3255 Edgemont Blvd. North Vancouver, BC V7R 2P1 Ph: 604-980-6071 churchoffice@highlandsunited.org www.highlandsunited.org Rev. Will Sparks, Lead Minister

Highlights February 5, 2017

Highlands Upcoming Events and Programs This list does not include rooms booked for outside rentals (Guides, AA, Alanon etc).

Highlands Event Calendar can be viewed on our web site at: www.highlandsunited.org

Sunday February 5 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcoming Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:15 am Birthday Celebrations, Fireside Room 11:45 am Climate and Environment Action Group, Room 202 4:00 pm Yoga Chapel, Sanctuary

Monday, February 6 9:00 am Highlands Quilting Team, Choir Room 1:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry, Choir Room 7:00 pm Guitar for Fun, Faith Room 7:00 pm Healing Hands, Choir Room 7:30 pm Badminton, Gym

Tuesday, February 7 9:30 am Flea Market sorting, Lower Hall 9:30 am ESL/ELL Conversation Class, Room 201 9:30 am ESL/ELL Beginners Conversation Class, Rm 202 6:00 pm IGNITE Rehearsal, Sanctuary 7:00 pm Bird’s Eye View of the Bible, Room 201 7:00 pm Finance Meeting, Faith Room

Wednesday, February 8 7:30 am Men’s Breakfast, Eighties Restaurant

Thursday, February 9 9:30 am ESL/ELL Conversation Class, Room 201 9:30 am ESL/ELL Beginners Conversation Class, Room 202 12:30 pm ESL/ELL Speakers Group, Room 201 5:30 pm Thursday Dinner, Gym 6:00 pm Genesis Too Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary 6:00 pm Leadership Board Meeting, Faith Room 6:15 pm Living the Questions, Faith Room 6:30 pm God’s Free Spirits Choir Rehearsal, Choir Room 8:00 pm Spirit Singers Choir Rehearsal, Sanctuary

Friday, February 10 6:00 pm IGNITE Worship, Sanctuary

Saturday, February 11 1:00 pm Saturday Lunch at North Shore Neighbourhood House

Sunday February 12 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcoming Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:15 am Welcome Hosts and Greeters Lunch, Fireside Room 4:00 pm Yoga Chapel, Sanctuary 7:30 pm Roberts Rehearsals, Sanctuary

The Changing Shape of the United Church of Canada

A message from Highlands Leadership Board:

The United Church of Canada is more than Highlands United. It is a community of communities across Canada seeking to be faithful followers of the Way of Jesus. We have a rich history, deep values, and partnerships with Christians around the world. This is our denomination.

The denomination is changing. Limited funds mean we must work differently. The Leadership Board of Highlands has reviewed six proposed changes coming from the General Council (the National body) and has decided that an opportunity for congregational consultation and input is needed on two of these:

Changing the denominational structure (from a four Court system of governance to a three council system), and Changing the funding model of the denomination.

The Leadership Board will host two gatherings after church:

• Feb 12th, 11:30, Room 201—Changing the Denominational Structure

• Feb 26th, 11:30 Room 201—Changing the Funding Model

Both the proposed changes will alter the way the United Church works and will have implications for our mission. The Leadership Board would welcome your wisdom.

For more details call or email our minister, Will Sparks at will.sparks@highlandsunited.org, 604-980-7061

A message from our Tuesday Morning Flea Market Sorters:

Sorting for the next Flea Market is well underway, thanks to the 25 or so wonderful people who come to Highlands on Tuesday mornings. However, we are short of sorters in several areas and really need more help. You are warmly invited

to join the team in this endeavour in whatever way works for you to come – we would love to see you!

Tuesday mornings from 8:30 am

A time that suits you to work on a specific section

Contact Chris Robertson at 604-988-5483

Or Jonathan Maillie 604-760-1444

THIS SUNDAY! Fireside Room 11:15 am Are you celebrating a birthday this month? Join us for cake (or fruit option) and fellowship after the worship service in the Fireside Room.

For more information speak to Wendy McNaughton

Birthday Celebrations—Feb 5th!

The staff at Highlands is looking for a collection of the following items to aid us in decorating for our community Mardi Gras

Dance on Friday, February 24th. In the true spirit of Mardi Gras we are looking to “rid the pantries” of any items that might not be serving you well

— and we’ll be sure to use them! The list of items we are looking for includes (but is not limited to): Purple, green or gold—Feathers, Beads, Large ribbons, Stars, Crowns, Self-adhesive gems, Glitter glue, Over-

sized confetti. Please bring all items to the church office before Sunday, February 19th or contact Carol for further details.

Mark your calendars—Friday, February 24th evening Mardi Gras Dance! More details in next week’s Highlights!

WANTED!

IGNITEworship — an alternative service open to all— began in September 2015 as a new way of engaging Highlands in worship. Focused around contemporary praise music led by HUC young adults, testimonies of faith from members of our own community, spiritual practices, and messages that engage scripture in a tangible way, we have dubbed this service to be for “the adventurous in Spirit,” but don’t let that scare you! At Ignite we respect all forms of ‘showing up’ — whether that means sitting in the back or standing at the front.

Join us each month to experience what the Spirit can ignite in you at 6:00 pm in the Sanctuary. The community meets for a by-donation dinner after worship and everyone is invited.

The theme this month is “Higher Love,” as we look at the ways God’s love remains a Holy mystery and the places we have come to understand this love in our everyday lives.

Upcoming dates: Friday, February 10th & Friday, March 17th

Greetings from Highlands Library!

We hope you will visit the library and check out some of the great new books and old favourites for adults and children. Everyone is welcome to take out books for 3 weeks and DVDs for 1 week.

And for those who borrowed items in 2016, the library team would greatly appreciate if you could check your shelves to see if any books or DVDs are still at your home. If so, please bring them back or let us know if you need them for longer (call Robin at 604-990-0636 or e-mail flyakite@shaw.ca).

Below are short reviews of some of the new books in the library. Come and check them out!

The Corfu Trilogy by Gerald Durrell

The trilogy that inspired TV's six part television series The Durrells. Three classic tales of childhood on an island paradise - My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods by Gerald Durrell.

Just before the Second World War the Durrell family decamped to the glorious, sun-soaked island of Corfu where the youngest of the four children, ten-year-old Gerald, discovered his passion for animals: toads and tortoises, bats and

butterflies, scorpions and octopuses. Durrell's memories of those enchanted days gave rise to these three classic tales, loved by generations of adults and children alike.

Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better: Wise Advice for Leaning Into the Unknown by by Pema Chodron

Chodron is one of the rock stars of contemporary spiritual life. Born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in New York City, the author converted to Buddhism in her thirties. This, her latest book, arose from a request to speak at her granddaughter's commencement. Chodron presents wisdom inherent in allowing oneself to fail.

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohn

A fresh way of thinking about spirituality that grows throughout life. In Falling Upward , Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up."

This book explains why the second half of life can and should be full of spiritual richness and offers a new view of how spiritual growth happens.

Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair by Anne Lamott

Lamott explores how we find meaning and peace when life lurches out of balance; where we start again after personal and public devastation; how we recapture wholeness after loss; and how we locate our true identities in this frazzled age.

We begin, Lamott says, by collecting the ripped shreds of our emotional and spiritual fabric and sewing them back together, one stitch at a time.

Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life by Jon Kabat-Zinn When Wherever You Go, There You Are was first published in 1994, no one could have predicted that the book would launch itself onto bestseller lists nationwide and sell over 750,000 copies to date. Ten years later, the book continues to change lives.

….Come and play… Stay curious … Deepen your spiritual experience…..

Yes you can do all of this at the Healing Pathway workshop right here at Highlands March 3, 4, 5 2017.

Healing Pathway Phase 1 is an experiential introduction to the basic concepts of healing hands within the Christian tradition, with an emphasis on learning to be a healing presence and an instrument of God’s healing power. There is an emphasis on learning to centre and ground as preparation for offering specific healing techniques to oneself or others. Self care is also an important component.

Come for your own self care and renewal or to learn to offer for yourself and others

For more information contact: Sharon Yetman 604-988-5827

What’s Happening at the Action Table:

1. Pick up and pay for the Highlands Photo Directory (hard copy) you ordered; or purchase one: $5 (please note that you are welcome to purchase a directory IF you are IN the Directory)

2. Multifaith Calendars on sale: $12, or 2 for $20

3. Pick up your specifically-numbered 2017 Offering Envelopes: or arrange for some to be assigned to you.

See Simone at the Action Table for all the above!

And...Geordie Roberts will be around after church to sell tickets for the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir Concert on Feb 25th!

Register for Yoga Chapel at: www.highlandsunited.org/events

Highlands Book Circle This welcoming drop-in book circle is an ideal small group in which to get to know a few other members of the congregation while having a more in-depth conversation than is possible in a coffee time setting. We laugh, listen and learn together. Time: Last Tuesday of each month at 7pm Next Books:

Jan. 31st: Boundless by Kathleen Winter. Fascinating telling of a 2010 journey through the Northwest Passage. Her fellow passengers included a range of scientists and the son of Stan Rogers who sang about this fabled route.

Feb. 28th: Some Luck by Jane Smiley. The first of The Last Hundred years trilogy about the lives of an Iowan farm family.

For more information please contact Phyllis at (604) 988-6806 or at phyl_ferg@yahoo.ca

Upcoming Memorial Services

There will be a Memorial Service

on Sunday, February 19th at 2:00 pm for the late

Patricia Hoebig.

There will be a Memorial Tea for the late

Doreen Lovely on Saturday, March 11th at 2:00 pm

in the Welcome Space.

All are welcome.

Whoever you are... Wherever you are on your faith journey...

Whatever you want to ask... You are welcomed and accepted.

Are YOU wearing your nametag today?

Wear a nametag….you never know who you’ll meet!

A Message from First United Church in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside:

CURRENT NEEDS:

SHAMPOO - bottles of any size are needed.

GLOVES AND MITS – we are still in need of these items.

Please contact Heidi Morgan at hmorgan@firstunited.ca or 604-681-8365 x116 if you can help!

WE NEED WALKERS! Please join us once again for the Coldest Night of the Year walk to help the homeless, hungry and hurting in Vancouver February 25th! This family-friendly event allows us to walk alongside those facing homelessness and those working to ease it. Canadian Memorial, Cliff Avenue, Dunbar-Ryerson, North Shore Unitarian, Brentwood Presbyterian, Shaughnessy Heights, St. Andrews Wesley (x2) and some folks from Tsawwassen United, already have teams! For details, visit https://canada.cnoy.org/location/vancouverfirstunited or email events@firstunited.ca.

Community Events

Tickets available Sunday after Church from Geordie Roberts. You can also purchase tickets during the week from Carol or Tatina in the

Church Office (cash, cheque or credit card OK)