FROM THE MINISTER’S DESK

Happy Canada Day

“In late 1866, the Fathers of Confederation met in London, England and negotiated details of Canada’s creation with each other and with the British government. They also debated the name. Reportedly, John A. McDonald wanted to call the new country the “Kingdom of Canada” but that was seen as provocative towards an edgy United States. Tradition tells us that New Brunswick representative Sir Leonard Tilley was struck by a scripture verse in his own morning reading. “He shall have dominion from sea to sea.” (Psalm 72:8) He proposed it to the assembly, the group adopted “Dominion” as a fitting way to describe what they were creating. The name prevailed, passing into British law in March 1867, and officially proclaimed on July 1st. Five decades later, the East window of the peace tower in Ottawa was decorated with the same scripture verse.” (Tracing of the Canadian Soul, Canadian Bible Society, p.13.)

WONDERFUL NEWS

The congregation approved the recommendation of the Search Team to call Rev. Lorraine (Lori) Diaz as our Minister of Worship, Pastoral Care and Spiritual Development beginning Monday, November 4^th, 2024.

Lori is currently the Minister of Congregational Life and Membership Development at Timothy Eaton United Church in Toronto. She is well qualified with over 20 years of congregational ministry experience and has preached at our church several times. She even mentioned to the Search team it was her dream to become the Senior Pastor of Central United Church.

Thanks to the Search Team (Doug Stirling (Chair), Lynn Randall (Recording Secretary), Carole Beam, Ruth Duffield, Bryan Fong, Ross Jull, Dennis Seeley, and Ron Wyse) for their long and tireless hours spent in finding the perfect candidate for our congregation, and as well to Don McQuirter of the M&P(Ministry and Personnel) Committee for developing the appropriate compensation package with the Search Team.

Also, special thanks to Rev. Sadekie Forbes-Lyttle, from Shining Waters, for her guidance and perspective. And thank you to all of the congregation who showed through their faith, trust and support by voting in favour of accepting the Search Team’s recommendation “by an over whelming majority” (to quote Rev Sadekie) last Sunday, June 23^rd.

Dreams do come true!!

SUNDAY MORNING WORSHIP 10:00 A.M.

Central United Church welcomes you to join our Worship Service Sunday mornings at 10:00 am. In worship we proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; God’s word is read and preached, sacraments celebrated, faith sung and prayers offered.

Sunday services are also livestreamed (and recorded) through the Church website or you can join here. A copy of the bulletin for this Sunday’s Service is attached here.

This Sunday’s Scripture readings are 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 and Mark 5:21-43. You can also find a daily scripture message at the top of our website.

WEEKLY PRAYER MEETING &

TIME OF FELLOWSHIP

You are welcome to join the Thursday prayer meeting tonight at 7:00 PM for a time of prayer and fellowship. The meeting is held using Zoom technology.

Here are the details for those who wish to participate:

Access to Join from your PC, Tablet or Smartphone:

Copy this address into your web browser https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8925458525 or click here

Quick access by phone:

1.   Call: 647 374-4685

2.   When prompted press: 892 545 8525 #

3.   Then when prompted again press: # to enter the call

COFFEE & CONVERSATION

Wednesday, July 3rd at 10:00 am

Come and join us for a chat in the Friendship Room on Wed. July 3^rd at 10:00 am. Our purpose is to provide a place to connect with others and an opportunity for friendship and fellowship.

If you’d like more information or have any questions, please feel free to contact John Frotten at jfrotten@rogers.com.

FINANCIAL UPDATE

An update from your friendly neighbourhood Finance Committee: 

May financials have been finalized as follows:

Offerings: 

1. Good News – May offerings exceeded our May budget by $4,100. Not so Good News: We are still $12,600 behind our offerings YTD budget. Rental Income is ~$6,800 behind our YTD budget. Some of this is timing, but also impacted with less rentals than expected. 

Expenses:

1. Other Good News – Operating Expenses continue to be managed well, with YTD expenses being ~$18,000 under budget.  

Summary: 

Thanks to your financial support and our good expense management, the YTD deficit has been reduced to ($23,300) compared to a budgeted deficit of ($39,700). However, we still have a ways to go to balance the annual budget. Fortunately, we do have the financial strength to continue to invest in operating and strategic initiatives. 

Thanks for your support and we encourage everyone to donate on a regular basis to offset our monthly expenses. We want to minimize the need to liquidate income generating investments to cover expenses.

If you have any questions on the above, please reach out to Lindsay Duffield or Scott Wetmore. Thanks for your ongoing time, talent and financial support.



PASTORAL CARE

Should you become aware of any illness, bereavement, hospitalization, etc., among people of our church, please notify the church office as soon as possible.

If you would like a pastoral visit, please contact Rev. Clubine at the church office 905.474.0183 or mobile office 416.358.4924 or by email jclubine@centralunitedchurch.com.

STAY CONNECTED…..

We want to help you stay connected so if you happen to be wondering “who’s doing what” in terms of duties, the list for this week is below….

June 30^th 2024

LAY WORSHIP LEADER: Ron Wyse

MUSIC: Sarah Wyse

POWER POINT: Serag Gadelrab

GREETER: Wilma Inkpen

WORSHIP HOST: Cynthia Yee

LEMONADE ON THE LAWN: Sandra & Wally Phair

SUNDAY SCHOOL: Sharon Gayman Laird

SCRIPTURE READINGS

If you are interested in reading ahead a little, below are the readings for next week.

July 7^th 2024

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10

Psalm 48

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Mark 6:1-13