Ha ne y P r e s b yt e r ia n C h ur c h
HPC Newsletter
Knowing Christ and the future He has in mind for us
I have been wondering about how
to begin this column when St.
Paul’s words to the Philippians
came to mind. “But whatever was
to my profit I now consider loss for
the sake of Christ. What is more, I
consider everything a loss com-
pared to the surpassing greatness of
knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for
whose sake I have lost all things. I
consider them rubbish, that I may
gain Christ and be found in him … I
want to know Christ and the power
of his resurrection and the fellow-
ship of sharing in his sufferings,
becoming like him in his death, and
so, somehow, to attain to the resur-
rection from the dead … I press on
to take hold of that for which Christ
Jesus took hold of me … one thing I
do: Forgetting what is behind and
straining towards what is ahead, I
press on towards the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me
heavenwards in Christ Jesus”(Phil
3:7-14). What a great example of
intentional spiritual practice.
This is what Jesus talked about
when he said to Martha, who was
distracted by all the preparations
needed to serve him, that she is con-
cerned about “many things”
whereas only one thing is needed,
namely “listening to what he said.”
(Luke 10:38-42).
This same intentionality, seeking
first God’s kingdom, is seen in the
early church. Peter and John were
seized by the Sanhedrin, ques-
tioned, told not to speak or teach in
the name of Jesus, threatened and
reluctantly released. On their re-
lease, they returned to the believers
and reported what had been said to
them. A normal reaction would have
been to shy away from further wit-
nessing, however they gathered in
prayer and continued to speak and
teach in the name of Christ: “Now,
Lord, consider their threats and en-
able your servants to speak your
word with great boldness. Stretch out
your hand to heal and perform mi-
raculous signs and wonders through
the name of your holy servant Je-
sus.” (Acts 4:23-31)
All of them were following Christ
whose life was dedicated to one pur-
pose: Seeking the glory of his Father
by speaking what the Father has
commanded him to say and by doing
what the Father has given him to do.
I’m thinking of the boy Jesus in the
temple when his parents were anx-
iously looking for him, “Did you not
know that I must be in my Father’s
house?” (Luke 2:49); his prayer for
his disciples (John 17); and his
prayer in Gethsemane, “not my will,
but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). I
remember the risen Christ saying to
the disciples, “As the Father has sent
me, I am sending you” (John 20:21);
and to Peter, “Take care of my
sheep” (John 21:15-17). Before his
ascension, he left the church with the
Great Commission: “Go therefore
and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you. And
behold, I am with you always, to the
end of the age” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Which brings me to the next point.
The Session has prayerfully dis-
cerned the need for us to become
more intentional in our ministry to-
HPC
gether. This can be taken in many
ways, but what we mean is this:
being intentional about seeking
God’s will, about discerning God’s
future for us, about serving God
and following Christ in our context.
Our current mission statement and
vision dates back quite a few years
and is hardly functional anymore in
pulling us together and giving us a
shared gospel purpose. Can you
recall off hand what our mission
statement and vision is? We find
therefore that a lot of things happen
in church, but that our ministry to-
gether lacks coherence and a clear
direction.
The place to start was to hold a
Session retreat. On Saturday May
24, the Session gathered therefore
for a day of worshipping, prayer
and discernment. Let me share with
you what we did before I say some-
thing about the outcome.
The day started with an hour and a
half of worshipping and Bible
study. Often when we do planning,
we put our thinking caps on while
we put our theology aside. We look
CONTACT US:
11858 - 216th St.
Maple Ridge, BC
V2X 5H8
Phone: 604-467-1715
Fax: 604-463 -1730
E-mail:
haney.pc@telus.net
Website:
www.haneypreschurch.org
P AGE 2
Knowing Christ and the future He has in mind for us (Continued)
for ideas and recipes, things that are
quick and easy to do and could give
our ministry a boost. Or we take
ourselves, our emotions, our hopes
and aspirations, and our past ex-
periences as reference point, simply
thinking along the lines of what we
like and dislike, what we are tired
of and what we would like to see
happen. Or, alternatively, we look
at our neighbours, see what they do
well and try to duplicate that. Ap-
proaches like this don’t go very far.
We are different. St. John calls us
the “beloved of God, freed by the
blood of Christ, and made to be a
kingdom and priests to serve God”
(Revelation 1:5-6). It is most im-
portant for us, the body of Christ,
to think theologically about the
church, about ministry in our con-
text, and about the future. We
therefore began with worship and
Bible study from Revelations 1, to
get a clear vision of who Christ is
in relation to the church.
We followed this with two hour
long discussions about the norms
we live by. Norms are those unwrit-
ten rules that govern any commu-
nity. Every church has them. Pat-
terns of doing things and commu-
nal values develop over time. These
are largely unconscious most of the
time, although all of us live by
these rules. They have a tremen-
dous influence in the way we do
things and the direction we take.
We therefore sought to come to a
conscious understanding of our
norms in order to know ourselves.
The next step was to take a bigger
look at our ministry and to ask how
we are doing. How are we doing in
terms of proclamation? Is this a
good news place? How are we do-
ing in the area of instruction? Do
we have quality ways of passing on
the teachings of scripture and the
church? How are we doing with
regards to fellowship? Do members of
the church care for one another and
newcomers in a way that truly repre-
sents the compassion of Christ? And
finally, how is our service to others?
Do we have energy for those outside
the fellowship of the church? In each
of these areas, certain aspects of our
ministry were flagged for more atten-
tion.
Putting all of this together, a number
of things started to crystallize. How-
ever, much more praying, discerning
and talking are needed.
The result? We are engaging in a new
visioning process to seek God’s will
for us at this stage of the journey. The
Session is devoting special time every
month for the next 7 months (more if
needed) for prayer, discernment,
study, and discussion about God’s
future for us. We plan to involve other
individuals and groups in the discus-
sion. One option that we are looking at
is to have discernment gatherings on
relevant topics where we could share
information and listen to the congrega-
tion. Another step is to set aside times
for prayer in the church calendar. We
are also committed to keeping you
informed with announcements and
special notices.
But most importantly this: We are
calling the whole congregation to take
a sabbatical in the fall. What does that
mean?
Sabbath is time that we set aside to
pay attention to what God is doing.
HPC Newsletter
Sabbath means taking time to pray
and to listen to what God is saying.
Sabbath is therefore a gift and a de-
light. It is given to replenish us so
that we can see what God is doing.
We are asking each of you, and
every group to do that.
Keeping Sabbath is a sign of trust.
We put our trust in God’s abundant
grace and in his providence. Sabbath
means that we don’t act as if the sur-
vival of the church depends on us.
We put our trust in God, that he will
provide generously in all our needs.
We dare to do less and to leave open
spaces in our calendars. We discern
what is essential in seeking God’s
kingdom before making decisions
about programs. I recently read this
comment in a newsletter: “It is easy
to rest when our work is finished,
but the command to rest is a com-
mand to rest even when things are
not finished” (Dave Abels).
Sabbath means seeking opportunities
to rejoice in the good gifts of God.
We celebrate together in worship.
Sabbath means taking time to culti-
vate relationships.
These are the things we ask of each
of you and every group as we follow
Jesus into the future.
Shalom
Gerard
P AGE 3 H PC N E WSLET TE R

My Mother’s Hand
A Prayer for the Future Today for others to see
I went to the hospital This hand had soothed my hurts
Disturb us, Lord, when we are My mother is there quieted my fears
too well pleased with ourselves, patted down
The place was cold my Sunday morning cowlick
when our dreams have come true sterile and felt my forehead
impersonal when I was ill
because we have dreamed too little, and inhuman
when we arrive safely because This was what my mother was
I smiled when I saw her warm
we have sailed too close to the shore. but I didn’t feel strong
Disturb us, Lord, when happy when I said hello
I held her fingers
with the abundance of things we pos- She looked so tired in mine
sess, we have lost our thirst and quiet I held her hand close
The room felt grey around to me
for the waters of life; her and knew
what a beautiful women
having fallen in love with life, I smelled the disinfectant my mother was
we have ceased to dream of eternity; in the air
and my shoes squeaked on This hand had raised me
and in our efforts to build a new earth, the guided me
we have allowed our vision hard and shown me her love
clean
of the new Heaven to dim. floor We looked at each other
Disturb us, Lord, and smiled
She smiled up a me the hospital now far away
to dare more boldly, glad to see her boy We smiled and we both
felt better
to venture on wider seas We asked each other how we she because was there
where storms will show your mastery; were and I
and we’re mutually reas- because I held my mother’s
where losing sight of land, sured hand
we shall find the stars. I was not convinced
Tim Vandergrift
We ask you to push back She closed her eyes
while we talked
the horizons of our hopes; and her voice was
and to push into the future so quiet This poem was written by Tim
so tired Vandergrift, son of Gladys and
in strength, courage, hope, and love. Floyd Vandergrift. Tim was 16
I took her hand years old. He want to Sunday
it was warm School at H.P.C. in the 70’s. He
Sir Frances Drake was often asked to do the Bible
Quoted in OC Missionary I looked at her hand and readings for Rev. Knute. H.P.C.
remembered was on 7th Ave then, now
Prayer Letter of Jeanie Curryer, This hand had bathed me known as 223rd Street.
loved me
September, 1997 held me to her breast
and held me out in pride
Page 4
Haney Men’s Group
The second Saturday morning of
each month is an important time
on the church calendar of Haney
Presbyterian as that is when the
Men’s Group meets for breakfast. It
truly is the best three dollar break-
fast in town—but it is much more
than that. It is a time for fellow-
ship, reflections on our faith and
support for one another.
All men of the congregation are
welcome!
We also discuss some business
each month and twice a year this
includes discussion on the soon to
One night arriving at church
the Book Club people were just
leaving. They put a book in my
hand and said I just have to
read it.
I actually had a few other
things I wanted to read first.
However, feeling guilty about it
sitting on the table (I get very
annoyed when people do not
return books I’ve lend them) I
started reading.
Probably because of my South
be held garage sales. We are most
grateful for the support of the con-
gregation in donating items for
our sales. These events are our
major source of income
which is used for a variety of
projects around our church
and beyond—such as sup-
port of Camp Douglas.
At our April sale over $900 was
raised and sometimes we wonder
where it came from! It is amazing
what sells and what doesn’t sell!
Via this newsletter we want to
share with you a decision of the
The Shack—William P. Young
African background, I had a
very difficult time finishing
the first three chapters, with
too many flashbacks of horrific
crimes. But after that, I could
not put it down. I have since
bought about twenty copies,
which I have sent to family
and friends both back home
and in Penetanguishene.
It will take too long and will
take up too much space to say
what I thought about the
book, so just this:
DO READ IT!
There is a copy in our church
library and many others in the
congregation also have copies.
This might also be a book you
want to have yourself.
Eugene Peterson, Professor
Emeritus Of Spiritual Theol-
ogy, Regent College, Vancou-
ver, wrote:
HPC Newsletter
Men regarding items which do not
sell and therefore which we will no
longer accept.
In addition to large items
such as: chesterfields,
appliances and
mattresses,
we can no longer
accept
computers,
exercise equipment,
microwaves and
TV’s.
Thank you for your support!
Dick Lyster
When the imagination of a writer
and the passion of a theologian
cross-fertilize the result is a novel
on the order of The Shack. This
book has the potential to do for
our generation what John Bun-
yan’s Pilgrim’s Progress did for
his. It’s that good!
There are numerous reviews
and information online, as
well as the book’s own web-
site:
www.TheShackBook.com
The Shack
A book Discussion with
Author William P. Young and
Regent Faculty
Tuesday 3 June 8 - 9:30 pm
Regent Chapel
UBC Campus
H PC Ne wsl ett er
The HPC Bazaar
Summer is coming and that’s a
good time to think about the
Christmas Bazaar. “What?” you
shout. “But of course”, we say.
What better time to
(a) sit back and do some crafts
or woodwork, knit up some
toques and scarves or sew
some cute p.j.’s for kids;
(b) make some jams or other
preserves;
(c) sort out the stuff collecting
in the garage or the closet
that will be perfect for the
“Treasures” tables or the
“Boutique”?
So put a box in the bottom of a
closet and start filling it with
goodies that everyone will love.
Simplicity
In his book: Celebration of Disci-
pline, Richard Foster discusses sev-
eral disciplines that foster spiritual
growth. He describes “Inward Dis-
ciplines” such as Meditation,
Prayer, Fasting and Study, and
“Outward Disciplines” such as Soli-
tude, Submission and Service. Sim-
plicity is both, namely an inward
attitude that results in an outward
life-style.
The inward attitude is to receive
what we have as a gift of God.
Although simplicity is the opposite
of materialism, it does not mean
that we should not have things
and should not enjoy them. Rather
that we receive what we have as
a gift of God. In fact, it is often
when we does not have money
that we can be the most material-
istic, with all our focus on what we
need and how to get that, rather
than focusing on God and His pur-
pose for our lives.
In terms of simplicity as an outward
lifestyle, Foster makes the following
Page 5
 Remember theme basket down will not come as a sur-
items prise but as the wonderfully
 silent auction items anticipated event that brings
 small gifts for men, women, our church and our community
boys and girls for the balloon together.
table Circle Saturday, November
 good used toys, books, CD’s 15 on your calendar today. It’s
and movies closer than you think
 jams and preserves
 artificial greenery and
Christmas florals for table
center pieces
 treasures for the Boutique
and good used items for the
“Treasure Tables” .
The wonderful thing about our
bazaar is that everyone is in-
volved; keep it fun; get things
ready now so that the count-
recommendations:
1. Buy things for their useful- 5. Learn to enjoy things without
ness rather than their owning them.
status. 6. Develop a deeper appre-
ciation for the creation.
2. Reject anything that is
producing an addiction 7. Look with a healthy skepti-
in you (coffee, tea, cism at all “buy now, pay
chocolate, TV…) later” schemes.
3. Develop a habit of giving 8. Obey Jesus’ instructions
things away - especially about plain honest speech.
when you find you be- 9. 9. Reject anything that
come too attached to an breeds the oppression of
item. others.
4. Refuse to be propagan- 10. Shun anything that distracts
dized by the custodians you from the kingdom of
of modern gadgetry. God.
MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES
Unfortunately the Barry’s are moving
and thus We are looking for:
A Librarian
And
Someone to do the
weekly updates on the Website
P AGE 6
Monday Crafters
Monday craf-
ters have been
meeting since
February in
the library. We are always welcoming
drop-ins as well as regulars. For the
women who can’t make Mondays, we
often put “help-wanted” ads in our Sun-
day bulletin citing the projects or the
materials that are available for home
projects. Right now we have a small
number of bags, tea cozies and gift
wrap “stations” that require sewing.
They are cut and ready to go.
Anka donated a lot of wool and we
have been looking for knitters and
crotchetiers who would like to use it for
making projects for the knitting and
Swaziland Update:
Feeding Program Ezulwini Valley Primary
The school year started in February and
2 large food deliveries have been made.
HPC transferred $750 which allows for
3 large deliveries. Each delivery consists
of the following:
3 x 50 Kg Samp
3 x 50 Kg Maize Meal Ligugu
1 x 10 Kg Salt
1 x 5 kg Pepper
20 packets of Peanut powder
20 Packets of Oxtail soup powder.
sewing table. And Dorothy donated
wool for knitting machines. If anyone
has a knitting machine and would like
to make some simple projects—the
assortment is great!
We also have a lot of miscellaneous
beads, brooch pins, earring hooks and
beading thread if anyone would like to
craft some jewelry or have other ideas
for making beaded projects.
Liz and Hans donated a sack of raw
bees wax last fall. That has now been
melted and cleaned and shaped into
blocks. If anyone who has done wood
or soap-stone carving would like to try
their hand at carving beeswax, we
thought we could create a new line of
candles for the bazaar.
During the month of April the school
was closed for holidays. Another delivery
was made in May.
I spoke personally with the Headmaster
Mr. Dube and he was extremely appre-
ciative and thanked the church for the
help. He promised to get a few photo-
graphs sent to us.
It is the start of winter so we will keep a
close eye on their food need.
Gracias!
HPC people continue showing
their faith through action support-
ing the many Mexican migrant
workers: just in the past two
weeks: 16 suitcases, an abundance
of suitable clothing, 3 good bicy-
cles and several offers of transpor-
tation help. Much has been put to
good use already and. As always,
much appreciated by these needy
HPC N E WSLETTE R
Often people have done crafts in the
past and have stuff laying about the
house that is no longer of interest to
them. Please don’t throw those things
out—we can probably make use of at
least some of those items.
We will be “shutting down” July and
August but if anything in this article
interests you and you wish to have
more information please speak to
Marilyn Ingham, Flora Thain, Julie Lee,
Marg Walczak, Janne Van Noort or
Karin Breuer—or better yet, drop in on
Monday and fellowship with us.
If you have any questions, please do not
hesitate to contact me.
Many thanks for your continued sup-
port and the difference you are making
in the lives of the 843 children at the
school.
Elaine Ryans (604-476-2577).
and hard-working visitors to our
community. The need is ongoing
and will only expand as scores
more arrive for the harvest season.
THANK YOU for your concern
and generosity.
Roger Page (604 - 467 8287)
P AGE 7
God’s Ways By Karin Breuer
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong
stepped out of the Apollo 11 mission
capsule onto the moon. Television
cameras enabled over 600 million
viewers to participate in this historic
moment and hear the now oft-quoted
phrase made by Armstrong: “One
small step for man; a giant step for
mankind.”
Over two thousand years ago God
stepped in human form onto the earth;
Jesus was born. Only a handful of
shepherds and a few wise men wit-
nessed the event. Only the angels that
heralded the event knew what a giant
step for mankind had taken place in a
small hamlet, in a small cave that was
Library Supplement: “The Middle East”
I began to develop an interest in
the Middle East after our first
visit to Israel, Egypt and Greece
in 1985. Having a keen interest
in history, I discovered I knew
virtually nothing about this sig-
nificant part of the world, which
was involved in so much turmoil
and I was woefully ignorant
when it came to identifying the
causes for the many regional
conflicts.
Being a firm believer that noth-
ing happens in a vacuum, and
well aware that much of our re-
sponse to world issues is little
more than an emotional re-
sponse to a surface event, I be-
gan to look beneath the surface
and ask questions as to how and
why things developed as they
did in this, what is to many a
mysterious part of the world.
Verse hanging above the entrance to the nursery of a church (1 Corinthians 15:51):
"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed."
used to house domestic animals.
Now, thirty-nine years after the Apollo
mission only the generation that
watched the moon landing remem-
bers who Neil Armstrong was and his
part in the history of mankind. Few of
us know anything about his life or how
he came to be chosen for the mission.
Very few know what has happened to
him since that mission.
Two thousand years after the birth of
Jesus over 600 million Christians and
many more non-Christians can tell
you about the historic event in Bethle-
hem and the part that Jesus played in
the history of mankind. Millions have
come to know about his life and how
For a few years now I have been
collecting a number of books that
focus on the events in the Middle
East. It is by no means an ex-
haustive library, but does, I be-
lieve offer some valuable insights
into complex issues that plague
this part of the world.
For some time I have thought of
ways of making this small re-
source available to others and
finally hit upon the idea of plac-
ing the books in our church li-
brary for people to borrow. Margo
has catalogued the books and
they are now in place in a special
section of our library for loan to
whoever is interested in learning
more.
There are a few autobiographies,
first hand accounts by news/war
correspondents, political analysts
etc. As well there are a number of
Diaper Duty
H PC N E WSLET TE R
he came to be chosen for this mission to
save mankind. Every Christian knows
what has happened to him since that
mission was accomplished.
Very few of us will ever set foot on the
moon, no matter how much we would
like to do that; no matter how much we
learn about the moon or space missions.
All of us can set foot in heaven no matter
how little learning we have about the
Bible or about the church. All we need to
do is to ask Jesus Christ to be the Lord
of our lives and to turn our hopes and
desires, our hurts and our pains over to
him. God’s ways are simple and they
endure.
historical fic-
tion books
that give insight into
experiences of those who live in the
Middle East that are at times very
revealing.
The collection is far from finished
and I expect to be adding other
books as time goes on. On another
note: I usually read with pen in
hand, so you will find a number of
passages underlined (that’s okay
for me to do, they are my books), so
just ignore those and draw your
own conclusions as to what is im-
portant. The important thing is
that they be read by as many as
are interested in learning more
about our world, the world God
brought into being and loves with
an everlasting love.
Shalom
Dorne
 Church Family
Picnic
8 June 2008

Our Sunday School wind-up
picnic is a chance for everyone
in the congregation to enjoy
some fun and fellowship.
All are welcome ! !
Join us for a potluck lunch
Wonnock Lake
12pm June 8th
We will have
games for everyone,
goodie bags for the kids,
watermelon and treats,
orange pop and coffee ;
the rest will be potluck.
Sign up sheets in the Narthex
Do You know? (If you don’t see if your parents do)
 Name a very short man in the Bible? (Hint: Luke 19: 1 - 10)
 How many Psalms are there?
 What is the shortest Psalm?
 And which one is the longest?
 Some people say Psalm 118:8 is the middle of the Bible, look it up
and see what it says. (Hint the shortest and longest Psalms are the ones before
and after this psalm)
 Which prophet was thrown into the Lion’s
Den?
 What were his friends’ names?
 Can you think of other animal stories in the
Bible?
 What is this picture about?

Sunday School A very special thank you to

teachers and helpers Ricky Newberry and her family for
organizing the Sunday School every
Please Remember our
week and
Appreciation Lunch
Rebecca Simpson for organizing the
Sunday 22 June,
Sunday School Picnic, Appreciation
Immediately after the service
Vacation Bible School Lunch, and Vacation Bible School.
In the upstairs classroom.
18—22 August
9:00am - noon
Take a SKYHIGH adventure
into God’s Word for a faith-
filled week with a Steward-
ship theme that will have kids Kath
eri
taking care of God’s wondrous Ama ne Barr
creation and each other too! nda y
Kait B innie
And l i n Dixo
rew n
Mar New
k-An ber
dré F ry
Rega i
rd B chtel
ooy