october is stewardship month at highlands! · 9:30 am esl/ell class, room 201 and 202 9:30 am...
TRANSCRIPT
Highlands United Church, 3255 Edgemont Blvd. North Vancouver, BC V7R 2P1
604-980-6071 [email protected] www.highlandsunited.org Rev. Will Sparks, Lead Minister
HIGHLIGHTS
October 6 2019
Stats Canada says that people who attend a religious event
regularly give over three times as much to charity than the
general population. Somehow, faith breeds generosity.
This year our stewardship theme is “Living Generously.”
Come explore the freedom that comes with giving from the heart
and cultivate the virtue and habit of generosity in your life.
October is Stewardship Month
at Highlands!
Highlands Upcoming Events and Programs
This list does not include rooms booked for outside rentals (Scouts, AA, Alanon etc).
Highlands Event Calendar can be viewed on our web site at: www.highlandsunited.org
Sunday, October 6 9:00 am PJs and Pancakes, Lower Hall 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcome Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:15 am Coffee & Hospitality, Welcome Space 11:30 am Re:Sound Chamber Choir Rehearsals, Choir Room 11:30 am Greeters Welcome Hosts Lunch, Fireside Room Monday, October 7 9:30 am Highland Quilters, Choir Room 1:00 pm Prayer Shawl Ministry, Choir Room 7:30 pm Badminton, Gym 7:30 pm Healing Hands Appointments, Choir Room and Chapel Tuesday, October 8 8:30 am Flea Market Sorting, Lower Hall 9:30 am ESL/ELL Class, Room 201 and 202 7:00 pm The Ridiculous Journey, “Following a Nobody from Nowhere” Faith Room Wednesday, October 9 7:30 am Men’s Breakfast, Cora Breakfast and Lunch 10:30 am The Future Beckons Seniors Group, Welcome Space 7:00 pm All Candidates Meeting Federal Election, Sanctuary Thursday, October 10 9:30 am ESL/ELL Class, Room 201 and 202 9:30 am ESL/ELL Discussion Group, Choir Room 12:00 pm ESL/ELL Speakers Group, Room 201 5:30 pm Thursday Dinner, Gym 6:00 pm Genesis Too Rehearsal, Sanctuary 6:00 pm Leadership Board Meeting, Faith Room 6:00 pm GFS Activity/Program, Choir Room 6:30 pm God’s Free Spirit Rehearsal, Choir Room 8:00 pm Spirit Singers Rehearsal, Sanctuary Friday, October 11 10:00 am Friday Fiddles, Room 201 Saturday, October 12 1:00 pm Saturday Lunch at North Shore Neighbourhood House Sunday, October 13 9:30 am Coffee/Tea in the Welcome Space 10:00 am Sunday Worship Service, Sanctuary 11:15 am Coffee & Hospitality, Welcome Space 11:30 am Re:Sound Chamber Choir Rehearsals, Choir Room Monday, October 14 Thanksgiving Monday (STAT) – Office Closed
Stewardship Connection
Kicks Off Today!
We will be passing the pouch
from home to home in October
as we focus on Living
Generously.
You will have the chance to
consider what you can pledge
to Highlands for 2020.
We hope you can make an
increase of 5% to 10% to
support all the new and
ongoing programs and
outreach.
Then we will celebrate
together on October 27 with
our annual Upside Down Lunch on
October 27 when you get to eat
dessert first.
Sign up in the Welcome Space
or on-line at
www.highlandsunited.org
Flea Market Week
October 15-19 A Highlands Tradition!
The Flea Market started in 1976 and 40+ years later is still a wonderful
community builder. The Sale raises over $30,000 annually for Highlands and
the church’s Outreach Ministries. Nothing goes to waste, since anything not
sold goes to other non-profit organizations.
While the gathering, sorting and pricing happens on Tuesdays from January to
the week before the big event, there is a need for a sizable cast of volunteers
that last week to move everything into position. On the actual sale day,
volunteers are needed to staff the sale, manage parking, host the lunch room
and coordinate the cleanup.
and so much more!
Flea Market Week
How can YOU help???
About 250 people are needed to run
the Flea Market spread over 35
departments – so there is always
room for new volunteers!
Tuesday, Oct. 15, starting at
9:30am, stay until you need to leave.
Join the chain gang as we unload the
mountains of accumulated treasures
from storage throughout the church
into the Gym, Lower Hall, Narthex
and Welcome Space.
Wednesday & Thurs, Oct. 16 & 17
Join the core staff to help unpack and
organize everything onto tables and
displays in most of the departments.
Volunteer time is flexible.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 3:45 to 6:00 pm
Join another group effort to move
furniture in the Preschool and bring in
boxes of toys, children’s books and
electronics from storage areas.
Friday, Oct. 18 – This is the final day
to set up for the Flea Market.
Volunteers are appreciated -
especially in the pre-school area
rooms.
To volunteer for set-up week
contact Gill Irwin at
Saturday – Oct. 19 SALE DAY!
Many volunteers return year after
year, but newbies always needed:
8:30-11:30 am – First staff shift
11:30-2:30 am – Second staff shift
2:00-4:00 pm - Clean-up Crew
To volunteer for Flea Market Day,
contact Bonny Ball [email protected]
or by phone at: 604-987-5432
Why Volunteer???
It’s a great way to connect or
reconnect!
It’s a great way for new folks to
connect with longer term Highlands
folk and for seasoned volunteers to
meet newcomers.
Young and old build connection as
they work together – teens and
their parents, aging parents and
their adult children. People who
have otherwise lost connection to
Highlands still faithfully volunteer
for the Flea Market.
It provides $30,000+ for both
Highlands and for the Highlands
projects listed below.
It’s fun and it helps the
environment- “reduce, reuse,
recycle”
Through the Flea Market Sale, we
also support other non profits:
Food, Clothing and Financial
Support for First United in
Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside
WISH—Women’s Info & Safe
House
Capilano Community Services
Saturday Lunch Program at the
North Shore Neighbourhood
House
Shelter to Home Program
Covenant House and Camp Fircom
AA, Alanon, Scouts and Girl
Guides
Contribution Statements
If you are a regular giver and you have an envelope number or
donor number, please pick-up your contribution statements
found in the Welcome Space on Sunday. These are not tax
receipts but a summary of what you have donated to the life of
Highlands United Church for the period January 1 to the end of
August, 2018.
Charitable Donation Tax Receipts are issued in February for the
previous year. Questions about your statement, tax receipts or
donations in general, please contact Carol Smith in the Church
Office during the week (604-980-6071) or by e-mail at:
Postage is now $0.87 to mail a letter so we would really
appreciate it if you could pick-up your statement. Any statements
not collected will be mailed… :(
Thanks!
Highlands Church Office
Do you have questions about Stewardship,
the Passing the Pouch process—After this Sunday’s
service, check out this excellent video made by some
of the smaller members of our congregation.
Visit our website and click on the image above.
s panel on the Opioid Crisis, which is
serious here on the North Shore as well as other places, the Local
All those interested please contact me either by phone or email as
we need to know numbers in order for the nurse to bring the correct
A message from our Shelter to Home Team—Story of the Month
I received a text from “Shadi”. She and her 2 sons had arrived in
Vancouver 2 weeks before, and had no furniture. A woman at
Westview Church had given her my number. I suspect it was a former
client. She asked if we could help her and I replied we were happy to
provide what she and her sons needed. I didn't hear back til the next
day. Her son, “Dan” called me, and explained, in perfect English, that
he had written the text for his Mother, who spoke no English. He told
me they came to Kelowna from Iran 5 years ago. Both boys went to
High School in Kelowna. Dan’s older brother, “Hamid”, went to UBC
Okanagan 3 years ago on full scholarship. Dan went to UBCO 2 years
ago, like his brother, on scholarship. The young men and their Mother
had to leave Kelowna. The young men transferred to UBC. Dan told me
they had been sleeping on the floor in thin sleeping bags for 2 weeks,
with clothes rolled up for pillows. I asked when we could meet for them
to choose their furniture. He hesitated, so I asked when he was at UBC
each day. His answer…“7am til midnight”. I thought I hadn’t
understood, so I asked again. “You see,” he continued, I have 2 jobs at
UBC. It’s the only money we have to live on, at the moment.”
They needed everything, absolutely everything on our list of furniture
and household goods. After I explained that we didn't have a delivery
service, it became clear to me that they could not afford to move what
we had to offer. I told Dan that I’d get back to him as soon as all their
requests were in the storage. Then I did what I always do. I put a list in
the Highlights at church hoping the need would be passed on to others
in the community. And it was. Furniture, bedding, and house hold items
came pouring in, but we were still lacking 3 twin beds. So I spoke to the
Spirit Singers and our Kitchen Table group, telling them of the urgent
need, including funds to cover the moving costs. In the next week,
three women provided the exact amount that was needed for the
move. I am profoundly grateful to our church family and the community
beyond, for supporting Shelter to Home in such tangible ways.
Dan called. They were very cold, could he come and get some
blankets. We made an appointment for the next day, to choose as
much as possible. Dan skipped his morning classes. He agreed that
they would take a double bed to get his Mother off the floor. Dan and
Shadi arrived for their appointment, and were able to choose most of
the things they needed in about 2 hours. John called our mover, North
Shore Downsizing. Penny Scalabrino offered us a queen bed. Dan
decided he and his brother could use the queen size, and Shadi would
have her bed in the living room. Shadi and Dan thanked John and I,
over and over again. It was such a pleasure, even such an honour, to
help this deserving family. Dan said he would pay us back as soon as
he could. I told him that wasn't necessary, that I was certain when he
graduated, he would pay it forward. He said he would, and we believed
him.
Penny came the next day and got everything delivered. She remarked,
“They'll be sleeping better tonight...I saw their bedrolls on the floor.” The
next day Dan texted for his Mother. There were pictures of the rooms,
set up with the furniture, the shoes lined up on a bookcase, the dishes in
the cupboard, the comforters on the beds. Shadi wrote, in part, “You are
all angels. You should all be so proud of yourselves for what you do.....
Thank you for everything, not only for your help to our family, but for
your kindness and the dignity you gave to us.”
So thank you to everyone who donated something, who answered
telephone calls, who assessed furniture, who transported and sorted a
tsunami of bedding, who organized the storage room. As I like to
say....this is good work we do.
In deep appreciation,
Ruth
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Ambleside Orchestra Concert at Highlands October 25 at 8:00 pm