sleep and exercise, but also having fun and the role of

prayer.

We then learned a short relaxation technique and strategies to remember to use it when you can.

To help people remember the evening, they were asked to write about their experiences on a sheet of

paper that was mailed back to them a couple of weeks later.

“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

Let the day’s own troubles be sufficient for the day”

(Matthew 6:34)

COMMUNITY GIVING

Muriel Vincent

This year, on behalf of our Sunday School, I collected gifts for the Limberlost community here in

London. Because of your generosity, boys and girls in need of all ages will be receiving special

Christmas gifts this year! We are so blessed! Thanks to everyone for being Christmas “angels.”

Do you have an inspiring story or special event related to St. John’s you’d like to share with our community?

If so, send the details to our Parish Administrator via email [email protected]

for inclusion in our next edition of Newslinks.

mailto:[email protected]

Winter 2014



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Paul Townshend

A TRUE “VISION” FOR THE FUTURE

On the morning of Tuesday, October 21st, our parish of St. John’s Arva gathered

22 people to plan for the upcoming year. This was a passionate group of people

who immediately plunged into the task of creating, organizing and prioritizing

ideas to present to Parish Council to consider for implementation.

We worked within the established guidelines of:

a) THE MISSION OF THE DIOCESE OF HURON

“Building up the body of Christ and preparing God’s people to live their Mission”

b) THE FIVE MARKS OF MISSION of the World Wide Anglican Church:

• To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

• To teach, baptize and nurture new believers

• To respond to human need by loving service

• To seek to transform unjust structures of society

• To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

c) St. John the Divine’s VISION STATEMENT:

"Inspired by the love of God, and Led by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the

church of St. John the Divine, seeks to be a Welcoming, Caring, Accepting

community of Faith, ministering to the wider Community through Worship

and Prayer by sharing our Gifts and Love in the service of our Lord and

Saviour, Jesus Christ."

Stewardship Update

The Marks of Mission provide

the framework for living out

our faith into the world on a

daily basis.

Our Vision Statement guides

us in our purpose as a parish

by framing who we are and

how we determine to live out

our faith.

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d) St. John the Divine’s MISSION STATEMENT:

“Connect with Us!”

Small Group work created lively discussions which seemed to centre mostly

around:

1) Maintaining and developing Effective Ministries and Programs for our

parish;

2) Getting the word out to the Broader Community;

3) Expanding our Outreach Programs to address new areas of need;

4) Finding new ways to Engage the Youth and Young Families of the parish.

The spirited debate over possibilities among those participating was so impassioned that it was difficult to interrupt for

a midmorning break: there just always seemed to be one more good idea to hear!

Suggestions seemed to divide into aspects of “Filling Our Spiritual Cup”: alternative services, messy

church, centering prayer, our beautiful historic church, learning about the sacred time for contemplation

and “Building Our Community”: telling stories, eating together, taking action in the

community as Jesus did, reaching out to serve others, inviting other groups into the hall or

church, providing workshops and book studies.

A constant theme throughout the morning was the need to take “personal

action”: What can WE do to get people excited about the wonderful opportunities here at St. John’s Arva?

The next steps in our planning process will involve Parish Council confirming the areas of focus for the coming year and

establishing goals and an action plan. New services, programs and activities will need additional people to carry them

out. We ask you ALL to take a prayerful approach to try to discern the role God has for you. Which way is the Holy

Spirit leading you? If you would like to get involved or have an interesting idea, let me know.

This slogan reminds us that to carry

out our mission we need to:

Connect with God

Connect with Others

Connect with each

one of Us.

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Rev. Wendy Mencel

A CHRISTMAS “CHALLENGE”

Advent - the period leading up to Christmas - is a time wrought with emotion for so many people. I

sometimes think the commercialization of Christmas is a human attempt to avoid the feelings of sadness or

loneliness that tend to rear their ugly heads during the month of December.

We invest our energy into “things” because quite frankly, it feels good and dulls the

pain that may be present in our lives. We feel good for a while, especially if life is going our

way...but let’s face the facts: that doesn’t always happen.

I know that in my own family, there have been many struggles and hurdles in 2014. Sickness

always has a way of re-prioritizing your life; a gentle kick/reminder to pay attention to what really matters.

So what does really matter? I think overall human beings want to know they are loved: that they mean something to

someone. Love is a powerful tool that leads to wanting the best for one another and for ourselves.

As the Gospel of John reminds us:

“This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has

greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. “

(15:12)

To find it in our hearts to love others as God loves us is to find peace, both internally and externally.

So, this Advent and Christmas, I challenge you to search out those in your life who need to know

you love them. Merry Christmas and God bless.

Rector’s Message

Winter 2014



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Our Team

Rev. Wendy Mencel, Rector 519-850-9174

[email protected]

Doug Gould, Warden 519-672-3876

[email protected]

Paul Townshend, Warden 519-433-5406

[email protected]

Rev. Kate Hathaway, Honourary Assistant [email protected]

Jean Davies, Lay Reader [email protected]

St. John’s Arva

1557 Richmond St, P.O. Box 129

Arva, ON, N0M 1C0

Phone: 519-660-8177 Fax: 519-660-0946

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.stjohnsarva.ca

New to St. John’s? Interested in Getting Involved with our Liturgies? Have a Rental Inquiry?

Want Offering Envelopes or to Sign up for Pre-Authorized Givings?

Our Parish Administrator is here to help!

Send us an email [email protected] or give us a call 519-660-8177







http://www.stjohnsarva.ca/


Newslinks: Winter 2014

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