Bulletin Notices January 14th, 2017 11:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist (B.A.S.) This Sunday’s Reading: 1 Samuel 3:1-10 & John 1:43-51 Next Sunday’s Readings: Jonah 3:1-5, 10 & Mark 1:14-20 There is a great activity box full of puzzles and colouring pages, providing fun for fidgety little ones in the back entrance hall of the church. ___________________________________ _______ Church Calendars Anglican Church calendars for 2018 are now available from Pat Bennett (905- 837-1082) or [email protected]. These are special calendars which mark all the saints’ days and special holy days and church colours. Get yours today for only $7.00. SPOTH Kids: News SR. YOUTH RETREAT FEBRUARY 23-25, 2018 GRADES 9-12 Save the date! For information contact Dee James 905- 550-0532 WALKING IN THE SPIRIT HOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF EVERYDAY LIFE WITH GOD Seven Sessions on Alternate Tuesdays January 30 – April 24 7:00 – 8:30 P.M. A study led by the Rev. Lynette Alchin, with Canon Kim and Canon Phil. Lynette is ordained with an Evangelical Fellowship. From 1980 to 2008, she co-pastored 4 churches with her late husband Errol. She currently attends St. Paul’s on-the- Hill. Lynette’s passion is to see the Body of Christ walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit – to get to know Him personally. She wants believers to experience His Gifts in a new and exciting way, allowing all of us to live more fruitful and fulfilling lives. There will be 7 sessions to be held every second Tuesday
Transcript
Bulletin NoticesJanuary 14th, 2017
11:00 a.m.
11:00 a.m. – Holy Eucharist (B.A.S.)
This Sunday’s Reading:1 Samuel 3:1-10 & John 1:43-51
Next Sunday’s Readings:Jonah 3:1-5, 10 & Mark 1:14-20
There is a great activity box full of puzzles and colouring pages, providing fun for fidgety little ones in the back entrance hall of the church.
__________________________________________
Church Calendars
Anglican Church calendars for 2018 are now available from Pat Bennett (905-837-1082) or [email protected]. These are special calendars which mark all the saints’ days and special holy days and church colours. Get yours today for only $7.00.
SPOTH Kids: News
SR. YOUTH RETREATFEBRUARY 23-25, 2018
GRADES 9-12Save the date!
For information contact Dee James 905-550-0532
WALKING IN THE SPIRITHOW TO GET THE MOST OUT OF EVERYDAY LIFE WITH GODSeven Sessions on Alternate TuesdaysJanuary 30 – April 247:00 – 8:30 P.M.A study led by the Rev. Lynette Alchin, with Canon Kimand Canon Phil.Lynette is ordained with an Evangelical Fellowship. From1980 to 2008, she co-pastored 4 churches with her latehusband Errol. She currently attends St. Paul’s on-the-Hill.Lynette’s passion is to see the Body of Christ walking inthe fullness of the Holy Spirit – to get to know Himpersonally. She wants believers to experience His Gifts ina new and exciting way, allowing all of us to live morefruitful and fulfilling lives.There will be 7 sessions to be held every second Tuesdaynight at 7 p.m. starting January 30th, to explore:Who is the Holy Spirit?The Gifts of the Holy SpiritThe Fruit of the SpiritEach session will include a time of prayer.More Information:Lynette Alchin - [email protected] Kim - [email protected] Phil – [email protected]: Ken Johnstone - [email protected]
St. Paul’s Volunteer Training Session
Please mark your calendars: Saturday January 27th between 9 and 12 a.m. we will be running a session to
update volunteers on the Anglican Church’s Sexual Misconduct Policy regarding harassment, exploitation and assault. This session will be led be led by Paul Pakyam and will cover both how to protect yourself, and how to ensure that we are well equipped to treat all vulnerable people (including the young, the elderly, the infirm and those who have been hurt in the past) with the utmost sensitivity and caring so that we truly model Christ’s love for His world in the most humane way possible. Training for clergy and parish volunteers is generally required at the beginning of their term, and every three years thereafter. If you are currently a volunteer at St. Paul’s and have not attended a session in the last 3 years, please attend. Please contact Melanie Foord ([email protected]) for details.
St. Paul’s Donation Envelopes for 2018…
…are now available for pick up in the church lobby. If you no longer want regular envelopes, or if you wish to request envelopes, please contact our Envelope Secretary, Cassie Williams at [email protected] or 905-666-2261. Tax receipts will be issued for contributions over $20 per year, even if you don’t have envelopes, as long as you contribute a few times per year, that is the preferred method. If you contribute on a more regular basis and you are not on PAR (Pre-authorized Remittance), please use donation envelopes to make the job easier.There will not be a box of envelopes for you if you are on PAR unless you have requested them. Any contributions not made in a regular numbered envelope MUST HAVE your full name and address so that you can get proper credit.If you are interested in learning about our pre-authorized system or making changes to your existing PAR, or if you have any other questions, please contact Cassie Williams.
If you would like to put flowers on the Altar, please phone Janice Roberts at 905-839-9212 with the details. The cost is $40.
Please make your cheque payable to St. Paul’s on the Hill and place on the collection plate the first Sunday of the month for which the flowers are requested.
DIOCESE OF TORONTO& WORLD CYCLE OF PRAYER 2017
Please pray for:
Church of the Ascension, Port PerryThe Rev. Ruthanne Ward
The Anglican Church and people of Australia & The Most Rev. Philip Leslie Freier, Archbishop of Melbourne & Primate of Australia
St. Paul’s on-the-Hill is now accepting donations online through PayPal. Donations can be made at the following link: http://stpaulsonthehill.com/donations/
Mid-Week Eucharist with Healing
The Rev. Keith Todd, our Honorary Assistant invites you to join him at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday mornings for a special eucharist with prayer for healing. This is a great opportunity for those who cannot attend Sunday services and those who are available during the weekday.
There will be no Healing service on Jan. 24th and 30th
We will resume services on February 7th at 10:30 a.m.
The International Order of St. Luke the Physician
The Scarborough Chapter cordially invites you to its meeting tonight, Sunday, January 14th at 7:30 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Church Agincourt, 4125 Sheppard Ave. East, Scarborough in Lamont Hall (south end of parking lot).Bible study of the Prodigal Son: Forgiveness & Healing of Relationships. There will be a time of fellowship and an opportunity for prayer and anointing after the session.
Senior Guys & Dolls
It's time for our annual lunch at The Mandarin.Come and enjoy the fellowship of good friends and a wonderful meal.
Monday January 29th at 12 noon at the Mandarin Restaurant, Kingston Rd at Brock Road.To be sure of a reservation sign-up on the Bulletin Board or call Jan Couto 905-839-8840. Hope to see you there.
“Day Apart”A day for women of all ages…
a day for you!
Saturday, February 3rd, 2018Grace Presbyterian Church
(447 Port Union Rd., West Hill)8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
This year’s theme is “Embracing God’s Word for Lifelong Empowerment”, with keynote speaker Ruth Coghill. Registration forms are in our church lobby or register and pay online at www.gracewesthill.ca/day apart/. Price of $40 (before Jan. 24th) includes morning coffee & muffins, lunch, choice of 6 workshops, book table and praise & worship as well as the guest speaker. Don’t miss this opportunity to take a day just for you to grow spiritually and meet new friends from other churches.
What Would Jesus Say on Social Media?If you play the fool and exalt yourself, or if you plan evil, clap your hand over your mouth! – Proverbs 30:32
Here it is, translated for social media: “If you are tempted to slam someone online or brag on Facebook or send off a nasty tweet, turn off the screen and walk away!”That’s it in a nutshell, but maybe we should spell out some rules of thumb that might keep our thumbs and fingers from wandering off into slander, arrogance, or combativeness. Here are six that work for me.
1. Pray Before You Post
My friend Suzanne wrote a great online devotional in which she talked about how many people run to check their Facebook page first thing in the morning. She encouraged her readers to instead make sure they consulted their “Faithbook” first — the Bible. How true this is! Perhaps if we spent time ingesting words of truth before we switched on the computer, we might not write things that are unkind or hurtful. At the very least, we should whisper a prayer before we post, asking the Holy Spirit to tap on our hearts if we are tempted to post anything online that would not glorify him.
2. Imagine the Recipient Sitting Next to You
The Internet is so impersonal. We see tiny little thumbnail photos of people. We see words typed out on a screen rather than hear them spoken out loud. The pixels-and-pictures environment almost compels us to be rude because it lacks the subtle social cues — the wince, the moment of quiet — that tell us we’ve crossed the line. We feel empowered and also have a sense of anonymity as we tap, tap, tap away on our keyboards. But if a flesh-and-blood person were sitting next to us with eyes we could look into, perhaps we would state things differently. Before you post, ask yourself if you would say things differently if the person to whom you’re writing were actually sitting next to you.
3. Remember: When You’re Online, You’re Also on Stage
Unless we send a private message, our online words are available for others to see. Twitter followers see what we tweet. Facebook friends, and the friends of those on whose walls we post comments, also see what we say. And hundreds, if not hundreds of thousands, of people can see a comment we leave on someone’s blog. This reality should certainly cause us to pause before we post — especially if there is even a remote possibility we might later regret what we write. If I say something in person to a friend and am later convicted I was wrong, I can go back to my friend and apologize. However, if I post something on social media or comment on a blog and later want to retract it, I have no way to chase down all of the people who might have seen the original comment. Just this fact alone should cause us to really weigh our words before we type them out.
4. Ask Yourself If You’ve Earned the Right to Address the Subject at Hand
If friends on Facebook are hashing through a hot-button issue of the day, do you have any expertise in the area, or are you only slinging an underinformed opinion? We can’t always be an expert on every topic at hand, so when we aren’t, we might do well to refrain from commenting at all.
5. Ask Yourself If You Have a Close Enough Relationship with the Person to Warrant Offering Your Opinion
It both irks me and makes me laugh when I see who hops on my page to offer their unsolicited opinions. Suddenly, people I haven’t heard from in years pop up on my screen offering their pixelated opinion about something I’ve posted. They give me specific instructions and pointed advice on what I should believe about a particular topic. This always surprises me because I don’t have a close relationship with these folks. Why do they think I will take their advice or value their perspective on my issues when they have not been a close friend or confidant?
Would they be responsive to unsolicited advice if someone they knew years ago suddenly walked up to them on the street and started telling them what to believe and how to act? If you’re tempted to dole out unsolicited advice to anyone who’s not a trusted friend, then I encourage you to resist the temptation!
6. When You Do Speak, Let Your Speech Be Laced with Grace
No need for snark. No need for angry words or critical comments. Our mamas were right: If we can’t say something nice, we shouldn’t say anything at all.
When we do speak, we can choose to be gracious rather than accusatory or negative. Our words must glorify God and not just exalt our own opinions.
We should be especially mindful that there are people whom we don’t know who might be viewing our online speech. Here is a great guideline from Scripture: Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. – Colossians 4:5-6
So maybe we should jot down these questions on a sticky note or two and post them near the computer to remind us to ask:
• Is this comment wise?• Will writing this comment help me display God’s
love to outsiders?• Is this comment full of grace?• Is this comment seasoned with salt?• Have I asked God if this is the best response?
Excerpted from Keep it Shut by Karen Ehman, copyright Zondervan. Have you ever read through comments on social media and been stunned by the meanness? Have you ever wanted to engage and zing someone back or offer your own criticism or negative remarks? Have you ever found yourself in a battle online and been shocked at what you were willing to say? How do you think Jesus would interact with others on social media? What would He say and/or not say? Come join the conversation on our blog! We would love to hear from you! (But, remember the sticky note questions above!) ~ Devotionals Daily
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I like to think of the Thessalonians opening this letter from Paul and passing it around the room, laughing and mocking, “Is he serious? Really? When are we supposed to work and sleep and eat?”When I am caught in a traffic jam and running late to pick up my daughter, I’m unlikely to thank God for the precious people in my way. When I say something hurtful to people I love (or they are angry with me), my reaction is not joyful.Maybe what Paul is trying to say to us is, “Do better. You wake up in a home with heat? Rejoice! You have a car to get stuck in that traffic jam? Give thanks! You have people in your life who love you and who you love? Rejoice! Give thanks!” I might not be able to follow Paul’s instructions without ceasing (Sorry, Paul…), but I know I could pray and rejoice more often than I do now.
