2012-02 hpc newsletter

8/2/2019 2012-02 HPC Newsletter

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Haney Presbyterian ChurchHaney Presbyterian ChurchHaney Presbyterian Church

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FebruaryFebruaryFebruary201220122012

In this Issue: Why do we worship? The Church YearIn this Issue: Why do we worship? The Church YearIn this Issue: Why do we worship? The Church Year --- Our FinancesOur FinancesOur Finances

Being WelcomingBeing WelcomingBeing Welcoming --- Our ActivitiesOur ActivitiesOur Activities --- And more...And more...And more...

Special Feature: OurSpecial Feature: OurSpecial Feature: OurYouth andYouth andYouth and Childrens ProgramsProgramsPrograms

Why?How?

Children

Progrrrams

When?


2/14

Why do you consider worship important? Important

enough that you make an effort to come to church on

Sunday mornings? Important enough to bring your chil-

dren to worship?

I suppose that we have many personal reasons why we

get out of bed on Sunday mornings and come to wor-

ship, and why we bring our children and grandchildren

with us. There are social reasons for doing this: we

have friends whom we like to see and spend time with;

worship provides us with a sense of belonging; we feel

accepted here; we appreciate the support, care and

love of church members. We want our children to enjoy

the same. Some people come out of a strong sense of

duty to fulfill their vows to the Lord and the congrega-

tion. Others come because they have a desire to learnmore about God and the Bible, and listening to the ser-

mon gives them something to think about. They want

their children to learn about God. It could be that com-

ing to worship has to do with a sense of emptiness that

plagues us; we come hoping to fill the void in our lives.

There are those who relish the relative quiet of a wor-

ship service. Their lives are full and busy and they long

for a time to be quiet, to reflect, and to withdraw from

the rat-race. Or, maybe you come to worship hoping

that that you could somehow convince God to see you

and bless you. Maybe God will feel better about you -

love you more - when you worship regularly It might

be that you are longing for God and wish to express

your gratitude for Gods blessings. And sometimes we

come because it makes us feel good.

Many of the reasons we have for worship are purely

utilitarian. We worship for what we hope to get out of

it. Worship is a means to fulfill our needs. We start with

ourselves; it is about us. The problem with that is that

we turn worship into a matter of personal taste, prefer-

ence, convenience, and comfort. Worship then be-

comes optional. And worship becomes something thatadults do while someone else keeps the children busy.

We need to start at a different point. Worship is not in

the first place about us; worship is about God. We start

by thinking about who God is, and what God the Holy

Spirit accomplishes in us when we worship.

We worship because God deserves our worship. God is

majestic, glorious, holy, worthy to receive praise and

honour and glory (Revelation 5:13). Worship immerses

us in the splendour of God, where we become

lost in wonder, love, and praise. We forget abou

ourselves; in the presence of God, we die to our

selves. Worship pulls us into the presence of Go

where our awareness of God increases; it trainus to take God seriously.

Worship unites us with the community who follow

Jesus, and immerses us in new ways of thinking

doing, and feeling. We are transformed. How doe

this happen? The Holy Spirit uses Scripture to in

terpret, figure out, and rearrange our lives. Th

has little to do with our ability to understand, inter

pret and apply text. It is Spirit work. The Spirit us

es the lens of Scripture (a metaphor that Joh

Calvin loved to use) that we might see Godthrough it and look through it at the world and ou

lives. Like a pair of glasses, the Bible brings focus

and clarity to aspects of our lives and let us se

what we would otherwise not see (Serene Jones in

Inhabiting Scripture, Dreaming Bible). And in time

it becomes impossible to imagine a world withou

God. In time we are formed in the likeness o

Christ.

That is why we worship. That is not for adults only

It is Gods way for all Gods people.

Why do we worship?Why do we worship?Why do we worship?Submitted by: Gerard Booy

Father, we adore you,

lay our lives before you...


3/14

The Church YearThe Church YearThe Church Year - Submitted by: Paddy Eastwood

Since I introduced the children to the Church Year in achildrens story, a number of you have asked me formore details. Briefly, dividing the Church Year into sixseasons helps us tell the story of our faith. We begin in

Advent with the worlds longing for a Saviour. At Christ-mas we celebrate the birth of the Saviour. Epiphany isthe season for mission, remembering that Christ came tosave the world (the magi were from outside the people ofGod). In Lent we recall how Christ died for us and atEaster we celebrate the resurrection. Pentecost cele-brates the gift of the Holy Spirit and the resulting growthof the Church. The Last Sunday of the Church Year isChrist the King when we celebrate Christs reign overall the cosmos.Some of these seasons are both days and seasons: for

example Christmas Day is December 25

th

and the Christ-mas season extends until January 5th

(the twelve days).Pentecost is also a day and a season. Each of the sea-sons also has particular colour. The colour for Adventand Lent is purple, combining both suffering (as we longfor God to act, as Christ suffers for us) and royalty; thecolour for Epiphany and Pentecost is green , the colourof growth as the gospel is spread; the colour for Christ-mas and Easter is white or gold, for purity. PentecostDay is red to recall the flames of the Spirit.

Some churches follow this cycle more closely than oth-ers. I enjoy it because it helps me keep the whole storyof the gospel foremost in my mind. There is one congre-

gation in Vancouver that publishes a calendar thafollows the Church Year rather than the Gregoriacalendar with which we are more familiar it is verunusual!If youd like more details, this link is helpful http:www.crivoice.org/chyear.html . The graphic belowcoordinates the Church Year with the Gregorian caendar which runs January to December.

Good News Concert

Fund Raiser for

Nicaraguan Studentsto enable them to go to school

Featuring the

Abbotsford Male Chorus

SPREAD THE "GOOD NEWS" TO

FAMILY, FRIENDS & NEIGHBOURS!ALL WELCOME!

Saturday April 28that 7:30 p.m.Haney Presbyterian Church

ADMISSION by donation

Inquiries: 604-467-1715
http://www.crivoice.org/chyear.htmlhttp://www.crivoice.org/chyear.htmlhttp://www.crivoice.org/chyear.htmlhttp://www.crivoice.org/chyear.htmlhttp://www.crivoice.org/chyear.html


4/14

Our Programs for Children ...Our Programs for Children ...Our Programs for Children ...

There are several groups for children on

Friday evenings

From 5 - 7 pm

The CHICKLETTES are for girls ages Story time

Games

Led By: Susan Reaveley and Robyn White

GODs GIRLS are for girls ages Devotion

Games

Led By: Janet Eastwood, Laura Newberry and

Ricky Newberry

The HPC BOYS are for boys ages 8 - 12 Bible Study

Games

Led By: Johnathan Booy & James Deutschman

The HPC GUYS are for high school boys Bible Study

Games

Led By: Regard Booy and Andrew Newberry

Story time

Bible Study

Thanks to the hard work and

commitment of Paddy and our

Youth Leaders, our children and

youth programs are growing!

Many of these kids are not in-

volved with a church, or not

even from a Christian home, so

this work is extremely importantPlease keep praying for this!


5/14

Devotion

Knitting hats for babies in the hospital

Fun and Games


6/14

I was asked to give a statement on why I believe in God and why am I involved with youth groups.

I was raised in a Christian home with parents that were heavily involved with the church. As a little girl I attendedSunday school and youth groups which really touched my life. At age 9 I first attended a kids summer camp and every

summer after that, I attended other Christian camps. Camp and youth group helped me to understand more about Godand what it means to be a Christian. I first gave my life to Jesus when I was about 11. But it was at camp Douglaswhen I was attending the LIT program that I decided to fully devote my life to serving God. Attending camps and

youth groups has really changed me and helped me to believe in God and begin to understand all that he is capable of.

Being involved in childrens ministry is an exciting and rewarding pastime. The kids that come to Haney on Fridayevenings are mostly kids that dont hear anything spoken about God in their home. I know that what we are doing inour childrens church ministries is very important to them. As a young camper growing up I often would look up to myyouth and camp leaders. I dreamt about one day becoming one of them and leading young children to God in a fun andexciting way. That is why now I lead my own youth group and have been working at summer camp for the past five

years.

Leading children is a privilege that I am grateful for. I feel that I have been very blessed in my life and I pray that

God would use me as a blessing to others.

Blessings

Laura Newberry

Why do you do it? One of our youth leaders respond...Why do you do it? One of our youth leaders respond...Why do you do it? One of our youth leaders respond...

Three of our Youth, who are

also leaders at the

Friday Night

girls goups: Laura Newber,Roby White andJanet Eastood


7/14

Ecclesiastes 11:9 (New Living Translation)Young people, it's wonderful to be young! Enjoyevery minute of it. Do everything you want to do;take it all in. But remember that you must give anaccount to God for everything you do.


8/14

March Madness is coming! The churches of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows are organizinga week of events for youth grade 6 and up during Spring Break: eve-

ry day well do something different.Plans are underway for a wide variety of daytime and evening events

including:

an evening with Legacy One Dance Crew

a prayer event

Dodge ball (can we get a co-ed team together?)

a neighbourhood blitz and movie night

worship at CLA

a wild west showdown at the Albion Fairgrounds

and ending with an afternoon of serving the community andan evening of worship.

See Paddy for more details.

$1700raisedforCampDouglas


9/14

Youth Lunch and Bible StudySundays immediately after the Worship Service

Our Programs for Youth ...Our Programs for Youth ...Our Programs for Youth ...

Second Sunday at Seven (SS7)Our church and the Presbyterian churches

in Mission (St. Pauls) and Abbottsford (Calvin)

get together every second Sunday of the month

for a Youth Evening Worship Service

at St. Pauls Presbyterian in Mission

Youth Games NightsHigh School and University students from our church and Mission (St. Pauls) and Abbottsford

(Calvin) get together every first Friday of the month at Haney Presbyterian for a ...


10/14

It is Sunday and today in Church, we watched thewonderful service of Baptism for three children. I al-ways find this a special time, which takes me back towhen our own three kids were Baptised when we lived

in California. By then our Christian life was well es-tablished and baby Sarah came along, so all threewere Baptised together with water from the River

Jordan. Stuart was ten, Suzy was eight and Sarahwas two months old.

By the time Sarah was sixteen months, we were backin England and struggling to find a PresbyterianChurch. much to our dismay there were none in theSouth-west of England and we joined a small Meth-odist congregation of about thirty people in the town

of Sherborne Dorset. The children came with us toservice every week and gradually we assimilated onceagain into the English life style.

When the two older ones reached their early teens wewere hard pressed to get them to join us on Sundaymorning and slowly their participation dwindled. Sa-rah being younger by many years came with us andcontinued to do so when we returned to Canada. Butit wasnt long before she too went her own way.

Now, as adults they are divorced, partnered andmarried to non-Christians and find our participation in Church life, something that Mom andDad do, but not them. The lure of the secula

world is overwhelming and to encourage andkeep our children in the faith becomes hardeand harder. That is why it was so wonderful tsee Arianna standing proud at the front of thChurch a small beacon of hope for the future alittle flame to be kept burning by us all.

Welcome Arianna!Welcome Arianna!Welcome Arianna! - Submitted by: Liz Hancock

Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19---202020 ---191919 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the SonTherefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the SonTherefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son

and of the Holy Spirit,and of the Holy Spirit,and of the Holy Spirit, 202020 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to theand teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to theand teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the

very end of the age.very end of the age.very end of the age.

Our Sunday Morning Programs to teach children about God...Our Sunday Morning Programs to teach children about God...Our Sunday Morning Programs to teach children about God...

Church SchoolChurch SchoolChurch School (up to age 10)(up to age 10)(up to age 10)

For kids to gradually learn to participate in worship, they stay in

church for the first part of the service and then leave for Church

School after the Childrens Time. In Church School they participate in

a lesson and activities that teach them about God and the Bible.

We Believe!We Believe!We Believe! (Age 11(Age 11(Age 11 --- 12)12)12)

The older kids are meeting with Gerard at 9am on a Sunday to work

through a curriculum teaching them about what we believe as

Christians in our church. To encourage and enable them to partici-

pate in worship in a meaningful way, they then meet with Paddy to

prepare for worship and they stay in the service until after the ser-

mon. They leave during the last part of the service to meet with Pad-

dy and to discuss the sermon.

NurseryNurseryNursery ---We also have a nursery for the little ones.Rebecca, Alicia, Eilidh, and Tristan duringchurch school for kids under 11.


11/14

Why teach our kids about God?Why teach our kids about God?Why teach our kids about God? - Submitted by: Annalize Booy

All of us were quite rattled by the horrible car acci-

dent recently where 2 teens died. Such a tragedy is

certainly any parents worst nightmare. Friends ofours were also horribly assaulted in their home 2

weeks ago. Again a situation you hope you never

have to face.Speaking to our friends I realized the comfort we

have as Christians when she said: and then Ithought Im going to die now and I remembered my friend Petro who only has weeks left due to her cancer,

and I thought I will be waiting there for Petro when she

arrives... And also when a boy who lost a sibling

said: at least I will see her in heaven again

In todays world we are so focused on our immedi-ate earthly existence (and so under the impressionof political correctness) that we tend to forget

that faith is indeed a matter of life and death. We

only think about our earthly convenience and

do not focus on the life after this one.Child psychologists tell us that the most forma

tive years of a childs life is from birth to seven, with maybe a few years of grace after. W

should therefore ensure adequate teaching an

modeling of Christian values in these early

years.

My only comfort in life and in death is that Ibelong to my Savior Jesus Christ.

Heidelberg Catechism

Did you know that our congregation has aMemorial Fund?

This special fund was established several years ago toreceive monetary gifts given in memory of family members and friends. Often in obituary notices we read, inlieu of owers, memorial gifts may be given to.... OuMemorial Fund receives such gifts.

The donors receive a note of thanks and receipt. Thefamily in due course receives a letter sharing with them

the names of people who gave memorial gifts.There is a Memorial Book in the display case in the Narthex. This records the people remembered and the projects made possible by the fund. There is also a sectionin the book to record bequests given to our congregation. The accumulated funds are used for specic memorial projects such as the power point projector andnew communion ware. We encourage our people to usethis fund as a suitable way of remembering friends andloved ones.

Memorial FundMemorial FundMemorial Fund - Submitted by: Bob Garvin


12/14

January and February are interesng and busy months for

treasurers of charies. Everyone knows the T4 slip and tax

receipts must go out but following the annual general

meeng the accepted budget must be entered into the com-

puter so we can track our expenditures during the year. Also,the dreaded Charies Report must be submied to the

Canada Revenue Agency (three lile words designed to strike

terror into anyone). Im happy to say that all that is com-

plete.

As well the church books have been completely converted to

a computerized system using Simply Accounng. The oering

envelopes are tracked on a great program called Oering

Helper, which has now been updated to the Plus Version.

The Plus Version has addional features which will allow the

creaon of a more complete congregaonal database. Vari-

ous groups have been requesng up to date contact lists andnally we will have one.

The budget will be challenging this year. We are actually run-

ning a decit budget, similar to the provincial and federal

governments. Unlike them, however, we planned for this

and will be drawing down the reserved fund established for

the Youth Minister. By the end of 2012 it will no doubt be

depleted and so in 2013 we should be looking at funding

100% of our operang expenses from oerings, rent and vari-

ous fund raising acvies.

Finally, I want to say that any

me anyone has a queson please do not hesitate to

call, email or speak to me. If you have a bill that needs

to be paid, put all the informaon on it (your name!

your phone number! and what acvity/group it was for)

and slide it into the Treasurers mail slot. My contact

informaon is [email protected] . During

the day Im at 604 244-5211 and in the evening 604 272-

0727. Thanks everyone, for making this transion as easy

as possible. Parcular thanks to Gerard for his support.

Treasurers NotesTreasurers NotesTreasurers Notes- Submitted by: Larry Eastwood

With the unexpected passing of Jean Grundman,who was our treasurer for more than ten years, wesuddenly found ourselves in a huge dilemma. Notonly was there no one else involved in the churchsbookkeeping, it was also only 2 weeks before theannual meeting and only a few weeks until the endof the nancial year (with all the accompanying re-sponsibilities).

Larry oering his services was truly God-sent! Sincehe has been the treasurer at Richmond Presbyterian Church for many years, he knew exactly whaneeded to be done. Due to his knowledge and experience, what could have been a disaster ended innot only all expectations being met on time, but anupgraded, improved system on top of that.

Larry has invested countless hours since he started

this task and there is just not enough words tothank him for what he has done.

We are increasingly indebted by the Eastwoodunselsh service to our congregation. Not only haLarry volunteered numerous hours to get thisdone, every week Paddy is also committing manymore hours than what she is paid for via the parttime youth ministers position. HPC is also not theonly organization benetting from their selescommitment! They are an inspiration to us all!
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


13/14

Not in my pew, you dont!Not in my pew, you dont!Not in my pew, you dont! - Submitted by: R. Dorne Cornish

Lorraine and I were vising a rather large church for the rst me

and arrived early. We found a place to sit on a center aisle pew

about 10 rows from the front. There was not one person in front

of us and there were empty pews for several rows back. We had

just seled in when a lady stopped by our row and looked at us.

We exchanged good mornings but she made no aempt to sit,

just stood there, looking back up the aisle. A few minutes passed

and then she waved, at the same me speaking in a loud voice,

yoohoo, I am up here, we are one row closer to the front this

morning. and beckoned another lady to join her. I turned to Lor-

raine and said quietly we are sing in her pew. That was our

welcome to First Presbyterian Church in Daytona Beach.

Which raises the queson: How welcoming are we to newcomersto the church who have come to join in the worship service? How

accommodang are we? Scripture is prey clear on how we

should extend hospitality to strangers (Romans 12:13b) and

warns us to not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels

without knowing it. (Hebrews 13:2) I am sure no one would want to oend an angel!

Jesus too issued an invitaon: Come to me, all that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give

you rest. (Mahew 11:28). Well, that sounds prey good and I am sure we agree that all should come to Jesu

and have faith in him. That is, as long as they dont intrude on my/our space and can nd someplace to si

where they wont disturb anyone!

On one occasion, aer Jesus had been teaching the disciple

about his imminent death and resurrecon, the mother o

the sons of Zebedee, asked him for a special favor for he

sons (mothers are like that). What do you want? Jesu

asked, and she replied Declare that these two sons of min

will sit, one at your right hand and one at your le, in you

kingdom. Jesus doesnt mince words. You dont know wha

you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am abou

to drink? The boys quickly, unthinkingly, answered: We ar

able. (Ah, the rashness of youth!). Jesus replied (somewhaquietly I think) You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my

right hand and at my le, this is not mine to grant, but it i

for those for whom it has been prepared by my F

ther. (Mahew 20:20-23)

Well, that is prey clear. There are no reserved seats in the

kingdom of heaven, and, I suspect, there are no reserved

seats in the church either however much we might think and

act like there is.


14/14

Library CornerLibrary CornerLibrary Corner - Marla van Hilten & Gayle Howard

If you cannot read all your books, at any rate handle,or as it were, fondle them ~~~peer into them, let them fall open where they will,read from the first sentence that arrests the eye,set them back on the shelves with your own hands,arrange them on your own planso that you at least know where they are.Let them be your friends; let them at any rate be your acquaintanc-es.

~~~ Winston Churchill

Churchill, with very little formal education, knew the value of books and so educated himself by

reading. We have purchased many new titles over the past year, along with some DVDs, both

instructional and entertaining, for your enjoyment and edification.

Heavenly Father

Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother whoworked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with the homework,do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who cant makechange correctly is a worried 19 year-old college student, balancing his apprehension overfinal exams with his fear of not getting his student loans next semester.

Remind us. Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot everyday (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our

worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through aisles and block-ing our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsyreport she just got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift islove. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to justthose who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive,show patience, empathy and love.

Amen

(Prayer forwarded by Bob Garvin)

2012-02 hpc newsletter

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