New Vision Notes for Thursday March 19, 2026

Welcome to a new edition of New Vision Notes! We are grateful to be reaching you each week. This Sunday will be the Fifth Sunday in the season of Lent and the International Day for Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This Sunday, worship will be led by George and the Stewardship Team, along with other great folks from our New Vision Community.

Worship will be upstairs in the Music Hall as renovations continue! Please enter through the door at the corner of Main and MacNab. Seun has made a helpful poster that you may download by clicking here.

Our Accessible Viewing Room is still open!! Because of our current building renovations, our current worship space is not as accessible as we would like it to be. In response to this, we invite anyone with any mobility needs to view worship from our Accessible Viewing Room. A large-screen tv provides a clear view of the service, and there is a coffee / tea station available to those gathering in the space. Enter through the red pillar doors off MacNab St. The space will be open from 10am to the conclusion of the service.

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is marked annually on March 21. This day was created by the United Nations in response to the killing of 69 protesters at a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa in 1960. The United Church also?honours this day annually?as one way to continue to deepen our collective anti-racist commitment.

Adele Halliday (our Anti-Racism and Equity Lead for the United Church of Canada) has shared an excellent and informative newsletter with us. You can read the newsletter by clicking here.

We will need many hands to help us prepare the auditorium space for Juno week. We will need to move/stack chairs, sweep, and move items into storage. We would greatly appreciate the help of anyone available to stick around after worship this Sunday.

Holy Week Worship Info!

Please join us online at our regular Sunday Zoom link (at the bottom of this email) for the 10:30am Palm Sunday service. (There will be no in-person worship on March 29th).

We will gather at 6:30pm for a solemn (in-person only) service to remember the Last Supper of Jesus. This Taizé style service will include candles, optional foot washing and a very simple meal.

Hamilton’s Good Friday Ecumenical Social Justice Stations of the Cross Committee is meeting, discerning and planning for another year (the 25th!) of marking the Way of the Cross where we meet Jesus being crucified today. Stay tuned for more information!

The following webinars will offer meaningful opportunities for reflection, dialogue, and continued engagement with the issues that unite our shared commitment to justice. More information about these important events may be found by clicking on the links to flyers and registration pages below. Please consider registering and attending one of the following three online events:

Saturday March 28, 1pm – “Palestinian Christans: current dangers and ways to remain steadfast/Taybeh village” (link to flyer image), (link to register)

United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine/Israel (a network of United Church of Canada members/adherents and friends working for the end of apartheid and justice-based peace in Palestine/Israel) are hosting a webinar on Monday April 20th to explore this topic in depth. You may download the flyer to learn more and register by clicking here.

The church is currently low on coffee and whitener for our Sunday Social Time. We warmly invite anyone who feels inspired to bring a container of coffee or whitener on Sunday and leave it with a greeter. (The brands we regularly use are pictured in the photo for reference.)

The United Church of Canada has launched a short survey inviting anyone connected to the life of the church to share their awareness and experiences with Toward 2035, the framework introduced in 2025 to guide our shared direction for the next decade. You can read more about the Call and Vision behind this work on The Call and Vision webpage.

Whether you participate in worship, serve in a ministry role, volunteer, or simply feel connected to this community, your perspective is valued. The survey asks about your familiarity with Toward 2035 and what support you or our Community of Faith may need as this work unfolds.

There are no right or wrong answers. Your input will help shape future communication and resource development across the church.

‘Kitchen Conversations with the Moderator’, is an ongoing six-part video series exploring food, faith, and the power of invitation, hosted by the Right Rev. Dr. Kimberly Heath. Click here to learn more!

Discover the rich and resilient history of Black people within The United Church of Canada. Here from the Beginning is an exhibition about the history of The United Church of Canada from the perspective of Black peoples in the church.

View the exhibition at MISSISSAUGA Christ First UC This Saturday, March 21, 12pm-4pm. Other locations in London and Owen Sound.

A Song of Faith – A Song of Faith, adopted in 2006, seeks to provide a verbal picture of what The United Church of Canada understands its faith to be in the historical, political, social, and theological context of the early 21st century. It is also a means of ongoing reflection and an invitation for the church to live out its convictions in relation to the world in which we live. Please click here to view (and/or download) this important literature.

Would you like to try leading a worship service? Our worship team is looking for some folks to consider leading worship. It’s a fun and meaningful way to contribute to our faith community! Please reach out to Julie or Dan to learn more about putting a service together.

Enjoy Daily scripture readings from The Revised Common Lectionary: This three-year cycle of scripture readings is used by most churches in Canada and the US. Let the Word inspire you by visiting https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/daily.php?year=B#id79

You’re invited! Join us on Sunday mornings 10:30 am week to week either in person at 24 Main St. W. or on Zoom by clicking here. The link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/782292511. If you’re on Facebook, you may also want to consider joining our New Vision United Community Group , where we post updates and share with one another online.