wheel spring/easter 2013

WheelsTo k n o w G o d t h r o u g h C h r i s t a n d m a k e C h r i s t k n o w n t o o t h e r s .

Volume 38 Issue 1S P R I N G 2 0 1 3

Volume 38, Issue 1 S P R I N G 2 0 1 3

(519) 344—4561 / 344—9741 2 http://central-united-church.org

Features Minister’s Message ………………………….3

Diaconal Minister’s Message ………………………….4

Editorial: Star Word ………………………….5

Committee of Stewards ………………………….6

Central Food Voucher Program ………………………….6

Worship and Christian Education ………………………….7

Session Committees Join Forces ………………………….8

Minute For Ministry: Small Groups ………………………….9

Annual Congregational Meeting ………………………….11

Central Forum 2012 ………………………….12

Computer Drop-In Centre ………………………….13

World Day of Prayer ………………………….14

Claire Chapman’s 90th Birthday ………………………….16

Rice Krispies FUNdraiser ………………………….16

Featured cover photo by Fred Abma

Wheels StaffEditor Margaret Selassie

Layout Artist Celine Mae AnchetaContributors

Nancy Andrews Gloria FinchJamie Pole Mary Pole

Norm Lamoureux Elizabeth McDonald



MINISTER’S MESSAGERev. Dr. Christine Jerrett

For the past few Sundays in worship, I have been encouraging you to pray the Psalms and to give some artistic expression to your prayers. It has been a challenging task but some of you have embraced the challenge with enthusiasm.

One of the challenges in praying the way the Psalmist prays is the relentless focus on God – on who God is and on what God has done, is doing, or will do in the future. Often, our prayers tend to be more about us: what we need, what we want, what we’re struggling with, what we’re thankful for. We come to prayer from a culture that has nurtured us in focusing on ourselves. In the Psalms, we enter into a much larger world. It is a world in which we are not in charge. That takes some getting used to.

The modern world taught us to try to control, manage, and manipulate our environment by working out of the’ left side’ of the brain – the logical, analytical, objective side of the brain. It has worked very well to allow us to make so much that makes our lives comfortable. In asking you to give creative expression to your prayers, I am asking you to work out of the ‘right side’ of the brain – the side that operates more intuitively. I am asking you to bring your imaginations to your praying. The use of the imagination is important in praying because it can lead us to a place where something new can emerge. It gives the Holy Spirit a space in which to move.

Living creatively begins in empty spaces

— in places where we let God speak first.Praying with the Psalmist is practice in learning how to respond to God

who acts first and who speaks the first word.

A few groups have tried ‘doodling’ while someone in the group reads through the Psalm for the week. Every time I have been part of that exercise, people have been very uncomfortable with it. They feel that their doodling isn’t very good. It isn’t artistic enough. It doesn’t really express what they wanted to express. Or, they were not sure what they wanted to express. It doesn’t matter how often the leader assures the group that their creations will not be marked or judged. It doesn’t matter how much the group is encouraged to just let it happen. Our judging, critical selves are very persistent. As I said, entering into a world where we take our-selves out of the centre, where we intentionally try to respond to God, takes some getting used to. Those people who have taken the risk several times find that they are more at ease with the exercise each time they do it. Their drawings become bolder. They don’t try to ‘draw within the lines’ as much.

This is soul work. That means that it is slow work as well. God’s ways are not our ways and we resist opening new parts of ourselves to the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, it is worth the risk and the time and the effort for this is how the living Christ comes to dwell among us. It is from Christ’s presence at work in our lives that ‘streams of living water’ begin to flow, in our own lives and in our relationships with others.

In the afternoon of April 28th, Central is hosting a Psalm and Art Fest. Several choirs will be singing. There will be some congregational singing of the Psalms. A number of artists will be exhibiting their work. Mark it on the calendar now. Plan to invite some friends. Let’s celebrate the great gifts for prayer that God offers through the Psalms!



DIACONAL MINISTER’S MESSAGERev. Dr. Mary Ann MacFarlane

Easter is early this year, at the end of March. It will be celebrated with family and friends long before the arrival of Spring, which usually brings with it warmer and sunnier weather and the disappearance of the snow.

Winter is a challenge for many of the elderly at Central. Because of the uncertain weather, many more become house-bound and in need of friendly contact with friends and their church. The Friendly Callers group, now headed up by Nancy Andrews provides a friendly voice on the phone, listens to concerns and provides information about life at Central. I am grateful for Nancy’s willingness to head up this pastoral care project and for the callers; willingness to continue their friendly phone calls. This is a wonderful ministry, and is needed more than ever as the congregation ages.

Providing pastoral care when it is needed continues to be a challenge. As the congregation ages, more pastoral care is needed and there are fewer volunteers able to assist with this work. Those who used to tirelessly provide pastoral care through organizing projects, visiting, providing meals, and making telephone contact, are not able to continue with it, or they are now at the age where they are in need of it themselves.

Providing pastoral care always has been and needs to continue to be seen as the work of whole congregation. It includes the warm welcome given to folks on their way into the sanctuary or to a meeting at the church, the conversations you have with people before and after worship, the phone calls made by many of you to people who are ill or housebound, and the cards of encouragement you send to those who need it. All of this is pastoral care and helps people to feel appreciated and supported as they face the many challenges in their lives.

The visiting done by me happens within these pastoral care activities which you carry out, and is based on priorities. People in palliative care situations and their families have top priority, as do people in hospital. Next in priority is elderly people within their homes, in nursing home or senior residences who do not have family or friends in the area who are in regular contact with them. Also in the mix are any emergency calls for assistance which come to me from anyone in the congregation. I also respond to direct requests for a visit as soon as my schedule allows it. After this, I try to maintain contact with elderly people in nursing homes, seniors’ residences and in their homes. Sometimes, this includes providing home communion; other times it is a friendly visit. All of this gets scheduled in with my many other responsibilities. Some weeks, when I have other major responsibilities such as worship leadership, or there are many people in palliative care and in emergency situations, that means that there is no time for general visiting of people in seniors homes or in nursing homes.

This is the reality of a congregation with an increasing number of people in their 90’s and over, and a large number well over 80. Within this context, the traditional pastoral care programs of Central become even more important - cards at Christmas; bereavement, get-well and encouragement cards mailed by Sally Regan, food delivery by the Happy Cookers small group, and Spring flowers delivery by the Ebenezer Club all provide needed contact with people in the congregation. The opportunity to have names included in the pastoral prayer on Sunday invites all of us to keep in our minds, our hearts and our prayers all the wonderful people of this congregation.

2013 HISTORIC ROLL UPDATING… Work is underway to update the Historic Church Roll. We need your help… Any changes you have made within the last 2+ years regarding… address, phone number, name. Would you supply us with your email address? Thank you to those who have already supplied updated information. Please send any information to Janet in the office or at [email protected].



FROM THE EDITORMargaret SelassieMy St*r Word

I was away at the beginning of the year and did not get my Star Word until the end of January. There were not many left in the basket when I chose and I must admit I was disappointed by my selection. This year my word is STABILITY. I was not sure how I felt about this word. In my mind, it connotes inflexibility, a lack of spontaneity, stodginess; in short, it sounds old. Well, I am getting older and maybe this word is not a mistake.

In the group that I facilitate at work, we finish off our week’s activities with appreciations. Each person in the group appreciates the next person in the circle for something they have contributed to the group or to the individual during the previous week. The young woman who was “appreciating” me the week I had chosen my Star Word, said, “I appreciate Margaret for her stability.” Well, you can imagine the effect this had on me. I had to explain to the whole group why I was so astounded by this “appreciation”. That brought up a discussion about the Star Word activity at Central.

If someone else sees that my stability is something to be appreciated, I need to rethink my approach to this quality. In the workbook that we use in my group, we look at nine resources for successful living. One of these is Integrity and Trust. The explanation for this resource is that a person is consistent and safe in their dealings with others. Consistency and Safety, could it be that the stability I have been charged to focus on this year is an aspect of Integrity and Trust?

Consistency, Safety, Stability – Steadfastness… Following this thread leads me to the Psalms that we have been praying for Lent. This is a quality referred to time and again in the Psalms.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalms 51:10

“My heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.” Psalms 57:7

So, a steadfast heart is linked to singing. That doesn’t sound stodgy and inflexible.

All four of my Star Words are on my refrigerator: Writing, Wholeness, Harmony, Stability. Now that I have explored my new Star Word, I can see how writing has led me to see the connections amongst these qual-ities. Stability – Integrity; Integrity – Wholeness; Wholeness – Harmony. The spirit moves in wonderful ways to bring us to a greater understanding of what it means to be a Christian.

Janet Mountain, our new SecretaryOur new church secretary was born and raised in Toronto. She moved to Sarnia in 2008. Janet is married and has a daughter. She has worked in a variety of different office settings for many years. Her previous work experiences have helped her settle into Central United quite well.

Janet says, “Thank you to all who have welcomed me with your kind words and warm wishes.”



The Committee of Stewards is actually the Business Board for Central United Church. We are the church home of the property committee, rentals, office, security, technology, finance and our church treasurer. As the business board, we were first to agree that we have to encourage the use of technology at Central and work hard at help-ing Central adjust to the changing times of the next decade. Following the Church Board’s plan for a “transitional governance structure”, we are op-erating as a single committee and are having some of our month-ly meetings over the internet. All our reports reach members via the internet each month. As a group

constantly in contact via the inter-net, we are all available to deal with business matters weekly as issues arise. Many of our board members who are in the south or traveling throughout the year are still avail-able via internet for a meeting on a moment’s notice. If this is the type of service to the church that inter-ests you, or if you have business ex-perience to offer, you are welcome to attend our meetings or volunteer to join this committee – which re-mains the Committee of Stewards in the new structure We are most pleased with the job just completed on our bal-cony railing extension. The bal-cony railing is now the legal 42” high, and we expect our church

COMMITTEE OF STEWARDS— OPEN FOR BUSINESS

insurance company will be quite pleased. The roof and soffit repairs that have been contracted should be started as soon as the weather breaks. During our April meeting we all expect to tour the church and examine first hand a few new “cracks’ that seem to have appeared lately. As you finish reading our report, please feel that as a con-gregation member at Central, you can have any input you would like directly to our committee. You are welcome to email the chairman, call him directly, or ask the office to pass along your concerns to us at any time.

Contact Jamie Pole thru email at [email protected] or call.

Central United Food Voucher Program

The Central United Food Voucher program is now in the final stages of this year’s program.

The great experience of our voucher leaders and members in the past, proved to be a perfect foundation for this year’s program. With that foundation, and a great group of volunteers this year, we had a very successful program.

The Outreach committee started with a small inventory before this year’s purchases and will have a few vouchers in their inventory at year end.

19Central United Church members involved16

750250

weeks the program is ran on year 2012-2013

total vouchers purchased by the Outreach

total vouchers expected to be given

Rummage& Garage SALEFRIDAY, May 3, 201312noon to 2:30pm

SATURDAY, May 4, 20139am to 12noon

Gently used clothingPurses, Shoes

Jewellery, ScarvesLinen, Kitchen Wares

Attic Treasures, PlantsBooks, Children books and toys

Variety of garage sale items!

Come! Bring your friends

and browse!



Worship and Christian Education The Dofasco Male Chorus, a 50 - person choir, has been invited to perform at Central United Church.

The Worship and Christian Education Committee agreed to send a letter of intent to the chorus, following their meeting on February 20 at the home of Rev. Christine Jer-rett.

Linda Crooks, the music representative on the committee, brought a letter from Bob Towers asking the church to consider host-ing the Dofasco Male Chorus. Bob Towers said that he had asked if they could come in the fall, but that has yet to be determined. Bob said that the chorus has never been in this area and it looks like a “win-win sit-uation”. A letter from the Chorus said financial support from Arcelor Mittal Dofasco enables the choir to bring concerts at no charge to host charities on Monday evenings from late February to the end of May. It provides a two hour concert with Broadway, folk, spiritual and pop songs. The Chorus provides post-ers, programs, and its own transpor-tation.

The host churches are ex-pected to provide a freshly tuned acoustic piano, a full house, cold drinks at intermission and light re-freshments after the concert. The money raised is expected to go to a charitable organization. Bob Tow-ers suggested the Food Voucher Program.

Linda Crooks also said the choir would like to use Ian An-derson’s liturgy for communion at times. Linda agreed to locate the liturgy and make it available for use.

During the meeting, Chris-tine Jerrett handed out colored markers and asked us to doodle as she read Psalm 27 and reflected on the Psalm. Some members felt out of their comfort zone. Neverthe-less, two felt they could add their contributions to the line outside Mid-Turner hall. The congrega-tion has been invited to engage the Psalms during Lent through reading them and using various media, such as writing, drawing, photography, etc. to express their connection to them. Gloria Finch outlined the

plans for Friendship Month in April. A co-ordinator will be sought to or-ganize the Rice Krispie fund-raiser, which raises money for Widel, our Bolivian foster child. Also, sugges-tions were made about developing a Friendship postcard, which could be sent out to groups and individ-uals, inviting them to worship with us. It was decided that the commit-tee would ask the congregation to submit designs, photos and ideas for the card. Gloria Finch agreed to place an announcement in the bul-letin to invite submissions.

Gloria Finch expressed con-cern that the Sunday School does not have an organizing committee, particularly now that Mary Anne is no longer meeting with the CE Committee (given the new com-mittee structure). Christine Jerrett agreed to meet with Mary Anne MacFarlane to discuss their respon-sibilities and roles regarding the Sunday School.

Christine Jerrett invited members to participate in the plan-ning for the Dow Center worship service on June 16. She said if no one else volunteers then she would participate. Mary Anne was in-volved last year, but will be away this year.

ATTENTION: Creative ThinkersWe are looking for ideas, images and/or photos to revise the “Welcome to Central Postcard”.

If you are a painter, photographer or graphic designer, consider submitting your suggestions for this project. These postcards are sent out to folks who have visited the church or have participated in activities or who may participate in activities at Central. This is another means of outreach to the community and we want to put our best “face” out there. - Worship / Spiritual Formation Committee

Please submit by April 5th, 2013 to Gloria Finch at [email protected] or to the office.



On January 27th Dave Hockin, outgoing Chair of the Board, introduced the first in a series of ‘Minutes for Central’ in which he outlined planned chang-es for the governance structure of Central United Church. These changes, meant to streamline deci-sion making will reduce the num-ber of committees and the need for so many people to take part. This will free up more people to do the actual work of the church rather than attend more meetings. To that end, Session held its last meeting in early January. The four committees of Session have been reduced to two: Worship and Christian Education have joined as have Outreach and Pastoral Care. Stand alone committees, previously reporting directly to the Board, are now under the auspices of one of these two committees. While these changes are hoped to have an impact on in-creasing our congregational num-bers long term, the immediate hope is that spiritual growth within our church family will also increase, along with our service to the wid-er community.You are encouraged to consider supporting one of these committees. These two committees plan to meet monthly and we welcome your attendance, but you can take part in our activities without ever attending a meeting. Perhaps you volunteered your time to help with the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Sup-

per, perhaps if you are making a cas-serole you might consider donating a portion of it to the Happy Cooker food cache or deliver flowers to one or more of our shut-ins? Perhaps you have an idea for a ‘small group’ that you might like to be part of for a short period of time? Do you feel that music is an important part of worship? We haven’t had a Music Committee in some time and per-haps this is a place where your mu-sical interests could be put to good use? There are many ways you can help to support Bob and the choir. The Worship and Christian Education Committee might be the place for you if you believe spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual support and spiritual challenge are important. We each have gifts – something to offer, and when we offer our gifts we are truly being the hands and feet of Christ, which is what we are called to be. And, when we offer our gifts, we are the ones who benefit. Central United Church is our church home and as we work together, we will continue to grow in faith and in community. Not one of us is too old or too busy to be useful – so, when you see a request for help, see it as an opportunity for ministry, and consider saying “yes, I can do that”! And please… be pa-tient, supportive, encouraging and kind as the new Board takes office and settles in to provide leadership for us all.

SESSION COMMITTEESJOIN FORCES

It will soon be

giveaway time again!

The next give-away of clothing, household arti-cles and hygiene products for low-income people will be on Saturday morning, May 4th at Temple Baptist Church. Central has been collecting hygiene products to donate to this event for a while now. So far we have collected five boxes of items. A big thank-you to everyone who has brought things for the give-away, If you would still like to contribute there is a need for more toothpaste, deodorant, soap and toothbrushes. The donation box is in the sanctuary.

Connect with Central!

Find us on Facebook.

Sarnia Church

https://www.facebook.com/sarnia.church



Minute For Ministry:

Small Groups Presented to the congregation,

Sunday, March 3, 2013 by Margaret Selassie.

I have been asked to speak about the small group phenomenon which has taken hold here at Central United Church. As soon as I heard about small groups within a congregation from Tom Bandy last year, I thought of Wheels, our church newsletter. Since I have been the editor of Wheels for quite some time, I could see the benefits of having input and guidance from a group of interested people. I have always felt that members of the congregation appreciated receiv-ing Wheels quarterly and many of you contribute regularly with news and views about congregational life. However, it is ultimately a solitary task mainly accom-plished these days on the computer via email. I collect your submissions and forward those to Celine Ancheta, our amazing computer tech who puts these submissions into the beautiful format that each of you see on your computer or in print. I could visualize meeting with a small group, discussing what practic-es to continue and gathering new ideas for future editions. I thought that hav-ing someone else supporting our efforts through prayer would be wonderful. So I advertised my group in the booklet that Christine prepared and waited for peo-ple to volunteer. Guess what – no-one did! That meant that I had to get more proactive – I had to approach people di-rectly. That is a risky thing to do for a person who fears rejection and is a nat-ural born procrastinator. It is especially difficult when you are asking people to participate in a spiritual undertaking – this is after all the United Church. So… I didn’t exactly rush into the direct ap-

proach mode. I was busy with out-of-town guests and we had a bap-tism and then it was Christmas and then I was away for a month – you get the picture if you have procrastinating tendencies like me. Finally, I ran out of excuses and reached out. Not everyone was willing to join but four people said YES. We have only met once but the experience was very positive for me and I think for the others as well. Two people are regular contrib-utors to Wheels and Celine does the computer work. I hope they feel encouraged to continue with what they already do. I hope the other member will offer prayerful support and will read future editions with a more analytical eye and offer recommendations in the future. I would love to have other interested individuals join our small group; however, I know that not everyone shares my passion for writ-ten communication. I do encourage you to examine where your pas-sion does lie and either start a small group or join one. This week’s Psalm says “my soul thirsts for you” – we all have a thirst for things spiritual and small groups are a means to satisfy that thirst.

Wheels Small Group on their first meeting. Celine Ancheta, Nancy Andrews, Margaret Selassie, and Gloria Finch.

Small Group Leader’s Meeting met in February with Rev. Christine.



Faith and Fellowship

Faith and Fellowship Bible Study had a success-ful year and now has added several new elements to our small group. We are now co-ed, with Emilio Ancheta and Bob Bell joining the Bible Study group. Faith and Fellowship was started up by Rev. Wendy Brown when she was the Staff Associate here at Central. We have fourteen members with a regular attendance of nine. This spring we initiated a new study book called "Per-severance, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction”, by Eugene Peterson. Each week we pray for those in our congregation who are experiencing failed health, losses of loved one, jobs, those going through change, our church and our ministers, etc. Another new initi-

ative this year that has enriched our understanding of the scripture is a visit each week for half an hour by Rev. Christine who answers questions that come up through our discussion. We were happy for Abbie but sad for our loss as we said good-bye this spring to our faithful friend and mentor Abbie Ovens who passed away in May. We are thankful to our faithful group leaders Doris Graham and Marjorie Banks and welcome new members when we resume this fall. If you are interested in joining a Bible Study group on Wednesday mornings or at another time please speak to Gloria Finch or to our ministers.

Mats For Mission This year, 2013, a total of seven milk bag mats for mission have been given to Deacon Chuck, our contact person in Sarnia. He sends them on to Dr. Simone in Mississauga for Canadian Food for Children. Old used candles were handed in as well. Good job Cen-tral. I was in a doctor's office recently and was working on my mat when I started talking to a young person who started asking

questions about the mat I was cro-cheting. An older lady beside me spoke up and said she goes on mis-sion trips with her husband every year and has seen the mats in use in developing countries. I was grateful for her encouragement since I was really starting to wonder if they were worth all the work. This winter a friend of mine was over for a cup of tea after our Monday walk and she asked me about the mats. Carol is now a

member of our Mats For Mission and is on her second mat. She start-ed with a child's mat and now is working on an adult mat. If any one wishes to cro-chet these mats please speak to me, Gloria Finch at 519-869-6020. We have four people crocheting milk bag mats. This year we hope to form into a small group format. Many thanks go out to our cutters of the milk bags and all who collect our milk bags.



Annual Congregational MeetingOur Annual Congregational Meeting on February 24, 2013 took place in the sanctuary where Elizabeth MacDonald was elected as Chairperson. The new operating structure of Central United Church was voted in.

Also, we can now again use our balcony at Central for worship and the Lenten Organ Recital.

See the new balcony safety improvements. Thank you, Stewards.



CentralForum 2012

In 2012, Central Forum celebrated its 30th anniversary. At the beginning of the year the Forum was included on the Mayor’s New Year’s Honour List in recognition of it providing informative speakers to the Sarnia community over the last three decades. On February 2nd committee members attended a civic reception with other recipients. The citation is framed and hangs in the church. The six speakers in 2012 were Kieron Nelson with marvellous photos of the diverse cultures of the Himalayan kingdoms; Mike Hurry describing the climbing of Mount Everest with 42 fellow Sarnians to raise funds for Big Brothers; Sarnian Mary Nethery from the Provincial Ministry of the Attorney-General on addressing and preventing wrongful convictions; Laurie Webb on the history of Sarnia and its colourful characters; Lisa Daniels on the new art gallery and how art changes lives; and members of the YMCA on its new outdoor initiative for youth. Attendance at the Forum has increased steadily over the last four years. Average attendance was 99 in 2010, 110 in 2011, and now, having outgrown Mid-Turner Hall, with a move into the Sanctuary, 142

in 2012. This change was a great success much to the credit of members of the congregation who helped us with settling into the new venue, and we continue to be indebted for this. Jim Purves, Dave Finch and Fred Abma on sound and light, Val Stewart, A.J. Sheane and Joyce Abma in the kitchen, Gloria Finch and Nancy Andrews on registration and Wayne Scott and Tony

D’Arne on set-up. After purchasing a second large screen to accommodate the curvature of the Sanctuary, a remote and a lectern light to improve the quality of viewing and hearing, we had a profit of $775.00 which was donated to five different community organizations; the new art

gallery, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Lambton Heritage Museum and Central United. Three of these recipients reflected the work and passion of our 2012 speakers. Three of the committee retired in 2012 after many years of service – Doris Graham and Helen Tithecott from the congregation who spent many years providing the refreshments, and Fern Noel who was treasurer.

By E. McDonald, Chair

Lenten Noon Hour Organ Recital Central United Church Free Noon Hour Lenten Organ Recital was again organized by Bob Towers featuring talented organists from southwestern Ontario. February 21, 2013, I attended a most delightful recital by Gerald Vreeman from Centre Street Baptist Church in St Thomas. Both the organ and the piano were played. The recital started off with a lovely organ piece called "Morning Mood". Oh, yes, favorite Lent songs were featured. They included "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross and “Amazing Grace”. I especially liked the jazz piece on the piano “Were You There”.

Gerald Vreeman, during the Lenten Noon Hour Organ Recital held at Central United Church.

Six Noon recitals are planned for Thursday at noon through Lent so mark your calendar and enjoy a noon break with music.

By Gloria Finch



C O M P U T E R D R O P - I N C E N T R E The computer programme at Central has just completed its sixth year of existence. The effort was begun by Greg West with weekly seminars and lessons in Mid-Turner Hall. Three years ago the programme moved up to the old Board Room, with Greg doing six-week group lessons; and then one-on-one efforts with the help of a high-school co-op student. In April of 2012 we expanded again, moving into Upper Turner Hall. This was accomplished with the help of many volunteers – both members of the church and of the community. Of the latter we continue to be indebted to members of SCUG, the Sarnia Comput-ers Users Group, for their help both with electrical wiring and troubleshooting. In its new location the centre has 13 desktop computers and room for eight laptop computers. The desk-tops are the gift of Startek, the call centre which closed over two years ago, and the laptops are brought by visitors. The hours throughout 2012 continued to be Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. and remain the same now. In 2012 the centre was open for 10 months – January to June and September to

December with one day open in each of July and August. In total 1,106 visitors used the facilities in 2012. Average attendance is 15 to 20 people. Members of the congregation, regular users of the centre, and the community at large have been very generous with donations in kind. In 2012, these included two coffee-makers, a table refrigerator, an upright kettle, five office chairs, three computers (CPU tower, monitor, keyboard and mouse) and pennies to the congregation’s Nicaragua well campaign. In September of 2012 oversight of the centre was moved from the Technology Committee of Stewards to the Outreach Committee of Session, which at the end of 2012 purchased three towers with Windows 7 on them. All our computers to that point had Windows XP. The centre offers teaching help by up to a half-dozen volunteers on a one-on-one basis to any who come to us. We are recommended by, and get referrals from, Lambton Public Libraries, the YMCA federal and provincial programmes and Canada Works. Thanks to everyone for your continued support and a great year.

The Anchetas Assisted in Worship The Ancheta family assisted in our Lenten Worship service, March 3rd. Marcelino played the piano for the congregation and choir. Celine and Czarie sang the anthem duet, “Hosanna”, with Czarie on the guitar. Our busy organist is

now forced to slow down as he totes around this cast.

But it is hard to keep a good man down and he continues to plan for the upcom-ing "Trivial Pursuit Night".

Update:Bob

Towers

Connect with Central United Church on the web! Visit http://www.central-united-church.org/



Joyce Abma and Nancy Andrews from Central participated in the World Day of Prayer at St. Clair United Church. Six attended from CUC. Each attendee received a red, black, gold or white ribbon on entering which was used to join the prayers. We were told the colours of the ribbons were chosen for the First Nations colours. Our program was written this year by the World Day of Prayer committee of France. An ecumenical service is held every year on the first Friday of March.

World Day of Prayer



Praying the Psalms for Lent and Easter

On the afternoon of Sunday, April 28th, Central is holding an event called "Psalmfest." Church choirs and musicians from Sarnia will provide a wonderful selection of music inspired by the Psalms. Artists, photographers and craftspeople are invited to display their visual images - photographs, quilting, paintings, fabric art, jewelry, sculpture, etc. during this celebration. Please consider contributing to this exciting display of the wonderful words and images of the Psalms. You may already have some

things created which illustrate some of the themes of the Psalms (nature, spirituality, trust in God, longing, God's love and protection, etc.), or you may want to create things especially for the show. Please let other creative people know that they too are invited to participate. "The more the merrier!" Contact Mary Anne through e-mail or a telephone message as soon as you can if you wish to participate (name, phone number, art form, and amount of display space needed).



Claire Chapman’s 90th Birthday

Claire Chapman celebrated his 90th Birthday with an Open House on February 8th at Dunlop United Church. A small group of family, friends and members of Central gathered and celebrated on one of the snowiest day of the year.

April is friendship month and the Sunday School is raising money for our foster child Widel. Widel-Hermes Mamani lives with his family and attends school in Colquencha, a rural community in Bo-livia. We need to raise $440.00 to sponsor Widel for an-other year; the money is used for Widel and his family, and to support educational and development projects in his community. Volunteers are needed to make a pan of Rice Krispy squares and to wrap them individually in cellophane. Please bring them to church during the month of April and leave them in the container at each door marked rice krispy squares.

Central United Volunteers “ROCK”!

Thank you!

For more details, please contact Kathleen McIntosh.

FUNdraiser



Transitions~In Memoriam...

Shirley Anne Morgan

Irene Margaret Miller

Murray Evan Squire

Helen Marie Crawford

Thomas Franklin Richards

Mary Jean Dunn

Cecil N. Reatherford

Trivial Pursuit Night

3rd Annual Gather a group of fr iends

and plan for a battle of wits .

Saturday April 13 2013

Lower Turner HallCentral Un ited Church

Prizes/Refreshments/Snacks

Sponsored by Central's Choir and WonderCafe

Calendar of EventsMarch 26th Last Food Vouchers Handouts

March 29th 3 Churches – Joint Good Friday Worship

April 13th Trivial Pursuit Night – 7:00 pm

April 28th PsalmFest

April 30th Music Festival

May 3rd & 4th Rummage/Garage Sale

Happy Easter!

wheel spring/easter 2013

Documents