So much of who we are is below the surface
As a church we go deep to open ourselves
to fuller and fuller awareness of Jesus’ beloved community
Three New Vision Tuesday Evenings:
November 10
November 17
November 24
7-9 pm
St. Giles Site Parlour
$10/person for the three sessions and materials or pay as you may. Register at officeadmin@newvisionunited.org
or on the flipchart in the worship space
Easter Sunday is April 5 and Palm Sunday is March 29. We’ll be ordering Pixie Lilies again this year at $8 per pot and your choice of yellow or orange. Please place your order on or before Sunday March 22. The order form is linked here as a PDF and will also be in the bulletin.
If you know of a person who cannot get out to the Easter service(s) and would appreciate receiving a pot of lilies, please provide the name and address to Bev in the office.
Also, please sign up to deliver flowers on or before Easter Sunday.
(Just fyi– these are hardy lilies and can be planted in your garden for perennial enjoyment)
The following is the text of an article and video from the National Educational Committee on Israel-Palestine. It quotes Jeff Halper who spoke at an event at New Vision United Church as part of his cross-country tour.
How should United Church members respond to accusations of anti-Semitism?
Halper: “They know you are not anti-Semitic. Don’t allow them to use that argument to keep a serious discussion of Israel’s human rights record off the table. You should demand that they engage on this issue.”
United Church members should not allow themselves to be intimidated by unfair charges of anti-Semitism, argues Jeff Halper, in a short video interview while he was here in Ottawa a few weeks ago. Halper, who is Jewish, lives in Jerusalem. He was on a cross Canada tour talking about the Israel/Palestine issue.
Halper’s comments were in response to concerns raised by several leading members of the United Church of Canada (UCC) frustrated by the fact that explicit or implicit accusations of anti-Semitism are frequently invoked every time Israel enters the discussion. This has become a serious challenge since the UCC adopted a resolution in 2012 recommending that its members stop buying goods produced in Palestinian territories illegally occupied by Israel since 1967.
“The echoes of the past history of Church-sanctioned anti-Semitism continue to grow stronger,” said Avi Benlolo, president of the Toronto based Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre after the resolution. His statement went on to accuse the 500,000 strong church of giving “tacit support for the hatred and terror” against the Jewish state.
The charge of “anti-Semitism” is a very sensitive one for the UCC (and for other Canadian churches) because it is based in historical reality. For over a thousand years, Jews were the objects of repression and discrimination in Christian countries all around the world – from Portugal to Russia, culminating in the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust. However, as church members explained to Halper, the “anti-Semitism card” is frequently used by members of the organized Jewish Community in Canada to protect Israel from any criticism about human rights violations.
“We work alongside our Jewish counterparts in Canada on a variety of human rights issues from homelessness to aboriginals. But whenever any criticism of Israel is raised, the Jewish organizations are quick to invoke anti-Semitism as a way to deflect discussion.” In Halper’s view, this should be challenged. “They know you are not anti-Semitic in any way”, he argues, but this is a convenient tool to keep honest discussion of Israel and its policies off the table. “You need to be true to your own Christian values, and not allow yourselves to be intimidated.”
All are invited to a traditional Robbie Burns Supper on:
Friday January 23, 2015 at New Vision United Church, 24 Main Street West (at MacNab) Hamilton
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for browsing and bidding at the silent auction. The Address to the Haggis starts at 6:45, with dinner following. Afterwards enjoy musical entertainment with members and friends of our talent-laden New Vision Choir.
Tickets are $20 each, and must be purchased in advance. Call the office at 905-522-6843 or email onemainstreetchurchh@bellnet.cato reserve. No tickets will be available at the door.
Dinner includes wine, roast beef, traditional haggis, neeps (sweet turnips), potatoes, vegetables, and dessert. There will be scotch tasting at the cash bar.
view or download robbie_burns supper poster (open pdf in new tab)
All are invited to the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Band Concert on Saturday December 6 at St. Giles Church, Main at Holton. The doors open at 6:30 pm (for the craft table and bake sale) and the concert begins at 7:00. There will be time during the intermission to shop. Proceeds from the concert go to St. Matthews House.
Sunday December 7th at 3 pm, at Centenary, enjoy Gateway to Christmas, with the combined choirs of New Vision United and Tempus Choral Society, led by Music Director Brian Turnbull. The program will include carols, hymns, readings and, of course, wonderful choral music, solos, and ensembles. All are welcome to attend. A free will offering will be taken.
The Congregation is gathering on Sunday October 26 after service to decide on its name.
There are three choices. Here they are, in alphabetical order:
We met as a congregation after service on Sunday, October 19th and, through conversation and prayer, brought the list of names for consideration down from 15 to 3.
Please participate in this historic and prayerful vote! It’s a $2 Hot Dog Sunday, with proceeds to the Sunday School. Hot and cold beverages will be provided.
Here’s a quick background, provided by the New Church Task Group, on each of the three names.
1. Gateway United
Gateway refers to a portal or doorway. Our church community is a portal inviting us to deepening our relationship with God. It is also a doorway for welcoming our marginalized neighbours into our Church family.
2. New Vision United
We join together as a new birth congregation with a new, shared, vision of our place in God’s world in the downtown core, seeking to turn our vision into a vibrant mission.
3. Sanctuary United
Sanctuary describes a sacred place of refuge or safety. In biblical descriptions, sanctuary describes the habitation of God, erected that God might dwell among all the people.
We look forward to seeing you this Sunday at church!
With best wishes, and God’s blessing, from your friends.
Greetings!
The 42nd General Council will take place in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, August 8–15, 2015. For more information about the event, please see the letters below:
Invitation and theme letter from Moderator Gary Paterson.
Logistics information letter from General Secretary Nora Sanders and 42nd General Council Planning Committee Chair Roy West.
Appeared Thursday August 27 on Joey Coleman’s web site: http://joeycoleman.ca/2014/08/28/centenary-united-church-wants-removed-from-heritage-interest-list-3/
As Centenary Church Looks Towards Demolition, We Need To Talk About the Future of Church Buildings
Another one of Hamilton’s downtown churches is in financial distress, and the 19th century landmark structure could be heading towards sale or even demolition.
Centenary United Church – on the corner of Main and MacNab – wants to be removed from the City’s registry of buildings of heritage interest.
There’s only one reason to ask for removal from the registry – to make it easier to demolition a building.
There isn’t much being listed does to a building, and it’s different from designation. Being listed only delays the issuance of a demolition permit by 60 days (Ontario Heritage Act 27.3), and provides access to some limited City grants.
Without listing, a demolition permit would be granted as a right with no public notice. ‘Permit one day, gone the next’.
Centenary United Church is not a designated building, meaning the “minor alteration” loophole used to demolish James Street Baptist Church cannot be used.
60 Day Delay Allows for Designation Consideration
Recently, a set of listed buildings were facing demolition, and public attention ultimately lead to the buildings being saved from the wrecking ball.
In December 2012, the community was surprised by a demolition request for the pre-Confederation building fronting onto Gore Park at 18-28 King Street East.
There was public outcry, and Council tried to save the building by offering the building owner – Wilson-Blanchard – incentives to preserve the building facades.
The demolition permit was issued in early 2013, as a formality, even as the developer negotiated with Councillors. Even when the developer brought the wrecking ball to the building in July 2013, Council didn’t revoke the demolition permit by designating the building.
There were repeated outcries from the City’s heritage advocates asking Council to revoke the demolition permit.
They were ignored until suddenly, Council voted to designate in December 2013.
If they had not been listed, the wrecking ball would’ve finished the job before anyone noticed.
Centenary United Church – Future Sale?
This brings us back to Centenary United Church, which recently merged with St. Giles United Church to create a new entity called “One Main Street United Church”.
Obviously, any attempt to seek a demolition permit as a condition of sale will result in a similar public outcry by heritage advocates and the neighbourhood association.
Meaning to successfully get a demolition permit, One Main Street United Church must first get the building removed from the heritage interest registry.
On August 21, Helen Bradley, chair of the merged church council, spoke in front of the Hamilton Municipal Heritage Committee asking for the removal. link to video on YouTube
Numerous times, Bradley spoke of a need to look at disposition of the building now that they’ve merged with St. Giles Church.
As she noted, the listing impacts the value of the building as an asset for sale.
“The property—if you need to sell the property— would be worth less if the new purchaser could not tear down the building?”, committee member Paul Wilson (yes, the writer) asked Bradley.
“Potentially, it would certainly narrow down our possibilities of building disposition”, responded Bradley.
The Municipal Heritage Committee received the church’s delegation and kept the building listed.
They voted to schedule a full designation review for the building in 2021.
The church building’s cornerstone was laid on May 28th, 1866 – its a prime candidate for designation.
Church Properties, Heritage, and Cost of Maintenance
“The Churches are not the villains here,” said Paul Wilson. “You have known property we all enjoy driving past— and meanwhile you have to pay the bills.”
This summarizes the dilemma facing churches across Canada, the United States, and Western Europe.
The buildings are pillars of the culture heritage and character of cities—especially downtown cores—but unaffordable for shrinking church congregations responsible for their maintenance and upkeep.
Large churches – especially those built during the 19th century – are expensive to heat, commonly difficult to retrofit for modern accessibility requirements, and many require costly capital repairs that will cost their shrinking congregations millions of dollars to perform.
They are purpose built for a limited role, the Sunday worship, that society no longer demands.
They are relics, but relics many – likely the vast majority – want to keep.
Adaptive Reuses of Churches
Churches are being converted to other uses. Some uses keep the community hub role of the building such as a frat house in upstate New York, coffee shops (while remaining a church on Sunday), conversion to a mosque, breweries, and even an indoor skateboard park:
Lucky Scooters
More commonly, churches are converted into housing, mostly into condominiums, with a few even becoming private mansions. (Check out this extensive slideshow of a converted church in Annapolis)
One Main Street United is receiving assistance from the United Church of Canada to explore future options for their downtown church.
The United Church is familiar with selling former churches for adaptive reuse into housing. (Here’s a 2011 article from the church newspaper)
Demolition of Centenary United?
While adaptive reuse is common to other post-industrial urban centres, it’s still a rarity in Hamilton.
The land Centenary United owns at Main and MacNab is likely more attractive (and lucrative) to a developer for a new residential tower than it is as a candidate for adaptive reuse.
As noted earlier, there are two obstacles to demolition.
Council’s shown in the case of the Gore buildings they’ll designated a listed building facing the wrecking ball, and because it’s not designated, it can’t be demolished as a “minor alteration”.
What’s Next
What’s next?, this is the question that must be answered in part by society.
Do we increase the tax incentives for adaptive reuse of designated heritage buildings, do we leave it to the market to determine how this church eventually gets reused, or even buy the building as a City?
What’s clear: We need to start discussing what we plan to do with heritage churches that no longer have the congregations to support the buildings that, as Paul Wilson put it so well. “we all enjoy driving past”.
In absence of the conversation, we should be prepared to write new chapters of Vanished Hamilton.
Personally, I see it as a candidate for a great mixed-income partially affordable housing project.
Ministry in Motion 2014 will focus on equipping courageous leaders to conduct “gracious evangelism,” according to steering committee chair Rev. Dr. Orville James. UC Moderator Right Rev. Dr. Gary Paterson, Observer columnist Rev. Dr. Connie Denbok, and United Methodist theological professor Dr. George Hunter are among the key figures who will lead plenary sessions, workshops and worship services. The event is scheduled for Nov. 3rd to the 5th at Wellington Square United Church (UC) in Burlington.
“If the UC would get its act together we could reach more people than any other Protestant denomination,” James said. “We have more franchises than Tim Horton’s. We’re deeply embedded in the Canadian population. We’re in the best position to share God’s love. There’s a spiritual hunger and yearning in our society. I want to attract people to this conference who will work with the ‘spiritual but not religious’ &mddash; the ones who have no prayer life and don’t have a clue how to connect with God.”
“There’s a lot of goofy evangelism out there,” James said, “the kind that says accept Christ or you’ll burn in hell. Gracious evangelism is evangelism that joyfully witnesses to the living God as shown in Jesus and invites others to welcome that God into their lives.”
“Jesus wasn’t pushy,” James said. “He told stories about the God who loves us and showed us how we can daily interact with that God. I’m hoping that those who come to the conference, learn to practice the skills set and the mind set, that will help us to understand the Canadian population, and then engage people in spiritual conversation.”
It’s important to study the churches that are thriving and learn from them, James said, “Eastminster UC in Belleville is the healthiest church in eastern Ontario. It’s numerically diverse. Every age group is attending. The members just built a new church building and paid it off. (Rev.) Ed Bentley (who will be leading a workshop at the conference) knows what he’s talking about.”
James believes there are factors common to all successful church ventures and his committee has invited researchers and church growth practitioners to the conference who understand how to implement them. Dr. David Haskell, a journalism professor from Wilfrid Laurier University, who has given talks throughout Hamilton Conference on his multi-year research into thriving main line Protestant churches, will come to the conference to expand on his earlier discussions. James’ church, Wellington Square UC, was included in Haskell’s study of Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican and United churches.
Rev. Graham Singh, an Anglican priest from England, will give a plenary session, on his experience with the Fresh Expressions model of church planting in Britain. Rev. Dr. Connie Denbok, from Applewood United Church in Etobicoke, will speak about her experience with Fresh Expressions in southern Ontario and church planting.
James, and his committee, which includes 18 members from all presbyteries in Hamilton Conference, except Bruce, have booked a number of prominent speakers and motivators. Dr. George Hunter, an American theological professor whom James calls “the dean of evangelism,” will start each day of the conference with a keynote speech. “He’s been researching the North American culture for 35 years—tracking what people are searching for spiritually,” James said.
Opening night, UC Moderator Right Rev. Gary Paterson will lead worship. And Rev. Dr. Anthony Bailey, a frequent commentator on CBC Radio, and the minister of Parkdale United in Ottawa, will lead the final worship service.
Due to generous grants from Halton Presbytery, Hamilton Conference and various trust funds, the price will be $50 lower than the conference held two years ago. Those who register before October 1st will receive a further $50 reduction to $200. On Oct. 1st the price will rise to $250. The cost includes all meals and sessions. A registration form can be downloaded from the Ministry in Motion web site at www.ministryinmotion.ca. And general information about the conference is posted at www.ministryinmotion.ca. Everyone is welcome to attend.