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Thur Feb 3 2022

1. New Vision Notes fell into a January hibernation after the Day of Epiphany, Jan 6, the date of The Notes’ last issue.
2. Here they are again, not quite groundhog day, but close.
3. We will begin in-person worship together at 24 Main W. again commencing Sunday February 27 with the usual attention to social distancing, vaccination and masking. Our person limit will be 25 people.
4. It seems too early to express optimism, but if the current subsiding of the omicron variant is not replaced by any new Covid variant as threatening, we could be able fully to gather as a community again in worship in-person for Easter.
5. This is a warm thought on a winter’s day.
6. Our 2022 Annual Meeting will be virtually held again this year following worship on Sunday Feb 13. The 2021 Annual Report will be available electronically through the New Vision website as it was last year. I am expecting that it will be issued and published on Sunday, February 6 – lots of time for you to read and celebrate and ponder ~
7. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
8. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Sunday again, or for the first time –

Rev Ian

Thur Jan 6 2022

1. Today is Epiphany. The season of Christmas ended yesterday (12 days including Christmas Day).
2. I hope you found and took such opportunities as were given you to share joy, love and hope this Christmastide.
3. Epiphany recognizes the homage the wise ones from the east gave to Jesus in Bethlehem at his birth.
4. Epiphany outside of this Christian use of the word is “a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.”
5. I think the sudden perception of who Jesus actually is is an epiphany in this non-religious sense too.
6. To everyone who responded to the New Vision Christmas Appeal, much gratitude.
7. Omicron: since the most reasonable thing for us to do with Omicron coronavirus variant of concern now spreading in our community is to reduce our contact with each other outside our households we have decided to gather for worship virtually only until Hamilton Public Health guidance suggests otherwise. Sundays going forward from Boxing Day, Sunday Dec 26, will be virtual only gatherings until further notice.
8. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
9. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Sunday again, or for the first time –

Rev Ian

Wed Dec 22 2021

1. Soon Christmas! 3 sleeps.
2. 3 sleeps.
3. Christmas Eve: We will be gathering virtually only for our Christmas Eve service Friday evening at 7 pm.  Come join us for the story, and for communion, and for singing. Bring a candle to light as part of your participation.
4. Worshipping virtually on Christmas Eve is a change of plans since I last wrote on account of the COVID-19 Omicron Variant of Concern. I am sorry.
5. Our Christmas Eve gathering will be at the same zoom link as our Sunday morning gatherings. See below.
6. Omicron: since the most reasonable thing for us to do with Omicron coronavirus variant of concern now spreading in our community is to reduce our contact with each other outside our households we have decided to gather for worship virtually only until guidance improves from Hamilton Public Health. Sundays going forward from Boxing Day, Sunday Dec 26, will be virtual only gatherings until further notice.
7. New Vision’s Annual Christmas Appeal is in full swing. If you would like to receive Church Council Chair Dixon Challoner’s Christmas Greetings, let me know here and I will have it sent out to you. To those who have responded to the Appeal, many, many thanks. New Vision is a strong witness to the love of Jesus in the world.
8. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
9. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Friday evening – or Sunday, or both!

Merry Christmas to you ~

Rev Ian

Thur Dec 16 2021

1. Advent! And soon Christmas! This Sunday is our fourth of four Advent Sundays: purging the old waiting for God to bring the new to us.
2. The most reasonable thing for us to do with the Omicron coronavirus variant of concern now spreading in our community is to reduce our contact with each other outside our households. Those who have yet to receive a third vaccination are strongly encouraged not to attend our in-person Sunday worship gatherings until many more Hamiltonians and Canadian residents have received the third jab. I will be leading worship virtually on Sunday.
3. New Vision’s Annual Christmas Appeal is in full swing. If you would like to receive Church Council Chair Dixon Challoner’s Christmas Greetings, let me know here and I will have it sent out to you. To those who have responded to the Appeal, many, many thanks. New Vision is a strong witness to the love of Jesus in the world.
4. We will hold our Christmas Eve service this year in a hybrid in-person and online way at 7 pm Christmas Eve. I ask you, however, to keep an eye out for any public health guidance that might further restrict our in-person gatherings more than the current restrictions – 25 people maximum and social distancing between us. If you have any symptoms of illness, please plan not to our worship gatherings in person: come virtually!
5. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
6. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Sunday ~ again, or for the first time ~

Rev Ian

Friday Dec 10 2021

1. Advent! And then Christmas! This Sunday is our third of four Advent Sundays: purging the old and bringing in the new. This Sunday brings us to Joy.
2. Helping each other out is part of our joy. Wesley Urban Ministries is foregoing its Christmas store again this year in favour of Christmas hampers. New Vision’s donation drive helps with Wesley’s Christmas wish list. You can find Wesley’s list here. We will set out our Wesley donation box at 24 Main W this Sunday. You can make a donation in cash anytime online.
3. Our annual Service of Remembrance and Hope will take place this coming Tuesday, December 14 at 7 pm. Like all our worship gatherings now, it will be hybrid – in-person and on Zoom. Here is the Zoom link. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89910290349. Our Service of Remembrance and Hope is a meaningful part of our Advent practice – especially, but not only, for us remembering our losses in the last year. Everyone can benefit.
4. Church Calendars for 2022 are now available as a fundraiser for New Vision.  Please order yours from Arlene Whatmough at 905-527-0383, and she will make arrangements for delivery.  $10. each and a nice gift to give.
5. New Vision’s Annual Christmas Appeal has begun. If you would like to receive Church Council Chair Dixon Challoner’s Christmas letter and learn more about this year’s New Vision appeal, let me know here and I will have it sent to you.
6. We will hold our Christmas Eve service this year in a hybrid in-person and online way at 7 pm.
7. We are worshipping in a hybrid way on Sundays — both in-person on our MacNab campus (24 Main W) and virtually on Zoom each Sunday morning live at 10:30 am. Under Step 3 rules we can have up to 25 people in-person at our worship gatherings. There is room for more of us if you’d like to come! If you feel ready to venture out to join in, we will be following all the prescribed protocols for Step 3, including hand-sanitizing, face-masks, 2 metre physical distancing, no congregational singing, and screening questions on arrival. You may be asked if you are double vaccinated but will not be asked for a vaccination passport. If you wish not to answer the question or indicate you have not been vaccinated, you will be invited to accept the use of an N95 mask since it will provide more safety for you and for others attending in person. Entrance will be through the entrance in the middle of the MacNab Street addition. If you have any symptoms of illness, please plan not to attend in person on Sunday morning: come virtually!
8. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
9. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Sunday ~ again, or for the first time ~

Rev Ian

Thur Dec 2 2021 Advent! And then Christmas! This Sunday is our second of four Advent Sundays: purging the old and bringing in the new. Peace Sunday. The annual International Day of People with Disabilities occurs tomorrow December 3. This United Nations link lists activities tomorrow you might consider joining. Our annual Service of Remembrance and Hope (Blue Christmas) will take place on Tuesday, December 14 at 7 pm. Like all our worship gatherings now, it will be hybrid – in-person and on Zoom. Here is the Zoom link. Church Calendars for 2022 are now available as a fundraiser for New Vision.  Please order yours from Arlene Whatmough at 905-527-0383, and she will make arrangements for delivery.  $10. Each and a nice gift to give. Volunteers wanted for another work bee this Sunday afternoon, December 5 — the next step in our social enterprise project. Come for worship, bring a bag lunch, then we’ll be clearing out furnishings and contents excess to our needs throughout 24 Main W. We will also be making the subfloor in the Music Hall we’ve revealed by stripping out the old flooring good to be walked on. If you want to come just for the work, we will begin around 12;30 pm and knock off between 3 and 4 pm. We are worshipping in a hybrid way — both in-person on our MacNab campus (24 Main W) and virtually on Zoom each Sunday morning live at 10:30 am. Under Step 3 rules we can have up to 25 people in-person at our worship gatherings. There is room for more of us if you’d like to come! If you feel ready to venture out to join in, we will be following all the prescribed protocols for Step 3, including hand-sanitizing, face-masks, 2 metre physical distancing, no congregational singing, and screening questions on arrival. You may be asked if you are double vaccinated but will not be asked for a vaccination passport. If you wish not to answer the question or indicate you have not been vaccinated, you will be invited to accept the use of an N95 mask since it will provide more safety for you and for others attending in person. Entrance will be through the entrance in the middle of the MacNab Street addition. If you have any symptoms of illness, please plan not to attend in person on Sunday morning: come virtually! New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual. Hope to see you Sunday ~ again, or for the first time ~ Rev Ian

Thur Nov 18 2021

1. Thanks to everyone who participated and gave leadership in recognizing Trans Day of Remembrance this past Sunday. Trans Day of Remembrance occurs Nov 20 each year, so the actual day, Saturday, is still ahead of us this week.
2. We’ll be holding our Threshold Partner Commitment Renewal worship gathering this Sunday, Nov 21.
3. Here’s our description of Threshold Partnership.
4. Our Threshold Partnership practice calls us to renew our Threshold Partner affirmations and commitments once a year. We missed last year because of the pandemic.
5. Affirmation is the most important part of our Threshold Partnership. If you have come three or four Sundays, we want you to know we affirm you.
6. Thus we strive to invite newcomers to become a Threshold Partner after you have attended 3 or 4 of our worship gatherings
7. Ideally we keep track and ensure that everyone who is currently a Threshold Partner wants to continue as one for the upcoming year.
8. This year we will be sending out email notices to those who are Threshold Partners inviting them to renew their commitment for the upcoming year and to attend our worship gathering on November 21 to participate in our annual renewal of the Partnership.
9. We’ll try to connect in the days ahead directly with newcomers who have not yet been introduced in a personal way to our Threshold Partnership practice with an invitation to join. If we don’t get to you before Nov 21 we will be in touch. People can become Threshold Partners at any time during the year. As well, those who might have decided not to continue as a Threshold Partner in prior years can commit to being one again for the year ahead.
10. Advent is coming! And then Christmas! Next Sunday, Nov 28 is the first Sunday of Advent. We will be recognizing the International Day for People with Disabilities. The International Day for People with Disabilities occurs on December 3 of each year.
11. Church Calendars for 2022 are now available as a Fundraiser for New Vision.  Please order yours from Arlene Whatmough at 905-527-0383, and she will make arrangements for delivery.  $10. Each and a nice gift to give.
12. We are worshipping in a hybrid way — both in-person on our MacNab campus (24 Main W) and virtually on Zoom each Sunday morning live at 10:30 am. Under Step 3 rules we can have up to 25 people in-person at our worship gatherings. There is room for more of us if you’d like to come! If you feel ready to venture out to join in, we will be following all the prescribed protocols for Step 3, including hand-sanitizing, face-masks, 2 metre physical distancing, no congregational singing, and screening questions on arrival. You may be asked if you are double vaccinated but will not be asked for a vaccination passport. If you wish not to answer the question or indicate you have not been vaccinated, you will be invited to accept the use of an N95 mask since it will provide more safety for you and for others attending in person. Entrance will be through the Youth Centre entrance on MacNab Street. If you have any symptoms of illness, please plan not to attend in person on Sunday morning: come virtually!
13. With the new vaccine certificate protocol anyone with a green health card can print and have their vaccine certificate laminated for free at any branch of the Hamilton Public Library. For more info: https://www.hpl.ca/VaccineCertificates
14. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
15. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Sunday ~ again, or for the first time ~

Rev Ian

Thur Nov 4 2021

1. This Sunday will include our Armistice Day remembrances. We will also be celebrating communion.
2. Sunday Nov 14 we are recognizing Trans Day of Remembrance during our service with a special presentation. Trans Day of Remembrance occurs Nov 20 each year.
3. We’ll be holding our Threshold Partner Commitment Renewal worship gathering on Sunday Nov 21.
4. Here’s our description of Threshold Partnership.
5. The pandemic set us off course in our efforts to develop this unique way of naming and being a part of and growing together as the New Vision faith community.
6. We have been focused in the last 18 months on reaching out to people and sustaining connections against the stresses of social distancing and lock downs.  As we all know we experienced ups and downs in this.
7. Our Threshold Partnership practice calls us to renew our Threshold Partner affirmations and commitments once a year. We missed last year.
8. Ideally we keep track and ensure that everyone who is currently a Threshold Partner wants to continue as one for the upcoming year.
9. Affirmation is the most important part of our Threshold Partnership. If you have come three or four Sundays, we want you to know we affirm you.
10. Thus we strive to invite you to become a Threshold Partner after you have attended 3 or 4 of our worship gatherings
11. This year we will be sending out email notices to those who are Threshold Partners inviting them to renew their commitment for the upcoming year and to attend our worship gathering on November 21 to participate in our annual renewal of the Partnership.
12. We’ll try to connect in the days ahead directly with newcomers who have not yet been introduced in a personal way to our Threshold Partnership practice with an invitation to join.
13. 15 Days of Action…Stop the Sprawl is offering ideas to participate in the final days of the campaign through to November 9^th when City Council debates the Urban Boundary Expansion Proposals at their website here.
14. If you’d like to dance…Open Hearts Theatre https://www.openheartartstheatre.com  is holding a dance class in the lower hall on Wednesdays at 1:30 pm. This is for everyone. Entrance through the east alley door into the lower hall.
15. We are worshipping in a hybrid way — both in-person on our MacNab campus (24 Main W) and virtually on Zoom each Sunday morning live at 10:30 am. Under Step 3 rules we can have up to 25 people in-person at our worship gatherings. There is room for more of us if you’d like to come! If you feel ready to venture out to join in, we will be following all the prescribed protocols for Step 3, including hand-sanitizing, face-masks, 2 metre physical distancing, no congregational singing, and screening questions on arrival. You may be asked if you are double vaccinated but will not be asked for a vaccination passport. If you wish not to answer the question or indicate you have not been vaccinated, you will be invited to accept the use of an N95 mask since it will provide more safety for you and for others attending in person. Entrance will be through the Youth Centre entrance on MacNab Street. If you have any symptoms of illness, please plan not to attend in person on Sunday morning: come virtually!
16. With the new vaccine certificate protocol anyone with a green health card can print and have their vaccine certificate laminated for free at any branch of the Hamilton Public Library. For more info: https://www.hpl.ca/VaccineCertificates
17. New Vision Virtual Worship is experiential, participatory, image-rich and collective, just like worship in person at New Vision! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week during the Covid-19 emergency by clicking here. If you want to put the link someplace easy to find each week, here it is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. Please share it with others and invite them to a “different” kind of time on Zoom from the usual.
18. You can also call in to the gathering on the telephone toll free. Call 1 647 374 4685, then, when prompted, input the Meeting ID 782 292 511 followed by the # sign. Ignore the prompts for Participant ID and Password. You are in when the recorded voice says, “You are in the meeting.” If you can only connect by video on your computer with no audio, you can use the phone connection for audio and the computer connection for visual.

Hope to see you Sunday ~ again, or for the first time ~

Rev Ian