St. Marys Presbyterian Church

P.O. Box 247,147 Widder Street East,

St. Marys, Ontario N4X 1B1

(519)284-2620;(519)284-0367

(fax) stmaryspreschurch@on.aibn.com

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              So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. Then the word of the LORD came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

           Jeremiah 18:3-6

       Greetings to one and all! Let me first offer a word of thanks to one and all for the support and care during my first few months among you. You have been gracious and patient and I thank you!

       As September unfolds, I am mindful that we are marking many ‘new beginnings’! This is a new community for me to live and worship in; you folks have a new minister and that new minister is also a female; and we begin a new season of events within our congregation; lots of things to give thanks to God for, but also, many areas in which we may experience both joy and perhaps a little anxiety. We all know what it can be like when we get that new pair of eyeglasses or shoes or jeans….It can take a little while to get readjusted!

       The scripture that I cited at the beginning is from the Lectionary readings for September 5. In the reading, God directs Jeremiah to go to the potter’s house and observe him working at his wheel. I have several friends who are potters. In trying to more fully understand the images used within the book of Jeremiah, I took time one year to speak with one of these friends about the process of working with clay.

       It is not as simple and as straightforward as one might think. Before any lump of clay actually gets onto the wheel or is hand-shaped whatsoever, it first must be ‘wedged’. This is a process whereby the molecules are aligned within the lump of clay and this process of ‘wedging’ is a rather labour intensive one. Then, when working with the clay, one has to be careful to use enough water to keep things from drying out but not so much water that the clay loses its’ integrity. In trying one’s hand at working with clay you quickly find out that it takes a fair amount of practice and a lot of trial and error. The potter comes to know the touch and feel of the clay, and together something beautiful emerges! And even if it doesn’t unfold as a thing of beauty right away, there is an up side. The really good news is that clay is very forgiving and if the first creation doesn’t work out as planned, well you just shmoosh it all down and start the whole process over again!

       God is reminding Jeremiah that God’s work with the people of Israel is ongoing, and in the same way, Christ through the gift of forgiveness provides us with an opportunity to continually be shaped and reshaped.

      Our time together is just beginning. Like a lump of clay, it will take some time for us to come to ‘know’ each other more fully, for our ‘molecules to be aligned or in tune’. This will not happen overnight, but with time and with God’s Holy Spirit guiding us, we too shall be shaped into things far beyond our imagining. There will likely be times when we will need some ‘shmooshing’ though, and forgiveness will need to be offered up. In the meantime, may we trust in the compassion and love of Christ to guide our hearts and inspire the work of all our hands.

     Peace, Gwen

    New Beginnings.... Same Hectic Life

          It is a time for new beginnings. A new chapter has begun at our church as Rev. Gwen settles into her ministry with us. We eagerly look forward to this adventure God has led us to.  A new season is also upon us and if I never experience another summer as hot and humid as this one has been, that will be just fine by me. Bring on the fall, I say. And good-bye bugs and heat.  With school resuming and other programs starting up after a summer break, many of us will find ourselves swamped with activities.  While it is good to be involved, we need to guard against being so swallowed up that we don’t have time for things that should be a priority to us. I’m not trying to discourage you from working hard or volunteering. Rather, I am encouraging you to maintain a healthy balance.

     The following article was sent to me from my friend, Father Matthew, in Uganda.  As we head into a new beginning, a new season, please keep this in mind….

                    Yours in Christ, Val

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY

(author unknown)

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons…

In his opening address he said, ”We can’t keep Christians from going to church.”

“We can’t keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth.”

“We can’t even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour.”

“Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.”

“So let them go to their churches; let them have their fellowship, BUT steal their time, so they don’t have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ..”

“This is what I want you to do,” said the devil: “Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!”

“How shall we do this?” his demons shouted.

“Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds,” he answered.
“Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.”

“Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles.”

“Keep them from spending time with their children.”

“As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!”

“Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice.”

“This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.”

“Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers.”

“Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.”

“Invade their driving moments with billboards.”

“Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes..”

“Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what’s important, and they’ll become dissatisfied with their wives…”

“Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night.”

“Give them headaches too! ”
“If they don’t give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere.”

“That will fragment their families quickly!” “Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted.”

“Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God’s creation. Keep their social calendars filled right up.”
“Keep them busy, busy, busy!”

“And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. ”

“Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.”

“Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause.”

“It will work!”

“It will work!”

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their God or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

                 The Book Worm -

              “Tuesday’s with Morrie” is a second Book written by  Mitch Ablom that has been added to the church library.  This book was dedicated  to Reverend Mervyn Tubb in recognition of his faithful and inspirational  guidance as interim  minister.  Every page of this  beautiful, moving book shines with the warmth of unembarrassed love.

              Vonette Bright and Nancy Moser have written three books as living examples of biblical  sisterhood. In the opening section of the adult fiction books you will find “The Sister Circle”, Round the Corner” and “An Undivided Heart.”  As the women in the stories settle into their roles at the boarding house they discover the true meaning of friendship and the joy of lives truly surrendered to God.

             Children will enjoy a book entitled “I Don’t Want To Go To Camp “ by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Maryann Cocca Leffler.  Lin’s Mom has exciting news.  She’s going to camp—a camp for mothers only.  But Lin is not impressed.  She and her Loppy Lamb are never going to camp.

              Later when Lin and her Dad see Mom on Visitor’s Day, Lin discovers that camp is more that a place where you get homesick.  Camp is volley ball, canoe races, midnight feasts and lots of fun.  Maybe camp isn’t so bad after all.

             We hope that you will come to the library and check out other books we have.  There is a great variety of fiction, biographies, Christian Living and Bible study, and for the kids, there are picture books, easy reading, junior and young adult fiction.

            Come on in and check it out!!

Youth Group Schedule & Events

              K-4 Activity Nights starting in October! The first Monday of each month from 6:30-7:30pm. This hour follows a Vacation Bible School Format with songs, games, crafts and snacks. High school kids are welcome to join in and help out too

            Grades 5 and up and invited to attend out bi-weekly activity nights every 2nd Tuesday from 7-9pm at the church! Friends are welcome to join too! Our first youth group night will be on Tuesday September 14th and the 28th and every 2nd Tuesday to follow until December! Bringing a snack to share with the group is most appreciated!

               High school breakfast club! Last Saturday of the month! Sunset Diner at 9am.

               UJIMA! A weekend of fun and friends at Camp Bimini! October 1st-2nd! Please contact Deb if you are interested in attending. This is for kids in grades 5-12 and will cost around $25 each.

            We are also interested in organizing a youth worship. Anyone interested in helping with the planning and implementation of this can call Deb asap. Music, reading, dance etc.

              PD Day at Main Street United Church Mitchell. We are helping to organize a youth retreat at Main Street United for the November 5th PD Day. If you are interested in helping or your child would like to attend this overnight retreat, contact Deb.

              College Link! It's that time of year again where we put together kits to send to the kids who are away at school in the fall. We need everyone in the church to pitch in for this project! Granola bars, socks, timmy's g/c's, hot chocolate, pens, kraft dinner mr. noodle etc-snack size foods, a nice letter from you! Whatever you have to give is appreciated. We have over 20 kids that we send these packages to so we need several contributions from our church to make it a go! We will hopefully send them out mid-October. You can droop off donations anytime downstairs in the purple youth room! If you'd like to donate money for this project, we will see that it is put to good use.

              Thanks in advance!

Obituary

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Mr. Common Sense.

Sense had been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons such as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't always fair. Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge)

His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Mr. Sense declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; but, could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Mr. Sense took a beating when a woman couldn’t defend herself against a burglar in her own home and if she did the burglar could sue her for assault.

Finally, Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, she spilled a bit in her lap, and was awarded a huge financial settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by two stepbrothers; My Rights and Ima Whiner.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

           Caretaker's Corner           

Superstition

Everyone knows some folk lore. Most of us may be wary or careful but truly do not believe ... Here is a sample of a few

· Spill salt - throw salt over your left shoulder

· Fork falls on the floor - company's coming

· Vampires in the neighbourhood - wear garlic

· Owl hoots in the daylight - someone is about to die

· Black cat walks crosses your path - bad luck to follow

· Break a mirror - 7 years bad luck

I like some of the broom folk lore I found.

· Never sweep after sunset - chase away happiness

· Broom outside a house - wards off any wickedness that might come knocking

· Carrying a broom across water-bad luck

· Leaning a broom on a bed - bad luck

· Sending a broom to a new home- good luck will follow

· Never use a broom when there is a dead person in the house  - bad luck

· Never use a broom to sweep outside the house, unless the inside of the house has been cleaned first. (oops!) - bad luck

· Never walk on a broom. - bad luck

· Never sweep upstairs rooms in the afternoon. - bad luck

· Never sweep the room of a departing guest until he has been gone for some time, or else your sweeping will bring him back

· Never bring old brooms into new houses...(remember a broom becomes attached to a house...always leave the old one behind....)

· Always sweep dust balls into the middle of a room.....they will protect against bad luck

Mickey Mouse had a broom  in 'Sorcerer Mickey' and who could over look Harry Potter's Firebolt

There is a broom in everyone's house, school, store etc.

We like brooms (we just don't like to use them) some times they collect dust (lack of use) sometimes they hide from us.

They could be taken by a witch who is in need of a vehicle or maybe they just disappear. There is always a reason why sweeping isn't done.

So if you see a missing broom, tell the witch to return it and get a car.

Financial Report as at July 31, 2010

                         Year to      Year to       Annual

                           date       date Bud       Budget

Support of our Church      77,305.     89,262.      162,000.

Specials                      775.      1,250.        3,000.

Building                    2,734.      3,306.        6,000.

Presbyterians Sharing       5,947.      6,061.       11,000.

P.W.S.&D.                   2,667.      2,480.        4,500.

Mission                     1,274.      1,750.        3,500.