Sunday Worship is ONLINE at 10 am.
Watch our LIVE online Worship this Sunday 10 am using ZOOM
Join Zoom Meeting
On the advice of health authorities and out of an abundance of caution for the well-being of the congregation, we at First United have suspended congregational gathering Sunday worship service .
Outreach programs are continuting!
We are continuing our outreach programs in a modified format. On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10am to 11am we will be distributing noon meals and groceries to take with you.
For those who are wondering “Where is God in this pandemic?”
/in News /by First UnitedGod is in the physicians and healthcare workers who are pouring out everything they’ve got to save as many of us as possible. God is in the truck drivers and grocery store staff and pharmacy personnel who are making sure we have the essentials that we need during this difficult time.
God is in the statisticians who are pointing out how grave and dire the circumstance of exponential spread really is. God is in that Target store manager who calmly and civilly prevented people from succumbing to their reptilian lower selves and buying more than their allotted purchases.
God is in the people who wipe down all of the door handles and light switches and grocery carts and all of the things to help reduce exposure to this virus. God is in corporations like Starbucks that are ensuring that all of their staff are paid during this difficult time.
God is in the experts who bravely correct the copious untruthitudes spewed by our denier in chief. God is in the growing number of citizens who get it and are choosing to hole up and isolate from society to help flatten the spread and protect the most vulnerable in our society. God is in the governors who are stepping up and providing the leadership that is needed that is lacking from further above.
God is in the musicians and artists who are providing videos and concerts online for people to enjoy. God is in the families experiencing some growth by having more time together. God is in those who are concerned about college students who are gay or trans and abused domestic partners who are in increasingly unsafe situations by coming back home.
God is in the churches, mosques, temples and synagogues that are offering their services online. God is in every one of us who is realizing that every precious moment every new now really does matter and who expresses that through making phone calls actual phone calls to the people they love reminding them that they matter.
And God is in this collective wake up call reminding us that there is a better way, that we have the ability to rise to occasions and meet demanding needs, that we can do what needs to be done to make this planet sustainable. Inviting us to a needed societal reset. Inviting us to the year of Jubilee.
~Rev. Roger Wolsey (an American minister)
(ed. submitted by a family member of Cheryl Perry’s)
Online Worship March 29 , 2020 First United Church
/in News, Sermon /by First UnitedWorship Today 10am
/in News /by Tanya PritchardPlease join a worship service led by Bob Wallace and Cheryl Perry with music leadership from Frances Chiasson and Jessica Crawford. Technical assistance by Carol Drury, Graham Zell, and Kim Ducs.
PLEASE REMEMBER when you are joining us:
Frances Chiasson will be providing Prelude Music. Please keep your microphones muted.
Remember you are still visible to others while your camera is on.
Be aware that we are recording this service for posting on the website, and that by keeping your camera on you are agreeing to these images being posted.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/728995598
Meeting ID: 728 995 598
One tap mobile
+16473744685,,728995598# Canada
+16475580588,,728995598# Canada
Dial by your location
+1 647 374 4685 Canada
+1 647 558 0588 Canada
+1 778 907 2071 Canada
+1 438 809 7799 Canada
+1 587 328 1099 Canada
Meeting ID: 728 995 598
Hishuk Ish Tsawalk (Everything is One and All is Interconnected)
/in News /by Graham ZellBeing the last Sunday of the month, in regular times the Alleluia Ringers would be playing in church, as we love to do. In this time of “virtual church,” perhaps you’d like to watch this video of a performance from October 2016.
I’ve chosen this video, because the piece is titled “Hishuk Ish Tsawalk” which comes from the Aboriginal language of the Nuu-chah-nulth peoples who live on the west coast of Vancouver Island. It means “Everything is One and All is Interconnected.” This piece was commissioned by the BC Guild of English Handbell Ringers (of which the Alleluia Ringers are members) for the 2016 International Handbell Symposium in Vancouver, to represent BC. The composer is percussionist Bruce Henczel of Langley.
This piece felt particularly appropriate to me for these times, in both bad and good senses. Bad, because we are finding out how the interconnectiveness of the world is fueling the COVID-19 pandemic. And good, because despite that challenge, we are finding new ways to remain united, support each other, and get through this together.
~Nikki Attwell
Director, Alleluia Ringers
A Prayer during times of a Pandemic
/in News /by First UnitedMay we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between
preserving their health and making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for
our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancelled our trips
Remember those who have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money
in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no homes.
As fear grips our country,
Let us chose love.
During this time when we cannot physically
wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the living embrace
of God to our neighbours.
Amen.
~submitted by Rev. Sharon Wilson,
sent to her by Rev. Patrick Woodbeck at Windsor Park UC in Winnipeg