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Down to the River – Virtual Choir

Ursula Andrade2020-04-01T11:01:23-07:00April 1st, 2020|

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St Andrew's-Wesley United Church

St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church
Suite 100, 1022 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6E 4S7

T/ +1 604 683 4574

(Parking available off the lane. Free parking for Sunday services. Wheelchair accessible.)

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An Affirming Congregation

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As heartbreak continues, settlers can ask themselv As heartbreak continues, settlers can ask themselves "What can we do?" Here is a helpful guide that helps us turn our feelings into actions... "In this booklet, you will find the TRC’s 10 principles of Reconciliation, the 94 calls to action and the 46 articles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). These documents are instruments of Reconciliation that should be read and considered together. The first principle of Reconciliation confirms that UNDRIP is the framework for Reconciliation for all sectors of Canadian society. The other nine principles serve as guides to assist in repairing the damaged relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples in Canada." https://nctr.ca/shop/calls-to-action-booklet/?fbclid=IwAR0OwpsbqcP__ttstDRQvw2PaRqFi8rIASZ_CuCcaUIiYHvY6Gnpe7gnYbE @nctr_um #truthandreconciliation #callstoaction
We’re down to the wire and have two final opport We’re down to the wire and have two final opportunities to offer blessing and gratitude to Gary! #1 Thursday, June 24th, 7:00 – 8:00PM Gary will join Jen, Curt, Rhian and the gang for the on-line All Ages worship service where we will continue the celebration of Gary and his ministry with us. We will share in communion, stories and memories, song and prayer, come and join us to honour Gary! No registration needed, just come! (For Zoom access, go to the About section on the website, click, then you’ll see Members on the drop list, click, and find All Ages in the list of programs or email Jen at j.cunnings@standrewswesley.com #2 Sunday, June 27th 10am YouTube Service & 11am Zoom Coffee Hour We’ll have a service of celebration and gratitude as we give God thanks for Gary and the ministry of this congregation. Special on-line Coffee Hour to follow as we continue to offer our appreciation, love and share memories and hope for things to come. Hope to see you at both of these opportunities to send our grateful farewells to Rev. Gary! #weloverevgary #gratefulthankfulblessed
To the Family and Friends of St. Andrew’s-Wesley To the Family and Friends of St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, This is, for me, a strange “Stawlight” to be writing, since it is probably my last one for quite a while, given that the end of the month brings retirement. (I am grateful, though, that you have invited me to be, along with Rev. Tom Miles, Minister Emeritus – which means that I can still hang around, and still be part of what happens at St. A/W, albeit in a very different way.) Like many of you, I’m sure, my heart continues to carry the pain of the discovery of the bodies of 215 Indigenous children, in unmarked graves outside the walls of Kamloops Residential School – and what that tells us, once again, about the evil of Residential Schools. I’m very grateful to the words and commitments that were shared by Rhian, Dan and Jen at the beginning of our worship service on June 13th, and the actions that we as a congregation are undertaking. However, I must confess that as I sat down to prepare this sermon, I experienced “preacher’s block.” How to talk about “my retirement” in the face of this pain. But I was helped by my husband, Tim, who reminded me that what I really wanted to say in this sermon was “Thank you!” I am so very grateful for the journey we have shared together over the past sixteen years, and it is good to have a chance to say that to you, loudly and clearly. Also, I wanted to offer a final blessing, or a gift – and since, because of the focus on Touchstone Scripture passages in our Wednesday sessions on “What Did I Learn?”, I immediately thought of a Scripture passage that has been in my heart for many years, strangely enough, from the Book of Revelation 21, the 2nd to last chapter of the whole Bible. It is summed up in this word from the Holy One: “Behold! I make all things new!” On Sunday I hope these words will come to life, and be a Word of promise and hope for all of us – as individuals, as a congregation, as a country that is struggling to find a pathway to Reconciliation. You’ll not only hear these words spoken by Rev. Tim Stevenson, my spouse, who will be reading the Scripture for this Sunday, Cont’ in comments below👇🏼
If you happen to walk or drive by the church on Ne If you happen to walk or drive by the church on Nelson street you will notice 215 orange paper shirts that have been hung on the memorial garden fence to honour and remember the 215 lives stolen and lost at the residential school in Kamloops. Tonight at our All Ages Worship Gathering at 7pm on zoom we will mark national indigenous month and day of prayer. And remember this Monday, we are inviting people to join us at 2pm or 7pm for “Heart and Action: our Commitment to Reconciliation,” a circle process. #standrewswesley #unitedchurchofcanada #reconciliation #everychildmatters #stawchildrenyouthandfamilies
Could we end poverty and made God’s abundance re Could we end poverty and made God’s abundance real? The United Church of Canada is calling for a Guaranteed Liveable Income for all Canadians. Come find out more at today’s zoom townhall at 1pm with the Pacific Mountain Region #pacificmountainregionucc #guarenteedlivableincome #livingwage #endpovertynow #allrise #kingdomofheaveniswithin #abundance
“We all were young once and know the feeling of “We all were young once and know the feeling of helplessness. Imagine those poor kids, far from every kind of help.” - Diane Jones Image taken last week by the steps of Vancouver Art Gallery from one of STAW’s volunteer extraordinaire Diane Jones. #feelingthegrief #vancouverartgallery #215childrenandcounting #residentialschools #everychildmatters🧡 #truthandreconciliation #deeplistening
Finding our way...The outline of the sanctuary la Finding our way...The outline of the sanctuary labyrinth was being marked here and is now complete. Get your meditation feet warmed up; we’re getting there! #journeyisthedestination; #labyrinth; #walkingprayer; #allinthistogether; #pacificmountainregion; #uccan; #standrewswesley; #revdanadventures;
As we collectively continue to be broken open by t As we collectively continue to be broken open by the horror of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation finding 215 bodies of Indigenous children in the residential school site in Kamloops, it should be a clarion call to all settlers that reconciliation is urgent and involves all of us. The United Church of Canada bears the reality that it ran 15 of the 80 residential schools in Canada, and that we have to continue to do the work, guided by residential school and intergenerational survivors, of listening, acknowledging, repairing and changing. One small step in this long road to for us as a congregation to do the work together. On June 21 at 7pm we will host a circle process called: Heart and Action: Our Commitment to Reconciliation. This will be a space to place your feelings first and then talk about actions second. The purpose is to grieve and then create together, and to not let shame prevent settlers and non-Indigenous people from taking actions for right relationship. To sign up, please select your preferred time REGISTER HERE FOR 2PM (facilitated by Rhian and Jen) REGISTER HERE FOR 7PM (facilitated by Dan and Gary) All are very welcome. If anyone has suggestions or questions about the process, please contact us so we can work together. If you are interested in helping with the facilitation and space holding of these Zoom circles, please email Rev Rhian r.walker@standrewswesley.com #truthandreconciliationwork #doingthework #215children
Do you have some angels in your midst? Some unlike Do you have some angels in your midst? Some unlikely saints? Some people who believed in you or pushed you or helped you to see another side of yourself that you were not aware of? I’ve had more than my fair share of them. I could name my boss in the Public Relations firm who saw something in me and drew it out so well that I find I use everything she taught me, even now. She was tough, fair, curious and a lifelong learner, and she taught me how to facilitate a group and to get people ready to deal with a TV interview so they could deliver their message clearly and confidently. She also told me to put more of myself into my work. Instead of hiding my personality, she encouraged me to draw on it and trust that I had something to offer (which I hope was good advice but you be the judge!). It was the last tip that really stays with me, particularly as I try to bring my lived faith to bear in this changing and challenging world. This Sunday is our annual graduation Sunday, where we acknowledge and celebrate the work of graduates in our congregation and in our community. These students have shown themselves to be adaptable and resilient in the face of adversity. While we wish we could throw them a big party, we have to instead lean into sharing with them our messages of support, love, and encouragement through social media, email, letters, prayers and in worship. What is amazing and wonderful is that we can all be ordinary saints in their lives as they head out into the world, and they too can be saints for all those who want to live a life of peace, love and justice. The season of Pentecost calls us to live out our faith, and I believe climate change, covid and the deep yearning to be an antiracist and just society is burning in the hearts of our graduates and in so many of us. What a time for the Spirit to upend things that do not serve us and bring forth the new! To all you grads heading out into the next chapter of your lives: Mitch, Sarah, Christopher, Li-lana, Grace, Taylor and Katherine we see you: Cont’ below in comments 👇🏼 Service link in Bio! 👆🏼
All Ages Worship 7pm tonight led by members of our All Ages Worship 7pm tonight led by members of our Junior Youth Group. I wonder what these symbols are? I wonder what they symbolize? I wonder where they are found? Come and join us to find out and to celebrate a special number, the number 96. #standrewswesleyunitedchurch #allagesworship #stawchildrenyouthandfamilies #united churchofcanada #childrenlead #allages
June Jazz Vespers at Home featuring Jen Lewin with June Jazz Vespers at Home featuring Jen Lewin with Rev. Gary Paterson and Rev. Dan Chambers residing! Premiering on our YouTube Channel at 4pm today. Link in Bio 👆🏼
“It sounds kinda dangerous to me,” the high sc “It sounds kinda dangerous to me,” the high school student said, “because if what you say is true, God is unleashed in the world and could be encountered anywhere.” Why ‘dangerous’? Because the teenager rightfully assessed that an encounter with the Holy will leave you in some way changed. Not “hazardous to your health” like smoking cigarettes, but hazardous like a circle of friends might organize an intervention because they love you so much they don’t want you to remain trapped by an addiction. My imagination is intrigued by the description of what happens in the Holy of Holies of the Temple when Jesus dies. In Matthew’s Gospel: Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. At that moment the curtain in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom…” (Mt. 27:50-51) The curtain separated the inner-most room of the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies where the Presence of God resided and only a priest of the Temple could enter on the given day of the year. It was a mysterious, powerful, potentially dangerous place because anytime one comes into the Presence reverence is due, just as the ocean or a mountain, while beautiful, requires respect for potential hazards. Well, the old story goes, when Jesus died it was as if the Spirit of God ripped the curtain in two, from top to bottom (that is, not by the hands of a person), and the Presence of God is able to run free. In the words of 13th century German mystic, Meister Eckhart, free to “run right into your lap”. This Sunday we’ll share communion and will consider what a sacrament is, what is “sacred” and what is “profane”. (Hint: I don’t think God is confined to a ritual or a room). To deepen our on-line worship, Jen will share a beautiful Children’s Time that really renders the sermon unnecessary. Gorgeous music will be offered by VSO first violinist Yi Zhou, pianist Greg Caisley (St. Paul’s Anglican), and Will George, vocals. Hope you can tune in and, in the meanwhile, be careful: the Spirit of God might run right into your lap when you least expect, Dan Service via YouTube 10am Service with LiveChat premiering at 10am. Watch it live or more than once throughout the week! Link in Bio👆🏼

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