“The Spirit” North Kildonan United Church

November 2018

Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness,

but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

“Nothing can dim the light that shines from within.” ….Maya Angelou

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love

can do that.” … Martin Luther King

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances

the freedom of others.” … Nelson Mandela

“Sometimes you can't see yourself clearly until you see yourself through the eyes of others.”… Ellen DeGeneres “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made straight and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh

shall see it together.” … Martin Luther King

“Be kind to one another.” … Ellen DeGeneres “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how

you made them feel.” … Maya Angelou

“I think everybody should have the same anger towards the injustice that's happening and the hatred that's happening, and just fight it with love and compassion.” … Ellen DeGeneres

Loving God, in Jesus your light shines in our darkness, giving joy in our troubled

lives and our troubled world. Open our eyes and hearts to your presence in our

lives and open us to your grace that we may be released from our fears and

worries. Strengthen us to grow in love and welcome the light of your truth. Pour

out your Spirit on us as we watch and wait for Jesus, the Word to come. Amen.

Join us at North Kildonan United Church as we celebrate Jesus, the reason for the season.

Youth Ministries With a full slate of teachers and some enthusiastic youngsters, Sunday school classes began. Robin, once again has started to teach the children some new songs which they are always anxious to present in church. The Junior youth group is baking our communion bread and they also assisted with the Touch ‘n Take table at the annual Christmas bazaar. There were some delicious smells coming from the kitchen as they also prepared some home baking for sale. The Senior youth group continue to meet and plan their activities and service to the church and community. They prepared the Stone Soup luncheon and delivered flyers advertising the Christmas bazaar. We look forward to their planning the Christmas Cheer Board hamper drive. They are also planning some fun activities as well.

Christian education is available for ALL children so come join in the learning and fun.

Outreach Ministries The Outreach and Mission committee, during Thanksgiving, initiated a request for donations for Yazidi refugees in Winnipeg. The generous folks of NKUC donated two full boxes of food items and monetary contributions as well. This was certainly a worthwhile endeavour and the newcomers to Winnipeg are very appreciative. Make Poverty History – for two weeks the congregation and friends were invited to sign a petition which will be sent to the Winnipeg Without Poverty campaign for 2018. Make Poverty History was established to inform the people of Winnipeg about the current poverty situation which is indeed a lead up to crime, addictions, poor health and social conditions. This group has lobbied municipal and provincial governments in order to make them aware of these conditions and they have also suggested many measures to combat poverty. Thank you to the people who have signed the petition. More information can be found at: www.makepovertyhistorymb.com. Outreach and Mission was also pleased to present First Contact: a series of three films which featured six average Canadians taking a 28-day journey into the Indigenous communities. After viewing each film, Rev. Marc led us in discussions. This series proved to be not only interesting but extremely informative. So many misconceptions thrive in our society today so it was good to see a candid and honest portrayal of our First Nations people. Outreach and Mission’s next project is Rock those Socks for RaY. We will be collecting new socks and underwear for Resource Assistance for Youth – RaY. RaY is a non-profit street-level agency working with street-entrenched and homeless youth up to the age of 29. RaY provides basic needs to youth through a drop-in facility at 125 Sherbrook St. and through a Street Outreach Team.

Watch for the sox box in the Narthex!

Fun and Fellowship

Quiz Night held on October 12 was a wonderful success with great prizes, lots of refreshments and loads of fun. We hear that people are already marking their calendars for next years’ event!

Once again the Christmas Bazaar sponsored by the UCW was a resounding success with over $3000.00 profit. The donations of baking, deli items and crafts were absolutely astounding – Thank you! It was wonderful to see friends chatting together in the lower hall over coffee and delicious muffins. Did you know that we have a group of regulars from the community who come to our sale because of the home baking? We are so happy to welcome them back each year!

Pictured: coffee & conversation at the annual Christmas bazaar.

On Friday, November 16, the B Side Apostles entertained a nearly full house at NKUC. Their offering of familiar favourites, humourous stories and opportunities to sing-a-long made this concert very enjoyable. The refreshments provided were a welcome treat. Thanks to all who made this evening possible.

Stewardship Ministries The stewardship campaign for 2018 (October 14 – November 18) selected the theme,

“Loving God, Loving ourselves and Loving our neighbours.” Various committees were asked to describe their committee work and how it affects the life of the church and their own lives as well. It was great to hear from various individuals and their committees and to hear about all the wonderful things that are happening in our community of faith. To emphasize this theme, heart shaped “love” cookies were distributed to the congregation by the children to remind us of God’s unconditional love for us and for life itself.

We are grateful to the congregation who continue to support North Kildonan United both financially and in service to the church. Through the generosity of our congregation and friends, we have completed many projects notably our accessibility project and building renovations. However, with the increase in the size of the building and utility increases in general, we need to continue with extra fundraising activities to offset some of these costs. Please take a moment to review your support. Should you have any questions, please ask our Treasurer, or any board member. Remember, a tax receipt will be issued for all contributions!

Shown above are two exciting events happening at North Kildonan United. The Christmas Market will feature many items such as Mary Kay cosmetics, gift cards, meat products, Morden’s chocolates, honey, New Bothwell cheese, and Christmas puddings. Order forms will be available in the Narthex. Customers can order anytime during the next three weeks. Orders can be completed, cheque or cash included and left under the office administrator’s door or with any member of the board or stewards.

Cookie Walk Saturday, Dec. 1

10:00 a.m. at NKUC

Buy a box, fill a box – baking done!

Christmas Market Nov. 12 – Dec. 2 Narthex of NKUC

Chocolates, honey, cheese, Amway,

Christmas puddings and much more. Order forms

available.

The Cookie Walk will take place on Saturday morning, December 1, 10 a.m. Customers will purchase an empty box, select as many cookies as fit into the box and presto – your baking is complete. To make this a successful event, we would appreciate donations of cookies. If you can help, contact Peggy (204-668-2501), Dorothy or Frank or any member of the board or stewards.

Remembrance Day 2018

A hundred years is a long time…and keeping memories from a hundred years ago seems like an insurmountable challenge. But this past November 11 marked 100 years since the end of the “War to End All Wars”, and at NKUC we made it a point to remember the veterans of that and subsequent wars with honour. As congregation members brought mementos from those wars for our display table, they shared poignant memories of loved ones who had served in the two World Wars. Who knew there were so many heroes with personal connections to our church family! The worship service itself paid homage to those whose bravery it was important to remember during those times of sacrifice, not only to those who served on the front lines, but also family members who endured the pain of the uncertainty of their loved ones return or who were displaced from their homes to preserve their safety. Through moving scripture readings, poetry and letters from the time and from powerful video clips we were transported back to those tragic times and shared the pain of those who endured so much to protect our freedoms. The service of remembrance touched us at a very personal level with a rendition of the Last Post and reading the names of veterans who members of our congregation asked to be remembered.

Following the worship service, we all had the opportunity to further share memories and impressions as we gathered for a delicious lunch provided by our Hospitality Committee. This event is certain to keep alive in our hearts for many years to come those who sacrificed so much for us.

“Coping with the Holidays – A Survival Guide” presented by Rev. Marc Whitehead, will be held on Wednesday, November 28th at 7p.m. at North Kildonan United Church. Sponsored by the Pastoral Care committee, this evening will identify some healthy ways of dealing with holiday stress and coping without a loved one at Christmas. This evening is open to all.

The Canadian Church Calendar 2019 features a picture of North

Kildonan United for the month of March. Thanks to Liz Gauthier for

submitting this lovely picture.

Save the date

News from the Pews

Congratulations to Grant McMillan, coach, and his team the St. John’s Tigers who captured

the Division 3, CanadaInns Bowl Trophy in the Winnipeg High School Football League. This was

a wonderful victory for the school and the community.

Our sympathy and prayers are extended to:

Kris and Teresa Richardson – Teresa’s father passed away

Family of Doreen McCrindle

Kathy Leech on the passing of husband Bob

Family of Dorothy Maciejko

Karen Kearney whose Aunt Ivy passed away

Marion Reynoldson-Blaine’s family

John and Judy Rempel as they mourn the passing of Judy’s mother, Jean

Bill and Diane McDonald on the passing of their brother-in-law Bob Wazney

Family of Betty Velpel

Helen Mitchell on the passing of her sister Isabel Saunders

Tyler and Jasmine Gregg – Tyler’s brother Matt passed away in Calgary

Barb Mackay and family on the passing of daughter and sister Kathleen

Munro and Dziad families as they mourn the loss of Marlene and Terry’s

brother David

To all our shut-ins and those not feeling up to par, we wish you well.

Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers

Congratulations to Grace Atkins on becoming a great grandmother again and to Ryan and Larysa Schenk on the birth of their daughter Chloe. Great grandparents are Richard and Heather Boroski.

Get Well wishes to Peter Wiebe, Nancy Cosway, Angela Munro, Abe Hiebert, Marion Kosheluk and Marlene Dziad. Good to see Isaac Hillier recovered from an arm injury. Welcome back Val Mikolajek recovering from a broken foot.

Congratulations to Peter

and Barb Wiebe on their

60th wedding anniversary

The following individuals have been certified in AED training and CPR training:

Barrie McPherson Kathy Bertouille

Marvelle McPherson Marc Whitehead

Peggy Latimer Heinz Goetz

Peter Latimer Alex Hillier

Barb Welton Tom Lyons

Donna Price Craig Hillier

First Aid Training was held October 27 and the following were certified:

Cec Anderson Linda Andres

Heather Boroski Wilma Fehr

Heidi McIlwain Robin Polley

Heather Schaub Marc Whitehead

Message from the Unified Board

The board and committee chairs have been hard at work, dusting off the NKUC Strategic Plan Committee Actions to help us do the best job possible to meet our common goals. Shortly, we’ll be updating the church constitution to reflect administrative changes in the United Church. Thank you board members, committees, staff, and congregation. Thanks to all of you, we have a wonderful church here at North Kildonan United and it’s a pleasure to be part of it. And here we are with the Christmas season upon us. There’s snow on the ground, frost in the air, and my Christmas cactus is blooming. Everywhere I go, I see Christmas lights decorating our homes and warming up this cold season. At the shopping centre, I hear some of my favourite old Christmas carols. I never tire of them, no matter how often I hear them. It’s a Christmas tradition for me along with the turkey dinner and family get-togethers. Another tradition at my house (must I confess?) is to watch the old Dr Seuss cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Boris Karloff narrating. Can’t have Christmas without it! How about you? Do you have some quirky Christmas traditions? I’d love to hear about them. Whether you enjoy a traditional Christmas or a modern version, I wish all of you a wonderful Christmas season and a Happy New Year. God bless! -Heidi McIlwain

Board Chair

AED – Automated External Defibrillator

CPR – Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Please watch your church bulletins for details

November 28 Coping with the Holidays, NKUC 7 p.m.

December 1 Cookie Walk at NKUC, 10:00 a.m. December 2 First Sunday of Advent – Toonie Sunday December 9 Second Sunday of Advent – Choir Cantata (pending) December 10 UCW Christmas gathering – 1:30 p.m. All ladies invited December 12(Wednesday) Blue Christmas Service – 7 p.m. NKUC December 16 Sunday School Christmas presentation – Third Sunday of

Advent December 23 Fourth Sunday of Advent – service at 10 a.m. December 24 Christmas Eve Service – 7 p.m. December 30 Worship Service 10 a.m. – NO Sunday School

January 6 First Worship Service of 2019

January 18 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins – to January 27 January 27 Sunny Sunday (pending)

February 10 Annual General Meeting – NKUC February 24 Pancake Brunch Editor’s Note: We are looking for articles or pictures about our church or church family. If you would like to share a story about a trip or activity you or your family took part in, please consider our newsletter. Contact

Sheron at miller01@mymts.net or call the church office at 204-667-7408. Deadline for the next newsletter is January 18, 2019

Thank you to the following who contributed to this newsletter: Peggy Latimer Sheron Miller Marvelle McPherson Heidi McIlwain Peter Latimer

Celebrate Christmas in the light of the Saviour’s love.

Dates to Remember