Rural United Pastoral Charge News

If you do not wish to have photos of your family that are 
taken at church functions posted to the Rural United web page please let your Clerk of Session know.
Rev. Wanda is going to write a weekly reflection as a way of keeping in touch with as many as possible.
​She will mail copies to those that do not have email.
We have been planning a Facebook group for Antler River Watershed Regional Council
and now seems like the right moment to launch it.
Check it out Antler River Watershed Regional Council.

This group is a place for members of the regional council to share ideas, to offer encouragement, to update one another with congregation events! Share your Good News! Let everyone know what your congregation is doing. Invite neighbours to plays, fundraisers, BBQs, bazaars and special worship services. Let everyone know what's working.
St. Paul's and the former Zion congregations send sympathy
to the family of Lena Pickering
who passed away
​on Thursday, March 26, 2020 
in her 100th year.
Read the letter from Nora Sanders, General Secretary,
to Ministry Personnel and Church Leaders.
St. John's Botany sends condolences
to the family of Gerald Wilson
who passed away
​on Tuesday, March 3, 2020
​at the age of 93.
Saturday, May  30 
Join the Turin UCW as we travel to the beautiful Whistling Gardens,
nestled in Norfolk County, just minutes south of Brantford. 
Celebrate the spring blooms with incredible displays of Peonies, Iris, Magnolia, Red Bud and many other flowering trees. 
While at these Botanical Gardens, we will be treated to a group tour of the gardens,
relax in the outdoor amphitheatre where water fountains with over 100 jets dance, choreographed to new music.
Enjoy a catered lunch, and a chance to shop at their garden centre. 
 A mystery stop on our way home and dinner in Port Stanley will complete our “staycation”. 
Badder Bus Lines Coach service will be providing the transportation for the day.
Cost for this day trip is $60.00, which includes travel, admission to the gardens, and the catered lunch. 
Dinner in Port Stanley is extra. 
For further information about the gardens visit: www.whistlinggardens.ca. 
For a detailed tour itinerary and to book your spot now contact Beth Gladstone,
519-359-6665 (call or text) or  gladston@mnsi.net
​Book Club 
Book Club meets at 2:00 p.m. at St. John's U.C.
April 22 - Every Note Played by Lisa Genova
May 27 - Becoming by Michelle Obama
June 24 - Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
by Gail Honeyman
​​FundScrip form
 for Turin U.C. and 
​St. Paul's U.C.
Scripture Readings
April 5, 2019
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
Matthew 21:1-11
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 31:9-16
Philippians 2:5-11
Matthew 26:14-27:66 or Matthew 27:11-54
In order to maintain patient confidentiality and privacy,
there is no longer a Denominational List at CKHA available to clergy. 
As a result of this change, Rev. Wanda will no longer
be visiting at the hospital unless she knows someone
​from the Pastoral Charge is in hospital. 
Please contact her if you wish a visit.
Official Board met on January 22, 2020.
​Read the minutes here.
Sympathy goes to Jane and family
on the death
​of Marvin Cudmore,
​at the age of 81,
on Tuesday, January 7, 2020.
​A Lenten Bible Study is planned based on Amy-Jill Levine's book,
"Entering the Passion of Jesus." 
It is beginning  on Feb. 25,
​at 1:00 p.m. at St. John's.. 
Rural United sends sympathy
​to the family
of Violet Balmer
who passed away on
Wednesday, December 19, 2019
at the age of 99.



St. Paul's hosted the
Charge Christmas Dinner
held on Friday, November 29, 2019.
The gifts with vision catalogue
is available on-line.
Are you looking for meaningful gifts to give?
Shopping here is a great way to make a difference
​and show someone that you care.
​This year’s catalogue is filled with gifts that don’t need wrapping or tags, just your love.
​“KLUCK” - Kent Leaders of United Church Kommunities 
This is a gathering of leaders - lay and clergy - that take a few hours to support one another,
to talk about what’s happening in the United Church and to share information.
They compare themselves to a bunch of hens and roosters in the barnyard sharing conversation,
so that everyone within Kent remains connected. 
A farewell was held for Carol Morton on July 14 at the home of Gary and Judy Houston.
Go to Rural United in the Photo Gallery to see the slideshow.
Carolyn Fraser attended the Annual Regional Meeting in Port Elgin
on May 27, 2019
as the representative for St. Paul's.
​She has written a report outlining what happened during the weekend.
See Faithful Footsteps for more information on police checks.
This came to the Rural United website and Rev. Wanda has approved including it here.

This note is about something I think the people at St. John's, St. Paul's, Turin, and Zion United would find useful, a refreshingly different resource called StoryFest. It’s a set of free videos and other materials that help people appreciate and enjoy the life-giving stories of the Bible. It’s specially designed for use by small, informal groups, with or without trained leadership.

The video presenters are storyteller and musician Linnea Good, storyteller and author Ralph Milton, pastor and Biblical scholar Donald Schmidt, counsellor and storyteller Allison Rennie, and editor and artist Don McNair.

The videos were taken during three storytelling Saturdays at churches in the BC Interior, and edited into nine videos, each focusing on a different Bible story. This is a non-commercial venture financed by the BC Conference of the United Church, Wood Lake Publications, and many volunteers.

There are no lectures and no arguments over doctrinal differences or issues of Biblical interpretation – simply enjoying the stories and how they connect with the lives we live.

Please visit http://www.woodlakebooks.com/storyfest, where you’ll find a short introductory video, the nine session videos, and an assortment of related resources. Most of them free.

If you like what you see, please take a moment to forward this information to your colleagues and friends.

Blessings!

Jacob McNair
StoryFest Publicity