We are seekers of God, who joyfully encourage growth in the Christian faith.

March 2014

Table of Contents

Calendar Inside Front Cover

Rebekah’s Writin’ 1–2

News from the Pews 3–4

Announcements 5

Annual General Meeting 6

Our Benefactors 7

Food…for Thought 8

Time, Talent, Treasure 9

Worshipping in Urdu 9

Greetings from Kabul, Afghanistan 10

‘Inside’ Memories 11

WMS Report/World Day of Prayer 12

Prayer Circle 13

Birthdays 14

Passages 15

Financial Report 16

SALSA Group Report 17

“An Ordinary Day with Jesus” 17 & Back Cover

This month…

St. Andrew′s Presbyterian Church 44 Church St. E, Brampton ON, L6V 1G3

905-451-1723 www.standrewsbrampton.ca

Do your own work well, and then you will

have something to be proud of. But don’t

compare yourself with others. We each must

carry our own load. Share every good thing

you have with anyone who teaches you what

God has said.

Galatians 6:4-6

The Rev. Geoff Ross moderates the Annual

General Meeting …page 6

Participants at the January All Ages Affair

learn to handle daily tasks with Jesus’ help

…pages 17-18

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1

905-451-1723

Church Office Ext. 0

Open Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 4:30 pm

office@standrewsbrampton.ca

Service Times and Location Ext. 50

Food Bank Ext. 55

Lead Minister Ext. 22

The Rev. Geoff Ross

geoff@standrewsbrampton.ca

Associate Minister Ext. 24

The Rev. Rebekah Mitchell Cell: 647-969-5456

rebekah@standrewsbrampton.ca

Minister Emeritus Ext. 0

The Rev. Rosemary Doran

Music Director/Organist Ext. 0

Shelagh Tyreman music@standrewsbrampton.ca

Senior and Junior Choirs, Leap of Faith Band

Sunday School Superintendent Ext. 28

Colleen Peyer school@standrewsbrampton.ca

Office Administrator Ext. 0

Debbie Peacock

Church Officer Ext. 0

Henry Ettinger

Voice mail boxes are password protected to ensure confidentiality and we check them several times

daily, especially when the office is closed. We consider every call important and will respond as quickly as possible. Our ministers invite you to call their cell phone numbers at any time.

Future Plans…

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD.

“They are plans for good and not for disaster,

to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Last June, at General Assembly (the national meeting

of the Presbyterian Church in Canada), the Rev.

Douglas Rollwage approached me and put an

application form in my hand. With that seemingly

innocuous action, something important started to

happen. A ball started rolling. I had no idea at the

time that I would actually make the trip to the Holy

Land. I had no idea that Geoff would come on the

pilgrimage as well. I certainly had no idea that we’d

be working towards a second trip, this time bringing

members of the congregation with us.

But at the Annual Meeting and at the Israel

Presentation after worship, we began working

towards that very thing. Suddenly, something that I

couldn’t have imagined is beginning to come

together. It’s starting to happen. And by faith, with a

lot of prayer, I believe that at the end of January 2015

I will be boarding a flight to Tel Aviv with a whole

group of pilgrims.

I believe that we will have an amazing faith

adventure together. That we will marvel at the Bible

coming to life before us. That we will be moved to

tears at times by the thought of standing right where

our Lord stood.

(continued on page 2)

Rev. Rebekah Mitchell

2

Church Contacts

Clerk of Session

Molly Harvey

Christian Education Committee

Stan Loree

Envelope Secretary

Bea Embling

Fellowship Committee

Henry Peyer

Food Cupboard Committee

Gord Warren

Helping Hands

Anna Eitner

Jo-Ann Urquhart

Mission Committee

Jessica Rhind

Newsletter Editor

Elizabeth Giesbrecht

Personnel Committee

Ian Jess

Prayer Circle

Sandra Jackson

Prayer Shawl Ministry

Florence Martin

Property Committee

Robert Wightman

SALSA Women’s Group

Pam Loree

Stewardship Committee

Treasurer

May Maltby

Usher Co-ordinator

Michelle Tedder

Visiting Committee

Mary McLean

Web Team

webadmin@standrewsabrampton.ca

Women’s Missionary Society

Anna Eitner

Worship Committee

I encourage you to take some time to pray and to consider whether

you should be one of those pilgrims. Pray and ask God whether a

trip to the Holy Land might make your faith grow stronger. Maybe

God has some things in store for you there. Maybe this isn’t just a

trip to see some archeological evidence for our faith. Maybe this is

a chance to enter into conversation with the creator of the universe.

I don’t know if God is calling you to come on this trip. I do know

that I seemed to stumble my way into the Holy Land, and my

experience there has changed my life and my faith. It has made the

Bible more vibrant and real, it has made the ancient texts we read

each week immediate and palpable. I wouldn’t give back a single

second of our time in Israel and I cannot wait to go again. I cannot

wait to see the looks on the faces of those who come on the trip

when it hits them that Jesus was ‘right here’.

Our trip will leave on January 27 and return on February 8, 2015. If

you want to read over the itinerary or get your hands on the

itemized costs involved, please speak to me or to Geoff and we will

make sure you get a copy of the flyer we have put together.

INSIDE ST. ANDREW’S

PUBLISHED MONTHLY (except August) to inform our church community about activities within this congregation and the Presbyterian Church in Canada, and to provide inspiration to our readers.

Submissions can be made by email to newsletter@standrewsbrampton.ca, left in the newsletter slot either on the office door or in the Great Hall or may be given to any newsletter committee member listed below.

Newsletter Committee: Felicity Alexander, Elizabeth Giesbrecht, Bill Robinson, June Young

Additional Contributors This Month:

Kathi DesChene, Anna Eitner, Bea Embling, Molly Harvey, Pam Loree, Stan Loree, May Maltby, Rebekah Mitchell,

Anne Russell, Clarence Snieder, Gord Warren

Deadline for submissions for the April issue is

Friday, March 28, 2014

This newsletter and St. Andrew’s

office printing are done by:

10 Gillingham Dr. Suite 116

sales@postplus.ca

3

The church mouse has heard that former St.

Andrew’s minister, the Rev. Wes Denyer is a

grandfather for the second time. Laurie and Graham

Denyer Willis are proud parents of Jude Arthur

Denyer Willis born January 24, 2014. Jude has a big

sister, 3-year-old Arden. Laurie was Youth Director

at St. Andrew’s in 2002/2003.

Doreen Scott-Dunne was at the Ontario Librarians

conference on Thursday, January 30, promoting and

signing her book, When Spelling Matters, which she

wrote for a teacher audience. The main idea of the

book is to get children to love words, investigate

word patterns, become fascinated with word origins,

and become proficient spellers through engaging in

problem solving with words.

On January 12, Bruce (the cookie man) Cornish

presented a cheque for $1,183.60 to Gord Warren,

who received it on behalf of the St. Andrew’s Food

Bank. The donation is the profit from Bruce’s

annual sales of Christmas cakes and cookies.

Thank you, Bruce.

In January, Alverna Peacock had an amazing

Caribbean cruise aboard the ship Carnival Breeze.

The cruise involved twenty of Alverna’s relatives

and friends, and was originally planned as her

grandson Michael Ferrier’s wedding cruise.

However, due to a change of plans the wedding did

not actually take place on the high seas.

Unfortunately, in December the bride’s

grandmother fell and broke her hip and was unable

to travel, so on January 4, Michael (son of

Alverna’s daughter Kelly and husband Len Ferrier)

was married to Terrilyn Creamer in Milton, Ontario,

so that grandma could be present.

The cruise, with the newly-married couple on

board, departed from Miami on January 11 and the

first stop was in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Alverna

reports that after doing some shopping and

sightseeing, she stepped in a pothole on the street

and fell. She suffered a fat lip and scraped knees,

but nothing slowed her down. Other stops on the

cruise were in the Cayman Islands and Cozumel,

Mexico. In between cruising, the group enjoyed

their time together and took advantage of all the

activities that cruising offers.

One night, Alverna was told that the group

would be dining in the ship’s Italian restaurant.

When she arrived, she was surprised to find that the

members of the group were at a large table, and

there was a balloon on it that said “80th birthday”.

Alverna says that her family could not be together

for her 80th birthday on September 5, 2013, so this

was a belated celebration.

Alverna returned to Brampton on January 18

with lots of wonderful memories.

Marlene Crew and Margaret Penrice had such a

good time in Madeira Beach last year that in

February this year they returned for two weeks,

staying at the same condo as last year.

The weather was a bit up and down but much

better than here in Brampton! Marlene got in a

couple games of golf and Margaret worked on her

famous tan! It was nice to see all their friends again

and they were invited to a Super Bowl party and a

Valentine’s dance, so there was no lack of social

activities, and of course walking on the beach every

day was wonderful.

(continued on page 4)

News

from

the

Pews

4

News from the Pews (continued from page 3)

At the beginning of the service on February 26, the

congregation joined in applause as the Rev. Geoff

Ross congratulated Mac Law on celebrating his

97th birthday.

Petra Woods recently continued her trend of

travelling by heading to the beautiful Holguin,

Cuba. She spent a week there overcoming some

fears of hers. She went snorkelling, getting

uncomfortably close to some fish, and also went on

a jeep safari, where she had a giraffe eat off her

head and an ostrich eat out of her hand. She enjoyed

escaping the Canadian winter and discovering, for

her, more new places in the world.

On Friday, January 31, three members of St.

Andrew’s Brampton set out for a unique experience

– winter camping in tents. Christian Shepherd,

Thomas Dewar and Bill Dewar, of 11th Brampton

Scout group, went to Barber Scout Camp in Guelph

for The Amazing Race Winter Camp. Over 150

youth from all over Peel and Wellington attended

the camp. The two boys, with two others from their

troop, had to put up their tents, put up a shelter,

cook their own meals and be prepared for the

elements, as they were outside for the entire

weekend. On Saturday, the snow started before

dawn and continued all day, but that did not slow

down the enthusiasm, and the patrol took part in

many of the twenty events available to earn points

for their total score. Their score was turned into

auction bucks, which the patrol used in the evening

at an auction where the boys could bid upon items.

The boys came home with a few items for use at

camps in the future. Thomas and Christian had a

great time and learned a few things while having

fun at this first-time experience for both of them.

The dedication of Shelagh Tyreman and Leap of

Faith to St. Andrew’s Ministry of Music was evident on February 26 as they dutifully showed up for 9:00 am rehearsal in the midst of the Olympic

gold medal hockey game. Thanks to Bill Dewar, who streamed the 3rd period on his tablet, they didn’t miss out on Canada’s victory. They took a short break during the medal ceremony to sing

along with “O Canada”. The celebratory mood carried over into the service as Shelagh started off with the Hockey Night in Canada Theme (the

original one!) before the prelude and then the whole congregation stood to sing “O Canada” before the announcements.

On February 22, May Maltby performed with the Brampton Concert Band in their Dance the Night Away concert at the Rose Theatre. While not well

attended by the general public, May was quite surprised and pleased to see a lot of her St Andrew’s family in attendance. May’s parents

weren’t well enough to attend but her sister and brother-in-law were there. Mom and Dad and Liz and George have rarely missed a concert since May

joined the band in 2010. If you would like to hear May play, the band will be performing An Afternoon at the Proms on Sunday, March 30 at 2:00 pm at the Rose Theatre.

Tickets can be purchased at the theatre’s box office. Also, during the summer, the band performs several times in Gage Park.

Please share your news with our church family.

You can e-mail your information to

newsfromthepews@standrewsbrampton.ca or

contact any member of the newsletter team

whose names are listed on page 2.

5

Out of Office

Alert

Event: Planning Meeting

When: Sunday, March 9 following the worship service

Location: church parlour

The SALSA Group is hosting a

Congregational Lunch on Saturday, April 26

Our guest speaker will be

Cameron Aplin, a teenaged

neighbor of Sue Haw, who

recently travelled to a research station in Antartica

as one of a select group of Canadian students with

the Students on Ice program.

Come and see his photos and learn more about

Antarctica!

Further details will be in the April newsletter.

Please note, St. Andrew’s office

administrator will not be in the

office March 19-27.

Scent Protocol: We want to talk about ‘scents’, meaning smells and

odours from personal care products, cosmetics and

chemical cleaners. About 10% of our population

suffers from respiratory conditions and can be affected

by various scents with allergic and asthmatic sufferers

being at greater risk. In order to provide a healthy and

comfortable environment for our congregation, we ask

that everyone who enters our building be aware of the

sensitivities of others. Please eliminate, or at least

limit, your use of scented products which may cause

others to feel uncomfortable while on the premises.

Morning Adult Study Tuesdays, from 10:30 am – noon

March 4 – April 15

Famous Players

Led by the Rev. Rosemary Doran

and the Rev. Rebekah Mitchell

In this Lenten study, we’ll be looking at some key

figures in the last week of Jesus’ life, such as Judas,

Peter, Pilate and others. We’ll try to understand

their motives and actions and explore whether or

not we can see ourselves in them. For example, do

we ever deny Jesus as Peter did? Do we wash our

hands of difficult issues as Pilate did? Do we shout

“Hosanna” one day and “Crucify Him” a few days

later as the crowd did? There will be time to study

the relevant bible passages, ask questions and share

experiences. There will also be tea, coffee and

laughter! The course will end with a Lenten Bread

and Soup lunch.

Everyone is welcome.

Pancake Lunch &

Israel Slideshow Sunday, March 2

following the service of worship

First, the Fellowship Committee is putting on the

“Pancake-Tuesday-on-a-Sunday” lunch to start off the

Lenten season.

Following that, Geoff and Rebekah

will talk about their trip to Israel and

present a slideshow of their photos.

Come and hear about the return trip

they are planning for January 2015,

when they will lead members of the

congregation through the places

where our faith began.

Information packages about the

2015 trip will be available.

6

Annual General Meeting

Over sixty people stayed after lunch on February 26

to attend this year’s annual meeting. To open the

meeting, the Rev. Rebekah Mitchell put on a brief

slideshow of her pictures from Israel to advertise the

presentation on March 2 and to promote the tour in

January 2015.

The Property Committee had lots to report on with

many improvements scheduled over the coming

months. Chair, Robert Wightman, announced that a

new soundboard has been ordered for the sanctuary

and should be installed by mid-March. It will be

going in the centre of the back pew to give the sound

technician a better view of what is going on at the

front of the sanctuary.

St. Andrew’s has received a grant of $5000 from the

City of Brampton to repair the stained glass window.

At the budget meeting in November, plans for

renovations to the Christian Education wing were

outlined. This project is now moving ahead and a

display board showing room layout, cabinets and

rollaway service counter style and hardware, cabinet

counter top and floor colour has been put up in the

Great Hall on the bulletin board under the clock for

those who would like more details on the project.

Funding for the project is coming from a bequest

from the estate of Clara Vanderperk, as voted on at

the November meeting.

Over the past year, there has been extensive planning

for needed renovations to bring the building’s fire,

life and safety systems up to the new code, which

went into effect in January, as the church can no

longer be grandfathered in this regard. The report

from the fire marshall has just been received and the

work needs to be completed by the end of April. Tom

Campbell reported that he has applied for the

necessary building permits and the project is now

going out to tender with three contractors. The cost

is estimated at $80,000.

St. Andrew’s has been blessed by the generosity of

Reg Allman, who left a large bequest of $162,500,

which has now been received. Since amounts over

$50,000 require congregational approval regarding

their disposition, those present were asked to vote on

a motion on how to distribute these funds. The

following was approved: that $80,000 be put towards

the fire, life and safety upgrades (with any residual to

be returned to General Funds), $31,000 be used to

pay down the 2014 budget deficit, and the remainder

be invested by the trustees in GICs for future

ministries and mission.

Gord Warren spoke regarding a new direction being

taken by the Food Bank. He paid tribute to Maureen

Kelly for starting the Food Cupboard and running it

for over twenty years. At the January meeting of

Session, a change was made to the Standing Orders

to create a new committee to oversee the operation of

the Food Bank. Gord will chair this committee and

nominated the following people as committee

members: Grace Yates, Sandra Jackson, Colin

Young and Marvin Evans. He stated that they would

still like two more members to round out the group.

Anna Eitner spoke about the WMS, and how the St.

Andrew’s-Pringle group is one of the largest in the

area. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the

Women’s Missionary Society.

As always, there were many votes of thanks for all

the volunteers, who allow the activities of St.

Andrew’s to carry on. John Boyd thanked Geoff for

all the time he has put in, and the new vision and

ideas he has brought to St. Andrew’s (as well as his

creative sermons). Geoff made special mention of

Shelagh Tyreman and all the choir members and

musicians, and his clergy partners, Rebekah (the

social media whiz) and Rosemary. He invited both of

them to join him at the front to pronounce a three-

part benediction (photo below).

7

Our Benefactors

Joe and Clara

Vanderperk were born in

the Netherlands and

came to Canada in 1952.

They settled in Windsor,

Ontario and attended

Knox Presbyterian

Church, where they were

staunch and loyal

members. The Rev.

Gerald Doran was, at one

time, their minister.

Joe had played the trombone as a youth and

shared his talents in the Knox choir. He is

remembered as a painting contractor, who built his

own house.

Joe delighted in making bird houses for sale at the

bazaars. Clara was keeper of the plants around the

church and helped with the women’s work and made

greeting cards for church sales, all the while keeping

an impeccable home for Joe. They retired to Holland

Christian Homes in Brampton and attended St.

Andrew’s Church.

Many here at St. Andrew’s remember Joe’s bird

houses at our bazaar. He worked at the wood shop at

the Homes turning out planters in the shape of

Holstein cows. Joe enjoyed playing his organ and

singing. Those who sat near him during worship at

St. Andrew’s always enjoyed hearing him sing the

tenor part of all the hymns. When his health failed,

Clara watched over him lovingly until the end. Clara

later moved in to the nursing home at the residence,

where she subsequently died. They will both be

remembered for their faithful Christian lives.

Bequest: $34,375

Dr. Reginald Allman and

his wife Bernice were

long-time residents of

Brampton. Reg was a

veteran of World War II,

and held many significant

positions in the medical

community of Greater

Toronto. He was considered

a master of clinical

diagnosis and in 1965

became Brampton’s first internist. Dr. Allman and Dr.

Hunter McCracken (also a member of St. Andrew’s)

and several partners built The Medical Place at the

corner of John and Lynch Streets. For many years

Bernice was at his side as his office manager. Dr.

Allman was the oldest practicing physician in

Brampton, remaining active until the age of ninety.

Late in life, Reg mastered the use of the computer,

which became an effective tool for his study of

history, quantum mechanics and cosmology. Even in

his eighties, he was being tutored in the Spanish

language. Reg was keenly interested in new things.

The week before he died, he bought himself an iPad,

so he would be able to keep up with the latest

developments in science and technology.

Reg and Bernice had two sons, Rick and Rob. Reg

was Bernice’s caregiver at home until her death in the

fall of 2010. Tragically, in the spring of the next year,

their son Rob died suddenly in the UK. Reg died

October 24, 2011. He was always friendly and caring.

He had a gift for truly listening to what was said and

took time to respond to his patients and acquaintences.

He was a man of great faith, intelligence and

compassion, with a deep seated trust in God and a

lifelong desire to care and serve his fellow human

beings. He put his faith into practice in his daily life.

Bequest: $162,500

Let me be a little kinder, let me be a little blinder,

To the faults of those about me, let me praise a little more,

Let me be when I am weary just a little bit more cheery,

Let me serve a little better those I am striving for,

Let me be a little meeker with my brother who is weaker,

Let me think more of my neighbour and a little less of me.

8

For over twenty years, Maureen Kelly has been the

driving force behind St. Andrew’s Food Bank. She

has taken it from a start where food was handed out

from a cupboard in one of the rooms upstairs in the

Christian Education Wing for twenty to thirty

people to a weekly average now of 148 people. At

times during the Christmas season, the Food Bank

has even supplied complete turkey dinners to over

230 families and 40 hams to other families. None of

this would have been possible without Maureen.

She has made an impact in St. Andrew’s and the

surrounding community and we thank her for that.

On Wednesday, February 5, we held our first Food

Bank without the guiding hand and advice from

Maureen. It was a very snowy day, with over 20 cm

of snow, but we managed to open and help seventy-

nine clients who braved the elements. We are

determined to carry on the mission to the needy of

Brampton.

We wish to thank all of the members of St.

Andrew’s over the years who have donated clothes

and household items to the Food Bank but we have

decided to cease handling these items. We found

that we could not supply suitable clothing on an

ongoing basis for the clients. Appropriate sizes were

always a problem as well as the storage of the

clothes. Regeneration at Grace United Church gives

out clothes on a daily basis and we have diverted

clients to them.

We are presently working with the clients to try and

eliminate or dramatically reduce the use of plastic

bags. This is a cost of bags and volunteer time to get

them ready for client use. We have spoken to the

clients and have set a deadline of the end of March

to eliminate the bags. We are asking the clients to

bring reusable bags to pack their groceries. In this

vein, we would ask the congregation of St.

Andrew’s to donate any excess reusable bags to the

Food Bank.

One of the challenges in the near future is the

renovations at St. Andrew’s. Since the Food Bank

volunteers want to continue serving the clients

during this time, we will be serving out of the Great

Hall for the length of time it takes to complete these

renovations. It will be certainly a challenge but we

feel that we will succeed.

We wish to thank all the volunteers who have given

of their time and talents over the years and

encourage anyone who has free time on

Wednesdays to come and take a look at what we do.

You might just find that you enjoy helping others.

There are many positions available and I’m sure

that your talents will mesh with our needs. Contact

any of the Food Bank Committee members listed

below for more information.

We also wish to thank all of the generous donors

who have contributed to the success of the Food

Bank. Without your assistance we would not be able

to continue serving the needy in Brampton.

On behalf of the Food Bank Commitee,

Gord Warren Committee Chair

Sandra Jackson Committee Secretary

Marvin Evans Committee Treasurer

Grace Yates

Colin Young

Bible

Presentations

The following Sunday School students have

been given their own copy of the Bible from the

congregation:

Evan Rae

Gabriel Tegzes

Juliana Tegzes

Angus Urquhart

Gabrielle Vanderberg

Food…

for Thought

9

If you would like a set of 2014 church offering

envelopes, or information on PAR, see May Maltby,

Valerie Warren or Bea Embling.

***************

If you have changed your address, phone number or

email address, or are planning to, be sure to notify

Debbie in the church office.

***************

Gift Cards

For the person who has shown you an act of

kindness, who is having an anniversary or

celebrating a birthday and you are wondering what

to get for them, well, you can make a donation to St.

Andrew’s Presbyterian in their honour by using a

card, which you can pick up at any entrance to the

sanctuary. If you have any questions on how to use

these cards see Doreen Scott-Dunne, Valerie

Warren, May Maltby or Bea Embling.

***************

A friendly reminder that Macgregor Meat and

Seafood order forms will be available in April with

orders being delivered to the church on Thursday,

May 8. Pick up time will be announced later. It soon

will be BBQ time!

Worshipping in Urdu

Since joining St. Andrew’s in June 2013, Pastor

Babar Allahditta and Khalid Gill have been reaching

out to other Pakistani Christians in Brampton to

bring them into the St. Andrew’s family. Many of

them have been persecuted for their faith in their

home country and appreciate the opportunity to

worship openly and safely here in Canada.

We welcome this group (shown in the photo below

with the ministers at the congregational lunch on

February 23), which feels comfortable with

following worship in English, and has been

attending regularly on Sunday mornings. In order to

reach a larger group, Pastor Babar and the Rev.

Geoff Ross have been looking at ways to facilitate

opportunities for them to worship in their native

language, Urdu.

At the February Session meeting, approval was

given for Pastor Babar to conduct a weekly service

in Urdu at St. Andrew’s on Sunday evenings.

Thank you to the congregation of St. Andrew’s for

contributing $5,920.50 to PWS&D’s Typhoon

Haiyan Relief Fund.

Working with the most vulnerable of those affected,

ACT Alliance is supplying emergency food,

assisting with shelter repair, providing support for

necessary water, sanitation and hygiene services,

and ensuring psycho-social support is available.

Families whose primary sources of livelihood were

totally or partially destroyed are also receiving

necessary support through PWS&D.

May the knowledge that this gift will enhance our church life add to the happiness of this occasion.

Message inside:

10

Greetings from Kabul, Afghanistan submitted by Stan Loree

On November 11, the grade 6-7-8 class wrote Christmas cards to soldiers in the Canadian Armed Forces, with

the assistance of my brother-in-law, who is a veteran. Our cards went to Kabul and at the start of February we

received this message back from an officer in Kabul. Our cards were received before Christmas (her response is

dated December 13) even though it took six weeks for her letter to make it back to the church.

11

‘Inside’ Memories Reviewing activities of the congregation

in five year intervals

Five Years Ago – March 2009

the Rev. Rosemary Doran’s story about

getting royal treatment from two school

crossing guards leads into a reflection about

accepting help

Bruce Carruthers is inducted into the

Brampton Sports Hall of Fame

Winnipeg Mission trip youth are nominated

for Ontario Junior Citizen of the Year award

women’s breakfast learns about Christ in the

Passover and the Seder Supper from guest

speaker Laura Burrows of Jews for Jesus

church secretary, Judy Weaver, retires

at annual meeting, the congregation hears that

St. Andrew’s gives more to missions than any

other congregation in the PCC

Stewardship discusses giving amounts and the

suggested ‘modern tithe’ of 5%

Natural Church Development holds workshop

on “Passionate Spirituality”

history of World Day of Prayer in Canada

Ten Years Ago – March 2004

the Rev. Wes Denyer writes about how people

seem to be shy talking about matters of faith

with their children; he criticizes the current

trend of giving children the right to make their

own choices about religion

Bette McHardy donates her collection of

newsletters to create an archive for the church

PYPS weekend includes a visit from the fire dept

WMS speaker from Brampton Fire Services

speaks about carbon monoxide detectors and Chinguacousy Park’s new fire safety centre

article from International Affairs Committee

on the need not to give up all our human

vulnerability in the name of security post-9/11

in “Cross Training”, Steve Ashton tells of

replacing his bible with a Palm Pilot database

Vanessa Hutchinson writes about attending the

Snowflake youth conference in Niagara Falls

new secretary, Judy Weaver, and new youth

director, Blair Bertrand are introduced

essay by Kevin Royal on the same-sex

marriage debates from a religious perspective

Fifteen Years Ago – March 1999

the Rev. Arnold Bethune talks about responding to the experience of loss; we cannot

receive anything new from God as long as we are protecting what is lost.

Helping Hands group is formed

baptismal pitcher stand made by Merv McBride

and baptismal pitcher decorated and glazed by Isabella Appleby are dedicated

thirty members enjoy a dinner at Symposium

six downtown churches hold a service of unity and

justice with a petition to forgive third world debt

Twenty Years Ago – March 1994

the Rev. Graeme Duncan, after visiting

museums, wonders why do men do some of

the things they do and decides that our

investigative minds say, “Why not?”

four members receive awards from the city -

Joyce Wagg and Cathrine Campbell for long-

term service and Majorie Nichols (rugby) and

Andrea Ford (figure-skating) for sports

reports on WA meeting, Winter Fun Day and

Killikrankie concert

WMS will host the Presbyterial Spring Rally

annual meeting considers: 1) installation of an

elevator in education wing; 2) suggestions to

encourage food bank clients to attend worship

and a call for tolerance and support when they do

Twenty-five Years Ago – March 1989

Graeme decribes the congregation taking part in

a strategic planning session, where members

indicated they want a church with active

outreach, which puts faith into practice; he

finishes by saying that these plans will shape

what the church looks like in twenty years

report on the submission to get heritage

designation for St. Andrew’s

report on the Burn’s Supper

Thirty Years Ago – February 1984

Graeme’s message notes that Presbyerians tend

to treat Lent with indifference, but “it is a time of

personal reflection and awareness of the wonder

that is present in God’s love”

Sunday School children get Lent tetrahedrons

bios of the Challis and Kress families

WMS receives cards to deliver to shut-ins

from kindergarten class

Women’s Association refinishes parlour chairs

12

St. Andrew’s-Pringle

Women’s

Missionary

Society

February 2014

The regular WMS meeting opened on Tuesday,

February 4 with President Anna Eitner presiding.

Dorothy Monk welcomed members and guests and

started the program with the call to worship.

Colleen Wood lead the singing of hymn #740,

“Make Me a Channel of Your Peace” and

embellished the message from Hebrews 13: 1-3.

Kathi DesChene introduced our guest speaker, Ray

Scanlan. In 1999, God called him into full-time

ministry and for the next ten years he was National

Director of Alpha Prison Ministry. In 2008, he

retired but was subsequently asked to be the

Discharge Planner for the local Brampton prison.

He is an active member of St Andrew’s and is very

involved with the Brampton Dismas Fellowship.

Dismas was “The Penitent Thief”, who was

crucified beside Jesus and received salvation

through God’s grace. The Dismas Fellowship is a

non-denominational, faith-based group, which

gathers regularly with former prisoners and friends

for a meal and to celebrate the grace received in

Jesus Christ. Like WMS, they meet monthly and

share prayers, songs, birthday celebrations, a guest

speaker and collection of donations. Unlike WMS,

they abide by a written list of seven “Shared

Values”, such as “we will treat each other’s story

with confidentiality and love” and “each story is

sacred” and they have a written list of support

guidelines to keep the gatherings in order, such as,

“we remain on a first name basis with one another

and do not share addresses and phone numbers nor

do we ask people for details of offences or time

spent in jail” and “we welcome new guests, and

when they come as a result of our invitation, we

make a point of introducing them to the acting

hosts and providing them with a copy of our values

and guidelines”.

Ray had two other members of the Fellowship in

attendance and each addressed our group telling us

how they were changed due to the values learned

and friendships found through the Dismas

Fellowship.

Susan Lucas concluded this portion of the meeting

with a reading from 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21 and the

singing of “He Touched Me”.

The evening concluded with the Mitzpah

benediction and the sharing of tea and goodies.

The 2014 World Day of Prayer service was

written by the women of Egypt and is titled

From Arab Spring to the Spring of Grace.

The services will be on Friday, March 7 at:

2:00 pm

Grace United Church

156 Main St. N

7:30 pm

Bramalea Free Methodist Church

355 Howden Blvd. (Vodden/Howden)

The speaker at both Brampton services will be

Evelyn Beshai, who was born and lived in Egypt.

She was raised in a Christian family and has been

in ministry for over twenty-five years. In Egypt,

she served several Evangelical churches and

along with her husband, Pastor Beshai, has

continued work within the church here in

Canada.

13

Where is God Today?

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts (Psalm 139:23).

One day recently, I was reading the prayer requests on the Daily, when one in particular caught my attention. It started:

Where is God today? – I am really struggling with several big problems in my life. I keep praying, but

God seems to be ignoring me. I am worried about myself – I don’t know what to do and I’m betting

desperate. The Bible says the Lord will never give us more than we can handle, but that’s a lie. I can’t

take any more, and every day the pressure increases. I’m so scared and sad.

One can almost see and hear the pain, the fear, in this call for help. I would like to bring this to light and comment

on it, reflecting on the feelings I had I my younger years.

My dad died and my mom and I were left alone. Two years later, Mom and I were involved in an automobile

accident. I almost lost her, too. It was at this time in my life I was filled with great fear of being left alone. This blow

drove me to the point where I wondered, “How much can I bear?”

I now believe that these things, though they were torturous at the time, were a time of testing, a time of learning. It

helps me now, when others experience such things, to understand something of how they must feel. We often wonder

why and for what reason.

Only God knows. He tries and tests us. I pray that we will be refined, each one of us, and one day be made pure as gold.

This will take all our time here on earth and all our strength. God will help us to bear up, knowing we cannot do it alone.

Our lives will be subjected to many more experiences. We never know when the tide will turn. There is no

regularity or promise of an easy way of life.

We do have the promise of God that He will not give us burdens we cannot bear:

God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,

he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (I Corinthians 10:13).

This promise He has given to all His children.

May we be strengthened and given courage in times of stress when we feel there is no hope, no God and that all is a lie.

God didn’t plant such seeds; Satan did. With God, there is hope in the promises He has given. We are called to believe it, to

accept His grace, to be humble and to know that He is God – the one true God, who will bear all our burdens.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your

souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30).

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens (Psalm 68:19).

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for thinking we cannot bear up under the troubles of life, when you have promised You

will be there for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

from My Hiding Place by Anne Russell

St. Andrew’s Prayer Circle

St. Andrew’s Prayer Circle members offer prayers for those who are experiencing an illness or loss, or going through difficult times.

To submit a prayer request call:

the church office, 905-451-1723 ext. 0

or email

prayer@standrewsbrampton.ca

14

MARCH BIRTHDAYS

Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

1 Nicholas Bragg

Gabriel Tegzes

2 Frank Holmes

Christopher White

3 Renate Schultz

4 Anna Eitner

Brian Kreitner

Preston Osborne

5 Josephine Hendricks

Raymond Morrissette

Margaret Penrice

Tim Roberts

6 Emmanuel Osubronie

7 Helen Collins

8 John Boyd

Ian Jess

Barbara Young

9 Clara Cresswell

Jean McCreath

10 Anna-Marie Dewar

Sam Mayes

11

Katelyn Draper

Robert McKnight

Lorraine Moore

12

Kathleen Drew

Wilhelmine Strain

13

Diana Corredato

14 John Jarjour

Michael Millar

Seeta Singh

15 Douglas Warwick

16 Victoria Leigh

17 Mae MacDonald-Kerr

18

19

Glenna German

Winston Hendricks

Jeffrey Mock

Shelley Myers

20 Elizabeth Giesbrecht

Tricia Hallim

21

Aphelia Dean

Cecil Kester

22 Vivian Mifsud

23 Sean Allen

Bruce Cornish

Melissa Mock

William Wood

24

25 Eunice Boyd

26 Mark Giesbrecht

Samantha Millar

27 Richard Kalyan

Stan Loree

28 Bruce Carruthers

Jack Koloko

Melanie Lopez

Christian Shepherd

29 Alexandrine

Al Hakim

Liz Thayer

Laura Whiteman

30

31 Donna Volpe

April 1 Teresa Allen

Khalid Gill

April 2

April 3 John Collins

Barbara Duckitt

Donald Miller

April 4 Paro Cheddi

Vanessa Chiang

Sandra Fitzgerald

Matthew Hardat

April 5 Nicholas Bachan

Tom Campbell

Mae MacDonald

If you know of someone whose name should be on this list, please call Debbie Peacock

in the church office at 905-451-1723 ext. 0, or any member of the newsletter committee.

15

PA SSAG ES

Have you visited our website lately? www.standrewsbrampton.ca

Called to be with the Lord

Violet Hunt

Condolences and prayers are offered

to her families and friends

Congratulations

to those celebrating

special anniversaries

59 years Betty & Ewen MacDonald

54 years Lenore & Charlie Armstrong

52 years Lorna & Winston Hendricks

25 years Nancy & Michael Millar

Baptism

Dahlia Dolores Bhim daughter of

Meagahan (Allan) & Mark Bhim

Loghan Michelle Marshall daughter of

Heather (Wright) & Mark Marshall

Matthew Aiden Seepersad son of

Khadine Chatoor Seepersad & Narin Seepersad

Bradley Thomas Woods son of

Elaine (Colton) & Trevor Woods

In Sympathy Condolences are extended to

Diana Laird, Vengayi Kanyere, and the Laird family on the death their infant son, Avery

Do you know your Bible?

What is the last book of the Old Testament?

a) Malachi b) Micah c) Zechariah d) Zephaniah

Answer: you’ll have to check a pew bible

In the Sermon on the Mount, what did Jesus say

about tomorrow?

a) I am going on my way today and tomorrow and

the next day.

b) Don’t tell your neighbour to come back

tomorrow if you can help today.

c) Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care

of itself.

d) Let’s eat and drink. Tomorrow we may die.

Answer: Matthew 6:34

March

17th

Shortfall Pie Chart

Jan-Feb 22, 2014 Jan-Feb 22, 2013

Contributions

Offerings 39,496.85 42,405.69

Other Revenue 4,861.00 7,933.94

Total Contributions 44,357.85 50,339.63

Expense

Communications 723.12 1,044.60

Education 1,038.96 838.89

Fellowship 37.42 200.00

Mission 157.20 -

Personnel 41,103.68 40,260.35

Property 19,810.02 16,370.65

Stewardship 4,009.50 4,455.84

Worship 861.45 410.60

Total Expense 67,741.35 63,580.93

Net General Surplus (Deficit) (23,383.50) (13,241.30)

5,433.00 6,439.00

PWS&D* 514.00 492.00 (2,917.40) (4,084.04)

Presbyterian Sharing donations*

Food Bank (net)*

* NOTE: Presbyterian Sharing, PWS&D and Food Bank are not included in the comparative statement.

Food Bank is shown as net (contributions less expenses).

Church Finances

Contributions & Expenses ComparativeFebruary 22, 2014

Thank you for your consideration and all that you contribute now with your time, talents and treasures.

As of February 22, we have a deficit in general

funds of $23,383.50.

Due to this shortfall in the general funds, the line

of credit is currently $90,000.

Your contributions to Weekly Offering funds

ministries such as the monthly newsletter, coffee

after church every Sunday, salaries, heating the

building to name a few items.

At the 2014 budget meeting in November it was

passed that Presbyterian Sharing contribution

will not be topped up from general funds.

Purpose of this chart is to show in a graphic form the shortfall of contributions to expenses as of February 22, 2014

44,358

-23,384

Contributions

Deficit

16

17

SALSA Group Report

The SALSA ladies had a good turnout for a night of

cards and games in February. In spite of it being

right after dinner, the delicious snacks disappeared

as they matched wits at euchre, Scrabble, Sequence,

Settlers of Catan and Bananagrams.

At the December meeting, the ladies discussed

purchasing TVs for the Sunday School classrooms.

Those present at games night agreed to provide

funds to pay the cost of one TV, when the

renovations of the Christian Education wing are

complete and the new set of TVs is purchased.

While putting on the Robbie Burns dinner in

January, the ladies realized that the supply of

cutlery in the church kitchen is very low. The group

agreed to get pricing from a restaurant supplier and

to use profits from the Burns Dinner to purchase as

many new place settings as funds allow.

Tentative plans were made to host one more

fundraiser this spring – a luncheon with a student,

who has just travelled to Antarctica, as guest speaker.

“An Ordinary Day with Jesus” by Rebekah Mitchell

Our January All Ages Affair (previously known as

Family Events) took its theme from the current

preaching series.

The evening started at breakfast with a meal of

blueberry french toast pudding, sausages, bacon and

scrambled eggs.

Then everyone took part in a living board game. As

the players moved through the game board, which

simulated an average day, tasks (symbolized by

boxes) were added or subtracted from their load. If

they made it to the end of the day without dropping

their tasks, or having their day end in catastrophe by

landing on a red square, the boxes were counted up

towards that team’s points. As the day went on,

things became more chaotic and it was hard to

navigate without dropping all those boxes!

After the game, those assembled were split into two

groups and went to different break-out rooms. Each

room helped attendees think about how to involve

Jesus in ordinary aspects of daily life.

At the end of the evening, Geoff lead worship.

Starting off in an easy chair in front of the

television, he spoke about the ways that TV might

drive people apart, whereas Jesus calls people into

relationship, into time spent together. Then Geoff

reminded everyone of the heavy loads they had

carried during the

living board game.

He suggested that

we might go

through life that

way, but it would

be easier if we

asked Jesus to help

us with all we had

to carry before the

day began. Alex

stepped in to play

Jesus and help

Geoff carry all the

tasks of the day.

Another successful All Ages Affair!

(more photos on back cover)

“An Ordinary Day with Jesus”