Hello all.
If any of you drove by the Church on Wednesday and noticed a fire engine in the parking lot , don't worry it was just a demonstration for the Montessori children. A great deal of activity around the church this week. Vince Chicoine gave the burning bush out front a badly needed haircut, Mary Green and Viivi Fitzgerald worked on the gardens and Larry Chisolm and I disposed of a great deal of scrap metal from behind the Church. We also began accumulating a few items on the "to do" list. It's good to have Larry assisting with property again. He was on the property committee in the mid 1980s and is a wealth of knowledge as to why things are why they are. For example, the pine tree was planted beside the Church to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the parish.
Now, while the entire Management Team is snoozing, Labour will get on with the news.
Row, Row, Row, Your Boat. Let's start with a little music. Rev'd Sarah's homily last Sunday was centered around the story of Christ calming the waters as related in the Gospel of Mark Chapter 4. As part of the homily she related a version of the classic childrens' song, which created such a response from the congregation we decided to repeat it here.
"Row-Your-Boat", Mark 4 Version For those interested in the lyrics to "Row -Your-Boat" a la Mark 4, shared in the sermon last Sunday, here they are:
Row, row, row your boat
On the stormy sea.
Don't be worried. Don't be scared.
God is here with me.
Rev'd Sarah learned this version from the Sunday School at the Church of the Ascension, Sudbury.
Okay, choir starts, now the left side of the aisle, now the right side, now try and get the image and the song out of your head for the rest of the day.
A Visit by the Reverend Dr. Virginia C. Lane. We are blessed to have the ministry of the Reverend Dr Virginia C. Lane as our Interim Priest-in-Charge for the period July 1, 2024 through July 31, 2025. Rev'd Virginia's first Sunday in the Parish will be July 7th, but she was introduced at last Sunday's 10:00 am Service by Rev'd Sarah. As a further introduction Rev'd Virginia's biography is attached.
Rev Sarah Is Departing on Maternity Leave. Rev'd Sarah's last Sunday in the Parish until 1 August 2025 will be Sunday June 30th. There will be a coffee hour after the 10:00 am Service. Please plan on attending both to wish Rev'd Sarah all the best.
Office Hours in July. Get out your calendars folks. Sandra Pettigrew will be taking some well deserved time off in July.
The last week of June she will work Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (the 25, 26 & 27). Then she will be off for the month of July, except for the week of July 14th at regular hours (Wed - Fri, 9 am - 12 pm). Sandra's first day back from holidays in August is Wednesday the 7th.
Rev'd Virginia intends to be in the office one day a week but the exact day remains to be determined. For the moment please make an appointment to avoid missing her.
A Quick Fundraiser. It doesn't involve baking cookies or selling chocolates. Many parishioners would like to assist financially but feel what they can afford to give in addition to their regular givings would not be of consequence. Every gift is of consequence and we are about to prove it. On Sunday 30 June there will be 100 envelopes posted in the cloakroom numbered $1.00 to $100.00. Please take what you can afford. We don't need 100 people for this to work. If you intended to give $20.00 but someone has taken that envelope already, use your math skills to take the remaining envelopes which add up to $20.00. Bring the envelope back the next Sunday you are in church and place your donation in the plate along with your regular givings. (Hint: if you picked up multiple envelopes just return one with the total gift listed). Don't forget your name or envelope number so that you get the tax credit. Providing all 100 envelopes are used we should realize a total donation of over $5050.00 to assist in the operation of St. Martin's ministries.
St. Paul's Social Services - Thank you to everyone for your ongoing contributions . I will be taking in your donations next week. I cannot overemphasize the importance of your consistent donation to St. Paul’s, they are so very grateful. I publish this weekly because the need doesn't go away. Also, they can use small articles of clothing such as socks, gloves and hats. They tell me they can use jackets and boots in good condition. They are not a clothing depot, but they like to keep an eye on their clients.
St. Paul's Social Services is an outreach program, a part of which is the St. Paul's Food Bank. Your generous donations help support it. But where to leave your donations?? Look for the bin in the cloakroom marked "St. Paul's Food Bank". Food of all descriptions should be the first priority. Please give what you can. In addition to food, toiletries, especially in small sizes are always useful. Containers, plastic and reusable bags can be used as well. Monetary donations are also well received as it lets them buy items which are needed but not always donated or they buy in bulk. Like everyone else they are being hit by the rising price of food. Please make cheques payable to St. Paul's Social Services. Tax receipts will be issued directly by St. Paul's Social Services.
Email Address Please check that you have our correct email address in your contacts. It is stmartinslondon@diohuron.org . The old email address is no longer supported, and we will be losing access to it soon. Also, if you change your email address, please let us know so we can update our records.
Readings for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
2 Samuel 1:1,17-27, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark 5:21-43
Parish Family Circle of Prayer – As we gather this week we pray for the following members of our congregation and their families.
Jo Ann Gregg Ian & Nancy Haley
Fletcher & Shelby Haley Tony & Carol Hall
See you Sunday.
Ian
Ian Haley
Church Warden