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21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO

P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

The True Meaning of Christmas: Paying it Forward

Rev. Wendy Mencel
Every once in a while, as Rector, when I am going
about my Sunday preparations before service, a
sudden surprise comes my way. From event
cancellations to new births and unexpected deaths,
one can never adequately prepare for what may be in
store any given week. The latest surprise however
rather than being a potential source of stress is
one I am truly excited about, further one that can
benefit us all.

Annual Christmas Pageant

Sunday December 14th
10:30 am

Lessons & Carols

A couple of weeks ago, as I was about to light the

altar candles, an individual approached me with a
challenge they wanted to propose to our
congregation; the challenge being to eliminate our
deficit which currently stands at $10,000. But thats
not all...

Sunday December 21st

10:30 am

Christmas Eve Service

The individual made the commitment to pledge up to half of the monies

themselves if we were willing to launch a congregation-wide campaign
throughout the month of December. Their desire to help eliminate our deficit
comes from a place of feeling blessed for all that they have been given in life
and a desire to give back to their parish.

And thus the idea for our MERRY GIVING TREE was born!
I love a challenge and I know you do too! So
beginning this month, your Christmas offerings
(to be enclosed in the special envelopes
attached to this newsletter) will exclusively go
towards the reduction of our deficit.
Dollar-for-dollar, our generous donor will match your offerings.

Wednesday December 24th

7:30 pm

Christmas Day Service

Thursday December 25th
10:00 am

Beating the Winter Blues

Workshop
Wednesday January 28th
7:00 pm
Facilitated by Dr. Ian Nicholson

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21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

To signify each milestone of $100, we will place a donation ornament on our MERRY GIVING TREE.
I am reminded of the following Gospel passage from Matthew that speaks on the topic of money:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
(6:21)
We are incredibly blessed to be able to worship in such a lovely setting, be a beacon of hope to those in our
community who need to hear about the Good News of Jesus Christ, and minister to the needs of those who
gather here at St. Johns throughout the year.
Let us rejoice in the birth of the Savior who is Christ our Lord, and give thanks for our many blessings by
paying it forward with our MERRY GIVING TREE.

In Our Community
Many gather for our
Community Breakfasts!
Held the third Sunday of
every month.

Preparing for the

Coming of our Lord.

Enjoying a hot bowl of chili at our

November Bazaar.
Sean & Dawn Kim's
family

Showing our appreciation

to our MANY volunteers!
Taking in the artistic talents of the
students of Medway Highschool.

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Connect with Us!

21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

A FIVE STAR SUCCESS!

Debbie Scrooby
On the evening of Saturday October 25th, St Johns held a FIVE STAR DINNER event.
Vince Capitano (www.CapitanoCatering.ca), a student of Humber College prepared us a delicious
three course meal.
We had spring mix salad with julienne vegetables for a starter, followed by stuffed chicken
supreme and roasted vegetables and potatoes for the entree. Finally, for dessert, we were
treated with a delicious white chocolate maple tart and fresh fruit served with raspberry sauce.
A wonderful evening was enjoyed by all and $700 was raised towards the Taiz trip. We would
like to thank everyone who attended and a special thanks to Vince for our memorable meal.

STRESS-FREE LIVING
Dr. Ian Nicholson
On Tuesday, October 7th, I was fortunate enough to be able to present a workshop on STRESS & STRESS
MANAGEMENT to our parishioners. The discussion began by tackling the question, What is stress? The
answer to the question was, in part, that stress is a natural and necessary part of life...in
the right amount, of course. Problems arise when stress becomes high and continues
without any relief.
We then unravelled how stressful events can be affected by your appraisals of situations
and coping strategies. This led to further discussion on how your thinking affects your
reactions to the world and, if you can change some of your patterns of thinking, you can
change your reactions and therefore your stress level.
The importance of asking yourself the following questions when encountering stress was emphasized:
Will this matter in 20 years? OR What would I tell a friend in this situation?

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21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

We then had some fun in showing people how the brain works in reacting to the world and how it can make
mistakes that can cause problems or as Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote in 1863:
Try to pose for yourself this task: not to think of a polar bear and you will see that the cursed thing
will come to mind every minute.
The evening concluded with a review of what can be done to live a sustaining life and how that
needs to include, not only proper diet, sleep and exercise, but also having fun and the role of
prayer.
We then learned a short relaxation technique and strategies to remember to use it when you can.
To help people remember the evening, they were asked to write about their experiences on a sheet of
paper that was mailed back to them a couple of weeks later.
Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.
Let the days own troubles be sufficient for the day
(Matthew 6:34)

COMMUNITY GIVING
Muriel Vincent
This year, on behalf of our Sunday School, I collected gifts for the Limberlost community here in
London. Because of your generosity, boys and girls in need of all ages will be receiving special
Christmas gifts this year! We are so blessed! Thanks to everyone for being Christmas angels.

Do you have an inspiring story or special event related to St. Johns youd like to share with our community?

If so, send the details to our Parish Administrator via email stjadmin@bellnet.ca
for inclusion in our next edition of Newslinks.

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21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

Stewardship Update
Paul Townshend

A TRUE VISION FOR THE FUTURE

On the morning of Tuesday, October 21st, our parish of St. Johns Arva gathered
22 people to plan for the upcoming year. This was a passionate group of people
who immediately plunged into the task of creating, organizing and prioritizing
ideas to present to Parish Council to consider for implementation.
We worked within the established guidelines of:
a) THE MISSION OF THE DIOCESE OF HURON
Building up the body of Christ and preparing Gods people to live their Mission

b) THE FIVE MARKS OF MISSION of the World Wide Anglican Church:

The Marks of Mission provide

To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
the framework for living out
To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
our faith into the world on a
To respond to human need by loving service
daily basis.
To seek to transform unjust structures of society
To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth

c) St. John the Divines VISION STATEMENT:

Our Vision Statement guides
us in our purpose as a parish
by framing who we are and
how we determine to live out
our faith.

"Inspired by the love of God, and Led by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the
church of St. John the Divine, seeks to be a Welcoming, Caring, Accepting
community of Faith, ministering to the wider Community through Worship
and Prayer by sharing our Gifts and Love in the service of our Lord and
Saviour, Jesus Christ."

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21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

d) St. John the Divines MISSION STATEMENT:

This slogan reminds us that to carry

out our mission we need to:

Connect with Us!

Small Group work created lively discussions which seemed to centre mostly
around:
1) Maintaining and developing Effective Ministries and Programs for our
parish;

Connect with God

Connect with Others
Connect with each
one of Us.

2) Getting the word out to the Broader Community;

3) Expanding our Outreach Programs to address new areas of need;
4) Finding new ways to Engage the Youth and Young Families of the parish.
The spirited debate over possibilities among those participating was so impassioned that it was difficult to interrupt for
a midmorning break: there just always seemed to be one more good idea to hear!
Suggestions seemed to divide into aspects of Filling Our Spiritual Cup: alternative services, messy
church, centering prayer, our beautiful historic church, learning about the sacred time for contemplation
and Building Our Community: telling stories, eating together, taking action in the
community as Jesus did, reaching out to serve others, inviting other groups into the hall or
church, providing workshops and book studies.

A constant theme throughout the morning was the need to take personal
action:
What can WE do to get people excited about the wonderful opportunities here at St. Johns Arva?
The next steps in our planning process will involve Parish Council confirming the areas of focus for the coming year and
establishing goals and an action plan. New services, programs and activities will need additional people to carry them
out. We ask you ALL to take a prayerful approach to try to discern the role God has for you. Which way is the Holy
Spirit leading you? If you would like to get involved or have an interesting idea, let me know.

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21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

Rectors Message
Rev. Wendy Mencel

A CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE
Advent - the period leading up to Christmas - is a time wrought with emotion for so many people. I
sometimes think the commercialization of Christmas is a human attempt to avoid the feelings of sadness or
loneliness that tend to rear their ugly heads during the month of December.
We invest our energy into things because quite frankly, it feels good and dulls the
pain that may be present in our lives. We feel good for a while, especially if life is going our
way...but lets face the facts: that doesnt always happen.
I know that in my own family, there have been many struggles and hurdles in 2014. Sickness
always has a way of re-prioritizing your life; a gentle kick/reminder to pay attention to what really matters.
So what does really matter? I think overall human beings want to know they are loved: that they mean something to
someone. Love is a powerful tool that leads to wanting the best for one another and for ourselves.
As the Gospel of John reminds us:

This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has
greater love than this, to lay down ones life for ones friends.
(15:12)
To find it in our hearts to love others as God loves us is to find peace, both internally and externally.
So, this Advent and Christmas, I challenge you to search out those in your life who need to know
you love them. Merry Christmas and God bless.

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Connect with Us!

21557 Richmond St P.O. Box #129 Arva ON NOM 1CO
P: 519-660-8177 F: 519-660-0946 E: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Rector: Rev. Wendy Mencel Honourary Assistant: Rev. Kate Hathaway Lay Reader: Jean Davies

Winter 2014

Our Team
Rev. Wendy Mencel, Rector
519-850-9174
revwmencel@gmail.com

Doug Gould, Warden

519-672-3876
rdouglasgould@yahoo.ca

St. Johns Arva

Paul Townshend, Warden

1557 Richmond St, P.O. Box 129

Arva, ON, N0M 1C0
Phone: 519-660-8177 Fax: 519-660-0946
Email: stjadmin@bellnet.ca
Web: www.stjohnsarva.ca

519-433-5406
petown@live.ca

Rev. Kate Hathaway, Honourary Assistant

kathaweir@yahoo.co.uk

Jean Davies, Lay Reader

ggdel@bellnet.ca

New to St. Johns? Interested in Getting Involved with our Liturgies? Have a Rental Inquiry?
Want Offering Envelopes or to Sign up for Pre-Authorized Givings?

Our Parish Administrator is here to help!

Send us an email stjadmin@bellnet.ca or give us a call 519-660-8177

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