This week’s worship includes a guest appearance by the MacNair-Smirl family singing “Draw the Circle Wide”; we also used Steve Bell’s “Hear our Prayer” and Martin Robson (Rockers United) for the closing “We Shall Go Out with Hope of Resurrection”. Thank you to all the musicians for their kind permission to share their gifts. And, as always, thanks to John Poettcker, Chuck Hasselfield, and Sherry Rasmussen for their time and talents!
Our worship for Sunday, April 26 can be found here: https://youtu.be/dhFAmWoaQwg
Sunday Virtual Coffee is now a recurring event.
What does this mean? First of all it means that we’ll be there every Sunday (at least for the next 10 weeks, then we may re-evaluate) from 10 – 10:30 a.m. It also means that once we send you a link to this (which is different from last week’s link for coffee), it will work for you on any Sunday – you don’t need a new link each week. If you haven’t asked for the recurring link yet, you can still do that anytime. Send an email to Teresa or to the office or call the office (204-284-0079). Just remember, you’ll have to supply your own coffee and goodies.
Faithful Readers Book discussion group will meet this Wednesday at 1:30pm by Zoom. Some of you have already requested the link. If you haven’t and would like to be part of the discussion, it’s not too late! Send an email to Teresa or to the office or call the office, and we’ll be happy to send you the zoom invitation.
Prayers and thoughts for Nova Scotia
Our nation was united in shock, grief, outrage, horror and sympathy by the events of last weekend in Nova Scotia. Some of us have participated in online vigils or memorials, including one on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 from Region 15 (Nova Scotia and Bermuda) of the United Church of Canada. There is a short clip from that vigil in this week’s online service from Harrow (as one of the announcements). The full recording of the vigil is available for viewing at the following link: The United Church of Canada YouTube page.
If you would like to send your own message or a card to the church in that region, here are a couple of options:
Regional Council Office for Nova Scotia and Bermuda 21 Wright Street Sackville, NB E4L 4P8 Email: Info4rc15@united-church.ca
Our reach is wide! We know some of you are sharing our messages and the links to our online services with friends and family at some distance. We know because we are hearing from them! Thank you for being part of Harrow’s Caring and Sharing network!
Hearts Reach Out
Watch for a separate email with information about a Hearts Reach Out video idea – Sherry, our social media coordinator, will be looking for very short videos of people passing a heart.
If you or someone you know is looking for activities and songs for young children, check out our Rhyme and Storytime tab on the Harrow website: http://harrowunited.ca/rhymeandstorytime
Financial Matters – First of all, THANK YOU to all who are able to continue supporting the church in these difficult times. We know that for some folks, incomes are reduced or perhaps even non-existent, and this has undoubtedly affected your capacity to support Harrow and other charitable causes. The United Church of Canada’s Chief Financial Officer, Erik Mathieson, has been holding a weekly webinar on how to handle changing financial realities in these COVID-19 times. Our treasurer, Karen Corbett, has been faithfully participating in these sessions, and has followed the advice being offered. At this time, we have applied for the 10% benefit from the Federal Government. Other programs are also being explored.
In addition, the Ministry and Personnel Committee has been keeping touch with various staff members. We will attempt to keep you updated on the church finances and will certainly let you know if there need to be significant changes in staffing or other matters.
As always, if there is anything you would like us to know about, or anything you need from us, please be in touch.
Email either secretary@harrowunited.ca or tmoysey@harrowunited.ca. Phone messages are checked regularly at the church (204-284-0079) by Karen, and Teresa can be reached on her cellphone at 204-299-3991.
Be well. Stay safe.
Until next week …
Yours in Christ,
Teresa
(Rev.) Teresa Moysey
Harrow United Church